Your advisor’s job is to help you become a successful member of the academic community. They will guide your course selections and your research, give you career advice, and tell you when you are ready to defend your thesis. Learn more about mentoring expectations of faculty advisors and PhD students at the Johns Hopkins University here.

A faculty advisor will be assigned to you when you are accepted into the PhD program. Most students keep their advisors until they graduate, but you may change advisors at any time.  Any consenting JHU CS professor may serve as your advisor, including those with secondary, joint, or research professor appointment in the Department of Computer Science. However, by the end of your first year, you must have an assigned research advisor in order to remain in good standing, and if you are beyond your first year and find yourself without an approved research advisor at any point for any reason, you will have 4 months to find a new and approved research advisor in order to remain in good standing. (See the PhD Good Standing Policy for more information.) If a student is in danger of falling out/has fallen out of good standing, the department may place that student on probation or dismiss them. Learn more about the PhD Good Standing Policy and the Graduate Student Probation, Funding Withdrawal, and Dismissal Policy.

Advisor Transitions in CS

Generally, most PhD advisor transitions are routine and it is usually by mutual agreement of the old and new advisor and student that the student will move to a new research advisor. It is only the case where things are not working out with the current advisor (for whatever reason) and there is no obvious candidate for a new advisor that the process can be more challenging. The department is committed to do everything within reason to help such students find new research advisors; there are also Whiting School resources to help students think through their options and make the decision that is best for them.

Ultimately, students lead their search for an approved research advisor. This is because the student knows their own interests and expertise best and knows how these might align with faculty prospects; the department is not capable of assigning a research advisor for the student because faculty have narrow areas of expertise. What the department does do is to assign a faculty member (typically the Director of Graduate Studies) as point person so that the student has someone they can call on for help in vetting names or discussing any other aspect of the advisor search process. The point person will always do an initial check-in with any such student; after that, it is largely up to the student to seek out the point person to help them in their search. The department is very willing to help by meeting as often as needed, going through possible advisors, pointing out potential new or joint appointment faculty that are potential advisors, and contacting potential advisors the student is interested in to feel out possibilities.

If a student is making some solid progress in finding a new advisor but is not yet able to secure a commitment from that new advisor, the department may be able to extend the period needed for the transition on a case-by-case basis. The department will also work with potential new advisors on a funding plan to mitigate the impact of funding on advisor transitions. Transitions are not guaranteed, but the department has a solid track record in supporting its students during these times.

Your thesis committee’s main job is to decide when to accept your PhD thesis. It is wise to keep them informed and seek their counsel while you are researching and writing your thesis. You will probably also approach them for letters of recommendation as you are finishing the program.

You should aim to choose your thesis committee by the end of your third year and plan to meet with them annually. Your committee is chosen in consultation with your advisor and must include:

  • Your advisor
  • Another member of the JHU CS faculty who has a primary, tenure-track appointment in the JHU CS department if your advisor does not
  • One or more other committee members with PhD degrees. You are strongly encouraged to include someone from outside the department or university to get the benefit of an outside perspective and to increase your work’s visibility.

Your sitting committee will consist of two inside and two outside faculty examiners, plus one additional examiner. Inside examiners are primary CS faculty; outside examiners are usually primary faculty in another JHU department. More details can be found in the GBO Exam section.

The PhD Academic Program Manager, currently Kim Franklin, sits in Malone 160 and can help you with most administrative and financial matters.

The Director of Graduate Studies, currently Professor Scott Smith, oversees the CS graduate program and CS graduate student life in general. If you feel that you need to talk to someone outside your committee, confidentially or otherwise, try the Director of Graduate Studies or the Department Head. The Director of Graduate Studies also welcomes more general questions, comments, and concerns.

The current Associate Dean is Christine Kavanagh. She is a great resource for any academic or student life questions or concerns that you would rather not, at least initially, ask the department.