Think about clinical and educational and seek someone who matches your interests. You can learn about faculty interests and expertise through a variety of sources:
- List of Master Clinician Program members
- Department websites – search for faculty by specialty
Look to faculty with whom you already have a relationship to be your advisor, or to direct you to an appropriate fellow faculty.
Prepare - be clear ahead of time what you are hoping to accomplish by putting together a brief description of your goals and background (i.e. CV). Do some research on the faculty member you want to work with before contacting them — Faculty will be happier to work with a student who is prepared, and whose goals are a good fit with his/her own areas of interest. Note: The relationship should work for both of you.
Contact a faculty member by email and request to meet. Include a bit about yourself and why you are interested in meeting (using tip #3 above). Be willing to go out of your way to meet at his/her office. If you don’t get a response to your email right away within a week, it is reasonable to send a second request or leave a phone message. Another option is to call the department and ask for the faculty administrative assistant so that s/he can get you an appointment.
Ask the faculty member if they are willing to be your advisor – and agree to Advisor expectations. Before leaving the appointment, set up the next meeting to discuss the goals and objectives.