Taking PhD course with potential advisor? I have been told by other grad students that it is a good idea to take the Ph.D. course given by a professor who you would want to be advised by in the future and even joining their lab.
In my case, there is a course given by a professor who I would want as a graduate advisor and possibly having him on my committee. This is an applied machine learning course in the PSYC department (I'm a social science Ph.D. student). However, there is also a graduate machine learning course given in the CS department that is more advanced, and I would obviously get more out of it.
So, should I take the course given by the potential advisor, or the more &quot;interesting&quot; course risking the lack of exposure?
It is certainly worthwhile to get to know your potential advisor, and get noticed back. Taking the course might help you explore common interests, even hint at potential thesis thema.
Taking a more advanced course can get you faster to the bleeding edge where your thesis will presumably move, if it is primarily in the area. Then again, you'll soon have to move beyond coursework. Perhaps somebody teaching the other courses is a better match?
Knowing nothing about your background, the involved courses, your interests and the ones of potential advisors, it is impossible to give real advise.