{"id":714032,"date":"2026-08-10T14:37:34","date_gmt":"2026-08-10T18:37:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/?p=714032"},"modified":"2026-08-10T14:37:34","modified_gmt":"2026-08-10T18:37:34","slug":"how-to-choose-a-phd-program-advisor-714032","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/how-to-choose-a-phd-program-advisor-714032\/","title":{"rendered":"Thinking about a PhD? Your biggest questions, answered"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Professor Darren Lipomi offers candid advice on choosing a graduate program, finding the right advisor, funding your education, and building a career in research.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1242,"featured_media":714172,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,116],"tags":[43202,18842,37112,18632,43212,42492,16072,41012],"class_list":["post-714032","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-campus-community","category-sci-tech","tag-darren-lipomi","tag-department-of-chemical-and-sustainability-engineering","tag-faculty","tag-hajim-school-of-engineering-and-applied-sciences","tag-john-lueck","tag-medical-center","tag-school-of-arts-and-sciences","tag-videos"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Thinking about a PhD? Your biggest questions, answered How to choose a PhD program and advisor<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Candid advice on choosing a graduate program, finding the right advisor, funding your education, and building a career in research.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/how-to-choose-a-phd-program-advisor-714032\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Thinking about a PhD? Your biggest questions, answered How to choose a PhD program and advisor\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Candid advice on choosing a graduate program, finding the right advisor, funding your education, and building a career in research.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/how-to-choose-a-phd-program-advisor-714032\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"News Center\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-08-10T18:37:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/fea-phd-students-stem-research-lab-1200x630.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Luke Auburn\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Luke Auburn\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/how-to-choose-a-phd-program-advisor-714032\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/how-to-choose-a-phd-program-advisor-714032\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Luke Auburn\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e928dc2863b53a89ece6d40c7992a4e1\"},\"headline\":\"Thinking about a PhD? Your biggest questions, answered\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-10T18:37:34+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/how-to-choose-a-phd-program-advisor-714032\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":8,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/how-to-choose-a-phd-program-advisor-714032\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/fea-phd-students-stem-research-lab.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Darren Lipomi\",\"Department of Chemical and Sustainability Engineering\",\"faculty\",\"Hajim School of Engineering and Applied Sciences\",\"John Lueck\",\"Medical Center\",\"School of Arts and Sciences\",\"videos\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Campus &amp; Community\",\"Science &amp; Technology\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/how-to-choose-a-phd-program-advisor-714032\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/how-to-choose-a-phd-program-advisor-714032\\\/\",\"name\":\"Thinking about a PhD? Your biggest questions, answered How to choose a PhD program and advisor\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/how-to-choose-a-phd-program-advisor-714032\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/how-to-choose-a-phd-program-advisor-714032\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/fea-phd-students-stem-research-lab.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-10T18:37:34+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e928dc2863b53a89ece6d40c7992a4e1\"},\"description\":\"Candid advice on choosing a graduate program, finding the right advisor, funding your education, and building a career in research.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/how-to-choose-a-phd-program-advisor-714032\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/how-to-choose-a-phd-program-advisor-714032\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/how-to-choose-a-phd-program-advisor-714032\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/fea-phd-students-stem-research-lab.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/fea-phd-students-stem-research-lab.jpg\",\"width\":2000,\"height\":1200,\"caption\":\"RESEARCH REAL TALK: Doctoral studies aren\u2019t just an extension of your undergraduate years. \u201cThe PhD is a research apprenticeship that consumes most of your mental bandwidth for four to seven years,\u201d says Lipomi. (URochester photo \\\/ J. Adam Fenster)\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/how-to-choose-a-phd-program-advisor-714032\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Thinking about a PhD? Your biggest questions, answered\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/\",\"name\":\"News Center\",\"description\":\"University of Rochester\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e928dc2863b53a89ece6d40c7992a4e1\",\"name\":\"Luke Auburn\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/author\\\/lauburn\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Thinking about a PhD? Your biggest questions, answered How to choose a PhD program and advisor","description":"Candid advice on choosing a graduate program, finding the right advisor, funding your education, and building a career in research.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/how-to-choose-a-phd-program-advisor-714032\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Thinking about a PhD? Your biggest questions, answered How to choose a PhD program and advisor","og_description":"Candid advice on choosing a graduate program, finding the right advisor, funding your education, and building a career in research.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/how-to-choose-a-phd-program-advisor-714032\/","og_site_name":"News Center","article_published_time":"2026-08-10T18:37:34+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":630,"url":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/fea-phd-students-stem-research-lab-1200x630.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Luke Auburn","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Luke Auburn","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/how-to-choose-a-phd-program-advisor-714032\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/how-to-choose-a-phd-program-advisor-714032\/"},"author":{"name":"Luke Auburn","@id":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/#\/schema\/person\/e928dc2863b53a89ece6d40c7992a4e1"},"headline":"Thinking about a PhD? Your biggest questions, answered","datePublished":"2026-08-10T18:37:34+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/how-to-choose-a-phd-program-advisor-714032\/"},"wordCount":8,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/how-to-choose-a-phd-program-advisor-714032\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/fea-phd-students-stem-research-lab.jpg","keywords":["Darren Lipomi","Department of Chemical and Sustainability Engineering","faculty","Hajim School of Engineering and Applied Sciences","John Lueck","Medical Center","School of Arts and Sciences","videos"],"articleSection":["Campus &amp; Community","Science &amp; Technology"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/how-to-choose-a-phd-program-advisor-714032\/","url":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/how-to-choose-a-phd-program-advisor-714032\/","name":"Thinking about a PhD? Your biggest questions, answered How to choose a PhD program and advisor","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/how-to-choose-a-phd-program-advisor-714032\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/how-to-choose-a-phd-program-advisor-714032\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/fea-phd-students-stem-research-lab.jpg","datePublished":"2026-08-10T18:37:34+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/#\/schema\/person\/e928dc2863b53a89ece6d40c7992a4e1"},"description":"Candid advice on choosing a graduate program, finding the right advisor, funding your education, and building a career in research.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/how-to-choose-a-phd-program-advisor-714032\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/how-to-choose-a-phd-program-advisor-714032\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/how-to-choose-a-phd-program-advisor-714032\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/fea-phd-students-stem-research-lab.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/fea-phd-students-stem-research-lab.jpg","width":2000,"height":1200,"caption":"RESEARCH REAL TALK: Doctoral studies aren\u2019t just an extension of your undergraduate years. \u201cThe PhD is a research apprenticeship that consumes most of your mental bandwidth for four to seven years,\u201d says Lipomi. (URochester photo \/ J. Adam Fenster)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/how-to-choose-a-phd-program-advisor-714032\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Thinking about a PhD? Your biggest questions, answered"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/","name":"News Center","description":"University of Rochester","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/#\/schema\/person\/e928dc2863b53a89ece6d40c7992a4e1","name":"Luke Auburn","url":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/author\/lauburn\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/714032","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1242"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=714032"}],"version-history":[{"count":31,"href":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/714032\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":714712,"href":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/714032\/revisions\/714712"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/714172"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=714032"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=714032"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=714032"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}