How to get accepted in a PhD programme
Being a PhD graduate, quite often I am approached by people asking for advice and/or tips regarding how to get accepted for their desired PhD programme. After answering this question many times, I have decided to write this article and share my insights and personal experience with a wider audience, with the expectation that it may be useful for many other people. In my case, for example, I carefully selected and applied to eight competitive programmes in the UK and was successfully accepted for six of them.
Therefore, I understand that this success rate of 75% does entitle me to say something relevant regarding this process. Naturally, whilst my insights and tips might not necessarily be universal across all disciplines, I am confident that you will be able to extract something relevant from my experience.
A clear objective and careful planning
Deciding to apply for a PhD should not be done out of impulse but rather after careful prior planning. I know that might sound obvious and clichéd but, even so, it is important to say it.
The first thing to do is dedicate time to reflect on what exactly you want to study. Which research problem would you like to delve into over a period of 3–4 years full time or much longer if you study part-time? As you will see further on in this article, such clarification will play a very important role in your acceptance success rate.
In case you are unsure regarding what to research (this uncertainty is perfectly normal), I have a practical suggestion for you. Select a couple of influential and interesting scholarly papers in your discipline (especially if you have already read them and appreciated the topic during your master’s). Go straight to their respective ‘discussion’ and ‘conclusion’ sections and check if the authors have indicated any ‘suggestions for future studies’.
All research has limitations of some sort (e.g. time restraints, funding availability, sampling, access to participants, and so forth) and it is not uncommon that authors suggest ways to expand the line of investigation. Then, if you list and carefully examine them, you will have possible avenues to consider for your PhD project in case you are running short of ideas.
Finally, still in the planning stage, it is important to map the following aspects: a) prepare an initial list of potential universities you would be interested in applying to, b) be aware of their respective application deadlines and overall requisites, c) assess their application fees, if any, d) understand the minimum language proficiency requirements, in case English is not your mother tongue and you have not attended undergraduate or master’s studies in English, e) know which international language proficiency certificates are accepted (e.g. TOEFL, IELTS, or other) and the minimum score required, f) be aware if there is any other test you should take such as GRE, for example, g) find out when such tests are available in your city and how much they cost, and h) it is also important to take into consideration that usually such tests are valid for no longer than two years.
Consequently, I believe that based on these major aspects, it becomes clearer that deciding to apply for a PhD does require careful prior planning of at least six months in advance. Indeed a solid and well-crafted plan takes something between one to one-and-a-half years in advance.
Fit is more important than rankings
I think it is important to explain that choosing a PhD programme is quite different from, for example, choosing which MBA programme to apply to. In the case of MBA programmes, it is known that one of the most influential aspects that people take into consideration is the prestige of the business school, which is measured annually by several international rankings.
In this regard, if one manages to be accepted in a top-ten programme according to, let’s say, the Financial Times list of the world’s best MBAs, the better it might be for one’s career afterwards. One of the reasons behind this rationale is that, once graduated one’s employability potential (and vis-à-vis the pay cheque) tends to be much higher than graduates from less prestigious programmes.
However, in the case of PhD programmes, the logic I suggest is a little bit different. Not that the reputation of the university does not count and that you should aim for an obscure programme in the middle of nowhere. It is not that. What I am saying is that ranking alone is not a good and flawless compass to your search. In reality, you should rather focus your attention on the right fit between your research interest and the ones of potential supervisors, which are not necessarily affiliated to top-ranking universities. However, that does not mean that the programme is not strong enough in your discipline.
Therefore, I suggest that you start your search with an open mind and make a broad list of universities that you would like to attend. For the sake of illustration, let’s say, hypothetically speaking, that you come up with an initial list of 20–30 institutions (either in a single specific country or scattered in different countries that you would be willing to go to).
Naturally, such a big list makes it quite unpractical to consider applying to all of them. Not that you cannot, of course, but it can be extremely laborious, and time and energy-consuming. Not to mention that, most probably, your success rate might be very low.
Well, what do you do then? It has come the time to filter your list to identify which programmes are really worth pursuing further and which ones can be discharged.
To perform this task, you need to explore each programme in detail and investigate, for example, what are the current researches fostered in the department, what are their research groups or centres, who make up the faculty and what are their respective research interests and so forth. The more detailed information you manage to gather, the better for you. The goal behind this investigation is to identify which faculty members share similar research interest to yours.
Will they be 100% similar? Most probably not but if you find at least some reasonable degree of alignment, then this programme can be part of your shortlist of potential universities to apply to. I think it becomes even clearer why I said before that the first thing you should have in mind is what you want to research. This is your most reliable compass in this process, and nothing else. I mean, if you target to be accepted in a top-ranking university but there is no fit at all between your research interest and the potential supervisor your chance of acceptance might be close to null. On the other hand, if you have done your homework accordingly and identified a faculty member with at least a reasonable fit regarding research interest, you are halfway to being successfully accepted.
This screening process takes time to do properly and cannot (or should not) be done in a hurry. That is another reason I said that solid and well-crafted planning takes something between one to one-and-a-half years in advance. Once you have gone through this screening process, you might end up with, for instance, a shortlist of something between 6–10 programmes that are really worth trying.
Your internal advocate
Having crafted your precious shortlist of programmes of interest, take the next step and proactively (and respectfully, of course) establish contact with the faculty member with similar research interests to yours. Briefly introduce yourself (e.g. your academic background and a concise list of possible publications and relevant achievements), explain which topic or research problem you would like to investigate during your PhD and enquire whether they would be willing and/or available to supervise you in case you apply. By the way, I would not send my CV right way in this first contact, only in subsequent communication and if requested by the faculty member.
From my experience, most faculty members tend to reply. Naturally, some of them might say that they are not available or interested (which is perfectly ok), whilst others might engage in a conversation to discover more about you, what your overall research plan is, your funding availability if any, your current knowledge or familiarity with certain research methods or key theories, and so forth. They might also ask you to send an abstract of your research project, a writing sample if you have already published something or even a copy of your CV. This dialogue might evolve to the point where a particular faculty member becomes genuinely interested in you as a potential PhD candidate and suggests or invites you to proceed with a formal application process through the university’s official application portal.
What can also happen is that this faculty member appreciates your research topic but, unfortunately, is unavailable. However, he/she may suggest you contact somebody else in the department who you had not identified in your search, and this is also a positive outcome. I say so because you have a better starting point for the conversation with the colleague of your initial contact since he was recommended by a known associate.
Certainly, an approach to a faculty member as I suggest here is not made with the intention of bypassing the university’s official selection process. On the contrary. In fact, the key aspect behind this approach is that once your application package reaches the selection committee, there would be at least one relevant internal voice that can say a word or two in support of your application.
Will this aspect alone be a determinant for your successful acceptance? Probably not, because your documentation (CV, letters of reference, language proficiency tests if applicable, research project, etc.) must be strong enough. However, a potential supervisor already interested in your work represents a unique differentiation factor that might help strengthen your application.
Therefore, in conclusion, these are the main suggestions I have been sharing with others who have approached me regarding this topic. I hope you find them as useful as they have been to me and many other people.
