APPLYING FOR PhD PROGRAMS

• Why PhD?

The degree of education has kept on increasing in the past few years. Where people used to complete only undergraduate courses a few decades earlier, the trend has changed to continue education beyond that. Students pursue doctoral degrees these days as it opens the doors to not just traditional industry jobs but more focused towards research and development which is the need of the day. R&D jobs though still not under the focus in our developing nation has been picking up pace in almost all the domains of the industry.

• Applying for a PhD program

1. Before starting with the doctoral research, one must be very careful while choosing their advisor. Some of the universities also ask you to contact the professor directly during the pre-application itself under whom you would like to work for your PhD research. One must go through every professor’s web page to understand their research topics and whether there is an overlap with their interest. One must pick advisors based on whether they have good funding and excellent publications in this area of research. You should then email them and convey your strong inclination to work with them for your PhD. If they are impressed with your resume, you will contacted by them for further processes.

• Other universities mostly have a pre-application for the PhD program where the student fills in their basic information. Depending on the country, the prerequisites will vary in such pre-applications. These applications are scrutinized by the admission committee and they revert on permitting you to apply for the program.

• The criteria used by the universities include strong academic records, technical paper publications, and poster presentations in conferences or symposiums. Additionally, in the United States, a GRE score for engineering programs or a subject GRE score in case of pure sciences is required. A Master’s degree which relevant research experience is an added advantage as it gives you a particular scope for research areas within the field.

• Steps after your pre-application is approved

1. Based on your fresh application to the doctoral program, the admission committee of the graduate school takes the final decision based on the above parameters.

• Shortlisted candidates are invited for a telephonic or skype interview. Some professors also ask for a research proposal where the students have to mention the project they intend to work on with a timeline explaining how they will achieve the required targets.

• Usually students applying directly after an undergraduate course are expected to take up courses at a Master’s level which are relevant to their project and have not been completed in their previous education. Some universities further conduct a qualifying exam which the prospective students have to clear.

• The qualifying students then get an opportunity to pursue their desired research under the advisor and this is most of the times accompanied by a stipend, where the students are also required to work as a teaching assistant or research assistant for other projects in the department.

• Since the steps involved are complex and time required for the entire process cannot be predicted in general, students are advised to begin the process atleast a year in advance from their desired semester intake.

Pursuing PhD needs a lot of dedication and is driven by passion. But it’s a fulfilling experience for life when you are awarded your Doctorate degree. To know more about requirements of every country, exams to be taken and other details, you may contact us or book an appointment for a counseling session

Mr. Rahul Bhat

Sr. Counselor

Imperial Overseas Educational Consultants