Many faculty members at UMD receive a large number e-mails from prospective graduate students or postdocs. Because of the volume of mail we receive I have written this FAQ on applying for graduate school and postdocs. If you have written me, I will refer you to this generic note. I regret that I am not able to answer your inquiries individually. I continually update this page as I receive unanswered questions.
Q: I've already been admitted. Does this FAQ apply to me?
A: If you've been admitted, congratulations! Admissions at UMD are highly competitive, and we want to make sure you know as much about UMD as possible. After you've been admitted, faculty welcome your individual inquiries.
Q: I am applying. Does this FAQ apply to me?
A: Yes -- because of the flood of e-mail from applicants that we receive, I can not respond individually to students and their questions, so I am using this FAQ.
Q: Can I be your student?
A: Admissions decisions are made based on applications (systems engineering program information). If you are interested in working for me, when you fill out the application you should list my name as a professor you are interested in working with in the appropriate field on the main application, so that I will be sure to see your application. (If you only list my name in the essay but not under professors you are interested in working with, our current search utilities will not alert me! The essay is a great place to explain *why* you are interested in working for me; just make sure you also fill in the field.)
Q: What does UMD look for in deciding admissions?
A: We look at a range of factors, including grades and recommendations. One particularly important criteria is evidence of ability to do research. If you have research experience, I highly recommend stressing this in your application. If you have already published a peer-reviewed paper relevant to the area in which you are applying (common for students who have already received a master's degree elsewhere), you should include a copy of the paper in your application.
Q: What do you look for in choosing graduate students for your lab?
A: A passion for solving socio-technical systems problems in design, manufacturing, and supply chains, and evidence of both the creativity and rigorous thinking required to solve them. Most of the research I do involves a lot of modeling (various types) and some computer programming; therefore, the more experience you have with different modeling and programming methods, the better.
Q: What about work experience?
A: I worked in industry for almost ten years and I feel that experience is valuable to understanding stakeholder concerns. It's not required, but I certainly don't hold it against you! If you have worked full-time, a strong recommendation letter from your supervisor can help your application, but we'd generally like to see at least two letters from professors (note that though we require three letters, it is also possible to submit more). If you have done research, whether in academia or industry or a national lab, we'd expect you to have a letter from your research supervisor.
Q: Can I be your postdoc?
A: Postdoc requests must also be approved by the academic unit. Because of the level of commitment involved, I will only consider someone for a postdoc if I know him/her or if he/she is recommended by someone I know. Normally, I must know by Fall of the preceding year to consider someone for a postdoc in the next year, unless you come with your own funding (such as an NSERC postdoctoral fellowship).
Q: Can I meet with you and tour your lab?
A: Again, due to the large number of applications we receive, I can't meet with applicants or give individual lab tours until after the admissions process is complete. We host an invitation-only visit day for top domestic applicants to meet with individual professors and tour labs. Admitted students who didn't attend are encouraged to make alternate arrangements to visit campus and meet with faculty.
Q: What is your affiliation?
A: I am a PTK faculty member at UMD in the Institute of Systems Research (ISR). I am also the current Associate Director for Education Programs in the ISR, which serves in the role as the Graduate Program Director. I oversee the Systems Engineering graduate program.
Q: What is your research?
A: You can get an overview of my interests from my web pages and by reading my recent publications posted there.
Q: Can I enter in the middle of the year?
A: We mainly admit students for a Fall semester start. We sparingly admit students mid-year (admit in summer/fall for a spring semester start) though that typically happens under special circumstances.
Q: What are my chances of being admitted?
A: Admission at UMD is competitive. We are eager to accept the best, most intellectually exciting students. If this is you, I highly encourage you to apply.
Q: Can I apply without submitting GRE scores?
A: GRE scores are mandatory---we cannot waive the requirement.
Q: Is there a cut-off for GRE scores?
A: There is no formal GRE score cut-off. GREs are considered in the context of your other application materials, which can mitigate poor GRE scores, though obviously we find higher GRE scores more reassuring. Good grades and recommendations, particularly from a college or university whose students have excelled in our graduate program in the past, are far more meaningful to us than GRE scores. If you are coming from a college or university we are less familiar with, outstanding grades and recommendations can still make you a competitive applicant.
If you did your undergraduate work in a language of instruction other than English, we pay more attention to your TOEFL score than to the GRE verbal score.
Q: Will sending e-mail to professors help my chance of admissions?
A: No. Particularly if you send the same generic e-mail to multiple faculty members, especially without replacing your boilerplate content.
And when we receive such an email but with the boilerplate replaced with a list of research interests from our website, we can still tell. Most faculty receive a distressingly large amount of such generic e-mail regarding admissions. An e-mail contact will not persuade a faculty member to pursue an application. Excessive e-mails to faculty may even decrease your chances of being admitted. There is a place on the application to mention contacts with UMD faculty, but that refers to extended contacts -- not just e-mail contacts.
Q: What about financial aid?
A: The ISR does not typically offer assistantships to Masters students. Faculty may have research project opportunities that offer tuition remission. Students with excellent communication skills in English are often able to obtain teaching assistant positions in other departments as well. For masters students, the funding situation varies, and UMD will discuss this with you after you have been accepted. M.Eng. students are typically self-funded.
Q: Will you be recruiting new graduate students to your lab this year? For what projects?
A: This varies and can't always be predicted! Usually I advertise for new students each year, but it depends on my current project portfolio and the funding requirements. After you are admitted we can discuss possible projects.
Q: How long does it take to get a degree?
A: The average is about two years to get an MS and about five years to finish a combined MS/PhD, but especially with a PhD there is wide variability. Entering with an MS from another institution doesn't reduce your course requirements significantly, but it often helps you get up and running with research sooner; students entering with an MS typically finish a PhD in about 4 years.
Q: I am very interested in your research area. What other schools besides UMD have professors working on similar research?
A: Look for other professors who've published in socio-technical system research of recent ASME, IISE, INCOSE, and HFES conferences. You can also search google scholar to find recent publication of faculty.
I hope this simple FAQ answers most of your questions. As I receive further questions, I may extend this list. Good luck with your applications and studies!
The following are some useful resources for fellowships for a postdoctoral position.
UMD Postdoc Opportunities, general fellowships and program for postdocs at UMD.
NSF Postdoc Opportunities, postdoc funding provided by the U.S. NSF