Letters of recommendation (LORs) are a key part of your application. Strong ones provide meaningful support, while a lukewarm one can really hurt your chances for admission. In this post, we’ll answer two questions: Who should write in support of your PhD application? How can you make sure your LORs are as good as they…
How to Ace Your PhD Interview: Prepare to Discuss These 10 Topics
While not all PhD programs require interviews, some do (including many overseas). If you’re invited to a PhD interview, take full advantage of the opportunity you’ve been given by preparing effectively – review your research on the department, prepare to talk about your PhD research goals, etc. (P.S. A mock interview can be helpful!). PhD…
Seeking Employment with Your New PhD
Congratulations! You’ve worked hard and are now the proud holder of a PhD. Now what? In today’s job market, PhDs are hired not only as professors, but also as: Researchers in STEM fields, plus many other academic and non-academic areas Directors of nonprofits or government agencies A wide array of positions within business and consulting…
Reapplying to PhD Programs
What if you did apply and were unsuccessful? How can you strengthen your candidacy for PhD reapplication? Step #1: Conduct an honest assessment of your candidacy. Did you apply to too few programs? To the wrong programs? (Applying only to Harvard is not a great strategy!) Consider broadening your list of schools. Were there weaknesses…
Obtaining Graduate Assistantships
Assistantships are a way of funding your graduate education. They are more often awarded to PhD students than to master’s students (though a department may sometimes have funding available for exceptional master’s students). You may be awarded a Teaching Assistantship (meaning you help teach a class, teach a section of a larger class, teach a…
Minimizing Technical Jargon in Your SOP
Frequently, applicants in STEM fields are working on projects that are quite technical in nature. Field-specific jargon might show that you know the language of your field – which is important – but using too much of it can also make your SOP very hard to read. Aim for the middle road: you want to…
Choosing the Right PhD Program
Choosing the right PhD program is key to your success – not just in getting admitted, but in having a successful grad school experience. What makes a PhD program the right one? There are two things you need to be on the lookout for when choosing the best program for you. First, it needs to…
PhD Applicants: Strengthening Your Candidacy
Once you’ve made the decision to apply for a PhD, how can you prepare effectively and strengthen your candidacy? The importance of pre-PhD research Your research is a vital part of your PhD application – you need to have clear reasons for pursuing advanced research in your field, and you need to be able to…