Selecting a Thesis Advisor
You will need to ask PPA faculty members to serve as your Primary and Secondary Advisers for your thesis experience before you move forward with your proposed thesis topic.
Not all PPA faculty will be available to serve as thesis advisers at a given point in time. It will depend on their current advising workload as well as the extent to which their skills and interests align with your selected topic and methods. Here are some steps you should take before reaching out to a potential thesis adviser:
Not all PPA faculty will be available to serve as thesis advisers at a given point in time. It will depend on their current advising workload as well as the extent to which their skills and interests align with your selected topic and methods. Here are some steps you should take before reaching out to a potential thesis adviser:
- Identify at least 2-3 potential research topics and/or questions.
- Determine the type and level of support you believe you will need from an advisor to be effective.
- Identify the methods you believe you will use to answer your research question.
- Become familiar with the backgrounds of prospective advisors (e.g., their research interests, professional experiences, preferred methods, etc.).