New Student Frequently Asked Questions

New students: please note that I will not answer any email questions already answered in this FAQ.
  1. Please let me know whether my credentials meet your requirements and that of NCSU.
  2. Do you have available research assistantship (RA) positions?
  3. Do you have available teaching assistantship (TA) positions?
  4. Do you accept any new MS or PhD students?
  5. How can I become a WALAN member?
  6. So now that I'm a WALAN member I should expect funding, right?
  7. What research topic should I choose?
  8. How long does it take to get an MS or a PhD degree?
  9. How much research do I need for an MS or a PhD degree?
  10. Can I take an independent study with you?
  11. What text editor is used in WALAN? Why?

  1. Respected Sir,

    I am a student of ... I am keenly interested in pursuing a MS/Phd under your guidance in Networking, especially in .... I have published .... I am particularly interested in the .... I have done courses on ....

    My credentials are: CGPA of ... and in top ... of my batch, GRE scores: ... (verbal,... percentile), ... (quantitative, ... percentile) and ... in essays. TOEFL score of .... I saw your research interests in your homepage and I feel that I will be able to learn a lot from you and involve myself in research in this field. Please let me know whether my credentials meet your requirements and that of NCSU, and whether you would like to see my CV.

    Thanking you,
    Yours sincerely,
    .........

    In the ECE Dept. at NCSU individual professors do not admit students into the department. Admission in the department is made only on the base of a thorough evaluation of the complete applications (i.e., school of graduation, courses and grades (both course scope and grade are relevant), GRE, TOEFL, recommendations, statement of purpose (no kidding), CV (skills, experience), etc. Admission (and TA offerings) (made based on the complete application) are also a function of the other received applications.

    I know students that did not get admitted one year, but applied and got admitted the next year (with pretty much the same package). What happens is that the first year they had a strong competition and did not get in the first n applicants (where n is the number of admitted students), while in the second year the competition was not that fierce.

    Thus, I cannot possibly comment on your chances of admissions even if I would have your complete application in my hands (as I do not know how strong will the competition will be this year).

  2. Do you have available research assistantship (RA) positions?

    No. I currently do not have enough RA positions for all my current students, if some RA positions will become available I will award them to the students currently in my group.

  3. Do you have available teaching assistantship (TA) positions?

    In the ECE Dept. at NCSU the TAs are awarded by the department itself (the person taking the decision is the director of graduate programs). US citizens and students showing clear research potential have a higher priority than others.

  4. Do you accept any new MS or PhD students?

    The answer depends on the skills and interests of the person applying and the current WALAN projects.

  5. How can I become a WALAN member?

    There are three ways:


  6. So now that I'm a WALAN member I should expect funding, right?

    Unfortunately not. While I'm trying (hard!) to fund all the WALAN students (either with RAs or with TAs) sometimes I cannot find the necessary resources to fund all the students. PhD students and unusually good students have priority over the others.

  7. What research topic should I choose?

    This question has a rather lengthy answer. Please see the topic selection page.

  8. How long does it take to get an MS or a PhD degree?

    The answer is similar to the answer to the question: How long does it take to dig a one square cube hole?. It depends on how fast you dig. And if you are not strong enough (or have the right tools) you may never be able to dig it.

  9. How much research do I need for an MS or a PhD degree?

    This is the equivalent to asking How big is the hole I have to dig?. Unfortunately it is difficult to measure research: both quantity and quality matter. If you press me hard for an answer I might say: for an MS thesis, the equivalent of a good quality journal paper, and for a PhD thesis, of three such journal papers. You don't have to actually publish the journal papers by the time you graduate (as sometimes the review process takes significant time) just the have the material worth one (or three) journal papers(s).

  10. Can I take an independent study with you?

    In general the answer is No. Unless you have unusual dedication and circumstances I do not entertain independent studies. If you insist make an appointment via an email explaining the special circumstances and we can talk about it.

  11. What text editor is used in WALAN? Why?

    LaTeX. Why? Don't get me started.


Last modified: Mon Sep 13 09:01:39 EDT 2004