Resources
It is very easy to get overwhelmed by the sheer number of such resources available out there. Everyone has a take on how to be a good researcher, and doing just the right things to land a great research opportunity.
While there’s value in going through some of these pages, if you’ve been through the previous modules, you really don’t need to go through any more material on what’s the best way to think about starting off with research --- you have all the information you need. It’s time to get to work. The number of such resources you’ve read, the number of podcasts you’ve listened to, or the number of subreddits you follow and contribute to on this topic does not matter. What will matter is your portfolio, and whether you enjoy indulging in research. Focus on acquiring this experience now.
This advice notwithstanding, we’ll attempt to keep this page updated. You may particularly find the experiences of other researchers who did not have research opportunities in their undergrad interesting.
Advice on applying to competitive Ph.D. programs in CS
Prof. Shriram Krishnamurthy talks about the Ph.D. application process in computer science in competitive Ph.D. programs in the US. [Youtube video](./Youtube video/)(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IprN9fPV2LI) [Corresponding blog post](./Corresponding blog post/)(https://parentheticallyspeaking.org/articles/us-cs-phd-faq/)
While he talks about computer science specifically, a lot of what he talks about should hold for other disciplines, and will help you understand what faculty look for when reviewing applications. Importantly, it will help you appreciate the intellectual maturity that is expected of you as a Ph.D. candidate.
Prof. Charles Sutton writes a cautionary note about relying on popular rankings, where he instead suggests using CS Rankings as a tool to discover the people you may want to work with.
Led by Prof. Himabindu Lakkaraju, various faculty got together and spoke about the admissions process for machine learning related Ph.D. programs. Again, while this maybe machine learning/computer science specific, it gives a sense of the general set of signals faculty look for. [Youtube video](./Youtube video/)(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6TkkdlRWcU)
Similar advice laid out in tweet threads by Prof. Zach Lipton on what else he looks for besides just technical know-how, Prof. Fadel Adib, and Chaitanya Joshi.
Note - if you’re spending time obsessively going through these links, stop, and read the note of caution mentioned at the top of this page.
Academic statements to graduate schools
Shashank Srikant’s application statement from 2017 to CMU’s Ph.D. program from where he had an offer.
Jeremy Lacomis’ application material from 2017, who was accepted to the Ph.D. program at CMU. It contains links to other materials which inspired him.
Shaily Bhatt’s informative github repo contains links to many more.
Research internships for undergraduates
Himanshu Ahuja maintains an excellent repository with links to undergraduate research programs in India and around the globe.
Ubadah Sabbagh tweeted a thread with links to useful summer research programs for undergrads (mostly in the US).
Google’s AI residency program: https://research.google/careers/ai-residency/
Microsoft’s Research Fellows program: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/academic-program/research-fellows-program-at-microsoft-research-india/
Microsoft’s PROSE research fellowship program
Google India’s pre-doctoral research program
A blog recounting a participant’s experience.
Offnote Labs hosts research projects for undergraduates.
Keep a lookout on Linkedin/Twitter for project opportunities. Example: a posting on Linkedin
Research jobs in India offered to undergraduates
Not a lot of product research groups exist where academic-style research happens, with publications as one of its goals. Some of these groups may no longer maintain active research groups. You should definitely reach out to the founders directly (these are typically small orgs) and check with them.
- Zenatix R&D group
- Sensara.tv
- Gram Vaani
- Qure.ai
- Nirmai
- Strand life sciences
- Ati motors
- SHL Labs India
- CARPL.ai
Experiences of researchers
We reached out to researchers from different areas of research in computer science, and those who are pursuing different professions after their PhDs (not necessarily in CS). We asked them questions like how they started their research journey, how they chose which field to specialize in, etc.Click on the names below to see their responses.
| Area of expertise | Name | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Computational biology | Hamim Zafar | Faculty now at IIT K. UG is CS. |
| Computational economics, Game theory | Garima Shakya | Switched fields between MTech and PhD |
| Computational social science | Aruna Sankaranarayanan | Worked in the industry for 4 years. Her MS thesis informed her PhD area. |
| Computer architecture | Akshitha Sriraman | Faculty now at CMU |
| Computer networks | Midhul Vuppalapati | PhD student at Cornell. |
| Computer vision | Yash Bhalgat | Worked in the industry after an MS. Then decided to do a Ph.D. |
| Computer security | TBD | ~ |
| Cryptography | Bhavana Kanukurthi | PhD in theoretical CS right after UG |
| Databases | Tarique Siddiqui | Worked in the industry before doing an MS. Did a PhD after a good MS experience |
| Human-computer interfaces (HCI) | Divy Thakkar | Product Manager at Google Research India |
| Machine learning (ML) | Shibani Santurkar | Currently a post-doc. Did her PhD right after UG |
| Natural language processing (NLP) | Abhilasha Ravichander | Worked for 2 years before MS/PhD |
| Neuroscience | Himanshu Ahuja | Directly applied to neuro after UG in CS |
| OS/Compilers | TBD | ~ |
| Programming languages | Debasmita Lohar | Spent time as an RA before joining PhD |
| Programming languages, Cognitive neuroscience, ML | Shashank Srikant | Worked in the industry for 5 years first. Then spent a year exploring social orgs before joining grad school. |
| Programming languages, Software engineering | Malavika Samak | Did an M.Tech/PhD after 2 years of work. Then did a post-doc. Had a child along the way |
| Reinforcement learning (RL) | Sapana Choudhary | Did her MS, worked as an RA, before joining PhD |
| Speech processing | Sameer Khurana | Worked in the industry for a few years in between MS and PhD |
| Social startups | Vivek Seshadri | PhD in computer architecture. Decided to then move into social orgs |
| Science communication | Sarah Iqbal | Moved to science communication after a PhD/post-doc in biochemistry |
| Theoretical computer science | TBD | ~ |