MHC at Baruch College
Honors Freshmen Seminar
Faculty Interview Assignment
Assignment: Interview a faculty member of your choice and submit a 2 page typed paper about your conversation and
what you learned.
Please plan your interview immediately! Be sure to give the professor plenty of notice (at least 1-2 weeks) as
professors are extremely busy. If students prefer to interview in groups, groups should be no larger than three.
However, each student must submit their own paper regarding the interview.
Interview Assignment Checklist
1. Arrange meeting with faculty member.
2. Research information about the faculty member (i.e., publications, research interests).
3. Prepare questions.
4. Confirm interview.
5. Send thank you note within a week of your interview.
E-mailing Etiquette
For helpful tips on composing proper email correspondence to your professor, please refer to the article titled, “How to
e-mail a Professor” at:
http://mleddy.blogspot.com/2005/01/how-to-e-mail-professor.html
READ in Preparation:
Your College Experience: Strategies for Success, Tenth Edition
By John N. Gardner & Betsy O. Barefoot
Bedford/St.Martin, 2012
Chapters 14
Sample Interview Questions
1. How did you decide on your major when in college?
2. How did you get into this field?
3. How did you decide to become a professor?
4. What do you like about teaching and what are some of the challenges of teaching?
5. What does a “normal” work day look like for you?
6. What do you like best about your work? Least?
7. What advice do you have for me as a freshman?
8. What are your current research interests?
9. Have you involved your students in your research?
10. What books and articles have you read recently?
11. What advice would you give someone seeking to learn more about career opportunities in this field/profession (i.e,
engineering, journalism, etc.)?
12. Who could you suggest I go see to learn more about this field/profession?
13. How is this field/profession changing?
These questions will help get you started, but it is not exhaustive, try to think of your own questions. You may also
wish to reflect on your experience interviewing the professor. What did you get out of the experience?
Writing the Paper
1. You should write your paper in a narrative format. Papers submitted in question-answer format
will not be accepted.
2. The paper should be void of all grammatical, spelling and punctuation errors.
3. The paper must be typed and doubled spaced. Don’t forget to include you name and a title.