PhD Supervisors

[asafrad]

Hi guys,

I have a question for all of you-
In your country, is finding a PhD supervisor a problem?

In Israel (my country) for example, it is a huge problem- people can search for supervisors for several years while some quit their PhD process altogether.
I very interested how it is in different countries, so please reply even though you see that some other people had commented as well.

Thanks (feels good to be part of a community)

[Lisa44201]

In the USA in (most) Psychology programs, you apply to a school specifically to work with a particular mentor.

[juilletmercredi]

^I'm in psychology too and this has also been my experience.  You identify potential advisers before you even apply to the program, and if you are admitted you at least begin working with that adviser.

[fishasaurus]

In my program (Chemical Engineering), you're admitted into the program and meet with advisers for the first month, then you fill out a form and they assign people based on their rankings and how the advisers feel about each student. Everybody officially joins a lab a month after they arrive. I've never heard of getting into a program and spending years searching for an adviser before!