This page answers the questions I most commonly receive from prospective graduate students, postdocs, and visitors. Please read it before writing to me. For more information on admissions, see also https://cee.stanford.edu/academics-admission.
If you are interested in Ph.D. opportunities, please start with the Frequently Asked Questions below, which cover most of what people ask. You are welcome to e-mail me before applying formally, and if you do, please include your CV and relevant materials and note "reviewed your website" in the subject line so I know you have already looked through this page. I receive several hundred informal inquiries each year and won't reply to most of them, but I do read what comes in and keep promising messages in mind during the admissions cycle.
If you are interested in postdoctoral opportunities, I look for postdocs with prior experience in a topic overlapping my research areas. If you think you would be a productive contributor to the group, please e-mail me with the subject "Postdoc inquiry, reviewed your website," describe your prior research, and explain how you would contribute.
If you are working at another institution and interested in an extended visit to my group, I usually do not have the capacity to host visitors, even when they bring their own funding. If you have a compelling reason to think I might make an exception, such as an ongoing collaboration with me or your advisor, please mention that when you write.
I hope you will have a variety of exciting opportunities to consider for the next stage of your education (including possibly Stanford), and I wish you the best of luck in finding a good position.
See https://gradadmissions.stanford.edu/apply/faq and https://cee.stanford.edu/academics-admission/graduate-admissions/frequently-asked-questions for university-level responses to frequently asked questions, which supercede any of my information. Below are my personal responses to some questions that arise frequently or are specific to my group.
Can you tell me more about your research and upcoming projects?
This website provides an overview of my current research and publications. Our work in the near future will closely align with these topics.
Are you looking for new students in the coming year?
Like most faculty, I am continuously searching for new Ph.D. students. I typically admit one or two per year, and there is substantial competition for those spots. Research support also depends on decisions from external grant sponsors, which are made throughout the year, so the number of available positions evolves over the course of the admissions cycle.
What is it like to work in your group?
Our group expectations document will give you some idea of how our group operates.
What are you looking for in potential Ph.D. students?
Some key attributes are:
There is no single recipe for how to best demonstrate the above. Further, I will calibrate my expectations relative to your personal opportunities (which vary widely from person to person). Please use your personal statement to demonstrate your strengths and potential in these areas. Your transcripts, letters of reference, and other materials also provide context and evidence.
Are Ph.D. students provided funding?
All Ph.D. students are funded for the duration of their Ph.D. as long as they are making satisfactory progress. Funding includes all tuition costs plus a stipend for living expenses. The cost of living near Stanford is extremely high, but stipends are also higher than at most other U.S. institutions. There is limited funding available for some students entering the M.S. degree program, and funding decisions for those students are made along with admissions decisions.
The good news from this policy is that Ph.D. students will hopefully not take on a significant financial burden. The challenge is that your prospective advisor must secure substantial funding (several hundred thousand dollars for tuition and stipend support over the life of a Ph.D.) in order to make an admission offer. If you have external fellowship funding (e.g., an NSF, NDSEG, DOE, or Fulbright Fellowship), please indicate this in your application as it makes it easier for an advisor to commit to admitting you.
Is it possible to get the graduate application fee waived?
Yes, see https://gradadmissions.stanford.edu/apply/application-fee#waiver for more information.
