Choosing a Physics Research Advisor in Graduate School

Full Chapter List – So You Want To Be A Physicist… Series

• Part I: Early Physics Education in High schools
• Part II: Surviving the First Year of College
• Part III: Mathematical Preparations
• Part IV: The Life of a Physics Major
• Part V: Applying for Graduate School
• Part VI: What to Expect from Graduate School Before You Get There
• Part VII: The US Graduate School System
• Part VIII: Alternative Careers for a Physics Grad
• Part VIIIa: Entering Physics Graduate School From Another Major
• Part IX: First years of Graduate School from Being a TA to the Graduate Exams
• Part X: Choosing a Research area and an advisor
• Part XI: Initiating Research Work
• Part XII: Research work and The Lab Book
• Part XIII: Publishing in a Physics Journal
• Part XIV: Oral Presentations
• Part XIII: Publishing in a Physics Journal (Addendum)
• Part XIV: Oral Presentations – Addendum
• Part XV – Writing Your Doctoral Thesis/Desertation
• Part XVI – Your Thesis Defense
• Part XVII – Getting a Job!
• Part XVIII – Postdoctoral Position
• Part XIX – Your Curriculum Vitae

Choosing a Research Area and an Advisor

In the previous part, I described the trials and tribulations of going through the qualifying exam that almost all graduate physics students face. In this part, we will assume you passed that very difficult milestone and are now ready to do some serious, real physics work: choosing a research area and an advisor.

Initial Advising and Early Years

When you first enter the graduate program, you are often assigned a faculty member at random who advises you during the first year or two before you choose a specialization. This happens because most incoming physics students take roughly the same required classes. Your initial advisor can help determine if you need a refresher in advanced undergraduate topics to prepare for the qualifier.

Don’t assume your initial advisor will be your final advisor; many students change advisors once they decide on a specific field.

How to Find an Area and Potential Advisors

So what happens after you pass your qualifier? If you’re lucky (or stubborn), you’ll already have an idea of the area you want to enter. In many large departments there will be more than one faculty member working in that area. If there isn’t, then do what I did — shop around. Start with the department’s graduate program description to see who works in the area. Ask other graduate students, especially senior ones, about particular faculty: what they work on, whether they have grant funding, and how they interact with students.

Key criteria for choosing an advisor

1. An obvious one: are they knowledgeable or a well-known expert in the field? This is a given, but you’d be surprised how some faculty can be out of touch with the latest developments. This is especially true if they lack research funding and do not travel to conferences.
2. Availability and accessibility: is the person available for easy contact? Many research projects require regular discussion and mentorship. There’s little point in choosing a well-known advisor who is rarely available. Also be aware that sometimes a postdoc will end up supervising your day-to-day work; that can be fine, but you should know it will happen before committing.
3. Personal compatibility: and most importantly, can you get along with them? I have seen too many situations where mentor and student miscommunicate or simply do not get along. That makes for a miserable experience and rarely leads to good outcomes.

What a Good Advisor Provides

Choosing an advisor is the next most important decision after passing your qualifier. This person can significantly impact your professional future. An excellent advisor not only ensures you meet official graduation requirements but also trains you to become a good physicist — training that is not in the school’s bulletin.

An advisor should accurately assess your knowledge in the field and help you and them decide on a specific research project that will become your dissertation. They should also help you build a publication record by guiding you toward papers in respected physics journals and ensuring you present your work at conferences.

Presenting at conferences gives you practice speaking to peers and experts, increases your visibility within the field, and helps you make professional contacts. Never underestimate the value of those contacts — they often matter a great deal later in your career.

If your advisor cares about your development as a physicist, they will take concrete steps to ensure you have these opportunities.

Pedigree and Career Implications

One more thing to mention: pedigree. Having a well-known physicist as an advisor can play a significant role in your future. For example, many of Philip Anderson’s graduate students at Princeton went on to prestigious faculty positions. Part of the effect comes from these advisors selecting top candidates in the first place, but who your advisor was can be the tie-breaker when competing for postdocs and jobs.

My observation is that pedigree matters more in theoretical physics than in experimental physics. In experimental work, strong results from a smaller or less well-known school can still have a big impact, particularly when there’s access to a large facility or a national lab. Theoretical programs that are well-funded often cluster around well-known theorists.

Next Steps

In the next installment, we’ll go over the daily grind of doing graduate research work.