Emily I boldly proposed a project in a topical area related to my potential advisors work, but it was not their primary area of focus. - Thus, it brought something new to their research group when I joined the lab. Not only did my advisor take a risk in accepting me as their student, but this person went out on a limb, wrote a small grant proposal that ended up being funded, and I was able to carry out the entire thesis project as well. Neither myself, nor my former advisor - now colleague - regret this route, and it led me to a second graduate degree in the end. Just because one person has a predetermined project versus another person having a completely exploratory approach does not mean there is one steadfast rule on how to carry out a project.
You should be asking yourself instead, what do YOU want out of it? WIll you intend on being a researcher in the future, or are you looking to hone your interest and skills in a very specific aspect of the field. There are ways to tailor your graduate research to facilitate both. All other advice aside, I thoroughly enjoyed the scholarship and intensity of graduate school and fondly recall another mentors wise words - enjoy it now, you'll never have another opportunity in your life to dedicate so much time to one question! Enjoy and best of luck in your career pursuits. Heather A. Wright Technical Customer Support Associate Fluid Imaging Technologies 200 Enterprise Dr. Scarborough, Maine 04074 USA E heather.wri...@fluidimaging.com P +1 207 289 3250 F +1 207 289 3101 On Wed, May 27, 2015 at 2:21 PM, Emily Mydlowski <emilymydlow...@gmail.com> wrote: > Hello all, > > I'm delving into the graduate school search (MS and PhD programs) quite > heavily and am seeking advice regarding approaching faculty with a research > project. The system I'm interested in working on is that which has many > unanswered, interesting questions I would love to pursue. From a faculty > perspective, is proposing a project topic (too) bold of a move to a > potential advisor? > > Any advice would be much appreciated. > > All the best, > > Emily Mydlowski > Northern Michigan University
