a good lab is if the lab has a meeting
day. Most labs have a single day in the
week where everyone meets to discuss the progress of their work and
any problems they might be encountering.
3) How flexible is this project?
This point is actually, in a way, the opposite of point two. While you want to
make sure that you will get the needed
guidance, you also want to make sure
that your potential supervisor is not
a control freak! The best way to get
a sense of this is by asking if the supervisor is open to your suggestions
or even changes in the project. The
answer of the potential supervisor can
tell you if this is someone who is supportive of his students in their career
or just someone who wants to get this
project done and in order to do that
needs to hire a couple of individuals
labeled as PhD students, but who are
expected to simply follow orders.
4) What is the funding situation?
Yes, ask it straight to the point. There
is no shame in that, this is a working
agreement after all. Are you expected
to apply for a scholarship or is funding
provided? If you are expected to apply
for a scholarship is he or she willing to
put the time into that by writing your
recommendation letter and helping
you with the proposal and so on. If it is
funded, how much will you be earning?
Does it include health insurance and
tax, or is that deducted from the number you were just told? Another point
concerning the funding is whether or
not it includes conferences. Make sure
this is clear for you and also if you are
unfamiliar with the city where you will
be living then check how expensive it
is and if the amount you will earn is
enough for you to spend more time
worrying about your project rather
than your financial situation.
5) Can I be part of a graduate school?
This question is maybe more applicable to Germany than other countries.
In Germany one can do the so-called
individual PhD or a PhD that is part of
a graduate school. In an individual PhD
the parties involved are only you and
your supervisor, whereas being part
of a graduate school involves a third
party. Involving a graduate school –in
my opinion- is a good idea as you get
more connections in your specific field
as well as related fields as you are
often expected to attend seminars
and courses. Furthermore, a graduate school limits the freedom that a
supervisor has on you, especially regarding two important elements of
any PhD, time and publishing. Most
graduate schools inform your supervisor that you are expected to graduate within a certain number of years
and that you are expected to graduate under certain regulations, like the
number of papers you are expected to
publish, credit points, and so on. While
you might think of that as a source of
pressure on you, it is actually more
on the supervisor because he or she
knows they cannot keep you working
as long as they please.
6) How many papers am I expected to
publish?
When it comes to publishing I came
to learn that it is quite individualistic,
that is, each supervisor is free to see
what is appropriate according to his
or her standards. Some supervisors
will not allow you to be the first author on any of the papers that will be
published from the project you will be
working day and night on simply because the project was not your idea
(this is especially –but not only- applicable when you apply for advertised
PhD positions). Other supervisors will
support you on other papers by allowing you to be part of other students’
projects within the lab, thus including your name in the papers that will
be published by those students. Point
is, each supervisor does it differently,
make sure you check the publishing
record of the lab, ask students about
this point (preferable face to face as
many do not feel comfortable putting
it in a documented form like an email)
and lastly ask the supervisor straight
out.
7) What title will I graduate with?
Again, this point is maybe more applicable to Germany than other countries. As you might already know, in
Germany you can graduate with the
title Dr. rer. nat or with a PhD (I think
there are other options as well), make
sure you know which title you will be
leaving with, this is usually dependent
on the graduate school you will be enrolled in. In big cities like Berlin you can
be p