Hi, I'm currently a PhD student in English Literature at a university in the UK. I'm going to have an informal interview for an internal teaching post on Monday and it's going to be only a 15-20 min interview. I just wonder if anyone has had experience in this before and would like to share it (like what kind of questions did you get asked? any tips or advice?).

Thanks a lot!

Hi,

I received an email from the Doctoral School at a UK university almost two months ago telling me that I got the place and funding. After 4 weeks of waiting, I emailed them to ask when the letter would be sent out but they gave me no specific answer. I'm very worried and just wondering how long everyone had to wait to get their offer letters. And should I contact them again about it?

Thank you so much for all your replies, they really help me stay positive!!

Hey,

I'm doing a Master's degree in English literature at a British university. I just completed all my two semesters with only a dissertation left to do, so my grade average without my dissertation mark at the moment is 68%. I didn't get any As in all of the modules I took and really want to graduate with a distinction. I'm just wondering if I try to get an A in my dissertation and have my overall of 68-9%, would the university consider lifting me up to a distinction?

I know that in undergrad in the UK, if you get 68% overall and several firsts (especially in your dissertation) in your final year, the uni will consider giving you a first.

Yeah, that's true. Thank you!

Sorry I wasn't clear in my question. Was trying to find a way to edit it but I have no idea how to. So this is a British university that I applied to and it's the school of arts and humanities. The funding body is the university, which offers scholarships for several schools and departments. Yeah, I was thinking of waiting for another week and then I'll give them a call. Just don't look want to sound impatient.

Hi, I know that there are often two processes after a PhD interview: the school will decide whether (1) you get a place; (2) whether you get funding. From your experience, did you hear back from your potential supervisors first whether you get a place or did you get to know both at the same time? It's been almost three weeks since my interview and I haven't heard anything from the school. The chair of the interview did say to me that the first process will be quick and the second will take up to 4-8 weeks. Does this mean I won't be offered a place?

I personally think you should contact them about it. I sent my PhD application to a university recently and they said they would let me know the result of the shortlisting stage for interviews by this date but they didn't so I phoned them, and turned out the process took longer than usual. At the end of the day, it's your application and you've put a lot of effort into it so if it bothers you, just contact them. Good luck!

Hi,

I applied for a PhD in English Literature and also for funding, and just had an interview this Tuesday. It was my first PhD interview and the project is proposed by me. I looked up all the questions that might be asked during a PhD interview (i.e. tell me about yourself, why are you the right candidate, weaknesses and strengths, why this project) and prepared for them, but on the day they dove straight into my project and asked me very detailed questions about the novels I want to work on (which of course doing a Master's I didn't have much time to think about them that far). So I was completely unprepared for this. But I managed to answer most of their questions. I said most because I couldn't answer two of them (I haven't read two out of five of the novels I said I would do my project on) and because I gave a wrong answer to one of their questions.

So my questions are I don't know whether it's normal that interviewers would focus only on the candidates' projects and nothing else and whether the fact that I couldn't answer some of their questions is bad and shows that I haven't thought about the project properly. If you guys have similar experience and are happy to share it with me, I'd be really grateful. It would really calm me down because I think the interview went really badly. Many thanks!