What I wish I knew about PhD Applications

Think deeply about your inspiration

The first thing would be to determine your motivation for deciding to go for a PhD. This will help you identify your ‘Why’. It sounds cliche, but it’s the most important aspect of the start of your application and will sustain you through the research period. Your reasons could include – 

         ·       A specific research purpose

         ·       A love for seeing questions answered, or a sustained inquisitiveness

         ·       An opportunity to be a thought-leader, gain an audience and make impact in the lives of people

Your application timeline and scheduling

You will need to consider your application timeline and schedule important phases for things like a university search, supervisor search or deciding on your topic. PhD’s, like almost all other academic endeavours, need proper and effective planning. For graduate degrees, a rule of thumb is one year to get prepared and for even better planning, aim for two years if you will need to take other qualifying exams (GRE, TOEFL or IELTS). In some universities, there are policies that require your potential supervisor to have an input in your research proposal writing. You have to factor in the amount of time for the following:

·       Funding and Scholarships application timelines

·       Time to have conversations, interact and get familiar with potential supervisors

·       Visa applications timeline and possible application constraints

Choosing a topic of interest and finding a supervisor 

Your PhD success hinges largely on you selecting a topic that aligns with your personal interests. Trust us, the road to obtaining a PhD can be long and winding, and you want to spend it doing something you genuinely care about and aligns with your career goals. Equally important is finding a good supervisor willing to work with you. They need to be someone able to train you and have sufficient time to do so. 

However, depending on your peculiar situation, you may need to prioritise deciding on a range of topics first. These topics can serve as good icebreakers when you start contacting your potential supervisors. You may then want to find out about opportunities available in their research clusters and available funding that may be accessible to you.

Here are some helpful tips in deciding on/searching for a supervisor

·       Go to potential faculty pages and go through their publications.

·       Be polite and tailor your email to the specific person. Do not send a generic email when you contact potential supervisors. Regardless of cultural differences, err on the side of  caution. 

·      Sell yourself with a good profile, including your past achievements related to the research.

·      Attach a good CV that highlights your key experiences fully, and places you in the best possible light.

These will give you a solid foundation for having good conversations as you convince your potential supervisors that you’re the right candidate. 

Targeted searches

Target well-established institutions that are invested in your research area. This will give them a better reason to select you. This, however, shouldn’t limit you from taking a look at institutions that may just be starting out in your selected research area. Whilst the probability of getting funding may be significantly lower, competition from other applicants is also likely to be less; thus, improving your chances.

After you narrow down your search, we recommend going to the shortlisted universities, wherever you can, to speak to potential supervisors and determine where their past and present research intersects with your potential research area.

Funding

PhD funding can come in different shapes and sizes in the form of fully/partially-funded scholarships, self-funded and workplace-funded (some employers may offer to sponsor you on a part-time programme, usually related to your primary or future role within your organisation). Take a little time to explore possible funding routes. You can take different approaches to discover available funding for you to undertake your research at your targeted institutions. In some instances, some university faculties may have access to available funding. You can also apply, ideally well in advance, for scholarships like the Commonwealth and Chevening scholarships considering all the necessary requirements and reaching out to a nominating agency, if that is available/required for your application. In relation to funding, here are some helpful tips on securing them – 

·       Create a good profile for yourself

·       Search for schools/faculties with funding related to your research interest

·       Talk to potential supervisors if you meet the minimum requirements

·       Write a catchy personal statement

·       Put in as many applications as possible

·       Include any previous research publications if you have any as they will give you an advantage

Accessing publications for proposal writing

When preparing your research proposal, you may need to access some conference papers and journal publications. These can be assessed online through Google Scholar or other sites. You can reach out to students/researchers in your network, as some might have access to some otherwise inaccessible material through their university’s portal as long as it is appropriate to do so within copyright laws. One common theme is the use of relationships and networks to ethically access resources that we do not have.

With all of the guided information discussed, we hope that you will exercise grit through the process of choosing your topics of interest, meeting potential supervisors, receiving acceptance letters or regret mails, applying for your visa, and learning new things as you go along. We hope that you will get started on your application, well on your way to conducting successful research.

If you have any questions, please write to us in the comment section below.

We wish you all the best!