PhD Interviews

[aqua2013]

Hi guys,

 

I got a skype interview mail from CUNY for PhD Marketing?

 

• Any tips or guidance? What shud i expect?
• How long these interviews last? 
• Generally how many people get interview calls
• Any other thing u want to share?

Eagerly waiting for reverts!!!

 

Regards

[hp91]

Hi, 

 

Congrats!! From what I have heard interviews are done to know more about your research interests.

General preparation about what you have done and what you want to do would be sufficient. 

Duration of interviews depends, on average , half an hour. 

No clue about the number of people who gets calls.

 

May I know which all colleges  you have applied to. ?

[aqua2013]

Thanks hp,

 

Very less colleges only 8 .

 

SUNY,FSU,UCI,USC,Smeal,UF,BU

 

My grad scores are not that great. Also GRE V score is not gud enough...this discouraged me to appply widely...how bout u..

[rich1234]

Hey everyone, I'm looking for similar advice...but I'm in a slightly different spot...

 

So, I'm interviewing for a business phd as well of course & I interviewed with the phd director last week & he gave me a friendly tone, just telling me about the program, trying to gauge me as a person, my interests, etc...not too intense, but of course I felt like I did horrible...Anyhow...

 

I got an email from a prominent faculty member in the field that I'm applying for and they basically said that they are impressed with me as a candidate & he/she wants to talk with me further...

 

Now, he didn't really mention specifics...but I also want to make sure I'm asking meaningful questions, I feel like I already asked the PhD director all my pressing questions...What more should I ask? How should I prepare? 

 

Thanks to anyone who reads this & gives me some advice!!

 

Appreciate it...

[sapphirerodent]

I've done three phone / skype interviews so far.  One skype session I had THREE faculty at once talk to me and ask me questions.  Another school, I had 4 faculty separately call me and "interview" or talk to me.

 

Basically, they asked the same general questions, partially probably to compare notes and makes sure it's somewhat consistent.  Also some questions asked by different people will illicit different responses from you, depending on how the questions was phrased.  As long as you're consistent, you should be fine.

 

Okay, preparations.  If you are doing skype, wear a decent top.  Don't need to go all formal with suit and tie, but definitely not a t-shirt or something to look like you walked off the street.

 

You should somewhat have an idea of faculty you want to work with and why you want to work with them, how you see their interests (i.e. their recent published work) is in line with what you are interested in.  Think about what to say about your research interests, why you're interested, maybe a story how you are interested, relevant background preparations in RESEARCH (not coursework).

 

Questions that YOU should ask each faculty:

 

 

- (for those faculty that you want to work with) Do you know if they are taking on new students?

- Could you please describe your perspective on mentoring doctoral students?

- From your perspective, what is the culture like? Are the students and faculty on campus all the time or is there opportunity to work from home? (personally, I would prefer a very active and on-campus group, where as you may prefer working at home)

- What sort of projects are they working on (or) what upcoming projects do you know of that is currently in place or will be in place in the next few years?

- What type of assistantship will be available during year one (RA better than TA)?

- Are there opportunities for summer RA or TA funding sources?

 

 

Well, those are some of the questions I have asked my interviewers.   Best of luck!