Resource Toolkit to Help You Find Your Perfect Lab

By Graduate Student Center

Need help deciding on a lab or research group to join? We're here to help! This post provides some questions to help you find a good fit. 

Questions to find out the principal investigator's (PI's)* advising style-
1) How many students does the person have? and how much time does the PI have to mentor you? (Students may not want to pick a faculty member who has too many students already.)
2) How often does the PI meet with students?
3) Does the PI micromanage their lab? Does this construct resonate with your working style?
4) What is the lab's retention and graduate rate?
*PI - Principal Investigator aka dissertation advisor, mentor etc.

Work-Related Considerations-
1) How closely do students of that PI work together? What are the work expectations?
2) Does the PI allow collaborations with other labs?
3) Are students allowed/expected to have summer internships?
4) What are the work expectations? Are students able to strike a balance between work/school and personal life? What are the vacation policies?
5) Are there sufficient funds available for the research project? What are ways you can provide assistance for finding additional funding if/when your stipend expires?
6) What jobs are students getting after leaving the lab?

Research Interests related questions-
1) What is their reputation as a scholar?
2) At what stage of their career are they? Are they close to retiring?
3) How does a student pick projects in the lab?
4) Typically, how much time do you expect students to take to complete their dissertation?

How to get answers to these questions?
1) Schedule an appointment to meet potential advisors and ask them directly
2) Talk to current and past graduate students of that lab. This is good to know your potential co-workers as well. Do this outside of the lab.
3) Talk to graduate students from other labs. This might provide a different view of the lab. Do this outside of the lab.
4) Talking to multiple students is always encouraged given the possibly strong and differing opinions one might hear

More resources
For additional questions visit - https://upenn.box.com/s/qvrp1bcjmzv1vmjdc54rnh71xnztxjyl
For additional advising and mentoring resources and guidelines visit AMPed Guide - http://bit.ly/AMPD
For additional resources and advice for research students - www.gsc.upenn.edu/research