Hi Everyone

I am currently an undergraduate studying Environmental Science and have an interview for a PhD studentship next week. The studentship is based with the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology in Bangor. I am just wondering if anyone has any tips on what to expect for interview?!

many thanks

amy

There have been questions like this before so you might be able to search to get more answers.

But basically, you will probably be asked some questions regarding your understanding of what the project involves but i wouldn't imagine it to be too intense. so just make sure that you more or less understand everything that is in the project proposal. They will then ask you things about your past experience and background. But in my experience they will be more interested in your character and motivation for doing a PhD. They will also want to ensure that you know what you are getting yourself into 8-)

Good luck with your interview (up)

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During my interview I was asked me what I thought a PhD was, and I flapped around for ages before finally getting to the point that it's an original piece of work! I feel embarrassed to think about it even now, but the point is, I'd researched my topic but missed out some of the generic stuff about what a PhD is and involves. Maybe have a look at some of the 'how to do a PhD/write a thesis' books available. Good luck!

I've just been offered a post-doc position, and its a bit of a different field, but I think its because I sounded positive and linked their project with my interests, why I thought the work was important, and if I couldn't do something I said I'd be willing to learn those skills. They want somebody who is going to be really proactive!

Also, they might ask you how a PhD fits in with your career plans. And that might be a bit different from everyone elses' answer because you'll be based in a research institute rather than a traditional academic department.

in my interview they asked me why i wanted to do that specific phd, which sounds easy but was quite tricky to answer in detail! they may also ask why you have chosen that particular institution/department, so have some answers ready! they shouldn't ask you too many detailed questions about the project itself, but i did have a fairly intensive technical interview where they asked me loads of specific questions such as what certain terms meant, what certain things stood for etc (i'm in pharmacology, so this will differ by subject). they also showed me some graphs and asked me to interpret the data. i also had a 'capabilities' interview, where they basically asked me to think of a variety of situations, where/when i have encountered something similar, and how i dealt with it. eg. they once asked me if i had ever challenged a senior figure at work with a new idea that went against their own work/ideas.

to be honest, my interview was horrendous and lasted all day, but i don't think this is the norm! i am based with an industrial partner, so they basically put me through the same process they use for employees. hope fully yours should be much less scary!

good luck :)

I had a successful Psychology PhD studentship interview last week and the process comprised a presentation (of my undergraduate project) followed by questions, and then a panel interview. At the interview, I was asked to explain the background of my PhD proposal and what the project was generally about, and then I was asked to give an example of a specific experiment I might do. As my studentship involves some undergraduate teaching, there were some brief questions about how comfortable I felt with areas of my subject, and then I was asked three very specific questions about statistics. I'd familiarise yourself as much as possible with your research proposal, and anticipate any questions about it (e.g. what experiments might you do, what problems might you encounter, etc). If you haven't already done so, try and learn as much as you can about the department and the people interviewing you, so you feel more comfortable and can anticipate the sorts of things they may want to discuss. The interview part of the process lasted only about 20 minutes, and a lot of it seemed to be to do with just seeing the sort of person I was and whether I would fit in with the department. I actually really enjoyed the interview (odd I know!) and it wasn't nearly as scary as I imagined. Best of luck next week!