What types of question should I be asking them?

[mj53]

Fully comfortable in answering questions about myself in interviews. Even questions I may not expect, I'm pretty good at winging it.

But what should I be asking them? Certainly there will be that period where they ask me if I have any questions for them. And I know I should, but a lot of the time I'm so focused on my answers that I'm not even thinking about what to ask them.

So for people who have been through the interview process, what kind of questions are appropriate to ask during interview weekends? Just some general ideas would be helpful.

[svh]

You can ask about the stipend, what your potential advisor's mentoring style is, what they like/dislike about the program or the city, what kinds of jobs graduates get, what they'll expect your role in their lab will be, etc. Think about what your everyday life in this person's lab might be and ask questions that will pertain to that (because that's what will matter: everyday life).

[Gibbas]

I actually have a similar question. I think I know what I want to ask when I'm alone with the POI and lab, but I will be in a situation where I will be in a group setting with the other faculty and admits for a questions session, and I don't know what kind of questions I should be asking then.

[crazygirl2012]

I asked a lot of questions related to teaching and TAing. It's important to know when you'll be expected to actually teach in front of a class (one school said first semester!), whether you will be given instruction (such as a teaching effectiveness seminar) before teaching, and what kinds of teaching opportunities you will be given after you have a master's degree. Some programs allow you to essentially teach your own course, if you're interested in doing so.

You can ask faculty or students what they like and dislike about living in the area. You can also ask students (preferably without faculty there) if they can live comfortably with the stipend, whether or not most people have roommates, and which neighborhoods are the best for grad students to live in. Ask them about their office spaces too. When there are no faculty around, you can ask the students what they think of their coursework and your POI's mentoring style. Throughout your time with them, pay attention to how well they appear to work together and whether or not they essentially like each other. It's important!

In a group meeting, you can ask whether or not the school offers health insurance. You might also want to know their procedure for qualifying/candidacy exams, if they don't go over it with you.

For the person who asked about the individual interview with the POI-- yes, definitely have plenty of questions prepared. You can ask what upcoming projects they will be working on. How many students are currently in their lab. How long students usually take to complete the program. I've done two of my interview weekends so far. The one that was a good fit was easy, and we kept talking until we ran out of time. The other one was more awkward, but I got through it. You'll be surprised at how quickly you can think of questions when necessary! But if it's a good fit, you probably won't need to fire off question after question.

[stereopticons]

I asked a lot of questions related to teaching and TAing. It's important to know when you'll be expected to actually teach in front of a class (one school said first semester!), whether you will be given instruction (such as a teaching effectiveness seminar) before teaching, and what kinds of teaching opportunities you will be given after you have a master's degree. Some programs allow you to essentially teach your own course, if you're interested in doing so.

This is a really good one. I've also been asking how much collaboration is there is in the department, because my interests are varied and I like to work on more than one project.

[psychgurl]

It's important to ask POIs where recent graduates got jobs (or if they got jobs). One of my POIs prides herself on mentoring in a way that produces very HIREABLE phd students. Keep in mind that that is the end goal, and it's best to know the success rate that students in the program have with finding jobs after completing their phd's.

Also, how long does it typically take students in the program to complete the phd? Even though 4 or 5 years is the ideal plan, what is the reality? If students take 6 or 7 years, why?

It's also very important to ask about mentoring style (as previous posters pointed out). Do they give co-authoring opportunities, and how often do grad students get those opportunitites? First author opportunities? How often do they meet with their grad students, and do they mentor with a more hands-on or distant approach?

[mj53]

Thanks to everyone who posted here. Very helpful for me.

[crazygirl2012]

This is a really good one. I've also been asking how much collaboration is there is in the department, because my interests are varied and I like to work on more than one project.

Same! I forgot to add that. Collaboration is a great topic to ask about.