Thank you Dr. Allison Vaughn, Dr. Susan Brasser, and the Social-Health and Affective Neuroscience Lab for all the great advice!

Preparing for Interview

  • Talk with your advisor! They can prepare you for how to talk about your work, your thesis, your strengths, etc.
  • Look up possible interview questions and think of answers. There are lots of resources out there already – use them! 
  • Make sure you know who you are talking to. Look them up, read their website (their CV if it’s posted), some abstracts (or full articles) of their work. Try to stay recent as the publishing process takes a while. When talking to them, you are looking for “fit” within their lab so you should know about their lab and ask questions that will help you assess that.
  • Make sure you know about the program you are applying to. Look it up, read the website, find as much info as you can (it is frustrating when a student asks a question that is clearly on the website). If something on the website is not clear, then ask. 
  • Ask about “outcomes” of students in their Ph.D. programs. If it is a clinical program, do they all place into internships? Where do they go when they graduate? Academia? Applied/professional settings? (Some of this may be on their website but you can ask individual mentors about their students specifically.)
  • Make a list or think about the skills you want to work on and experience you want to receive (grant writing, quantitative statistics, biodata, specific populations, primary vs secondary data, etc.) and those goals will guide the types of questions you ask during interviews.
  • Some programs may ask if you have a study idea for masters (year 1 or 2) dissertation. Depends on the program, but maybe loosely prepare a research idea that you would be interested in pursuing if the option was available (After, you could ask what are common studies/projects for students in their first 1-2 years).
  • Organize your questions around topics and who would best be able to answer those questions.  You will have a short time for face to face conversations with faculty/potential mentors, so use that time to ask any questions that won’t be as easy to answer over email or by a general program info session.

At the Interview

  • Dress professionally
  • Be well prepared to discuss your research
  • Know the positions/research areas of the faculty you will be meeting with 
  • Keep in mind that all activities are part of the interview process (including more casual get togethers with students), so behave accordingly
  • Remember you are determining whether this program is a good fit for you too, so ask any questions that you have!
  • You want to know if the people you are interviewing with are people you could see yourself working with for the next 6-7 years (and beyond!) so be yourself!
  • Enjoy the experience – this is an exciting time in your journey!

Possible Interview Questions

  • Tell me a bit about yourself.
  • Tell me about your research interests and how you think they fit with the lab’s.
  • What are some specific outcomes you would be interested in examining?
  • How do you see diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) fitting into your research?
  • If you had unlimited resources/funding, what project would you want to create?
  • What are you hoping to get out of grad school (both skills and career)?
  • What type of population are you interested in working with clinically? 
  • What is a research paper you recently read that stood out to you and how does it relate to your research interests?

Questions to ask current graduate students at the program 

  • What is the funding structure/guarantee for students?
  • What is the area around campus like?
  • How much time are you expected to spend in the lab?
  • How would you describe your principle investigator’s advising style?
  • How do you maintain a successful relationship with your advisor?
  • What research are you working on?
  • How quickly were you able to start your research?
  • Is the project you’re working on what you thought you’d be doing, or has the project you’re working on gone in any unexpected directions?
  • Would you choose this advisor if you were doing it over?
  • What do you think of the courses – useful content, well taught, relevant to your research/goals?
  • How easy/hard is it to customize the program?
  • What would you change about the program?
  • What kind of schedule do you work?
  • What do grad students do in their free time?
  • Do most students have a good work/life balance?
  • Do you know people who have left the graduate program?
  • What kind of resources does the program offer (e.g. for mental health, career development, learning new skills, etc.)?
  • Is there anything you wish you had taken into consideration when making your decision about where to attend?

Questions to ask potential principal investigators (PI)

  • I read your paper/book X. Can you tell me about your future research goals related to X? What are your current projects?
  • What research projects do you have that would be looking for graduate students?
  • What advice would you give to a student who wants to be successful in your program? Are there any specific pitfalls to be avoided?
  • What are the expectations for a graduate student in your lab?
  • Do students create their own projects or work on something already developed/in progress?
  • How is your lab organized? Do you have a lab manager, or do other members of the lab take on this role?
  • Do you have lab/group meetings, and what is the format of those meetings?
  • How much collaboration is there within the lab?
  • How much do your students publish?
  • How often do you send students to conferences?
  • How long do students in your lab take to complete their Ph.D.?
  • What do students from your lab typically do after graduation?
  • What is the big picture/goal/focus/priority of the department?

Questions to ask other interviewers (i.e. faculty, admission directors, etc.)

  • What are the responsibilities of grad students in this program?
  • How interested are you and other faculty in collaborations? 
  • What’s the biggest strength of the program?
  • What professional development services are available?
  • What percentage of students complete the Ph.D.? Pass qualifications?
  • How would you compare this program to others you have worked with in the past?
  • What are the career outcomes for students in this program?
  • What qualities do you think allow people to succeed in this program specifically?