• Menu
  • Skip to right header navigation
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to secondary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

banner logo

University of California, Berkeley Mechanical Engineering

MENUMENU
  • Prospective Students
  • Industry
  • Contact us
  • Give Now
  • About
    • From the Chair
    • Honors and Rankings
    • Visitor Information
    • Equity and Inclusion
    • 150 Years of Women in ME
    • Make a Gift
    • Contact us
  • People
    • Faculty
      • Faculty by Research Area
      • Faculty Office Hours
      • Faculty Books
    • Staff
      • Administrative
      • Facilities
      • Financial
      • Information Technology
      • Student Services
      • Student Machine Shops
    • Community Spotlight
    • External Advisory Board
    • Open Positions
      • Lecturer Positions
    • Visiting Scholars
  • Undergraduate
    • Degree Requirements
    • Curriculum Flowchart
    • ME + Business
    • ME/MSE Joint Major
    • ME/NE Joint Major
    • Aerospace Engineering Minor
    • ME Minor
    • Fifth Year B.S./M.S. Program
    • Simultaneous Degrees
    • Advising
      • Semesterly Advising
      • Faculty Adviser Assignments
      • Faculty Office Hours
      • Forms
      • Career Planning Maps
    • Admissions
      • Applying to Engineering
      • The Application
      • Junior Transfers
      • Credit from Exams
      • Financial Resources
      • Drake Scholarship
      • Visit Us
    • ME Courses
      • Technical Electives
      • Design Electives
        • Design Course Transition
      • Tentative ME Course Schedule
      • Quantitative Science
      • Humanities & Social Sciences Courses
      • Undergrad Course Syllabi
      • ME DeCal Courses
    • Undergraduate Research
      • Credit for Research
      • Research Samples
    • Awards and Scholarships
      • Past Prize Winners
    • Student Academic Resources
      • Student Life Resources
    • Jobs and Internships
    • Program Objectives and Outcomes (ABET)
  • Graduate Programs
    • Ph.D. & D.Eng.
    • Master of Science
    • Master of Engineering
    • Fifth Year B.S./M.S. Program
      • Degree Requirements
      • 5th Year Masters Program Handbook
    • Special Programs
    • Admissions
      • M.S., Ph.D., D.Eng. & CWO Application
      • MEng Application
      • 5th Year Masters Admissions
      • Application Tips
      • Fees and Financial Support
      • Readmission / Change of Major
    • Graduate Resources
      • Graduate Handbook
      • Graduate Forms
      • Prelim Exams
      • Research Areas and Major Fields
      • Major Field Advisors
      • Grant Writing
      • Grad Division Resources
      • MEGSCo
      • COE Graduate Guide
    • GSI/Reader Information
      • GSI/Reader Forms
    • Course Information
      • Tentative ME course schedule
    • Graduate Course Syllabi
  • Research
    • Research Areas and Major Fields
    • Faculty by Research Area
    • Laboratories
    • Research Centers
  • Resources
    • Student Academic Resources
    • Graduate Resources
    • Student Life Resources
      • ME Student Groups
    • Virtual Career Panel Series
    • Equity and Inclusion
    • Jobs and Internships
    • Room Reservations
    • Key Requests
    • Mail & Office Administration
    • Financial Services
    • IT Services
    • Safety Information
    • Sexual Violence & Sexual Harassment Prevention
    • Faculty & Staff Resources
  • ME Shops
    • Shop Training
    • Services Provided
    • Shop Equipment
    • Student Electronics Shop
    • Shop Safety
  • Coronavirus Resources
  • News
    • Alumni Newsletter
    • Mechanical Engineering Seminars
    • Events
    • Videos
MENUMENU
  • About
    • From the Chair
    • Honors and Rankings
    • Visitor Information
    • Equity and Inclusion
    • 150 Years of Women in ME
    • Make a Gift
    • Contact us
  • People
    • Faculty
      • Faculty by Research Area
      • Faculty Office Hours
      • Faculty Books
    • Staff
      • Administrative
      • Facilities
      • Financial
      • Information Technology
      • Student Services
      • Student Machine Shops
    • Community Spotlight
    • External Advisory Board
    • Open Positions
      • Lecturer Positions
    • Visiting Scholars
  • Undergraduate
    • Degree Requirements
    • Curriculum Flowchart
    • ME + Business
    • ME/MSE Joint Major
    • ME/NE Joint Major
    • Aerospace Engineering Minor
    • ME Minor
    • Fifth Year B.S./M.S. Program
    • Simultaneous Degrees
    • Advising
      • Semesterly Advising
      • Faculty Adviser Assignments
      • Faculty Office Hours
      • Forms
      • Career Planning Maps
    • Admissions
      • Applying to Engineering
      • The Application
      • Junior Transfers
      • Credit from Exams
      • Financial Resources
      • Drake Scholarship
      • Visit Us
    • ME Courses
      • Technical Electives
      • Design Electives
        • Design Course Transition
      • Tentative ME Course Schedule
      • Quantitative Science
      • Humanities & Social Sciences Courses
      • Undergrad Course Syllabi
      • ME DeCal Courses
    • Undergraduate Research
      • Credit for Research
      • Research Samples
    • Awards and Scholarships
      • Past Prize Winners
    • Student Academic Resources
      • Student Life Resources
    • Jobs and Internships
    • Program Objectives and Outcomes (ABET)
  • Graduate Programs
    • Ph.D. & D.Eng.
    • Master of Science
    • Master of Engineering
    • Fifth Year B.S./M.S. Program
      • Degree Requirements
      • 5th Year Masters Program Handbook
    • Special Programs
    • Admissions
      • M.S., Ph.D., D.Eng. & CWO Application
      • MEng Application
      • 5th Year Masters Admissions
      • Application Tips
      • Fees and Financial Support
      • Readmission / Change of Major
    • Graduate Resources
      • Graduate Handbook
      • Graduate Forms
      • Prelim Exams
      • Research Areas and Major Fields
      • Major Field Advisors
      • Grant Writing
      • Grad Division Resources
      • MEGSCo
      • COE Graduate Guide
    • GSI/Reader Information
      • GSI/Reader Forms
    • Course Information
      • Tentative ME course schedule
    • Graduate Course Syllabi
  • Research
    • Research Areas and Major Fields
    • Faculty by Research Area
    • Laboratories
    • Research Centers
  • Resources
    • Student Academic Resources
    • Graduate Resources
    • Student Life Resources
      • ME Student Groups
    • Virtual Career Panel Series
    • Equity and Inclusion
    • Jobs and Internships
    • Room Reservations
    • Key Requests
    • Mail & Office Administration
    • Financial Services
    • IT Services
    • Safety Information
    • Sexual Violence & Sexual Harassment Prevention
    • Faculty & Staff Resources
  • ME Shops
    • Shop Training
    • Services Provided
    • Shop Equipment
    • Student Electronics Shop
    • Shop Safety
  • Coronavirus Resources
  • News
    • Alumni Newsletter
    • Mechanical Engineering Seminars
    • Events
    • Videos
ME banner

3.4 Research Advisers

You are here: Home / Graduate Handbook / 3.4 Research Advisers

Choosing your Research Adviser will be one of the most important decisions that you will make during your Graduate career.  Who your Adviser will be will have a profound influence on your academic and post-graduate career.

Research Advisers are different than Major Field Advisers (MFAs) who generally represent their research area as a whole (though your Research Adviser and the MFA for your group may be the same person in any given semester).  You will normally have a much closer personal relationship to your Research Adviser than to your MFA.

In addition to supervising your research, s/he is your main point of contact for the all of the following:

  • Academic Mentoring – S/he will be able to advise you on what Minor courses you should take with regards to research interests and will help shape and expand your interests
  • Committee Recommendations – Though it is likely that your Research Adviser will be your Thesis Committee Chair, s/he can recommend other members for various thesis and examination committees.
  • Career Mentoring
  • Financial Support Issues

It is best that you select your Research Adviser during your first year – the earlier the better.  It is a mutual process and it would behoove you meet with faculty in person (at least a few times) to better ensure that s/he matches both your personality and research area before you both make a decision.  To get a better idea of a faculty member’s current research and style, you may elect to talk to their current graduate students, to read their recent papers, to go to any seminars they may be offering, and/or visit them during office hours.

Previous Post: « 3.3 Major Field Advisers
Next Post: 4.1 First Time Registration »

Primary Sidebar

  • Graduate Programs
    • Ph.D. & D.Eng.
    • Master of Science
    • Master of Engineering
    • Fifth Year B.S./M.S. Program
      • Degree Requirements
      • 5th Year Masters Program Handbook
    • Special Programs
      • DEEST
  • Graduate Admissions
    • M.S., Ph.D., D.Eng. & CWO Application
    • MEng Application
    • Fifth Year B.S./M.S. Application
    • Application Tips
    • Fees and Financial Support
    • Readmission / Change of Major
  • Graduate Resources
    • Graduate Handbook
    • Graduate Forms
    • Prelim Exams
    • Research Areas and Major Fields
    • Major Field Advisors
    • MEGSCo
    • Grant Writing
  • GSI/Reader Information
    • GSI/Reader Forms
  • Course Information
    • Tentative ME course schedule
    • Graduate Course Syllabi
  • Contact
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Nondiscrimination
  • UC Berkeley
  • Berkeley Engineering
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Copyright © 2023 UC Berkeley Mechanical Engineering · All Rights Reserved ·