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How to Find and Join a Research Group. Identify likely faculty candidates Learn a little more about them Request an interview Identify project, expectations, and mechanics Stay in touch with your advisor Discuss, then write, your final report That was fun!.
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How to Find and Join a Research Group • Identify likely faculty candidates • Learn a little more about them • Request an interview • Identify project, expectations, and mechanics • Stay in touch with your advisor • Discuss, then write, your final report • That was fun!
Identify likely faculty candidates • Teachers in classes you’ve liked • Speakers in seminar series • Talk to other students doing research • ICS web page • Faculty listings • Research areas and centers • Calendar of upcoming talks and events
Learn a little more about them • Visit their web page • Read their papers • Talk to their students (ugrad and grad) • Read about the research areas and centers in which they participate • Think of a point of interest and a question • Not always necessary; but nice to be prepared
Request an interview • Email is most common • Avoid “spam” email (we get lots of it) • Indicate you’re serious and interested • Be brief • Stop by their office briefly • Request an appointment to discuss research • Be persistent, but not a pest • Move on to other faculty if no good response • May be too busy or have too many students now • You have many interests; many things are interesting
Identify project, expectations, and mechanics • An interview is a two-way street • Give info about yourself • Background, interests, coding level, etc. • Ask questions about the project • Who will supervise you? Faculty or grad student? • Time commitment expected? • Is there a weekly group meeting to attend? • Computers or special equipment to use? • It’s OK to ask for a paper to read while you think about it and decide if it’s right for you • It’s also OK to agree on-the-spot
Stay in touch with your advisor • Most often, you will do a small part of a larger project under a grad student or post-doc • Remember that the faculty member will evaluate your work and sign your Final Report, not the grad-student or post-doc who supervised you • Ask: How often should you meet with the faculty member to review your progress? • Maybe just during group meetings? • Maybe monthly? • Maybe something else?
Discuss, then write, your final report • Anything that is acceptable to you and to your faculty advisor is acceptable to the ICS-HP • Your faculty advisor is the sole judge of whether your Final Report is “Honors quality” • Discuss an outline of your Final Report with your advisor before beginning to write • Give your advisor a near-final draft in plenty of time to respond to any changes required • This includes time for your advisor to read it
That was fun! • UCI offers ugrads an opportunity to work on world-class cutting-edge research • Be persistent, but not a pest • Cast a wide net for possible advisors • Get duties and expectations clear up-front • Stay in touch with your advisor • During work, and while writing your Report • Have fun!!