I am always looking for graduate students who share similar research interests. When I was looking for a graduate program back in the days, my number one criteria was whether my future potential supervisor had a research agenda compatible with mine. You are about to spend the next five years of your life studying and doing research. Therefore, make sure you love the field you are getting into.

In practical terms this means:

• When you contact me through email, make sure you explain why you think I am a potential good supervisor for your graduate studies. Explain why your research interests match mine. Show evidence.
• This means you have to know a little bit of my work. Take a look at the papers I wrote and see if I am really a good fit for what you want to do.
• We expect PhD applicants to have a pretty good idea of what they want to do for their dissertation research. Briefly explain your overall research idea.
• I do prefer PhD applicants over MA. If you already have an MA, your application is more likely to be supported.
• I usually reply to emails from prospective students fairly quickly. If I do not, it means you wrote a very general email and that you did not read the bullet points above.