Asking for information when invited for an interview

[milara]

I received an email inviting me to do a conference call interview for one fo the schools to which I applied. The email says that "a group of faculty members and current doctoral students will participate in the interview."

I want to ask them who will be participating in the interview, but I'm not sure if that's kosher.

What do you guys think? What kinds of questions is it okay to ask in response to this sort of interview request, so that I can better prepare for the interview?

Thanks in advance!

[hope4fall2012]

I guess the minimum amount of information that you should be thorough with before the interview are

a ) Your previous research and research interests.

b ) Professor/s previous research (In this case, the profs you have mentioned in your SOP I guess).

c ) Know your SOP and resume (and writing samples) thoroughly.

d ) Know why you are applying to that particular school and that particular department.

I don't really know what kind of questions you should be asking the person who sent you the email. If the person who sent you the email is a prof, then it's likely that he is most interested in your application. So make sure you know his research prety well.

[crazygirl2012]

I would suggest not asking who will be on the conference call, because they did already sort of give you an answer to that. They just didn't mention names. I have asked questions in response to interview invitations, but only related to travel and dress code. For a conference call, I can't think of any other questions you should reasonably ask. Maybe you can ask if your POI will be included, if they didn't make that clear?

[non humilis mulier]

I was invited for a Skype interview, and from the initial email, it was not clear who would interview me. So I emailed the DGS, and he was more than happy to disclose which professors would conduct the interview. In my case, I do not think it was perceived as rude or pushy, but I admit that it was a bit of a bold move.