Ph.D. Program Interview Tips

Student panel

Washington and Lee University Cognitive and Behavioral Science After Graduation Graduate School in Psychology Ph.D. Program Interview Tips
Cognitive and Behavioral Science Department

Graduate school interviews allow you and a potential mentor/program to assess if there is a fit for your future training. In addition to being interviewed, you are interviewing the program and the people in it. Pay attention to the atmosphere and how you feel in it. Does it feel like a place where you can thrive?

Before the interview, be sure that you know the directions to get there and where you should park (if relevant). If possible, drive there the night before to get your bearings and arrive early.

During the interview, be yourself. Remember to dress and behave professionally at all times. Even during informal and casual times (with other interviewees, with administrative staff of the program, with current graduate students, etc.), you are being evaluated and you want to make the best impression.

Preparations

It is a good idea to call or email the administrative assistant to see if it is possible to get a copy of your itinerary (i.e., who you will be meeting with and the format of the interview process).

Do your homework about people with whom you will be meeting (particularly mentors you are interested in working with). Be familiar with their profiles and ;ook them up on PsycInfo to read stories/abstracts that have been published within the past few years. Be prepared to ask informed questions about their current work (not: “What are you working on right now?” but “I know that your recent research has focused on [topic]. Could you tell me more about the current stage of this work? Is this what your current graduate students are working on as well?”).

Before the interview, make up “sound bites” of a few sentences so that you can very readily answer questions like: Tell me more about your research experience. Tell me more about your interests. Which elements of our program (or mentor’s research) are most appealing to you?

Questions

  • Do graduate students generally come into the program and work with the same faculty mentor throughout their training?

  • If (and only if) this is important to you: Are there opportunities for examples of multidisciplinary work in the department (i.e., students working with more than one lab or being mentored by more than one faculty member)?

  • What is the range of timelines for finishing this program?
  • Is there any data available on post-graduate employment/how graduates of this program are using their degrees?
  • Clinical programs: What are typical practicum and internship sites for students in this program? How competitive is it to find these placements in this locale? How often do students find themselves unable to secure a placement? (And if this experience isn’t an anomaly: Could you tell me a little more about what factors tend to contribute to this situation when it happens?)

Ask about funding after you have learned about other aspects of the programming; this issue should be secondary to questions about the training and community.

  • How do students earn their funding in each year of the program?
  • Is funding guaranteed for each year of the program?
  • Is summer funding available? Through what mechanisms (working on faculty grants, individual student research grants, summer teaching, etc.)?

If funding is earned through Teaching Assistantships, ask well-informed questions like:

  • Do TAs teach their own courses or assist faculty members in teaching large sections?
  • What courses are TAs typically assigned to teach?
  • How many hours per week do TAs typically devote to this work?
  • Is there any kind of teaching instruction or support for first year TAs?

Ask versions of these questions about the program as well as the mentor(s) you are interested in working with:

  • Would you characterize this program as one in which graduate students tend to work mostly independently or is there more of a team format for working on research?
  • How often do faculty members meet with students they are mentoring?
  • Important: Ask to meet with graduate students (especially those working with the mentor(s) you are interested in) or get email addresses or phone numbers so that you can contact them.
    • To graduate students: Would you consider (the mentor(s) you are interested in) to have more of a hands-on, nurturing kind of mentoring style or more of a hands-off style?
  • How expensive is it for graduate students to live in this town?
  • Is it possible to live off the stipend or do most students end up needing to borrow money to pay their living expenses?
  • What is your favorite thing (best thing) about this program?
  • What is the most difficult thing (least favorite/worst thing) about this program?

Thank You Notes

Thank you notes are important because potential faculty mentors offer positions to candidates that they believe will accept their offer. If they aren’t sure of your level of interest, it will feel risky for them to offer you a position because until they receive a response from their first-choice candidate, they cannot offer the position to a second-choice candidate and may end up with less-than-ideal choices. Time is of the essence.

Therefore, it is important to send a detailed thank you note to the primary faculty member with whom you are applying to work. This note should be written/mailed within a few hours after the interview is over so that it arrives as soon as possible. If you know that you are interviewing near the end of the program’s interview process (which usually takes place in at least two periods), it may be preferable to write a thank you email message instead of relying on the mail. If you are in the last batch of interviewees, the meeting(s) to select candidates may occur within a day or two of your departure and it is essential to signal your interest in the program before the faculty mentor has to make that decision.

Professional Thank You Letter Tips

  • Address the person appropriately: Unless you have a specific indication that the person wishes to be called by their first name, address those with doctoral degrees as “Dr.” (or “Professor” if appropriate), and use “Ms.” or “Mr.” for all others.
  • Say thank you: Get to the point of your note quickly. Say the words “thank you” in the first sentence or two, so the person knowns why you are writing.
  • Give some specifics: Make sure you specify what you are thankful for – help the person to understand exactly what you appreciate. You may remind the person of a particular moment form the visit or from a conversation you had with them. A bit of detail shows the person what you really appreciate, and why. Also, it makes the letter interesting instead of rote.
  • Be positive and sincere: Express your gratitude, but don’t go overboard. People can tell when a thank you note is insincere or forced. Avoid using overblown language or exaggerated statements. The experience did not need to be amazing, extraordinary, and awesome to have been valuable and appreciated, and such language can feel inauthentic when it is laid on too thick.
  • Personalize each letter: Personalize each thank you letter you send. For instance, if (in the future) you send thank you notes to everyone you interviewed with for a job, add something to each note about your specific conversation with them. Don’t simply copy and paste the same message for each person – this will come across as insincere. Sometimes thank you notes get forwarded across colleagues (i.e., if someone receives a note and wants to make sure the whole team feels thanked), so it is not ideal for your notes to multiple team members to be identical.
  • Keep it brief: Thank you notes should be detailed but short. Keep your note no longer than a couple of concise paragraphs.
  • Edit: A thank you note in a professional context must be well-written and error free. Proofread your letter carefully before sending it. Typing it first, even if you then copy it into a handwritten note, may help you to write intentionally and well.
  • Sign off: Use an appropriate closing, like “Sincerely,” and end with your signature.
  • Send it as soon as possible: Ideally, write and send your note within 24 hours. This is a signal of fresh and genuine appreciation. In a job interview context, not sending a thank you letter after an interview can hurt your chances of getting hired, and sending it too late may mean that you will miss the window in which it can be helpful.