passion / interests.

Passion and interest.

These seem like important things when approaching any aspect of education. However, in the context of my studies passion and interest simply weren't enough. I'm not saying here that you shouldn't be interested or passionate about your research, but neither can take the place of relevance.

Relevance isn't simple. That is one of the most powerful lessons that I have learned in that last few years. It is up to an individual researcher to make the relevance of their work clear. From a student's standpoint relevance can and often should be connected to an advisor's work. What better way to learn how to communicate the relevance of your research than to share the lessons of an advisor.

Faculty connections to research were the kind of connections I didn't realize the value of in my consideration of programs. Furthermore, as a student, seeking out these connections were not a priority. I'd always assumed it was the work of the advisor(s) to help make these connections clear. A successful student needs to not only seek out these connections, but actively maintain them.

The question that remains is how a graduate student should most effectively pursue these connections.