I applied for a Studentship (funded PhD) on the 25th June and got a very speedy response on the 28th with details about my interview.

This will be my first interview for a funded PhD and quite frankly, I'm bricking it. The interview will only be 30 mins (or so they say) and I have to be prepared to talk (and answer questions on) my proposal with a 'non-specialist audience', my experience and suitability to teach and motivations for applying.

A few questions which may or may not be silly:

How many people do they usually shortlist for a funded research PhD at a Russell Group uni like Liverpool?
Do you think they already have someone in mind?
They've already contacted my old lecturer for a reference - usual protocol? I would start in September.
What should I focus my preparation on? I only have a week!
DOs and DON'Ts during the interview?

Bit of info about me: Plymouth Law LLB (2:1), KCL Medical Law (Distinction)

Thanking youse!

bump

While I can't answer your first two questions, I can help a bit with the others. When I applied for my PhD I had to provide two references with the application, so I think it's fairly standard to contact references ahead of the interview.

I try my best to prepare by running through potential questions and how I would answer them. I didn't have a proposal to discuss but did have to talk about much of what you have covered in your presentation. I did get asked general questions about PhDs, they asked what made a good phd student and also what training I thought I would need to complete the project.

In terms of Dos and Don'ts. I'd say, don't rush your answers. Take a few seconds before answering rather than rushing in and rambling. With a question such as what training would you need, don't be overly negative, I'd give them some positives too... So for mine I talked about how I probably wouldn't need much for the first part of the project where I had a strong background, but that the other part was new to me so I would potentially need more support on that part.

Do have a few questions to ask them at the end - You'll see people say many times that it should be a two-way interview and you need to make sure that it's also the right place for your to study.

My final tip is if at the "Any questions" stage there's anything you didn't mention and wanted to you can mention it here. So for me I asked about teaching opportunities as it was something that hadn't come up and talked about how I'd like to get more experience in that area and hoped I'd have the opportunity to supervise student projects.

I hope that helps a bit!

Hello! All the best for your interview and congrats on getting it!

I actually enquired about how many shortlisted and how many studentships were available, as I was also trying to do the math and figure out my chances! If I remember correctly, on my particular pathway (e.g., law is a pathway), there were 5 available studentships... and that was spread across the three unis in that DTC. But I don't remember how many were shortlisted for interview! I was to say 15 but I could be making that up - it could be more!

Anyway, in addition to the great advice above, I'd add try to enjoy the experience, be confident in yourself and connect with the panel : -)