Biostat PhD interview

[bestregards]

Hello, I am an international student applying for Stat and Biostat PhD programs. Today I got an email inviting me to an interview for the Biostat and Bioinfo PhD program at Duke and they are asking if I have some faculty I would like to invite as interviewers. How would you answer this, or, how DID you answer for this?

[Nothalfgood]

Correct me if I'm wrong: It sounds like they are asking if there is anyone in their department with whom you would especially like to talk. For example, if there are faculty members whose work affiliations or research are interesting to you, you might want to ask more about related resources and opportunities.

I am not in your situation, but here are my two cents anyhow. If, on the one hand, you have reached out to any faculty at Duke already or you have shown an interest in the work or research of someone in your application, then you have nothing to lose by inviting them to your interview. If, on the other hand, you have not made an effort to do either of these things, then inviting someone in particular might appear as disingenuous interest.

However, on the bright side it appears that whether you invite anyone in particular to your interview, they probably won't have any special influence on your admission -- if they didn't show up, then someone else would. As such, such an invitation is probably only for your benefit and won't affect admission decisions.