Information for Prospective Students

As an active researcher with several funded projects, I am always interested in hearing from prospective students, and usually support multiple RAs. However, in order to avoid providing the same information over and over in response to emails, here is some general information you should go through before deciding to contact me. If your email asks questions that are already answered here or in our departmental FAQ, then clearly it will leave a less than positive impression about you. Often, I simply ignore such emails.

Students applying to the program:The application process at UMBC (and in most major universities in the US) works roughly this way: Your completed application (Basic information, UG performance record, GRE/SGRE/TOEFL scores, letters of recommendation, statement of purpose) is evaluated by an admissions committee. It is they who decide, based on your qualifications and the applicant pool, who will be admitted and who will be considered for departmental support such as TAs and Fellowships. I, or any other faculty member, cannot evaluate your "chances of admission/financial aid" based on an email with a summary of your record, or for that matter even a more detailed email!
The usual support mechanism in the department is designed to offer fellowship/TA support to the best applicants. Once you are in the department, you meet with faculty members whose research interests you and they can chose to support you as RAs. I very rarely support incoming students as RAs directly. Those that I do are typically amongst the strongest applicants who have a clear interest and background in my areas of research, and plan to pursue a Ph.D. . Please do not take this as a reason for "over estimating" your intent to do a Ph.D. when you communicate with me. Please also do not use catch-all formulations such as "MS leading to a Ph.D." Please realize that like many other US schools, UMBC admits qualified UG students directly into the Ph.D program if they want to do a Ph.D . In short, if your current intent is to only do a Masters, say so! Candidness is an important component in an advisor-advisee relationship, and it is better that I know of and plan around your degree objectives up front.

Students already in the department: If you are looking for a research advisor/topic, send me email and fix up a meeting. I will presume that you would have read my web pages, met my students, and familiarized yourself with our research work. You should also talk with my current students and get an idea of what they are doing. Ususally, I will support you as an RA after we've had a chance to interact for a few months, perhaps as a part of your doing a small project or taking a course with me. Typically, this happens while you are supported as a TA in your first or second semester here. While I support several MS students, support is preferentially given to those doing a Ph.D.

Anupam Joshi

Last modified: Mon Oct 20 10:52:57 EDT 2003