Daniel J. Philippon
Frequently Asked Questions

• Where is your office?
  
• Do I need an appointment?
  
• Can I get into your course?
  
• Can you write a recommendation for me?
  
• Are you accepting any new graduate advisees?
  
• Do you have any graduate assistantships?
  
• Do you have any advice for graduate students?
  

Where is your office?

My office is located in the Department of Writing Studies, which is housed in Wesbrook Hall, on the East Bank of the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. My office is immediately inside the main entrance to the building, the first door on the right.

Do I need an appointment?

Although you do not need an appointment to visit during my office hours (listed on the top of my web page), you may want to make one, so that you will not need to wait if I am meeting with someone else. Office hours can get especially busy before exams and near the end of the semester. If you cannot make my office hours, email me some days and times that work for you, and I will confirm a date and time that works for me.

Can I get into your course?

If you want to enroll in one of my courses, but the computer says it's closed, first keep an eye on the course enrollment, listed in the online course schedule available through OneStop. Enrollments change regularly, especially at the beginning of the semester, and you may be able to add in on your own. If the course remains closed, email me your name and contact information, along with a sentence or two about why you want to take the course, and I will put you on the waiting list. I rank waiting lists first-come, first served, with the occasional exception for especially persuasive cases. Finally, come to the first class meeting, because I may be able to add you to the course manually, depending on how many people show up and how many names I have on the waiting list.

Can you write a recommendation for me?

I often write letters of recommendation for students I have advised and/or taught. To help me do this for you, please follow these suggestions:

• Contact me as soon as possible (my contact information is on the top of my web page), so I will have sufficient time to prepare my letter. I generally do not write letters for which I have not been given at least two weeks notice, and I prefer three or four weeks notice, since I usually have several other deadlines to meet.
• Tell me when the letter is due, and whether that due date is when I should send the letter or when the letter should be received.
• Tell me the purpose of the letter (graduate school, scholarship, employment, internship, study abroad, and so on), why you are applying, and how your application fits into your life goals. For academic job applicants, tell me how my letter fits into your dossier. What can I say that your other recommenders cannot?
• Provide any necessary forms (with the applicant's section filled out in advance). If you have the option to waive your rights to read the recommendation, I would suggest that you do so. Confidential letters carry more weight, and reviewers are sometimes suspicious of applicants who decline to waive their rights.
• Provide any additional material that may help me write a strong letter. This could include:
  • a resume or cv
  • a copy of your transcript (an unofficial one is fine)
  • a copy of your personal statement or statement of purpose (if you are submitting one)
  • copies or summaries of any papers you wrote for me (I read hundreds of papers every year; do not assume I will remember yours, no matter how brilliant)
  • additional information about the position or award you are seeking
  • a copy of the instructions for the person writing the letter
• Include a stamped, pre-addressed envelope for each letter.
• Provide all these materials either as email attachments or in hard copy, but not both.
• Good luck--and let me know if you get what you are seeking!

Are you accepting any new graduate advisees?

I regularly accept new graduate advisees in Rhetoric and Scientific and Technical Communication. Contact me (my contact information is on the top of my web page) in advance of your application, so we can discuss your interests in detail. I less frequently accept new graduate advisees in Conservation Biology, unless your interests match mine very closely. I would be happy to discuss your application with you if you feel this is the case.

Do you have any graduate assistantships?

I often do, but these positions usually go to graduate students I already advise and/or teach. If you are applying to graduate school and seeking an assistantship, I usually cannot guarantee that you will get one in advance of your application, because I prefer to have personal knowledge of students before working with them as research or teaching assistants.

Do you have any advice for graduate students?

Nothing can replace the kind of personalized advice a conversation can provide, but there's also a large and growing literature on how to succeed in graduate school and after, which you can consult on your own. I keep a running bibliography of these titles, which I call "Academic Self-Help Books." Knock yourself out.