Interviews

[guest1829]

Hi there, sorry if this has already been asked but I couldn't see any relatively recent threads on this. Is it common for programs to interview for PhDs? Which programs have people applied to that do interview? And has anyone received an invite to interview yet this cycle?

[sherlock holmes/M]

44 minutes ago, guest1829 said:

Hi there, sorry if this has already been asked but I couldn't see any relatively recent threads on this. Is it common for programs to interview for PhDs? Which programs have people applied to that do interview? And has anyone received an invite to interview yet this cycle?

This is my question too. 

[nęm0]

The results page can tell you alot.

[ovejal]

On this topic - any insight on what interviews typically involve would be helpful. This probably varies from school to school, but hearing people’s experiences would definitely help me prepare in case I do get an interview. 

[kestrel18]

Last year I was interviewed before I got accepted to my current Ph.D. program:
It was a serious discussion for about 40 minutes with two faculty members, including the Admission Committee Chair and the Professor whom I had mentioned in my Statement. They asked me about my previous academic and professional background, motivation for Ph.D. studies, and why I had chosen their particular program. A significant part involved discussing the research puzzle that I had posited and how (in terms of methods and regional focus) I would tackle it. In the end, I had a chance to ask questions and was told they would recommend to Grad Studies to accept me to the program. Everything went in an amicable but professional atmosphere. 
Do not stress too much, and good luck to all of you!

[icemanyeo]

10 hours ago, kestrel18 said:

Last year I was interviewed before I got accepted to my current Ph.D. program:
It was a serious discussion for about 40 minutes with two faculty members, including the Admission Committee Chair and the Professor whom I had mentioned in my Statement. They asked me about my previous academic and professional background, motivation for Ph.D. studies, and why I had chosen their particular program. A significant part involved discussing the research puzzle that I had posited and how (in terms of methods and regional focus) I would tackle it. In the end, I had a chance to ask questions and was told they would recommend to Grad Studies to accept me to the program. Everything went in an amicable but professional atmosphere. 
Do not stress too much, and good luck to all of you!

Thank you for sharing!

[rash_sulganni]

On 1/17/2021 at 7:52 AM, kestrel18 said:

Last year I was interviewed before I got accepted to my current Ph.D. program:
It was a serious discussion for about 40 minutes with two faculty members, including the Admission Committee Chair and the Professor whom I had mentioned in my Statement. They asked me about my previous academic and professional background, motivation for Ph.D. studies, and why I had chosen their particular program. A significant part involved discussing the research puzzle that I had posited and how (in terms of methods and regional focus) I would tackle it. In the end, I had a chance to ask questions and was told they would recommend to Grad Studies to accept me to the program. Everything went in an amicable but professional atmosphere. 
Do not stress too much, and good luck to all of you!

Good to hear this. I have an interview with Notre Dame in a couple of weeks and I don't know know what to expect. This has been helpful

[smug-face]

I had an interview with LSE last week. It's the only program I'm expecting to have to interview for. It was a brief (~25 min) chat, mainly on my research proposal, with some rather in-depth questions. It mostly seemed that they wanted to make sure I knew what I was talking about. Everyone was very friendly, lots of smiles. 

[polisci_gal]

I had an interview yesterday with a school. It was just the graduate director but we spoke via zoom. They asked me to tell them about myself (classic), explain my research, tell them why I applied to that school (and who I could work with) along with what I could bring to their department. They also mentioned that their department heavily uses quantitative methods and wanted to know my experience with quant and also what my research experience was in the past. They then opened up the floor for me to ask some questions. I asked mostly about the TA/RA opportunities, funding, and more specific faculty interests.