Admission to the Graduate Program

Prospective graduate students should first check the Department's web page for information about admission procedures and financial aid opportunities. Qualified applicants are typically offered teaching assistanships or fellowships. This is contingent upon them getting admitted first.

Unless the admission process changes, asking me whether I have available student slots for the next academic year, without having been admitted first, shows me that you have not done your homework.Since I do not make admission decisions, talking about working with me before an admission decision is made, is not meaningful. If you want to work with me, the only thing you may do at this stage is to apply first, let me know that you did, and highlight why (read this for details).

The next step

Admitted graduate students will team up with a facutly advisor within their first year, typically at the end of the first semester. During this time I will meet and talk with new students with expressed interest in Robotics and Control, to see if there is a good match. I do not generally commit to advising a student without meeting with him or her first.

Making your case

If you believe you have a unique set of skills, you may want to attract my attention by highlighting them. Potential advisors are always looking for tallented and driven graduate students, and may bend over backwards to recruit them if you convince them that it is worth the effort. You may be able to bait me with respectable publications of yours, or using a colleague of mine that I may know personally as a reference. If Graduate Admissions decides that you are "admittable," then you may wish to contact me (again) to ensure your application is not overlooked.

Postdocs

Post-doctoral researchers can be hired at any time, given available funds. Funding situation may change from semester to semester, so if you are interested in a postdoc, it is best to send me a cv with a list of references, and inform me of the timeframe you are thinking of, as soon as you can.