Role as a Graduate Student Advisor

I have trained M.S. and Ph.D. students throughout my career; it is a role that I thoroughly enjoy and value.  Through this rewarding experience I have developed an understanding of my role and responsibilities as a graduate advisor, which I outline here.

Identifying an important and feasible research project

To me, a graduate student’s major advisor must simultaneously play several essential roles.  First, and most apparent, an advisor must guide the student’s research from beginning to completion of his/her degree.  For the graduate students I supervise, this role often begins even before the student arrives on campus: the new student and I have detailed conversations and correspondence about their interest in graduate work (their research interests, professional goals and aspirations) as soon as they decide to join my lab. 

A graduate degree program is undoubtedly rewarding; it is also definitely demanding.  A graduate student is in effect agreeing to devote years fully to their graduate program.  They must have a committed interest not only in ecology but also in their research program.  I do not assign my graduate students to pre-existing projects, i.e., I have avoided embarking on large, prolonged research projects that require that my students “sign on” to becoming part of some master project that I invented.  Instead, my students and I develop the ideas and scope of their project together.  I will shape the project in the sense that I will outline topics and issues for which I feel competent to lead a student’s research.  (I also make clear projects and subjects what fall outside my area of competence.)  The result of these conversations is that we identify a highly interesting, important and practical project (see below).

One of my responsibilities here is to identify important research questions.  Some research projects are frankly not worth undertaking; i.e., not only will the results not be earthshaking, they will not cause even a ripple of interest.  A student’s project that is not deemed interesting and important by others usually means that the student’s career choices have been narrowed – not because they did not work hard but simply because a poor choice was made on a research topic.  I strive to ensure that my graduate students develop interesting and important (“high profile”) research projects that will attract a lot of attention to the student once they leave my lab.

We strive to be “question-oriented’ and not “technique- or tool –oriented” in our research.  In my estimation, ecology makes the most progress when we develop and test important questions; which tools or techniques we use is of secondary importance.  (Stated another way, we do not ask what questions we can address with a particular tool or technique but instead first identify an important research question.)  Within limits then, once my student and I decide on a topic, we next turn our attention to the specific tools and techniques needed to address those questions.  This next step may mean that the student will need to develop training in a technique that my lab has not used before; I play an important role in making sure the student receives the necessary training. 

I also know through long experience that my students must develop projects that have a reasonable chance of completion.  It is fine to embark on high profile research but only if the one has the necessary training, facilities and resources.  We consciously avoid dissertation projects that may take many years for results or require facilities or equipment to which we are unlikely to gain access (just as I guide students away from routine, uninteresting research projects).   I also ensure that the project has multiple elements or aspects (that usually develop into multiple experiments, multiple dissertation chapters and ultimately multiple publications).  It is important in ecology to experimentally examine a topic from several angles, so I also help ensure that the dissertation research is not dependent on a single experiment working perfectly.  Ecological experiments, especially in the field, are often risky, and we need to ensure that all the experimental “eggs are not in one basket” for the student’s sake.

The importance of communication

The last topic in my list of my obligations as a graduate advisor may seem out-of-place, but it is as essential as forming an important research topic.  Succinctly stated, A disproportionate amount of our career as ecologists (whether in academics, government or the private sector) will be determined by our ability to communicate effectively, both in writing and verbally.  That view may not seem entirely fair (i.e., What happens to the scientist, who is extraordinarily talented in the lab, but fumbles over his/her syntax?  They may well never enjoy productive careers.), but it is nonetheless the way our profession is largely structured. 

I deliberately guide my graduate students in improving their communication skills, e.g., to write with precision, clarity and economy.  Good writing is an acquired skill, i.e., few people are born good writers, including scientists.  Long practice, rather than classroom instruction is key here, especially when coupled with knowledgeable editing (as provided by conscientious journal editors and reviewers).   My assistance in writing begins almost as soon as a new student enters my lab and continues through their dissertation writing and beyond into preparation of the dissertation’s chapters into publishable manuscripts.

Also very important is the ability to speak clearly, concisely and accurately about your research, e.g. in classrooms (as an instructor), scientific meetings, and most important early in one’s career – in a job interview seminar.  Here again, my colleagues and I in SBS along with the graduate students serve as the trial audience in our noontime seminar series and other speaking opportunities.  Here we constructively comment on each other’s oral presentations.  This practice pays off: e.g., I expect my students to be able, among other accomplishments, to explain concisely to a complete stranger the essentials and significance of their research.  Ecology should not be esoteric, and we strive in my lab to make sure anyone can understand the importance of our research.