I want to do NLP at CMU. Who should I talk to?
Start here.
I want to let you know I am interested! How can I do that?
Use this form. I check it about once a week, so please be patient.
When can I join your group?
At CMU's
School of Computer Science, new graduate students are matched to advisors
within a month of their arrival in the fall. This means I consider
taking additional advisees in August/September, each year.
What kind of students are you looking for?
I take
students whose research interests are strongly aligned with my own.
Here is a brief statement of my
research interests and activities, as of May 2010. I believe the best
NLP researchers are those willing to draw on diverse ideas from
machine learning, linguistics, and computer science; if you're
allergic to any of those, we won't work well together. You should
also be an extremely good programmer, able to think independently, and read critically. I advise you to learn from the
data; find out about (and talk to) my current students (details here).
Are you taking new students this year?
There are three ingredients required for a successful addition to my group: mutual interest, time, and money.
Mutual interest: We need to be excited about the same kinds of things. See the last question, "What kind of students are you looking for?"
Time: Advising takes time, and at the moment I have about 12 people in my group. I'm only likely to take on new students if others are expected to graduate soon.
Money: I am only allowed to take on new students if I can support them financially (tuition, stipend, computing expenses, and travel to conferences). Even if I have funding in a given year, the funded project may require a specific set of skills and interests. While I discourage students from worrying too much about the financial side of research, the success of my grant proposals does have an effect on students' lives, most notably at the beginning. Note, too, that if you have your own funding (from a fellowship of some kind), that will be helpful, but a match in interests and time are still necessary ingredients.
I do not yet know whether I will take new students in 2013.
Will you advise unfunded MLT (MS) students?
Yes, if I have time and we have mutual interests. This arrangement does not imply that you will become funded in the future. At present, I do not advise any unfunded MS students.
What department should I be in to work with you?
I can advise students in any unit of SCS (and will do so happily),
though LTI and MLD students are most likely to be a good fit. If you are not in SCS but think you'd like to work with me, get in touch by email.
How should I get in touch with you?
Email is best. I try to reply to all email messages, but you will get a faster and more useful response if:
I heard that you sometimes advise independent study projects. Can I do one?
I have less and less time for these each year. At this point I won't do more than a small number at a time. If you have a really interesting idea that you can get me excited about, then let's talk, especially if it's relevant to my research interests and projects.
I do not have funding for internships for non-CMU students in the current academic year.
I do not have funding for postdoctoral researchers at present.
I am extremely unlikely to be able to host visiting scholars or students I don't personally know.