I have been invited for a PhD interview. I have the option of face-to-face or phone interview. Questions: which one would you chose (why?). What sorts of questions should I expect? Dressing code?

Well, dress. You should dress vaguely smart. Remember, you're trying to impress these people. Shirt, tie, trousers. perhaps not a suit. Thing with labs is they tend to be fairly casual places to work. Depends on the person. Do you have a filephoto? See what they're wearing.

In terms of what to decide as a research topic, your masters could prove invaluable, mine certainly did. I changed my mind completely with what I wanted to do. And don't be afraid to ask your lecturers on your masters course if you learn something and want to know more about it as a possible direction - the more information you have, the better.

What area of research have you applied for and which uni has invited you for interview? The questions usually depends on area of research and individual supervisors?

S are you an international student?

Go for the face to face option: you can see the department, and ask to talk to other members of the lab. Ask them if they would advise you to do your PhD there and try to get a feeling for the lab- do people get on with the lab head, each other?

Thank you everyone for the wonderful hints on how to go about this. For those asking, I am an international student and the area of research I ave been invited to interview for is biomedical science. Any further ideas are welcome.

One other thing..if I have an opportunity to ask questions, what should I ask about?

Ask what previous students are doing now, how many publications they had during the PhD, what support is available from the department, are there any people who don't complete it, and anything that shows you are thinking of the long term aspects of doing a PhD. Good Luck!!

Oh yeah, also try to talk to the other students from the lab on their own and ask how the supervisor is, and what problems they have come across. You need to make a good impression with them because the supervisor will ask what they think of you, and since you'll be working with them it helps if you get along.