Hi,
I recently applied for a PhD and have been invited for the interview. I have no idea what to expect and how to prepare? I have been also asked to prepare 5 minutes presentation (is it too short?) .
Kindly give me some advice.
Thank you
Sonia

Anyone got any tips for Sonia?

Do a little background reading in the subject area the PhD will be in. This will show your interest in the PhD on offer. Remember to show enthusiam for the subject when being interviewed. Questions you may face are why are you doing a PhD (i.e. I want the chance to conduct some original research that will produce data and finding new to the field I'll be studying. I believe the team and facilities here at XXX Uni. will provide me with the best opportunity to do that - remember to look up the Uni. on the internet and see what relevant facilities are available) and why have you applied for this particular PhD.

Also, where do you expect to be in five years time after the PhD has finished. How can you draw on your previous skills, qualifications and employment to make the PhD a success and what can you as a person bring to the project.

This should at least ensure you're not stuck on how to answer at least the basic questions in interview. As you've gathered, I'm outlining the basic questions you might face in any interview.

As regards the presentation, have you been given an outline on what you're expected to present? If not, aim at answering the basic questions you'd expect in interview. The point of the presentation will be how good you are at relaying information to an audience in a conference or talk, an important part of a PhD or any research-based job.

If this sounds a lot, don't panic. The potential supervisors should not expect the person they're interviewing to already be a world expert on the subject. If there are any questions you can't answer (be honest here and DON'T try to bluff), then the PhD is also an opportunity for you to learn - an apprenticeship in research if you like.

Ian (Mackem_Beefy)

Having been through the PhD interview process very recently I have seen that it varies a lot between universities. In some cases the interviewers will include your potential supervisor but in other cases there could just be a board of people. If the potential supervisor is there then you will be expected to answer more specific questions about the project. If they are not then the questions are much more general such as why you want to do a phd. In the last interview I did no one was in the same research field as the project I was applying for and as such I had to make my presentation much more general. Five minutes is very difficult. I would suggest making it as simple as possible and just try to get across the main points across. I guess the presentation depends on what subject area the PhD is in. Mine was in neuroscience and I just did a basic talk on some research I had done and the results. Either way try to use the presentation to show the skills you have gained which will be of benefit to the phd. I would also talk to the potential supervisor as some will be very helpful and may even tell you questions that they think will come up. If your very lucky they may even meet with you before hand and run through some questions with you. Hope this was of some help. good luck!!