Don’t be too fixed on individual supervisors in your thinking. Remember, many programs know students will change through their coursework, and US programs especially encourage this kind of development. It’s extremely common for students to choose a different advisor, and even subfield, before their 3rd year (which, in US programs, is when students narrow down for their comprehensive exams and prospectus).

The importance of thecommittee should not be underestimated, Tim suggests. It is important get a sense of whether there are multiple professors who might share your interests/whom you can learn from. I tend to suggest my PhD applicants think about 2-3 professors whose work they appreciate, and to not really pose it as “supervisor” as much as framing it in language related to their interests/writing sample, like “My analysis of Arabic dialectic would by widened by Prof. Smith’s studies on Amazight populations in North Africa,” which shows they are ‘thinking like a grad student’ already.

Furthermore, be wary of mentioning prestigious professors – these professors get all the supervisor attention, and can’t take on every student who wants to share their aura. It’s great to mention them if you actually want to work with them and your research is related, but soften the application by looking at others in the department. This has benefits beyond the application, as getting more individuals in the department familiar with your work greatly increases the support you can expect.