shortstop

Thanks for the suggestion! So it might be better to wait until the semester starts and I can meet in the prof in person? And I have no problem with doing some volunteer work to prove to them that I'm worth having around

My program admits all MS students as non-thesis with the option to move to the thesis track once they find a thesis adviser. From what I understand, students moving to the thesis track typically find their adviser within the first semester. I hope to continue on to a PhD after my MS, so doing a thesis is important to me. I have already read some of the papers of the professors that I am most interested in working with (I've identified a few potential advisers). I guess I am asking about the best way to make contact. Should I: 1. Email them over the summer and ask if they are taking MS students as advisees (i.e. try to secure an adviser before I get to campus)? 2. Email them over the summer and ask if they have a lab position open (that way we could get to know each other during the first semester)? 3. Wait until I get to campus and then speak to potential advisers in person? 4. Do some combination of the above? 5. Do something totally different? I want to be proactive about getting into a project early, but I don't want to be that annoying student that bugs professors prematurely. I am at ASU Fulton, if anyone is familiar with the MS programs there.