Choosing the right advisor for graduate school may not appear difficult, but it can be harder than expected. If you do not put enough time and effort into finding the right advisor, you might regret it later. There are countless graduate programs in the United States. In fact, the number of advisors available outweigh the number of graduate programs. This process can be especially challenging for an international student who didn’t complete their undergraduate degree in the United States. I – a faculty member at Pennsylvania State University, Altoona College, who went through a master’s program (Springfield College) and a doctoral program (University of Nevada, Las Vegas) in the United States, can provide current or future international students with information on how to choose the right advisor. Here are 3 tips/suggestions for you to consider when choosing the right advisor for graduate school.

1. Learn what types of research you would like to conduct.
Every researcher focuses on unique research topics and has a unique way to conduct research. To decide on your own research focus, it’s important to explore various research lines and learn about the diverse types of topics you can research in sport and performance psychology. Then, your goal is to narrow down to a particular topic you may want to research as a graduate student. If you choose an advisor whose research doesn’t interest you and who doesn’t have a rich knowledge of your research interest, you would be stuck working on research that you are not interested in nor have any motivation to complete. Ideally, you should find an advisor who researches topics that you would like to focus on and who works within a graduate program that is appealing to you. This process is non-negotiable if you apply for a doctoral program, as the expectation for research is significantly higher than master’s programs.

2. Learn if their personality would be a good fit for you.
Once you have found an ideal advisor from a university website, scholarly articles, or by word of month, it is best to contact the potential advisor via an email, Zoom, etc. Even better, visiting the university to talk with the advisor would benefit you and the advisor themselves, especially for a PhD program. As the advisor is evaluating you, you have the chance to evaluate the advisor to see if it’s a good pairing. You might choose the advisor based on your future goals (e.g., college professor, mental performance consultant, clinical counselor) while keeping research interest in your mind. This would help narrow down your preferred advisor. Lastly, you can assess if you can respect or admire the advisor. In general, it would be difficult to learn from someone you do not respect, because personal chemistry is crucial in a professional relationship. You can evaluate each potential advisor’s character to narrow down your options.

3. Learn from current or former students.
While working on the second tip, you can contact current graduate students to learn about their experience. You can evaluate if your expectations are similar to the experiences current or former graduate students have. This third step will assure you that you are gathering as much information as possible to have the best possible advisor. You can learn about the work schedule, lab and equipment availability, communication style, work ethic, and faculty-to-student ratio.

In sum, preparation is essential to put your best foot forward. If you would like to learn more about choosing the right graduate program, here is the link (Click here).