Authored by Shayma, PhD Genomic Medicine
Seeking a PhD can seem daunting and require a significant investment of time. Nevertheless, with appropriate support, it can transform into a seamless and even exhilarating journey, enhancing your understanding of your aspirations and passions. Here’s a general overview to assist you in locating a PhD that fits your needs, drawing from my own experiences of identifying, selecting, and applying for a PhD at Imperial.
Why embark on a PhD?
Prior to commencing your PhD quest, it’s vital to grasp the reasons driving your desire to pursue one. A PhD demands dedication, and making sure it corresponds with your ambitions and interests is imperative. It offers training to develop into an independent researcher, a competence essential for the career path I aim to follow.
In addition to the technical training, I was drawn to the research autonomy and ingenuity that academia presents. My passion for science can only go so far if I’m engaged in subjects that do not interest me and performing experiments that I am indifferent to, thus I opted for a PhD project that I was truly excited about investigating. The ability to steer my project as I wish is another major advantage for me and is among my greatest pleasures of pursuing a PhD.
As straightforward as it may seem, I recommend crafting a list of advantages and disadvantages concerning pursuing a PhD before beginning your search to ensure it’s something you earnestly wish to undertake – what do you anticipate a PhD will bring you?
The PhD application journey
The application journey usually entails several stages:
- Search for a PhD
- Initial application submission
- Shortlisting
- Interview(s)
- Conditional or formal offers
- Funding decisions
Interviews frequently concentrate on your reasons for applying, your grasp of the project, your previous research experience, and your problem-solving strategies. When preparing for interviews, I revisited my application, reviewed pertinent literature, and contemplated my experiences to discuss them with clarity and confidence during interviews.
Locating a PhD
Identifying a project initially requires you to discern what type of research thrills you, what working environment you excel in, and what skills you wish to acquire through your PhD. Some resources you can utilize to discover your PhD include:
- University websites, like Imperial’s – search for specific departmental pages where they list all available PhD positions
- Centralized PhD platforms and job boards such as FindAPhD
- Research group and supervisor websites
- Academic networks and suggestions from lecturers or supervisors
- Websites for funding bodies and doctoral training centers
My application procedure may differ somewhat from yours. For my PhD, I secured funding from my home country, so my primary task was to find a research group involved in a project that piqued my interest. To accomplish this, I navigated the Imperial website, discovered lists of researchers and research groups at Imperial, studied descriptions of their research, and examined their research outputs.
Since I was already a Master’s student at Imperial while searching for PhDs, I also consulted my lecturers regarding which research groups they believed would suit me well. I found my current project supervisor through a compilation of research groups provided by my MSc course leader.
The essential strategy is to communicate with EVERYONE and gather as much feedback as you can. I personally know a fellow PhD student who discovered their project by engaging a stranger in a pub who introduced them to their current principal investigator (PI) and PhD supervisor.