Finding ‘the One’: My PhD Application Journey

Personal statements, references, methodologies, research proposals (!). . . The thought of applying for a PhD could be enough to put you off completely, especially if you’re in the last year of your undergraduate – with final year exams and all. But it may not actually be as bad as you think. Hopefully by sharing my experience I can give you some solace.

Obviously this is the first step in applying for a PhD – what to do and where to do it! For me this was probably the most time-consuming part. I knew roughly what area of research I wanted to do my PhD in, which helped a lot. But finding that elusive ‘perfect’ project takes longer than expected. I think the best piece of advice I can offer here is to start early and take your time. That way you’re less likely to miss out on an interesting project.

Having shortlisted about 5 or 6 PhDs I liked the look of, only one really interested me enough to excite me (nerdy, I know). This was a competition funded project. At the time I had no clue what this meant but now I can tell you that these scholarships are only awarded to projects that will produce the highest quality results and the applicants that can get those results. Other projects may also be competing for the same funding, but only a few will get it.

Knowing PhDs can be difficult to get into anyway, I didn’t like the idea of extra competition. . . but I decided to apply anyway. In my case there were about 50 proposed projects competing for only 12 funded places. I decided that I might as well try – if anything I would know what to expect for the next application.

It’s always a good idea to have some form of contact with your potential supervisor before you apply. My undergraduate tutor, knowing I was thinking of applying for a PhD, recommended that I email the supervisor(s) to introduce myself and to ask a few questions about the project and what techniques / directions the research could go in. This is a good way to show interest and it also gets your name out there so it is recognised when the application goes in. Doing this also provided me with a good idea of what the project was going to involve.

Applying for a PhD can seem a daunting task but in reality it’s just a few clicks. . . Once you have your CV updated, a bespoke covering letter written, and any other up to date information you need for the application prepared, that is. But once that’s done, it’s just a matter of uploading it all and clicking submit. Then there’s the wait to hear back . . .

I was both relieved and nervous when I received an email from the supervisor asking if we could have a ‘quick’ Skype interview. On the one hand it seems that I had made it to the next round, on the other I was about to have a chat about a niche subject I had only read relatively little about, with an expert.

The Skype call was said to be ‘informal’ and ‘relaxed’. In a way it was. There was no need to dust off the formal wear or practise that perfect hand shake, but I still felt the need to be prepared. In fact, I felt like I overprepared – re-reading all the supplementary papers refenced in the PhD listing as well as anything else I could find on the topic (whilst also preparing for January exams in my degree). You may not need to prepare quite this much, but here’s a tip for ‘virtual’ interviews: being on webcam allows you to have prepared notes ‘off camera’ reducing those dreaded blank mind episodes.

So imagine this, there I am sat in front of my computer, pieces of paper propped up against – well everything really – watching the clock and waiting for that instant message to appear, when all of a sudden . . . the internet goes down, literally 2 minutes before the proposed call time. Ahh nothing like restarting a router to calm the nerves.

Luckily, I managed to get everything back up and running in time for the call. This is where having already discussed the project with the supervisor came in handy as I could start a discussion and propose some directions to take the project in. This was a good way for me to show actual interest in the project and show I had done the background reading. It was also a way for me to get a sense of what my supervisory team was going to be like, see how they worked together, and be sure I could get along with them.

One of the main questions they asked was “why are you applying for a PhD?” This seems to be one of those open-ended questions that make you question your life decisions but, looking back now, I can see this was to make sure I was applying for the right reasons, not the wrong ones.

Another question that came up was “why have you only applied for one project?” to which I answered that no other projects interested me as much and I didn’t see the point spending time and energy applying for them. Although this approach worked for me, it probably isn’t the best way of going about applying: if things fall through you can be left with nothing and have to start again, having missed other application deadlines that you would have liked to have gone for.

After the call was over (lasting 45 minutes) I didn’t know what to think. Had it gone well, or not? Thankfully, the follow-up email inviting me for an interview soon answered this for me.

This is where reading interview advice really came in handy: what to expect and what questions to prepare for.

From the email I know it was going to be a panel interview with “up to 6 people”, to whom I also had to give a three-minute presentation. The presentation didn’t seem too daunting compared to a room filled with judging faces, but I was told that I will only be asked questions by 2 people, which I suppose isn’t too bad.

Before the interview I had the chance to look around the lab and speak to current students – a good opportunity to find out where I would be working and what the other students thought of the supervisor. There was also a presentation about the Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP) I was applying to with more information about the extra training that I will be receiving – another chance to decide if this type of programme was going to work for me.

Then it came time for the interview. When I walked in I was greeted by 10 people (that wasn’t as advertised!) but I didn’t let this phase me as I know I would only be talking to 2 and the rest were just there to observe. Yeah right . . . they all ended up asking questions. Thinking back this was probably because they were interested in what I had to say rather than a full-force interrogation.

After all the trials and tribulations of my application process I got that all-important email offering me the PhD – making it all worthwhile.

At the time of writing this, I’m now in the final year of my PhD (with 9 months to go!). Looking back at my application I think I was right to prepare so well, but probably should have had at least one ‘insurance’ project in mind. My biggest tips would be to invest time in your application. Contact the supervisor in advance and read up on the research area before your interview. The effort you put in at each stage will make the next one easier – and may even help with your actual PhD.

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