June 8, 2016

Frequently Asked Questions

estimated reading time: 21 minutes and 43 seconds.

If you’ve arrived at this page based on a link I just sent in response to an email, I apologize. I receive a lot of email, and this is an attempt to provide you with both a better answer and more context than I could if I simply wrote out replies to every email that could be answered on this page instead.

This page is structured in a question-answer format. For questions with answers that would take more than a paragraph, I have tried to create separate articles. (You may also just be interested in an index of available articles.)

General Questions

Questions of possible interest to anyone in academia.

Prospective Student Questions

Questions of interest to anyone considering applying to the UMBC MS with thesis or UMBC PhD program.

Current Student Questions

Questions of interest to current UMBC MS with thesis or UMBC PhD students.

General Questions

GQ1. How should I contact you?

My contact information is available on this site.

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GQ2. How should I send you papers, information, or other materials?

Whenever possible do not email large files (greater than 5 MB) as attachments to me or anyone else. You should either put it online and send me the URL or put it in Dropbox, Box, or some other cloud service and share it with me.

Whenever possible do not email attachments other than PDF to me or anyone else. Viruses and other malware are regularly disguised as files produced by Microsoft Office products (Word, Excel, PowerPoint). If I have any hesitation about your attachment, I will delete it without opening it. In addition, most of the time I’m not actually going to need the tools provided by Microsoft Office because I’m simply going to read or view whatever it is you’ve sent me. For these cases, PDF is perfect. If you do have a document, spreadsheet, or presentation that you want me to edit, please upload it to Google Docs and share it with me.

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GQ3. What is the best way to email you?

I may eventually write about my specific thoughts on this, but several good guides to emailing busy people are available, including the following:

If you were sent here as a response to one of my emails, please take the time to read at least one of these. Understanding how to email busy people so that they can respond effectively is critical.

Do not send me unsolicited resumes, CVs, or other application materials. These should be submitted with an official application.

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GQ4. What are your research areas?

I’m broadly interested in privacy, security, and software engineering. More specifically, I work in requirements engineering for software systems that must comply with laws and regulations. If you’re interested, you can learn more on my about page or on my publications page. You might also be interested in Six Lines, my personal blog, where I sometimes blog about related topics.

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GQ5. Where can I find an answer to an esoteric question about academia that doesn’t appear here?

One option is to just use a search engine, but I think you’re probably better off going directly to the Academia Stack Exchange site.

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GQ6. Academic papers are confusing, and it seems to take me forever to read them. What can I do to understand them more efficiently?

I’ve written an article on reading academic papers that you may find helpful.

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Prospective Student Questions

These are all questions that are either answered on our departmental website or can be answered by an appropriate departmental staff member.

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PQ2. Will you recommend or secure my admission?

As with most Universities, an established relationship with a potential PhD advisor is an important component of your admission. However, admission decisions are made by the admissions committee, and no individual faculty member, including me, can guarantee admission.

If we have never met or communicated with one another, then I am unable to comment in any more detail that what you’ve provided in your applications package. If you presented a paper at a conference I attended and we talked about your presentation afterward, let the committee know that you spoke with me. If you are interested in my research, be sure to mention both that you are interested and why you are interested in your application.

As mentioned in my email practices, I will ignore emails containing resumes, CVs, or other applications materials.

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PQ3. Will you support me as a research assistant?

First, thanks for asking. If you’re serious about research, you should be comfortable asking about financial support.

Second, if you somehow stumbled on this, let me give you a bit of background. Few people complete a PhD without an assistantship or fellowship. In fact, I don’t know anyone who completely paid their own way through their PhD. Again, a PhD is best thought of as a research apprenticeship rather than “more school.” Your “support” is best thought of as a tiny salary that pays you during your apprenticeship.

Third, and to directly answer the question, I never support students without working with them first. At a minimum, you should take a class with me and do well in it. Better yet, take an independent study with me and demonstrate that you’re capable and serious. I suspect most faculty will have similar expectations prior to student support.

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PQ4. What should I do to get off to a good start at UMBC?

There are many, many ways to get off to a good start at UMBC, and I can’t direct you through all of them without knowing more about what you’re interested in doing here. I can, however, say that two general strategies go a long way to ensuring you have a great experience when you need help.

  1. Read the materials provided to you. Nothing is more crushing as a faculty member, staff member, or administrator than questions from students that are answered on provided resources like our departmental website, a course syllabus, or this FAQ.

  2. Work hard. Raw talent is overrated and it can be replaced by hard work. Hard work, on the other hand, cannot be faked or replaced. It is readily apparent.

“Opportunity is missed by many people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.” – Thomas A. Edison

“A well-built physique is a status symbol. It reflects you worked hard for it. No money can buy it, you cannot borrow it, you cannot inherit it, you cannot steal it, you cannot hold on to it without constant work. It shows discipline, it shows self-respect, it shows patience, work ethic, and passion. That’s why I do what I do.” – Arnold Schwarzenegger

If you think the Schwarzenegger quote doesn’t apply to your mental physique, then don’t apply to my research lab.

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PQ5. What are the PhD degree requirements?

You can find the official program requirements on our website.

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PQ6. How do I know if I’m suited for research?

Asking yourself this question is extraordinarily important. A PhD is not simply “more school.” It’s an apprenticeship for a career in research. No one can tell you that you are suited for research. The closest anyone can come to answering this question for you is to tell you whether you have the aptitude and skills necessary to begin a PhD, but even this is misleading. A great many more people have the raw skills necessary to complete a PhD program than those who actually go on to earn a PhD.

My recommendation would be to read about the sorts of things that academics do, what a career in research is like (including any negative aspects of a career in research), and talk to faculty members about your interests. If possible, identify a potential PhD advisor as a Master’s student and complete an independent study with them.

I should also mention what inspired me to begin a career in research. I was reading a transcription of Richard Hamming’s talk “You and Your Research” when I came to this part:

Over on the other side of the dining hall was a chemistry table. I had worked with one of the fellows, Dave McCall; furthermore he was courting our secretary at the time. I went over and said, “Do you mind if I join you?” They can’t say no, so I started eating with them for a while. And I started asking, “What are the important problems of your field?” And after a week or so, “What important problems are you working on?” And after some more time I came in one day and said, “If what you are doing is not important, and if you don’t think it is going to lead to something important, why are you at Bell Labs working on it?” I wasn’t welcomed after that; I had to find somebody else to eat with! That was in the spring.

I couldn’t stop thinking about this. At the time, I was working as an embedded Linux systems engineer writing device drivers. It simply didn’t feel like important work. It’s not wrong to base your decision to get a PhD on your answers these three questions:

  1. What are the most important problems in my field of interest?
  2. Am I working on one of them?
  3. Why not?

You can see more of Hamming’s talk here:

Not everyone in academia is working on the most important problems in their field, but most academics view the problems they are working on to be genuinely important, regardless of how important they are perceived to be by others. Your list of “important problems” might be different than mine, and that’s fine. The critical thing is that you view them to be important.

It’s also possible to have a legitimate reason not to be working on an important problem. Happiness in life doesn’t depend on working on the most important problems in some field or another, and it certainly doesn’t depend on always working on important problems. In general, seek a balance between your dedication to work and the rest of your life. For some of you, that may mean that it’s time to pursue a career that attempts to answer genuinely important problems.

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Current Student Questions

CQ1. May I do an independent study project with you?

An independent study is the best way to explore academic research without signing on the dotted line for a research-oriented academic degree program. However, many students underestimate the effort required for a good independent study project, which is typically harder than a regular course. They require a serious commitment of effort and cannot be ignored or abandoned when regular courses become demanding. Research is difficult, particularly while you are learning how to conduct it. You must have time in your schedule to do something worthwhile. If you have previously completed an independent study project with another professor, do not assume that a second independent study will require the same effort. If you believe you meet all of these criteria, please schedule a time to meet with me so that we can discuss it.

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CQ2. What courses should I take?

If you are a Master’s student, please read about the degree requirements prior to contacting me for advice about your coursework. This will save us both a great deal of time. That said, I’m happy to meet with you if you have questions that cannot be answered by the degree requirements or course descriptions.

If you are PhD Student, then you’ll have to meet with me to discuss this in person. Your career goals, background, and research interests will dictate which courses you should take.

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CQ3. Will you be on my thesis or dissertation committee?

I enjoy serving on thesis and dissertation committees! However, before asking me, you should discuss with your thesis advisor the choice of committee members. If your advisor suggests me or agrees that I would be a good fit, then I will quite likely be happy to serve. On occasion, I may have to turn you down either because I’m over-committed or because I don’t believe that I’m a good choice for your chosen thesis topic. Please don’t take it personally if I need to turn you down.

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CQ4. If you’re on my committee, how involved do you want to be, and when should I contact you?

I’d like to hear about your thesis project at the time I agree to be on your committee, but typically after that the only requirement is to meet at your defense. In many cases, a committee member may be helpful while completing your research. If you feel I can be helpful, get in touch. “Pinging” your committee member, in person or email, every six months just to let them know you are still alive and making progress is a good idea.

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CQ5. As my committee member, what instructions do you have on the preparation of my thesis, and preparation for my thesis defense?

If I am on your committee (but not your advisor), and you have an exam coming up in which I will participate, please help me do my job by following these guidelines, in roughly the order given:

  1. Read and follow instructions posted by the graduate school and your department. Be aware of graduate school deadlines, most of which are long before the end of the semester.

  2. Get your thesis or proposal in approved by your advisor before giving it to me. The advisor is the first and most important person to satisfy.

  3. Contact me (and other committee members) with two or three dates you prefer for the exam. Use a meeting scheduling tool, like Doodle or when2meet, to save time during the scheduling process. When you find a compatible time for all committee members, notify them immediately. Understand that every semester several students are trying to hold exams at approximately the same time, typically right before the deadline. The first student to successfully nail down a date and a time wins!

  4. Send me an electronic copy of your completed thesis or proposal at least two weeks before the exam date. I typically print these and read the paper copy, so if you are already printing copies, I would appreciate one.

  5. Your thesis or proposal should already have been proofread by a careful, qualified reader for spelling, punctuation, and grammar errors before I see it. Occasional, minor errors are no problem, but if the thesis or proposal has serious readability problems, I will return it for revisions.

  6. After turning over your thesis or proposal to your committee, but before your actual exam, please review your slides with your advisor. Practice your presentation to ensure you are able to address obvious questions and complete it on time. Long presentations are invariably cut short by the committee to ensure we have time to ask questions.

  7. Scheduling a brief meeting one-on-one with each of your committee members before a defense to orient your committee members or to preview issues that may be raised in the exam is often extremely helpful. This step is optional; some do it, some don’t. Doctoral students definitely should!

  8. Plan on some revision time following an exam. You will likely need to make some changes to your thesis based on feedback from your committee. Expecting not to be asked to make changes is extremely risky. Do not schedule something major (like leaving town for a new job) immediately following an exam. In most cases, such changes require only 2 or 3 days to implement and get approved by the committee, but it may take several weeks!

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CQ6. Will you be my MS Thesis advisor?

Most students do not fully understand the goal of the MS Thesis program. The MS Thesis is often a great opportunity for students who are sure they are interested in conducting research but unsure about a formal PhD program. You will be expected to demonstrate an understanding of current research and an ability to come up with innovative applications of that research. The primary difference between the MS Thesis and a PhD program is that the former has a much lower standard related to producing novel research outputs.

If you are sure you want to do a MS Thesis and have a few ideas as to what you would like to do I am happy to discuss them with you.

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CQ7. I’m a current PhD student looking for an advisor. May I sit in on your PhD group meetings to see who your students are and what their topics are?

Yes, please contact me to learn when our research group is meeting this semester.

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CQ8. Will you be my PhD advisor? How will you help me if I select you as an advisor?

One of the primary motivations for anyone taking a tenure-track academic position is to work with great students on interesting research projects. I’m always interested in collaborations with interesting people on compelling problems. I expect to give students a lot of freedom to define what they work on and how they proceed, but I also expect to have regular one-on-one meetings to ensure project goals are clear, realistic, and achievable. In addition, I schedule group meetings with my students and collaborators.

If you are currently looking for a PhD advisor, please familiarize yourself with my research before asking me to be your advisor. I’m always happy to have conversations about this, but a connection to my prior work is a necessary prerequisite for any new PhD students.

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CQ9. What if I have my own ideas about what to work on for a thesis topic?

Wonderful! Be ready to discuss, justify, and possibly refine them when we meet. Even if your ideas don’t work out, it shows me you have initiative and enthusiasm. I’m always looking to provide students the freedom necessary to define their own research problems, and I’m happy to help guide them to a workable, fundable thesis or dissertation topic.

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CQ10. What are your requirements for a thesis?

Hard requirements are difficult to define, but publishing your research is critical to academic work. I am not interested in projects that cannot be published in reputable academic journals and conferences. If your goal is simply to learn a bit about a research topic, then you should consider an independent study where the only publication requirement might be an internal tech report.

For an MS thesis, I generally expect a conference publication, a journal publication, and some software development. For a PhD, I generally expect a submission to major Software Engineering conferences once per semester and a total of two journal publications as a part of the program. You should identify relevant submission deadlines for conferences related to your research and use these as a part of your research plan. If you have questions about which venues are reputable or relevant to your work, please ask me.

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CQ11. How long does it take to complete a MS with thesis, or a PhD?

The MS Thesis program is generally better defined and more consistently completed on time. Students choosing to do the MS Thesis must complete IS 799 over the course of two semesters (3 credits each semester). These are typically taken during the Fall and Spring of the second year of the program. An MS Thesis defense must be scheduled with your advisor and committee, also typically done during the Spring of the second year in the program. The thesis must to be pre-approved by the advisor and submitted to the thesis committee at least four weeks prior to the proposal or final defense.

There is no formula or strict timeline for PhD degrees, and times can vary greatly. A “typical” PhD student, if there is such a thing, takes courses for one year, starts research and finishes any remaining courses in the second year, and works full time on research for another three or four years. The national average time to completion for full time PhD students in computing is five and a half years. It takes an unusually good student and fortuitous choice of problem to significantly deviate from this average, at least in the positive direction. Students who start producing publishable research as soon as possible graduate earlier.

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CQ12. Can I do a co-op or internship even if I’m going to start, or already working on, a thesis?

UMBC has the largest cooperative education program in Maryland. Information Systems students participate in this program in greater numbers than any other major on campus. When I was an undergraduate at Purdue, I participated in the co-op program and found it to be an extraordinarily valuable experience.

That said, I do not recommend mixing thesis research and co-ops or internships beyond your first summer in a PhD program unless the synergy between the two is obvious or necessary. For example, if you are researching how an agile software development team addresses regulatory compliance concerns in software systems and you’ve been invited to work as an intern in exactly that situation, then by all means do it. However, most co-ops and internships are not structured to support thesis research.

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CQ13. What are your requirements for a funded Graduate Research Assistant (GRA)?

GRAs are expected to work a minimum of 20 hours a week on their funded project. Note that this does not include coursework. For example, if the GRA is also taking an independent study course related to that project, they will be expected to work an additional 12 hours a week on that project, for a total of 32 hours per week. Additionally, every funded GRA is expected to produce at least one publishable paper for which they are the main author each semester for which they receive funding. This may simply be a published tech report, but it should ideally be published in a peer-reviewed venue. Students not meeting this criteria may lose their funding.

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