You have got your Ph.D. interview coming up, and you are panicking.
What are they going to ask me?
Well, fear not. I will give you seven questions guaranteed at your Ph.D. interview.
How can I pass my interview?
One of the things I would recommend you do is practice.
I will list some questions you will most likely get asked as part of your interview questions. And I would recommend you practice some answers to these questions.
Practice as many times as you can and get someone involved. Either family or friends to ask you these questions.
These can help with your competence and help you know what to say and have well-thought answers.
What questions can I expect at my Ph.D. interview?
Here Are The 7 Most Common Ph.D. Interview Questions
The first question that you are probably going to be asked at your Ph.D. interview is
*Why Do You Want To Do A Ph.D.?
Some people are quite taken aback by this question. They think, blimey, isn’t it obvious I want to do it? Didn’t I write that already in my application form?
Now, even though you may have well answered this question, you are likely to be asked again. It is because sometimes, the people on the interview panel want to hear you say it.
Also, the people on the interview panel may not have read your application at all.
It may have been the admin department or the recruitment department that received your application.
So you will want to give this question all, and I recommend you take two different angles to answer this question.
- Talking about the topic you are doing the Ph.D. in. Demonstrate your interest and why you are passionate about that subject or topic
- Demonstrate your interest and motivation in pursuing doctoral study. So why do you want to do a Ph.D.? Is it part of your long-term career plan? Is it because you want to be more intellectually stimulated?
For some people, their reason for doing a Ph.D. is because they don’t know what else to do.
They’ve gone through the educational system, been into school and college, do their bachelor’s and master’s degrees, and their natural next step is a Ph.D.
If that is the case, don’t say that as your answer. It would be best if you had a better reason than saying I don’t know what else to do.
So if you Don have a better answer that comes to mind immediately, maybe you should give it some thought.
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Another question that you are sure to get is
*Why Do You Chose This University?
Now for some of you, you might be applying for a scholarship, so it might be that the scholarship wasn’t anywhere else, so that’s where you are going.
Again, don’t say that in your answer. It would be best if you found a good reason why that University so does some research about the University. Please read up on it.
- Have they won any awards?
- Do they have a really good reputation?
- Have they got a good research record in your area?
- That kind of thing. Is there somebody whom you think would be particularly great at supervising you?
So you have to think about things like that. Maybe you’ve studied at that University for your undergraduate or master’s degree.
You can say that you like the University, you are familiar with it. That’s a valid reason too, but I recommend that if you are not that familiar with the University, you do some research and readings about that University. You can use that to inform your answer to this question.
Another question you are very likely to get as part of your Ph.D. interview is
*Why Should We Offer This Opportunity To You?
It is your opportunity to stand out from the crowd.
- You can talk about how you are super interested in the topic.
- You can talk about how you’ve published research before if you have.
- How did you do well in your master’s or
- How you loved your dissertation.
- You can talk about how you are a motivated and determined person.
- How well can you manage your time?
- You are looking to have that good supervisor relationship.
Anything like this is going to sound pretty good. So you must demonstrate without arrogance that you are better than your competitors.
*What Are Your Strengths and Weaknesses?
What could put this into two different questions? It depends on how they frame it, but almost certainly, your University will want to ask you what things you are good at and what things you are not so good at.
It’s only natural that we sometimes feel embarrassed about promoting ourselves and picking ourselves up.
So people will find it difficult to say, I’m good at this, I’m good at that if that’s you, practice.
If you are good at something, you need to be able to say that you are good at it. It is not the time to be modest; say you are good at this.
More people, however, will struggle with the weaknesses part, and in an interview, this is a tricky question because you don’t want to make yourself look bad. You want to get this Ph.D., and you don’t want to put them off.
So, one of the best ways to approach this is to say: instead of I’m not good at, you can say I think I need work or development in this area.
So, for example, I would have said in my interview that Data collection is not my strong point. I need to attend a few training courses in this area, and training courses are a part of the Ph.D. process, so that’s fine.
They will be impressed that you have considered where you might need training and development.
So in advance of your interview, I strongly recommend you jot down more things that you are good at with evidence and what things you are not good at.
But how you can overcome that, that’s the key part.
What Are Your Training and Development Needs?
It is your opportunity to say I would like to have some extra training in data collection. It would be good for me to go to some Ph.D. colloquiums and understand different approaches to research because I haven’t been necessarily exposed to everything, and I think it might give me some more ideas.
I should use Microsoft excel, a qualitative software program if you are unfamiliar with it. I need training in Microsoft excel because I’ve heard it’s great and I’m sure it is the best thing for me, but I don’t know how to use it yet.
Few people studying lower than Ph.D. level will use some special features on this software.
That’s a great way to demonstrate that I know I need to learn, and it’s appropriate that I don’t know because it’s usually kind of a Ph.D. or above level thing.
*Why Have You Selected This Topic?
It is your opportunity to demonstrate your passion. I recommend you Choose a subject that you are super interested in and are passionate about.
If you are genuinely passionate about a subject, it will come across in your answer. I want to do a Ph.D. on the environmental impact of aviation in the US, and I’m super passionate about it because I love traveling. I’ve studied aviation as an undergraduate and postgraduate, and I’ve heard of a part-time job in the airport.
I can see that climate change is a big problem, and we need to fix it.
Things like this demonstrate that you are passionate, and that’s what you want. You want to show your passion and enthusiasm.
The last question on my list that I think you are very likely to have during your Ph.D. interview is what next?
*What Are You Going To Do After You Complete Your Ph.D.?
Many universities will think beyond the Ph.D. program process, so they might be looking for someone who may be a member of the faculty long-term. Maybe you would become a lecturer or a researcher.
Maybe they are looking for somebody who will be able to contribute to their research output in their department. In that case, you want to demonstrate that you will build up your research portfolio.
Maybe you’re not entirely sure yet but if that’s the case, demonstrate your thoughts.
If unsure, sit down, map it out, get a pen and paper and write down all the pathways.
It is what and what I could do after my Ph.D. One of the good and bad things about it is why would you do this and that, and even if you haven’t made up your mind because we don’t always know what’s going to happen in the future, you can still answer that question adequately, and you can show that you have thought about you’ve got ideas.
And if you are still not sure yet, that’s okay.
These are my seven questions and tips on how to answer them, and I’m pretty sure you will get them in your Ph.D. interview—so good luck.
I hope you do well.
Suggested Dos and Don’ts of a PhD Interview