From: reiter@aisb.ed.ac.uk
Newsgroups: comp.ai
Subject: Grad school comments
Date: 16 Nov 92 15:02:47 GMT
Reply-To: e.reiter@ed.ac.uk ()
Organization: Dept AI, Edinburgh University, Scotland

I have been sporadically reading some of the comments on AI grad schools,
and thought I would contribute a few random observations, the main thrust of
which is that there's more to choosing a grad school than the quality of
research done by its faculty.


1) Environment: Different schools can have very different atmospheres, e.g.,

	Competitiveness - are grad students supposed to compete with each other?
	Politicization	- is the dept split by feuds between faculty members?
	Student status	- are grad students respected members of the community?
	Theory vs. Systems-Building - what's the emphasis of the dept?

Obviously different people differ in what they want (e.g., some flourish
competitive atmospheres and some don't).  Decide what you want, and then ask
current students at an institution what the atmosphere is like.


2) Graduation rate: The percentage of students who actually finish a Ph.D
program varies widely in different institutions, as does the amount of time the
average student takes to complete the Ph.D.  Find out what percentage of
students actually finish, and how long the average student actually takes to
graduate (don't be fobbed off with `its a four-year program', ask how long
recent graduates have actually taken).  If the drop-out or time-to-completion
figures seem high, try to find out why - I'd suggest asking current (or ex-)
students instead of faculty, as the latter are likely (especially in troubled
institutions) to repeat explanations that have been designed to keep the dean
happy while avoiding putting any blame on politically powerful professors,
and such explanations may bear little connection with reality.


3) Advisors.  Some people who are wonderful researchers are also lousy
advisors, and some people with so-so research records are superb at helping
students develop their ideas and get through the Ph.D process.  Some advisors
may also be good at dealing with white male (or whatever) students, but have
difficulties taking women or minorities seriously.  If you have a specific
advisor in mind, try to find out (preferably from a current or past student)
what he/she is like as an advisor as well as a researcher.


4) Contingency planning.  Grad school rarely works out as planned, and some
things worth looking for are:
	- several people you'd like to work for, so you won't be stuck if
	  things don't work out between you and the advisor you'd most
	  like to have.
	- programs that give you an M.Sc or some other degree part-way through.
	  so you'll have something if you don't finish the Ph.D program.


5) Happy students.  Are the current students at the institution you're thinking
of attending happy or miserable?  Grad school is a significant chunk of your
life, and it would be nice to be happy during it; you'll also do better
research if you're happy.


6) Most important of all.  Are you sure you really, *really*, want to go to
grad school?  A lot of people drift into a Ph.D program because its expected
of them by their parents, undergrad professors, etc., or simply because its
the course of least resistance (puts off that horrible process of actually
having to find a job in the real world).  But an academic career is *not*
for everyone, and there are a lot of other options available, especially for
the computer-literate.  Be sure that *you* are the one who wants to go to
grad school, not your parents or your undergrad mentor.
   Also, realize that very few of the people who start Ph.D programs end up
20 years later as tenured professors at major research institutions; I suspect
that the `ultimate success' rate even for students at the best universities
is less than 10%.  A lot of people drop out of Ph.D programs, a lot of the
people who finish drift into something non-academic within a few years of
finishing, and a lot of people who do spend 7 years as junior faculty members
are thrown out onto the street when the time for tenure decisions comes.  Ask
yourself the following question - if you spend 10-15 years as a student and
junior faculty member, and are then denied tenure and end up spending the rest
of your life doing something completely different, will you (a) be grateful
that you were able to spend at least some portion of your life doing research,
or (b) will you be unhappy at all those wasted years that you could have spent
developing your ultimate career?  If, in your heart of hearts, you think you
would fall into category (b) (and be honest with yourself), I'd suggest
thinking again about whether a Ph.D is the right thing for you.

							Ehud Reiter
--
						Ehud Reiter
						(e.reiter@edinburgh.ac.uk)
From: Bruce.Feist@f615.n109.z1.fidonet.org (Bruce Feist)
Sender: Uucp@blkcat.UUCP