Thanks so much for reaching out to work with me. Student mentoring is one of my favorite parts of academia!
2022-2023 PhD Recruiting: I am only looking for students who are interested in computational/ML or digital methods to support recovery from substance use disorders, to be co-advised with Lana Yarosh. I do not plan to take students outside of this topic this year.
What Do I Work On/Are We a Good Fit?
If you’re a prospective Ph.D. student and you’d like to chat about fit, please email me and mention that you read the website encouraging that.
Broadly, I look for students interested in quantitative and experimental social computing/applied machine learning – that means you’ll be doing mostly quantitative analyses, experiments, ML, NLP, or data science. Topically, I’m interested in marginalized communities online, mental health, and human-centered machine learning.
However, the applicants that attract my interest are not interested in only methods/the topic area. The best applicants want to deal head-on with the messy social and ethical consequences of applied ML in real systems. Much of this work takes a more human-centered perspective, and draws on qualitative, critical, or participatory methods, or may involve field deployment and evaluation of real impacts on people and communities. If this sounds like you, please send an email, and let’s chat!
Prospective Ph.D. Students
I accept Ph.D. students through the University of Minnesota Computer Science & Engineering Ph.D. program. This has a Fall deadline in December/January of each year.
If you’re interested in working with me, do mention this in the essay and faculty selection process. This helps me find your application easier. The process at UMN is competitive, and your materials will be evaluated holistically against other applicants, including your recommendation letters, statement of purpose, grades, and alignment with research interests. I don’t make admissions decisions before I see the whole pool of applicants. I also work closely with the faculty in GroupLens for recruitment.
For students that I directly admit and advise, you will receive 5 years of funding (tuition + stipend, 10 semesters) as long you are making good progress towards your degree. Funding comes from a combination of fellowships, RAs, and TAs.
Emailing about the Ph.D. Please consult the CS&E website before asking me about deadlines and application requirements. I welcome students to email me to ask if I’m taking students, fit, and research interests. Please don’t contact me asking to evaluate your likelihood of getting in or
Undergraduate and Master’s Student Research at UMN
There are a limited number of slots for advising undergrad and Master’s students. I give preference to returning students to help cultivate long-term mentoring relationships and research skills. I onboard students at the beginning of the Fall and Spring semester.
For prospective students, onboarding and interviews happen at the beginning of semesters only if there is project availability. For all applicants, the fit will be evaluated with a small coding/research challenge and a 30-40min interview.
The minimum commitment for undergrad and graduate students is one semester. I expect this commitment to be between 6-8 hours/week and to meet with me or the Ph.D. student in charge of your project at least once a week. I also expect you to attend any required group meetings, barring major scheduling conflicts.
At the end of the semester, we’ll mutually decide if we’d like to keep working together. If so, I will prioritize moving you into an hourly RA position or research for course credit.
Funding for Master’s Students: I don’t admit funded Master’s students to the MS-CS program. If grant funding is available, I will consider putting Master’s students I know already on funded projects or I run a search specifically for that position.
Funding for Undergraduates: Typically funded through hourly positions or research for course credit.
Plan B/Capstone/Honor’s Theses for Undergrads and Master’s Students at UMN
I do take these, though in very small numbers each year. Email me to ask.
Internships and Visitors, Non-Local Students
I’m not currently taking interns, visitors, or non-local students unless through very specific channels (REUs, for instance). I’ll update this page if funding becomes available for this.
Postdoctoral Positions
I don’t currently have a position for a postdoc available. I’ll update this page if funding becomes available for this.
