PhD The Early Process, Application and Interview advice

Hello,

PhD advise seems to be a common thread amongst the TSR postgrad community. This thread provides an insight into the early and later PhD application process.

Warning! This is not a definative guide by is aimed to be added to with other peoples advise.

Mod edit: this post has also been added to the TSR wiki, and expanded upon. It can be found at: PhD Courses: Tips and Advice for Making your Application. Many thanks to Epoch for his hard work!

Reasons for doing a PhD

Everyone has thier own reasons for doing a PhD but serveral things are considered a must

1) Commitment and an eye for detail
2) Intelligence (not merely high grades but a willingness to learn etc)
3) Independance
4)Aspiration
5) Passion for your subject

Keep these in your mind during the application process and interviews!

Applying for a PhD

First things first think about what you want to do, the subject your intrested in and make a list of ideas. A good person to seek early is your supervisor if still at uni. They should stear you in the right direction and give you sound advise. But be warned some academics an be out to curtail your plans before you start and are best ignored!

Ok now to start looking for your subject area. A great place to start is

www.findaphd.com

This list all current phd courses in all subjects and is a great place to see whos offering what. Then start looking for department specific websites this is where there are detailed PhD listings. Remember PhD details will be released at different times so contact the postgraduate admissions tutor.

Fear not! if your subject of choice is not there then contact the academic staff directly with your C.V and a letter detailing you situation and intrests. This is a good way to get first hand advise and also a way of testing the water some what regarding your credentials

At this point make sure you know the funding situation of the PhD as this will dictate much of the application process. You can be awarded a PhD place with no funding which is very difficult to pursue.

As a rule in house school scholarships are very hard to get so projects which are specifically funded are worth finding.

The C.V

Now you have found your course or have a contact in the department of your choosing sit down and get that C.V in order. For PhD places an academic C.V is often needed. This is a posh term for a detailed subject break down of your undergrad and postgrad (if any) degrees so far. Include any relevant experience relating to the project and do not be afriad to tailor a C.V for an individual PhD. It helps to be affilitated with a academic society as this shows that you are serious and implies that you are well read (May be!).
This keeps cropping up in discussions and I would like to help provide a guide line about what to expect as I have been through a few already!

Good C.V links
http://www.prospects.ac.uk/downloads/documents/prospects/IDD/Special%20Interests%20Series/CVs/2007/Academic%20CV%20updated%20version.pdf

http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/services/humanresources/jobsintro/apply/cv/

http://www.jobs.ac.uk/careers/articles/1220/Academic_CV_Building_Where_to_Start

Coverng letter and Online applications

The covering letter may not be asked for as of the variety of submission processes that each university may imply. Make it concise why have you chose this PhD and what makes it suited to your skills. Do not try to answer the question just outline why you want this place and your qualifications and where you currently study/work.

Online applications are slightly more difficult in that more specific details need to be employed. However if you have a good C.V then it becomes easier to fill in. Personal statements for PhD need to be academically focused as well as social.

DONT forget your references

Remember to ask academic staff which know you and are not just associated with the subject. From this they want to know whether you are hard working, commited and shown intrest in the subject before. Pick your references carefully as they have possibly the most say in the early PhD selection process

The research proposal
This is where I need help and addition advise would be greatly accepted! I did not have write a long one alot of science subjects do not need one at all but arts most likely do. Consultation with the supervisior of the PhD is paramount in my experience.

Now you wait and hope for the dreaded interview.............

The Interview
This is not a definative guide and it would be good for other people to contrbute there experiences and opinions on the matter

The "formal" interview and Interview styles

The interview can take two different paths the first often an informal chat with the supervisior where the project is discussed generally

The second is usually a board of people usually 3 to 5 which ask questions. As far as I know Oxbridge is different in this respect they seem to have a series individual interviews.

What to expect

The first question in most interviews seems to be "Why do you want to do a PhD and what has brought you to this position so far ?"

What follows is a series of questions that is designed to test your knowlegde of the basic aspects of the programme. What it entails and what contibution is expected. The project supervisor will want to know specifics the other will want to see how you delt with the question.

During my interview they seemed to want to see my past work, e.g dissertation etc. but they would never ask directly. It is a good idea to have the work prepared and key places marked. Make sure you know the work in depth and be prepared to ask answer any questions on it.

Usually if the PhD involves a studentship or is funded by an outside body they will have a representative. They will assess how you present youself and will probably want to hear how the project is likely to benefit the company or the University.

The interview panel want you to express a wider knowledge. It is key you have read reccomended references and understood them as it will just help your case. Also find out what is cutting edge at the moment and bring with you or make a typed sheet with problems you might want to tackle during the PhD

Remember that you do not want to answer the PhD title but you are aware of lines of evidence that you might want to pursue.

Presentations

Be confident and speak fluently. Made the audience know you are confident (even though you might not feel like it)

Focus on your research unless asked not to and relate this to the project. Essentially what can you bring to the table?

Have it practiced and timed. Draw together on a concluding slide and expect questions

You and yourself!

At the interview they want to see that your motivated to do the project and prepared.

Be confident and don't be afriad to say "I don't know".

Wear something smart. I know some places are not to fussy but it never harmed any one to look smart on interview

Try not to be nervous!

Again each institution has its own style and i would like to open a thread to disscuss the possiblities.

!!!!Sorry about the poor spelling!!!!

Reply 380

redferry

19

Original post

by Jedi4

Thanks for that the closing date is April 30th, so I've still got time.Leeds is local too.

It's good that they have clearly stated we are investing 10mil=101 scholarships, whereas Sheffield said on their homepage and made a big deal saying we've invested '5.5' million for PhDs students, so probably under 50 students, or less if they've put money into existing PhDs individual departments want to do.

What subject are you into? I'd get in touch with potential supervisors asap :smile:

Reply 381

Jedi4

Original post

by redferry

What subject are you into? I'd get in touch with potential supervisors asap :smile:

Thanks, I'm pulling an all nighter today will research all the research groups and send out some emails.

I PM'ed you a long email about my background and what I did at Sheff.

Thanks for the Leeds link, I thought all funding ceased Feb 3rd.

Reply 382

redferry

19

Original post

by Jedi4

Thanks, I'm pulling an all nighter today will research all the research groups and send out some emails.

I PM'ed you a long email about my background and what I did at Sheff.

Thanks for the Leeds link, I thought all funding ceased Feb 3rd.

They emailed me with the funding after they turned me down so now I just want to spread the word :smile:

Reply 383

mcr2288

I have applied at Leeds too... no reply back yet. Also applied to sheffield on an advertised project.... and i am waiting.

Do you know if there is a guide on how to do proposals on forum?

I have also noticed that not a lot of studentships are around for EU grads. Hopefully there will be new ones in May with funding... otherwise if i dont get any offer from those i ve applied for... i m screwed.

Red ferry, what do you mean they offered you a place after they turned you down? please provide some tips to some desperately passionate phd wannabes please... :biggrin:

haha

Reply 384

redferry

19

Original post

by mcr2288

I have applied at Leeds too... no reply back yet. Also applied to sheffield on an advertised project.... and i am waiting.

Do you know if there is a guide on how to do proposals on forum?

I have also noticed that not a lot of studentships are around for EU grads. Hopefully there will be new ones in May with funding... otherwise if i dont get any offer from those i ve applied for... i m screwed.

Red ferry, what do you mean they offered you a place after they turned you down? please provide some tips to some desperately passionate phd wannabes please... :biggrin:

haha

Did you apply for a particular studentship at Leeds? Which funding was it?

So with Leeds I got an interview, was put on the reserves list. Then I got offered a place in London. Then all the people offered the PhDs at Leeds dropped out but by that time I had accepted my London place.

I haven't got any advice other than keep on applying and apply to the Unis with the most places going!

Reply 385

mcr2288

Original post

by redferry

Did you apply for a particular studentship at Leeds? Which funding was it?

So with Leeds I got an interview, was put on the reserves list. Then I got offered a place in London. Then all the people offered the PhDs at Leeds dropped out but by that time I had accepted my London place.

I haven't got any advice other than keep on applying and apply to the Unis with the most places going!

It was the general funding from the university for Biological Sciences... on the January deadline...

thats what i do... even though sometimes i send emails to ask if they have funding available.. today i got an email from Bristol saying that they do not have funding and anything available will be on jobs.ac.uk.

I will keep applying anyway though... thanks :smile:

Reply 386

redferry

19

Original post

by mcr2288

It was the general funding from the university for Biological Sciences... on the January deadline...

thats what i do... even though sometimes i send emails to ask if they have funding available.. today i got an email from Bristol saying that they do not have funding and anything available will be on jobs.ac.uk.

I will keep applying anyway though... thanks :smile:

What do you mean by general funding? I wasn't aware there was any general funding in January, just the NERC studentships in Biological Sciences...

Reply 387

mcr2288

I am not sure exactly what was it... by general funding i mean they were advertising studentships so I applied but I didn't have a specific supervisor. Are you in biology as well?

Reply 388

redferry

19

Original post

by mcr2288

I am not sure exactly what was it... by general funding i mean they were advertising studentships so I applied but I didn't have a specific supervisor. Are you in biology as well?

Yeah the ones I applied to at Leeds were these: http://www.nercdtp.leeds.ac.uk/

I don't understand how you can apply without a supervisor :s-smilie:

did you not have a title? or did you propose your own?

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 389

mcr2288

Ah, no mines were not DTPs.

No, in my cover letter I mentioned my research interests only.

Reply 390

redferry

19

Original post

by mcr2288

Ah, no mines were not DTPs.

No, in my cover letter I mentioned my research interests only.

This may be where you were going wrong! For internal funding you need to contact supervisors and submit a proposal if you aren't applying for a named title. General applications are usually thrown out.

Reply 391

mcr2288

All of what I applied, were advertised projects, where i contacted the supervisors... the only general i did was in manchester... the one in leeds i contacted the supervisor which he never replied back, and i mentioned his name in the application... but it was under the funded studentships that leeds uni offered. I don't remember exactly what studentships those were... its been since january though for leeds..

now the next funded places are end of march... I don't know if there will be other ones end of may... probably... we ll see. :smile:

fingers crossed

Reply 392

redferry

19

Original post

by mcr2288

All of what I applied, were advertised projects, where i contacted the supervisors... the only general i did was in manchester... the one in leeds i contacted the supervisor which he never replied back, and i mentioned his name in the application... but it was under the funded studentships that leeds uni offered. I don't remember exactly what studentships those were... its been since january though for leeds..

now the next funded places are end of march... I don't know if there will be other ones end of may... probably... we ll see. :smile:

fingers crossed

What area of biology was it in??? In Biology they were all NERC or white rose.
!y advice would be talk to all the supervisors you are applying for titles with beforehand. Talk to them about tpwhat the project involves and what they are looking for in a candidate. Mind you I didn't do that for the London one as it wasn't for a specific project. But I did get my chosen title at Leeds just not the funding. If supervisors don't reply, call them.

My other advice is to apply to the DTPs, especially the ones with the most places available because there's a better chance of you getting them. At leeds 36 people applied for the title I applied for, whereas for the London one 400 odd applied for 36 places. Its just better odds.
Funded places usually come up in January and May/June.

Reply 393

mcr2288

thanks for the advice redferry

Reply 394

username1366837

11

I applied for a graduate teaching assistantship at the department and got shortlisted for the interviews! :smile:

so excited, but also quite scared, as there's just one GTA and I have no idea how many applied/are interviewed.
I have to do a 5 minutes presentation on my research proposal, followed by a formal interview. the presentation is quite tricky, because my proposal has 1500 word, summarizing that in 5 minutes isn't easy. has anyone of you done such a presentation? Any suggestions?

I wanted to make the presentation more personal than the proposal, showing my enthusiasm for the topic and the reasons why I want to research it. In 5 minutes you can't go into detail anyway. It's mainly title, research questions, what I want to do, how and why. And it's a skype interview again, so I can't use power point :frown:

Reply 395

Voyager_2002

11

Original post

by cyclomania

I applied for a graduate teaching assistantship at the department and got shortlisted for the interviews! :smile:

so excited, but also quite scared, as there's just one GTA and I have no idea how many applied/are interviewed.
I have to do a 5 minutes presentation on my research proposal, followed by a formal interview. the presentation is quite tricky, because my proposal has 1500 word, summarizing that in 5 minutes isn't easy. has anyone of you done such a presentation? Any suggestions?

I wanted to make the presentation more personal than the proposal, showing my enthusiasm for the topic and the reasons why I want to research it. In 5 minutes you can't go into detail anyway. It's mainly title, research questions, what I want to do, how and why. And it's a skype interview again, so I can't use power point :frown:

You can use Power point... Send them your presentation in advance, and tell them when you move from one slide to the next. Although a five minute presentation is perhaps two or three slides, max.

And a hot tip: say something about the research methods you would use. And make sure that 'something' is both short and good.

Remember that one of the main points of the presentation is to demonstrate that you would be good at teaching, so emphasise making points clearly rather than cramming it full of content. All the stuff about your personal enthusiasm can be communicated in the interview.

Reply 396

username1366837

11

Original post

by Voyager_2002

You can use Power point... Send them your presentation in advance, and tell them when you move from one slide to the next. Although a five minute presentation is perhaps two or three slides, max.

And a hot tip: say something about the research methods you would use. And make sure that 'something' is both short and good.

Remember that one of the main points of the presentation is to demonstrate that you would be good at teaching, so emphasise making points clearly rather than cramming it full of content. All the stuff about your personal enthusiasm can be communicated in the interview.

Thanks for the tip. Really helped. :smile:

I revised my presentation and tried to be clear and not to pack in to much information.
About Power Ponit: They told me, that I can only send them a handout. That's what I prepared. Think it will be fine, I was always good in presentations. But I still wish it was already over :wink:

Reply 397

Jedi4

My supervisor knows I can't self fund, I even put I am applying for funding on the main application. So 8 weeks after submitting my proposal I received an 'unconditional offer' and was told funding outcomes will be realsed soon. I didn't even have an interview, which is normally mandatory, it may be because I've been supervised by the supervisor for my Masters.

Funding decisions are made in April/May I thought? Do you think I've been short listed for internal funding?

Reply 398

redferry

19

Original post

by Jedi4

My supervisor knows I can't self fund, I even put I am applying for funding on the main application. So 8 weeks after submitting my proposal I received an 'unconditional offer' and was told funding outcomes will be realsed soon. I didn't even have an interview, which is normally mandatory, it may be because I've been supervised by the supervisor for my Masters.

Funding decisions are made in April/May I thought? Do you think I've been short listed for internal funding?

I'd just call them and ass because if you haven't you are going to have to start applying for grants now.

Reply 399

Jedi4

Original post

by redferry

I'd just call them and ass because if you haven't you are going to have to start applying for grants now.

The response is I will hear back soon probably by the end of the month.

I've applied to the AHRC, EHRC etc. Anything that was available I applied to for funding.

By grants do you mean "alternative funding' like the alternative guide to funding? I can self fund just short of a couple of grand. So I'll probably try that.

PhD The Early Process, Application and Interview advice

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