Working with me as a graduate student...

Hi I get emails frequently asking how to work with me. I am in an unusual department and situation at MIT for someone who does what I do -- research on ubiquitous computing and health. I can't respond personally to most inquiries, but here is what I would recommend.

There are currently four options:

  1. Even though I am not in the Media Lab, my group has a relationship with the lab. You can apply to the MIT Media Lab and specify the Changing Places group (Kent Larson) as your primary area of interest. My group will review your application. If and how many students we admit changes yearly based on funding, who is graduating, etc, but we have very limited slots. In the Media Lab, specific advisors interested in students review applications and so it is to your advantage to target your application to the House_n group as much as possible. If you are admitted, you would be able to work closely with me. More information.
  2. Even though I am not in the EECS department, I have advised EECS students. You can apply to the MIT EECS Department. Students are evaluated for admission to EECS independent of future advisor (at least as I understand it), so it probably will not help you to target your application to the House_n group. Make the case for why you should be in EECS doing research. If you are admitted, you should contact me and ask about availability of funding. If you are very interested in working with me and it's a good fit, there is is often a way to make it formally or informally happen. Again, funding and slot availability are important considerations. More information.
  3. Technically I am in the Department of Architecture. If you have some design skills, it may be possible for you to apply to the Architecture Department's Design and Computation program and then work with me and my group. Here too, admissions are done mostly independent of future advisor. However, you should contact me in advance if you feel you are a strong candidate. This route is only a good one for people with a design bent as well as a computational bent. More information.
  4. If you apply and are accepted to another school in the Boston area and you can convince your program or advisor, there may be ways that we can collaborate. It certainly will NOT help in your application to mention this, though!

The good part is that you can try all four methods simultaneously. The bad part is that all require a lot of work and the same application is not going to be successful in each program type. They are quite different.

It is not a bad idea to email me with some information about yourself in advance of applying. What I'm most interested in would be evidence of high quality research or development directly relevant to my research areas. Please don't expect a response, however, and don't take a lack of a response as a lack of interest.

Similarly, if you are seriously interested in the program and will be in the Boston area and would like to meet for a very brief in-person meeting, send me your CV and request a meeting. I will tell you that in most cases I will decline just in the interest of time. Again, this doesn't mean you shouldn't try applying. It just means I'm too busy to meet.

I typically will not know for certain how many funded slots I might have until well after application deadlines, so I will not be able to give any information on that other than, "I don' t know yet."

Best of luck with your application process.

Stephen

 

 

Online version of self assessment: http://web.mit.edu/career/www/workshops/finding/

Extensive online resources for the academic job search including MANY articles on academic job interviews: http://web.mit.edu/career/www/workshops/CV/academic_interviews.html

Additional Academic Job Search resources: http://web.mit.edu/career/www/workshops/CV/RelatedLinks.html and http://web.mit.edu/career/www/graduate/academiccareers.html

There were videos made of a series of panels on academic careers which should still be available at Hayden Library reserve desk:

Stephen Intille's Thesis Development and Writing Tips

Last updated: 05/19/05