PhD Interview Questions | What do PhD supervisors look for in applicants?

A lot of PhD applicants have asked for my PhD interview advice. During the PhD grad school admissions process, what kinds of questions are asked, and what kinds of answers should you give? One way to look at this, regardless of whether it's a formal interview, a site visit, or just an informal conversation with a faculty member, is: what do advisors look for in prospective PhD students who might come work with them? This video tackles five likely questions from that perspective.

00:00 Introduction to interviews
04:39 Why do you want to get a PhD?
06:01 What drew you to this program?
08:08 What kind of research do you want to do?
11:43 What are your strengths and weaknesses as a researcher?
14:34 Tell me a little about yourself...

Make sure you check out the rest of my playlist with advice for applying to PhD programs (including one about statements of purpose):
   • Applying for PhD Programs  

But if you're at the interview stage, make sure you've watched:
- Should you get a PhD? (Good reasons and bad reasons for pursuing a PhD):    • Should You Get a PhD??? | Reasons to ...  
- Where should you apply for a PhD? (Reasons to apply to specific PhD programs):    • Deciding where to apply for a PhD? | ...  
- Things to do in a statement of purpose (e.g., how to describe your research interests):    • 5 Things to Do in a Statement of Purp...  
- Reasons PhD students are rejected (and not all of these are your fault!):    • Reasons PhD applicants are rejected |...  

Feel free to ask questions in the comments and I'll do my best to answer! But as always, also make sure you're getting advice from people in your discipline!

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