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Effective Communication: How to create a working relationship with your advisor

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Written by Michael Ruiz, Bioengineering M.S. 2020

We often find ourselves isolated in books and papers while in graduate school. It is easy to forget how to communicate effectively or openly with other people, but the one person you need to communicate effectively with is your advisor. I encourage graduate students to foster a culture of open and effective communication with their advisor. In my experience, communicating effectively with my academic advisor is one of the most important factors which will determine my success and happiness in my graduate education. 

The first step towards developing an effective communication strategy is to define a set of ‘wants’ and ‘needs’ from your program. This may seem like a daunting task, but it will help you later down the road when you want to translate your experience from your coursework, group projects, thesis projects, and experiments into transferrable skills to list on your resume. 

Ask yourself questions like: “After I graduate, what is my ideal job?” and “What skills will I need to be successful in that role?”. These are difficult questions to ask, but it’s important to take the time and think it out. As a result of this practice, I was able to adopt more open and effective communication methods with not only myself, but with my advisor. These methods have contributed to success within my graduate program. The more independent you become, and the easier you make it for your advisor to support you by communicating your wants and needs, the better your relationship will be. By becoming more self-sufficient in your graduate program, you will become more prepared for your future career.

In a culture of effective communication, it is important to be direct. It is essential to focus on work-related issues and state the objective realities that concerns you. Clarify your thoughts about the situation, and why it bothers you. Are you concerned that your project is not being completed properly?  Is it taking too long?  Is it too expensive?  Is it difficult to get along with someone else on the project? Explain what your goals are and how you would like the situation to be resolved. Before the meeting, plan out your thoughts and ideas to make the most of your time.

As students, we can sometimes forget that professors are busy people. Most of them teach, serve on committees, write grant requests, travel to conferences, and mentor graduate students. While problems with your research and coursework are central to you, they are only one of the many items on your professor’s radar. This makes effective communication central to a working relationship with them. If you feel stuck in your research or academic work or the writing of a paper or manuscript, then it is time to utilize your effective communication skills and schedule a meeting with your advisor.

Confessions and Lessons from a First-Gen College Grad

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Written by Michael Ruiz, Bioengineering M.S. 2020

I am the only person in my family’s history to earn a bachelor’s degree. While more enrolled students in college are identifying as first generation, it is important to know that we are still an underrepresented population in higher education spaces. 

I grew up in an underserved community of Los Angeles, and the only male role models in my family were incarcerated through much of my upbringing. At 19 years of age, my only academic achievement was that I had successfully failedout of high school. At this time, I knew college was not in the cards for me. I left high school in 2006 and by 2008, the U.S. economy had descended into a major recession. 

As a young person with no formal education, I relied on temporary manual labor jobs to support myself. Somewhat surprisingly, I embarked on a journey towards the Midwest. I would come to call North Dakota my new temporary home. Eventually I worked my way out of the oil fields to complete my B.S. at Montana State University, then I conducted some post-graduate work at Harvard, and now I am a Bioengineering M.S. student at Tufts.

The lesson I’ve learned is that it is tough to be the first in your family to do this. I know this because despite the seemingly abundant opportunities to enter higher education that generations before me and after me have had, I remain the only person in my family to have completed an undergraduate degree. It is hard because your family may not understand seemingly esoteric subjects like Judith Butler’s doctrine on performative acts of gender, the laws that govern thermodynamics, and the exciting intersections of biology and physics.

My message to incoming undergraduate students: I didn’t attend Tufts as an undergrad. I wish I had! I’ve had the opportunity to work with talented undergraduates at Tufts and I feel like this talent is cultivated through Tufts’ curriculum. In my opinion, there is an extremely talented and innovative group of individuals here that easily rivals the other Boston-area schools.

My message to incoming graduate students: Find an advisor that you can vibe with. Interview as many potential thesis advisors as you can (if you don’t know what questions to ask, email me and I will give you an exhaustive list). Ask yourself: what kind of graduate experience do you want to have? Do you want to pursue an entrepreneurial, academic, or technical career? These are important questions you may not think to ask. 

Lastly, you are not alone. I chose Tufts as my graduate destination because I am specifically interested in an education that combines rigorous engineering with entrepreneurial expertise. I am pleasantly surprised that many student groups share that vision. As someone who experienced a failing at early education, I can most certainly say that I have found a place at Tufts where I can grow.