David Jurgens
PhD students

I admit roughly one PhD student per year. Sometimes students are co-admitted or co-advised, so the number of admits can vary.

For prospective PhDs, I especially like students who come with a strong computational background with some experience in social science. There are no set criteria, but you're much better off towards admissions if you've contacted me (or your advisor has) and let me know of your interests and goals. Make sure to look over these pages carefully; the match should be pretty strong. A PhD student is very costly - in time and money - and I select students for my research group carefully.

If you're a current PhD student outside of CSE or SI, I'm open to collaborations. One of the best things about SI and CSE is the interdisciplinary environment here and I'm potentially open to hosting students outside my home departments (but inside UM) in lab or co-advising on projects where it makes sense. Regardless, I'd love to hear from you and you're always welcome to come take my classes

Masters

For current masters students, I typically ask that you take one of my classes and do well in it before starting on research. Often the research you do in one of my graduate courses can continue on through my lab, if you're interested. If you've already taken classes before that are similar, send me an email and we can discuss possibilities.

Due to the technical work that we do in the lab, I typically require students to have taking some graduate-level class on NLP (e.g., EECS 595 or SI 630) or advanced Machine Learning to give them the requisite skills. Without those classes, we end up teaching you many of the same techniques in a less principled way which takes more time. If you took a class like this in your undergraduate and think it was sufficient or if you already have significant research experience (just not in NLP or ML), please feel free to reach out and describe your background.

For prospectivemasters students, I do not have any role in MSI admissions but please feel free to drop me an email once you've been accepted. Showing interest in research prior to starting is usually good sign and gives you more opportunities during your masters program to see if research is something you might want to consider.

Undergraduates

I enjoy working with undergraduates and generally have a few students working on various projects in my lab. I do look for some serious work and effort associated with your research project , but in turn, if you want a recommendation letter later, it will reflect that effort. Typically, the biggest issue I face is students who over-estimate their time availability and disappear as coursework starts to pile up. Good research takes time and consistent effort; bugs will happen, experiments will fail, and programs will take time to run, so being able to dedicate a few hours every day (no joke!) to research is critical. If you can't see yourself doing that, it's best to reach out during a semester you think you will have more time.

I have the easiest time working with technically-oriented students, who already have good programming skills. You will typically be paired with a PhD student who can serve as an extra mentor and answer your questions. For some exceptionally strong students, we can try to get you a project all to yourself, but this usually requires you having done research prior. Occasionally, for bigger projects, I might pair you with another undergrad so you get to be your own research team.

As a undergrad, you will be expected to join our group's research meetings. During the school year, we'll typically have one meeting a week that is also with the project's co-supervisor (a PhD student or postdoc). During the summer, I typically also try to meet undergrads twice per week for short meetings so I can provide more rapid feedback and keep the ball rolling; it's a lot easier to course correct every few days than once per week.

Due to the technical work that we do in the lab, I typically require students to have taking some upper-division class on NLP or Machine Learning to give them the requisite skills. Without those classes, we end up teaching you many of the same techniques in a less principled way which takes more time. That said, if you think you have the skills without the classes, please feel free to reach out and describe your background.

Non-PhD External Students not at the University of Michigan

I unfortunately rarely work with undergraduate and masters students who are not physically at the University of Michigan. I still get emails from external students asking if we could together on something remotely and I really would love to, but my priority is to advise the current students at UM given the limited bandwith I have for advising. Your best bet to work with me is to get admitted to one of our programs and then drop me an email.

However, I do on occasion have self-funded visiting students for the summer and (rarely) during the academic year. In these cases, usually the student has some prior research experience, similar research interests, and (due to luck) there is a current project going on in my lab where they would be a good fit. If you are a self-funded student who wants to come for the summer, you should send an email in February or March before the summer that

Describes your research experience and state what parts are relevant to the work going on in my group.

Clearly state why you want to work with me. This lets me know that you are familiar with my work and know what you might be working on!

What you want to get out of a summer research experience and what you want to learn. This helps me make sure that the trip is a success for you as well.

I don't consider self-funded visiting students as "free labor" and strongly want to make sure that your stay is productive and a success for your career goals.

If you're a PhD student somewhere else and want to work with me (while being external), this could happen under the right circumstances. Typically, your advisor at your primary institution and I would co-advise you. I typically only do these kinds of arrangements when I know your advisor (more common) or when the collaborative project make sense (rare). To get this started, have your advisor email me (not you directly) about what the project is.

Postdocs

I would love to have you all in my lab but this is generally dependent on funding (but seriously, I would take you all if I could). Email me if you think you're a good match and tell me why and we might be able to figure something out. That said, at the moment, I'm not currently actively seeking postdocs (due to funding, of course). If you're coming with your own funding, that changes everything, so drop me a line then.