Choosing a Faculty Advisor
Going forward, whenever you have questions about the program and its requirements, please reach out to our datasciencemajor-inquiries [at] lists.stanford.edu (student services team). They will handle all questions about degree requirements, course substitutions, and four year planning.
After you’ve declared the major, we also want to connect you with a Data Science faculty advisor. Faculty advisors are experts in their fields and are valuable resources for discussing academic interests, and applying data science to your future life and career paths. For example, you might want to speak with a faculty advisor about the following:
- Academic questions related to Data Science
- Course-related questions
- Research areas of interest
- Research opportunities
- Current research projects
- Courses they will be teaching throughout the year
- Graduate school
- Careers
- Building skills needed in areas of interest
How to Choose a Faculty Advisor
It is recommended to select a faculty advisor based on your areas of interest in Data Science. Students may also select a faculty advisor because they had a class with the professor and have already established a working relationship, based on courses the faculty member will be teaching in the future, or based on the students’ interest in working with the faculty member in the future.
1. Peruse your options.
Peruse potential advisors on our website. Research various people to learn more about their background, research, and fields of expertise. Choose one or two people who you think would be a particularly good fit as your faculty advisor. If you’re having trouble narrowing it down, please contact our student services team or Associate Directors (Prof. Mallory Nobles for the B.A. & Prof. Chiara Sabatti for the B.S.) for guidance.
2. Reach out.
The next step is to reach out to the potential advisor of your choice. (Please limit your inquiries to one or two potential advisors.) You have two options for making the initial contact:
- Option A: Email the potential advisor directly to explain that you recently declared Data Science (B.S. or B.A), and you’re interested in meeting with them to see if they would be a good fit as your faculty advisor. Please copy our student services team on this email.
- Option B: If you don’t feel comfortable reaching out to the person directly, you may email our student services team to let them know who you’d be interested in as your faculty advisor, and ask them to make the introduction. They’ll follow up by emailing you and the potential advisor to introduce you. You should then reply to that email to arrange a first meeting with your potential advisor.
3. Update the Student Services Team
After you and your faculty advisor have agreed that this would be a good fit, email our student services team to let them know, and copy your faculty advisor on the email.
When should I choose my faculty advisor?
It is recommended to have your advisor finalized by the end of the quarter you declared the major.