What to say?

February 4, 2008 7:53 PM

Grad School Interview questions...

I am a student at the university that I am hoping to attend for grad school. I have a new professor this semester who I really like. I approached them a few weeks ago and let them know that if I am accepted to the program, I would like to work with them. We chatted for a bit and got on really well. Well I recieved an email from them today saying that they had gotten my application and was very impressed and would like to extend an interview. Since I know them, and currently have class with this professor what can I expect in the interview?

posted by MayNicholas to education (8 comments total)

What field? Is it a PhD program or MA?
posted by LobsterMitten at 7:54 PM on February 4, 2008

It is a PhD program.
posted by MayNicholas at 7:56 PM on February 4, 2008

In Psych
posted by MayNicholas at 8:20 PM on February 4, 2008

I think this depends a lot on the field you're going into. I've been in math and logic for awhile, so your mileage may vary.

I had a similar situation where I was interviewed by two people, including a professor from whom I'd taken several classes and with whom I wanted to work with. In fact, he was one of the people who wrote me a letter of recommendation. In my case, I knew him well enough that it actually made the interview less stressful, though I can imagine that if I'd been interviewed by a teacher I'd only had once, it might have the opposite effect. Little I said was likely to influence his decision, so at first, I was at a bit of a loss for how to proceed. When I realized that these were only two of the people involved in the decision process (and they weren't as influential as others), I adopted the strategy of trying to give them as much ammunition as possible to take back to the rest of the committee. I have no idea whether anything I said that day made any difference, but I think that it's useful to have some sort of focus when going into an interview like this. Most of the time, you just have to answer questions, but I find that having something else in the back of your mind assures that if I do get distracted, it's not by self-defeating stress loops. (If that makes any sense to you, then you've obviously had more sleep recently than I have.)

Of course, all the standard interview advice still applies. Be prepared with a few questions that can't be answered by looking at the University or Department webpage. If you can't accept the position until you know whether your significant other can get a job in the area, mention this early (they're legally not allowed to ask, but they're often in a position to do something about it given enough time). If you prepare an explanation for any discrepancies or negative-seeming information on your resume or application (like a surprisingly low grade), make sure they don't sound like excuses (saying that you learned the hard way how not to manage your time is much better than saying that you had a really busy semester). Make sure you can briefly explain what your long-term plans are (it's okay to a couple potential plans or plans that are dependent upon other conditions, but you should have some sort of plan that seems to gel with the way the department runs things). I'm sure you can find all this advice and more in many, many places, so I'll cut this off here.
posted by ErWenn at 8:32 PM on February 4, 2008

Get to know his research. Start with his faculty website listing his research interests and current projects. It'll probably have a list of papers that he's elected to highlight - read these.

Based on what you learn, think up questions to ask him about his work - like, future directions, or new avenues of research based on prior findings. It's great if you can come up with a research project (or three) that you want to pursue while working with him. Ask him

If you're really gung-ho, look up recent reviews on his and your area of study and read them. It's nice to have 3rd person perspectives, or insights into the field that contradict your future potential supervisor's world view.
posted by porpoise at 9:19 PM on February 4, 2008

At the risk of sounding very un-PC, for much of the sciences (including social sciences) the personal interview is still a part of the PhD application to provide programs with a way ensure that international students' TOEFL scores are legit.

Certainly, personality matters but I would venture to say that most PhD programs would take a budding stellar researcher over a bubbly personality every time. Probably the questions will be pretty general--make yourself familiar with the research agendas of the faculty well enough to let them know who you would want to work with and why (sounds like you have this covered already, but you might need a 2nd or 3rd choice)

I'm can't speak for your program or psych in general, but in my prog, by the time interviews are held the decisions are basically finalized anyway--barring blowing the interview completely (fistfight, etc.) the interview probably doesn't count for much so relax and take advantage of the time to get to know the other faculty you'll be working with for 4 (5.....6....7.......ahhh!) years.

Per ErWenn, I would take advantage of the time to ask good questions about the program that aren't in the official material: funding opportunities, student support for travel, student offices, competitiveness, expectations regarding publications/presentations, etc. Those things are important to know about, and the sooner the better. Good luck.
posted by jtfowl0 at 9:31 PM on February 4, 2008

Not to disagree with jtfowl0, but, if this happens to be Clinical or Counselling psychology, the interview does matter. A lot. They really will be screening for personality as well as aptitude -- mad geniuses do not make good clinical psychologists. (they do seem to make good neuropsychologists, indeed, it seems to be a requirement:)

So -- they will be asking you questions, and you should certainly ask the sorts of things people are suggesting, but if it is clinical, then be very appropriate in your manner, your speech, and your dress. My partner for several years was a professor of Clinical Psych, who also did the admissions and interviews, and she was full of stories of smart students who presented poorly and seemed to be poorly suited for training in a healing profession that requires insight into other people's states of mind and a high degree of respect for appropriateness.
posted by Rumple at 12:59 AM on February 5, 2008

What they are most interested in any part of a PhD application is whether or not you have a focused interest. So they will probably ask you what you want to study and what kind of project would interest you.
posted by gesamtkunstwerk at 4:15 AM on February 5, 2008