For The Graduate Department:

  1. Do graduate students have free access to athletic and other university facilities?
  2. Are there graduate student organizations/ unions?
  3. Are graduate students encouraged to attend conferences? If so, who funds the travel?
  4. What kind of professional organizations have chapters in the area?
  5. How frequently do students publish papers?
  6. Is the graduate student population diverse?
  7. Are there varying political, social, economic, etc. views represented and respected?

For a Graduate Student in the lab/ group you are interested in:

  1. What is your adviser's communication style? (i.e. Micromanager vs. hands off)
  2. How frequently is your adviser available to meet with you? How often do they want to meet?
  3. Have you ever had to resolve a conflict with him/her? How was it handled?
  4. When you have a question related to your research, how does your adviser respond? Do they direct you to the literature, give direct feedback, etc.?
  5. When writing, what is the level of feedback you receive? Multiple drafts with exhaustive corrections, a few drafts with suggestions, etc.?

For The Current Graduate Students:

  1. In general, do the graduate students enjoy working with their research advisers?
  2. How well are the graduate students treated by faculty members?
  3. Are graduate students proud of the group/department/school they are working with?
  4. Is the atmosphere between groups or individual graduate students friendly or competitive?
  5. What is the academic/social environment like? Do the graduate students hang out together outside of work?
  6. Are the provisions for housing, health insurance, etc. adequate and included in the stipend?
  7. Do the faculty and department encourage students to apply for outside funding/fellowships (GRFP, NIH, etc.)? Do they require a teaching assistantship (TA)?
  8. Are there any female/minority faculty in the department? If not, are there potential mentors elsewhere on campus (a women's center, minorities in STEM student organizations, etc.)?

For Everyone:

  1. Are graduate students able to use the available instrumentation freely?
  2. Is it common for graduate students to participate in professional development and/or internships during their graduate work?
  3. What's the cost of living in the city? Is it easy to get around? Is there public transportation? Is the neighborhood near campus fairly safe?