Interviews with professors

[lizgb]

Hi. So I have several interview/recruitment weekends for PhD programs coming up in the next month. I've been researching the kinds of things you'll be asked and the kinds of questions you should ask them. A lot of the "what should you ask" examples (and I agree) have to do with money, housing, teaching, placement after grad school etc. However, I've been given schedules for my interviews and they're all with research profs (several in one day). I figure I should probably be asking them stuff about their labs and research and whatnot. However, is it appropriate to ask more general/technical kinds of questions to possible professors? If so, which prof should I ask? Should I just ask the same general questions to everyone I interview with so no one feels left out? Ack!

I'd love to hear people's experiences with this.

Thanks!

-Liz

[ScreamingHairyArmadillo]

I figure I should probably be asking them stuff about their labs and research and whatnot. However, is it appropriate to ask more general/technical kinds of questions to possible professors?

Yes and yes.

If so, which prof should I ask?

All of them.

Should I just ask the same general questions to everyone I interview with so no one feels left out?

Yes.

At both of my interviews I met with multiple people in one day. I asked all of them very similar questions (What does your research focus on? How many students do you have? What do you want to branch out into?). You really could just bring a list and ask each professor all of your questions, but you might not need to. Also, you'll be surprised at how much the professors themselves will talk instead of you! Only one I met with opened up with "So, tell me about yourself." All of them love to speak about their own work - it's best if you really listen and try to tie your interests into it (assuming it is related). Even if you don't want to work with a particular person, it's best to make a great impression so all of them will be pushing for your acceptance.

Also, try to meet with grad students alone. They'll answer most of your messy questions about money, bad profs, etc.

Good luck!

[dzk]

I'm a biology guy too. Every interview is going to be different, and what's going to get you in is your ability to hold an intelligent conversation, not your ability to ask the "right" questions.

Most of the time, they'll open with "tell me about yourself/your research," ask you a few questions, then they'll either start talking about their own stuff or ask you what you want to know about the program.

Personalities vary... occasionally you'll get someone drilling you about specifics and asking difficult questions, and occasionally you'll get someone who doesn't say a word about research because the conversation got sidetracked from the start.

[Tall Chai Latte]

agreeing with armadillo here, professors do like to talk a lot about their research! to start with, most of my interviewers asked me about my research, and some asked me questions regarding to that. to my surprise, some of the questions were actually good ideas to push my research along. you can ask them questions like: how big is your group, how do you keep track of everyone's work (if the group is big), what's the main technique that you use in the lab, what was your area of training etc. one interviewer and i were chatting about basketball and how bad both of our teams are. they just want to see how well you can think on your feet and how you handle questions. you really don't have to talk a lot, just ask questions here and there to keep the conversation flowing.

[Genomic Repairman]

Here is a repost of a friend of mines blog about this. She is a professor and here is her take interviews with candidates.

http://science-professor.blogspot.com/2010/02/grad-interviews.html

There have been several requests lately for a post on interviewing at or visiting grad schools as a prospective student, along the lines of my recent series of posts on faculty interviews.

These interviews/visits may vary from field to field, so I hope that readers will contribute additional information, specifying if possible their academic discipline.

My philosophy can be summed up quite simply. During my interaction with visiting students, I try to give a clear picture of the research opportunities and dynamics so that, if admitted, they have information to use when making a decision. Those who express an interest in my research field also meet my grad students.

When I meet with grad candidates, I don't grill them with aggressive questions. I want to see some degree of focus, but the student doesn't have to know exactly what they want to do for their thesis research. I want to be able to have a conversation about the research possibilities in my research group/department/university, and it's nice if the student asks a question now and then so the conversation isn't a monologue.

Many (all?) of the visiting students have or will end up with multiple appealing offers, as they should. For these students, the visit is a mutual checking-out of/by applicant and department.

I think that I have quite flexible parameters when it comes to evaluating a visiting grad student -- i.e., in terms of their personality and level of sophistication -- but I do have some limits. For example, I am not perturbed by shyness, although I am not as accepting of someone who considers "What are your interests?" to be an aggressive question. I am not disappointed by an inability to ask brilliant questions, but I do want to see some evidence of an interest in research. I am happy to talk about something other than science and find out about the outside interests of a student, but I think it unwise for a student to skip out on part of the organized group activities to check out the rec center (for example); I recommend finding another time to gaze at the elliptical machines and trail along on the boring lab or campus tour as scheduled.

Just as with interviews for a faculty position, I advise grad applicants to BE REAL. Give clear and sincere answers to any questions you are asked, ask any questions you want to ask, and take a careful look around and see if you are visiting a place you would really want to be.

****

There was also a request for information on timing of interviews, offers etc. This is going to vary a lot with institution/discipline. Anyone care to comment? I can say that it's likely that, at my institution, the process is going to be more protracted than usual as we deal with economic uncertainties.