For Prospective Students

Updated ⋅ 980 words ⋅ 5 min read
Information for prospective students interested in working with me at NC State.

Excited that you are considering working with me and being part of NC State’s Computer Science (CSC) research efforts.

I collected information and helpful resources below for common inquiries of prospective students, current PhD students, Master students, and school students interested in research experience.

On this page #

This page contains information for:

NC State’s Pages #

You can also find more information on the following NC State pages:

Prospective PhD Students #

Thank you for your interest in NC State’s CSC PhD program and in potentially joining my research group. NC State’s program does not require you to have a specific advisor at the time of application, so I encourage you to apply generally.

NC State CSC’s graduate admissions are handled centrally through the Graduate Program and all applications must go through this process.

The following links will be helpful:

Note also the following FAQ entry from above:

Should I first contact faculty / prospective advisors if I’m applying to the doctoral program?

Many Computer Science faculty prefer to leave admissions and financial aid decisions up to the department’s admissions committee. In addition, financial aid decisions are usually made by the department. Applicants however are welcome to contact faculty who might have an interest in their application, so they can lend their support to the applicant’s case.

Working with Me #

If you as a prospective PhD student are interested in working with me specifically, my recruitment status for PhD students for the next admission cycle is as follows:

Selective
Fall 2026

I am not broadly considering incoming PhD students for the Fall 2026 start. I may make exceptions for candidates with exceptionally strong fit with my ongoing work. Such fit typically involves prior research in human- and developer-centered security, or an established research connection with my group. General or unspecific inquiries will likely not receive a response.

Research:

My research focuses on computer security, with an emphasis on human-centered security (including but not limited to usable security). I study the interaction between security mechanisms and the needs, practices, and limitations of both software professionals and end users. See My Research section for more details.

Note that my research does not include the physical goods supply chain, blockchain technologies, or foundational AI research. I am not the appropriate advisor for these areas and will likely not respond to inquiries related to them.
Advising:

Students do not need to declare an advisor at the time of application; in the first semesters, uncommitted students can explore different research groups through short research internships, independent studies, and coursework with faculty.

If you’re specifically interested in working with me, you can list me as “Faculty Interest” in your application and email me after submission so I can look out for it.

Restrictions:
Be aware that security research involves topics that might fall under US control regulations or other legal constraints. For certain international backgrounds, it will be very unlikely to impossible to obtain a visa, conduct research, or be employed in the cyber security area in the US.

PhD Students at NC State #

If you are already a PhD student at NC State feel free to reach out to me with a brief email if you are interested in working with me on research.

Advising:
If you’re interested in getting to know me as a potential advisor, I welcome opportunities to work together through a short research internship (e.g., as part of CSC 801), an independent research study, or by taking one of my courses with research component. Feel free to reach out via email to discuss more concrete plans.
Co-Advising:
Professors at NC State’s Wolfpack Security and Privacy Research (WSPR) Lab frequently co-advise students interested in overlapping or adjacent research areas. Feel free to check out the other affiliated faculty for potential co-advising.

Master Students #

If you are a CSC Master student at NC State and are interested in doing research with me, I recommend you take a class with me (or CSC 574 with one of my colleagues, and take the research option with me).

Please note the following:

  • I do not offer GRA funding to MS students unless we have previously worked together, I prefer to work towards a thesis.
  • I do not have dedicated TA funding. TA positions in my courses are assigned by the department.
  • I am not the contact point for course graders; grader applications should go through the official process: CSC Student Graders

School Students #

If you are a school student interested in gaining (computer science) research experience, I recommend checking out the following NC State programs:

High School:

Online Research Academy (High School), a 4-week virtual program for high schoolers during Summer or Winter to learn research methods and work on projects with direct faculty mentoring (usually including computer science projects).

Residential Summer Program for high schoolers with a wide variety of workshops including computer science.

Engineering Summer Programs including Day camps for high schoolers in various engineering fields including computer security and cybersecurity.

Other Pre-college Programs at NC State.

Middle School:

SECURE IT Academy, a one-week, non-residential summer program for middle schoolers, teaching cybersecurity, Linux, networking, and adversarial thinking through design-based learning. Includes follow-up workshops during the academic year.

Engineering Summer Programs including Day camps for middle schoolers.

Other Full-time Positions #

  • I cannot employ individuals who are not currently enrolled students at NC State.
  • Full-time roles are posted publicly in accordance with state law and must be applied for through the university’s Jobs webpage.
  • If you are not currently enrolled at NC State, you could pursue research collaborations by applying to the PhD program or a postdoctoral position.