What should I do if I want to know if my POI needs any PhD?

[waitforit]

I want to ask my POI if she needs PhD for next year (2014 fall). But though I love her research, I haven't been well-prepared in my own research (it's my second semester in linguistics and I haven't got anything to produce yet). What should I do? Should I wait until I have some research of my own (probably by the end of this semester), or should I just ask her without talking about my ideas, or talk to a graduate student of their program to see if I can get any information indirectly? Anyone can give some advice?

[fuzzylogician]

Is this a program where advisors directly admit and fund their advisees? Those arrangements are not unheard of but they are kind of uncommon in linguistics. That is, normally (in US and Canadian programs) you apply to the department as a whole and identify one or more potential advisors who you end up working with. If that is the case, it's not exactly necessary to ask the POI if she are accepting new students, because usually it's clear that new admits get a choice of who they want to work with out of the existing faculty. If this is more of a lab system where the POI admits students to work with more or less directly, you need to figure out when these admissions decisions happen (maybe ask current graduate students) and plan from there. Either way, though, I think your best bet is to do some more work with this professor and after you've established a working relationship with her, ask her for advice for applying to grad schools in general and to your current school (to work with her) in particular. Given that this is only your second semester in linguistics and that you don't have clearly defined research interests at the moment, I think it's too early right now for you to get good advice on graduate schools. Wait until it makes more sense, and ask then. You'll be able to ask better questions and therefore get better answers, too.

[waitforit]

Thank you so much! I thought the chance would increase if the professor needs PhD because it seems common in Engineer departments.. Guess we're after all different.. I'm just being too (pre-)anxious because I want to go there so badly (because I'm very interested in doing/ have decided to do research closely related to the professor's and also my boyfriend is at that school). True strengthening my academic background should be my primary concern. Keep fighting!