PhD Interview Results

Hey everybody, how long did it take to get the PhD interview results based on your experiences? I was interviewed 1 week ago, but I am still waiting to hear back from them.

Hey!

It took a couple of weeks for me to hear back. I actually knew my interviewer from previous years at university so I emailed him and asked when I would likely hear back, but you could always contact the people who interviewed you or your prospective supervisor. Alternatively, you could contact general university admissions for a general timeline on when you are likely to hear back!

Best of luck with everything!

Natalie
University of Kent Student Rep

Hey Natalie!

I asked them about the waiting time at the interview, and they said, "You are going to get the outcome SOON". Today is the 6th working day since I was interviewed. I still do not know what "soon" means, although they want me to start the PhD project next month.

After the interview, I emailed my prospective supervisor to thank her. She also told me to hear back from them soon.

When do you think should I contact the doctoral school?

I am so excited!!

All the best,

Hey everybody, how long did it take to get the PhD interview results based on your experiences? I was interviewed 1 week ago, but I am still waiting to hear back from them.

Hi @ilaydaeroz

I think hearing back about a PhD after an interview is possibly one of the most varied things among the PhDs in my office (even though we all applied to the same university!).

I heard back the evening of my interview from my (now) primary supervisor, but didn’t get the official offer letter for several weeks after that (approvals from the funding had to go through finance, my details had to be approved by the admissions team, etc).

Hopefully your supervisor will tell you that they will be making you an offer before all the admin/bureaucratic things get done, but other universities insist on the supervisors wait until everything is cleared before the student gets told anything!
Others in my friend group got their offers anywhere from a few days to a few weeks after their interviews. This depended a lot on if there was a consensus in the panel, if anyone in the ‘chain of approvals’ was on leave, or even sometimes if they wanted to do a second interview to decide between two candidates.

Ultimately, it didn’t make a difference how quickly we heard back on how we performed as PhD students, and even how well we did in our interviews often didn’t matter.

I will mention one person who’s decision was delayed (due to administrative reasons) who started a little bit after the ‘normal’ start of term (often with research students the ‘official’ start date doesn’t matter so much).
Another guy started his PhD contract but had 3 months left in his old accommodation. He just worked from home (mostly) for this time, as it was primarily reading the literature and planning experiments. Once his contract was up, he moved closer to Cranfield and works hybrid now 😊
So don’t be too stressed if you think you might be given 24 hours’ notice to find a house, thankfully most supervisors are more sensible than that! You should be able to work with them to find a start date (either remote or in person) that suits everyone.

Best of luck!
Ciara
3rd year Agrifood PhD student
Cranfield Student Ambassador

This varies wildly as there is no regulated, standardised system. Instead it's usually up to the discretion of the interviewer (who will generally be your PhD supervisor), but there may be some restrictions there concerning deadlines for when funding is released etc. In my case I had to go through 3 rounds of interviews and the total timeframe from my first interview to being offered the position was well over a month, probably closer to two. I applied to an extremely competitive position though so that kind of thing will also have an effect on waiting times.

Wow, 3 rounds of interviews!! You handled it so well.

Waiting for 2 weeks would not be a big deal for you then

Well…it was actually very annoying because no one knew there were this many rounds when we started. I expected there to be one so after the first round I sort of relaxed only to be called back a few weeks later and be nervous again. And then a few weeks after that again! I was even expecting a fourth round so it wasn’t a particularly pleasant experience ha. Waiting only 2 weeks would have been a dream.

I cannot imagine myself in the same situation, you are right, it is so annoying!!

Are you an international or local student?

Unofficially from the supervisor - same week
The official confirmation probably took 5-6 weeks (i cant remember), most of the delay was the paperwork working its way around admissions even though the decision had been made.

Thank you for your response. It has been 3 weeks, still waiting

Maybe follow up with a polite email querying your current status

Do you think I should email my prospective supervisor or the doctoral school?

hey guys!!

I have received my conditional offer from the PhD program <3 and just applied for the ATAS. Thank you for your support and answers!!

Has anyone applied for ATAS???

Congrats

Hey!

That all sounds great, I'm excited for you! I know it's nerve-wracking waiting to hear so I definitely understand your concern!

Since they would want you to start next month, I think you will likely hear within the next week or so anyway! But maybe you could contact them over the next few days/by the end of next week for an update if you want to, asking for a date of when you'll likely hear back rather than just 'soon' (that's very vague of them)

Natalie
University of Kent Student Rep