Written by Shayma, PhD in Genomic Medicine
Pursuing a PhD can feel like an overwhelming and prolonged endeavor. Nevertheless, with adequate guidance, it can transform into a seamless and even thrilling experience, enabling you to gain clarity on your aspirations and interests. Here’s a basic outline for discovering a PhD that aligns with you, reflecting on my own journey of locating, selecting, and applying for a PhD at Imperial.
Why seek a PhD?
Before you begin your PhD search, it’s essential to comprehend your motivations for wanting one. A PhD represents a significant commitment, and it’s crucial to ensure it aligns with your ambitions and passions. A PhD equips you with the skills to become an autonomous researcher, which is indispensable for the career path I aim to embark upon.
In addition to the technical skills gained, I was drawn to the intellectual freedom and creativity inherent in academia. My enthusiasm for science would only go so far if I were engaged in subjects that did not captivate me or conducting experiments I found uninteresting; therefore, I selected a PhD project that genuinely sparked my curiosity. The ability to steer my own research is a considerable advantage for me and ranks among my favorite features of pursuing a PhD.
As trivial as it may seem, I recommend compiling a pros and cons list regarding pursuing a PhD before launching your search to confirm it’s something you genuinely wish to chase – what benefits do you believe a PhD will provide?
The PhD application pathway
The application pathway typically consists of several phases:
- Locating a PhD
- Submitting the initial application
- Creating a shortlist
- Attending interview(s)
- Receiving conditional or definite offers
- Making funding choices
Interviews largely concentrate on your reasons for applying, your grasp of the project, your previous research experience, and your approach to overcoming challenges. When I was getting ready for interviews, I revisited my application, perused relevant literature, and contemplated my experiences to articulate them clearly and confidently during interviews.
Locating a PhD
Identifying a project initially involves grasping what research ignites your enthusiasm, what work environment enables you to flourish, and what skills you wish to develop throughout your PhD. Some resources for finding your PhD include:
- University websites, including Imperial’s – look for specific departmental pages where they list all available PhD positions
- Centralized PhD platforms and job listing sites like FindAPhD
- Webpages of research groups and supervisors
- Academic networks and referrals from professors or supervisors
- Websites of funding organizations and doctoral training centers
My application experience may vary from yours. For my PhD, I secured funding from my home country, so my main task was to find a research group that worked on a project of interest to me. To accomplish this, I navigated through the Imperial website, discovered lists of researchers and research teams at Imperial, read about their research endeavors, and examined their outputs.
As I was already a Master’s student at Imperial while looking for PhDs, I also consulted my professors about which research teams could be a suitable match for me. I found my current project supervisor from a compilation of research groups provided by my MSc course leader.
The crucial strategy is to engage with EVERYONE and strive to gather as much input as possible. I personally know a fellow PhD candidate who discovered their project through a chance encounter with a stranger in a pub, who then connected them with their present principal investigator (PI) and PhD supervisor.