Lead Mentor’s Advice

The suggestions below have been synthesized from the Lead Mentor. You can fund additional advice about applying to grad school here.

General Application Timeline

August - Early September

  • Identify potential advisors and programs
  • Identify and cultivate relationships with letter writers
  • Organize your CV

September - Early October

  • Reach out to potential advisors
  • Start on your Statement of Purpose / Personal History / Diversity Statement

Early October - November

  • Structure Personal Statements for each application
  • Pull together all application materials
  • Send application email prompts to letter writers

December - January

  • Submit Applications

More Detailed Information on Grad School Applications:

Identifying Potential Advisors and Programs

There are three key components to finding a mentor and program: fit of research interests and program, funding, and personal factors. When contemplating both, use your network! (faculty, TAs, alumni, peers).

If you know what research you’re interested in … ask if anyone knows of a faculty member who

  • 1) could advise you in that research, and
  • 2) who students enjoy working with.

If you don’t know what research you’re interested in:

  • Use your network to identify interesting research areas/graduate programs
  • Do your own research:
    • Look through academic papers and #AcademicTwitter to find topics and people who seem interesting; then
    • Check out people’s websites (Do they have students? What is their ongoing research?)
    • If possible, discuss their papers/research with peers or mentors to cultivate a deeper understanding of their work. Once you have a list of potential advisors, consider other questions like:
      • Does their department require the GRE (a terrible metric), and have you/are you taking it? Many departments don’t require it
      • Can you see yourself living in their location? Is it somewhere you can feel safe and live authentically?
      • Do stipends seem to align with the cost of living?

Letter Writers

In reaching out to your network, find and cultivate relationships with potential letter writers. You’ll need 3 references/letters of recommendation (LOR) for most grad school applications. Letter writers are generally academics or professors. You’ll need to cultivate relationships with the letter writers to get a strong LOR:

CV (Curriculum Vitae)

Organize (or create) an “academic” CV. It’s best to get started on this early because you’ll need it for grad school applications, and you may want to attach it when emailing potential advisors. The UC Davis Internship and Career Center have additional CV resources and the option to meet with an advisor.

The CV should highlight:

  • Research experience (if you have it)
  • Teaching experience
  • Upper year classes relevant to your research area/discipline

Reaching Out To Potential Advisors

There’s an art/science to sending that initial email to a prospective advisor. Here’s some:

Additional advice:

  • Include/propose a research question that builds on their work
    • Demonstrate that you can develop research questions
      • Develop this with your network
  • Get peers and mentors to edit your email
  • Once it’s ready, use “schedule send.”
    • Send it at 8 am or 9 am on, so it’s at the top of their inbox

After you’ve narrowed the list of potential advisors that are seemingly a good fit, contact their current and former graduate students before you apply. If an advisor doesn’t let you speak to their students, that’s a red flag. When you reach out, the German Lab recommends asking grad students:

  • Does the PI foster a positive environment?
  • What is the advisor’s mentoring style (hands-on/off)?
  • If you are from a historically excluded group or otherwise hold a marginalized identity, will you feel supported in that laboratory and the department as a whole?
  • What is the city and culture like on and off-campus?
  • What is the funding setup (fellowship, teaching assistantship)?
  • Can the students afford to live on their salaries?
  • Is there anything else I should know?
    • The last question is critical. Questions like this may prompt folks to elaborate or send you to someone who can. Common issues include:
      • Advisors who push all students towards an academic career
      • Students frequently taking 7-8 years to finish their Ph.D.
      • Students feel unsafe working with them

Statement of Purpose / Personal History / Diversity Statement

The name for this will differ depending on where you apply, but the purpose remains the same. This essay or set of essays informs the program of who you are and how your experiences prepare you for graduate studies and is an opportunity to contextualize any “discrepancies” in your academic record. Pick a school or program that interests you the most, and use their format as a starting point.

UC Davis has resources on how to write a strong personal statement for graduate school, and you can also book appointments to work on them with a writing specialist.

More Resourcs

In September, you will receive another email describing what you should be working on from Late October to December. It will contain information about:

  • Other components of your grad school application
  • Application subsidies
  • Internal and external fellowships
  • Prospective student weekends
  • Deciding where to go

In the meantime, graduate students from the UC Davis Population Biology department created the EEB Grad School Preview. This AMAZING resource covers the most important topics:

  • Nuts and bolts of grad school
  • How to apply and timeline
  • Funding and grant writing
  • Finding a good fit
  • Is it right for me?

And, of course, there is the General Grad School Advice page on this website!





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