Shadowing Practice: PhD Interview Questions | What do PhD supervisors look for in applicants? - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Hi, I'm Casey.
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I'm a professor and I've been running PhD admissions in my department for a number of years.
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I've done a series of videos about the PhD application process
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and most of it so far has focused on getting your application materials together.
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Of course, once you're done with that, there's still more to come.
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At the very least you're gonna have to make decisions, which is really important but also you might have interviews or things that kind of feel like interviews.
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And I've had a lot of requests to talk about this exact thing so more videos!
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Yay!
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The way that I'm going to address this issue of interviews specifically
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and the kinds of questions
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that you get asked is to talk about it in terms of what potential PhD advisors
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or supervisors are looking for in students because
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that should kind of help frame how you approach this
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and this is regardless of whether it is a formal interview
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which sometimes happens sometimes even in front of a panel of people I don't have any experience with
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that or it might be a site visit
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which of course this year might happen virtually but this is the thing
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that often happens is
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that people are flown out to a school for a kind of open house thing sometimes it happens before
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or after admission or it might just be an informal conversation with a faculty member.
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But no matter what this is I want to give you some ideas of the kinds of things
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that you might talk about and how to put your best foot forward.
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But I'll also do another video later specifically about site visits and what those look like and what to expect.
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For right now just imagine any kind of conversation you're having with a potential advisor.
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So first my usual disclaimer, much of the advice
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that I'm giving here is most useful for people who are
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applying to PhD programs in lab based disciplines where they're going to be working very closely with an advisor.
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Some might be broadly applicable but that's where I think it's going to be most useful.
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My experience is with computer and information science so also just make sure
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that you find out about the norms of your particular discipline.
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So first, some tips, and hopefully these are obvious before going into this conversation,
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whether it is a faculty member has sent you an email and has to set up a phone call.
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Another thing that might happen is there's a site visit
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and you're given a list of faculty that you're going to have conversations with.
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In any case, here's what you do.
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First, reread the statement of purpose that you sent to that program.
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Don't let it freak you out.
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If someone's asking to talk to you or if you've been invited for a site visit, you're already on some kind of shortlist.
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So keep that in mind.
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Don't freak out if you figure out all the things that you think are wrong with your statement of purpose.
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The reason you want to reread is
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because you want to remind yourself the reasons why
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when you were writing that statement of purpose you thought about why you wanted to go to
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that school and what you thought about those particular faculty members, research, etc. You also just want to remind yourself how you framed anything differently for that school.
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Basically you're reminding yourself what they already know about you.
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Then do your research on the specific faculty member or faculty members that you are talking to.
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You probably did a little bit of this
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when you were writing your statement of purpose but now you can like laser focus it right?
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Now this actually becomes especially true if it's someone that you didn't mention in your statement of purpose.
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So if you get an email from a faculty member saying they'd like to talk to you
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and it's not someone that you mentioned, it probably means that they saw some connection to your research interests that you might not have seen,
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which is totally fine because they might be working on stuff that you don't know about, but you should try to figure that out.
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Look for their most recent publications, look to see if they have a website that says things about projects that might be in progress that aren't published yet,
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look to see if they have any recent grant funding
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that is probably on their CV on their website if they have one.
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And also look into the research that their students are doing.
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Now one caution is that every faculty member that you talk to, especially on a site visit,
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may not be a potential advisor.
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But even if they're not a potential advisor, thinking about how your research interests intersect with theirs will just make for a good conversation.
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All right first, and I would argue maybe the most important, we want to know that you have a good reason for wanting to get a PhD.
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Now I have a whole video on this topic that you should definitely check out, especially if you're not clear on this answer.
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A lot of the kinds of advice on how to talk
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about this in a statement of purpose applies more broadly for all of the rest of these conversations.
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But basically have a good answer to the question, so why do you want to get a PhD?
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This answer needs to communicate two really important things that a potential supervisor is looking for.
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One is commitment and two is passion.
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A very, very bad look for a PhD applicant is
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that they're getting a PhD because they don't know what else to do or they're getting a PhD as a hobby.
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So an advisor is making an investment in you.
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definitely in time and in many cases in money.
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This means that it's really unfortunate when a PhD student leaves after a year or two.
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Now sometimes that happens because once you get into the PhD program it just turns out
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that it's not for you and when that happens it's totally okay
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and we are happy for you to go find your bliss doing whatever else.
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However at the point
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when you're interviewing for a PhD program you should be pretty darn sure that's what you want to do, at least for right then.
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So show that passion and show your commitment to this.
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Second, kind of relatedly, you need to have a reason for wanting to be in that particular program.
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Now you might get this question less in interviews that are more about recruiting you than vetting you, but you should still be able to talk about this.
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Again the same kind of advice
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that I talked about for statements of purpose in terms of showing why you're applying to that particular program still applies here.
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It probably has to do in large part about research fit except now
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if you're talking to a very specific person you can talk about research fit for them specifically.
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What is it that they're doing that you want to be involved with
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and you can also talk about intersections with other faculty members
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because these are the people who are going to be on your committee or maybe you might even have co -advisors.
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Being able to say how excited you are about the research that's happening in that department in general is great.
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And also there might be things like maybe you've heard good things about the culture,
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maybe this department is particularly something that you love, like interdisciplinary or collaborative.
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You can totally talk about those things because a prospective advisor wants to know that you want to be there.
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And another thing I'll add is
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that particularly at this point there's nothing wrong with saying that you really want to be in that location.
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Now you can't only say that you have to give precedence to the research fit etc
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because that's the most important but saying you know my family all live in Denver
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and so I really was hoping to go to school in Colorado
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that can actually be great because it suggests in part that
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if you are offered admission into
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that program you probably will take it now I'm not saying
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if we think you're not gonna come we're not going to offer you admission
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but if we have two students
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and well this person has a 40 % chance of coming and this person has a 60 % chance of coming.
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I've only got one spot so I'm gonna offer it to both of them.
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Like that is seriously the kind of math that we're doing.
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So it actually is really useful to know that kind of thing.
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Now another thing is of course we want to hear about the kind of research you want to do.
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This is another chance to show off both your passion and to talk about your research experience which is great.
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In my statement of purpose video I talked about how to talk about your research interests in a way
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that is not too vague and not too specific.
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The same kind of thing applies here
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but sometimes it's a bit easier to do this when you're having a back and forth.
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Now if you're able to try to ask early in the conversation about what
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that faculty member is currently working on or currently excited about
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because they will probably talk about whatever they think is the alignment with your interest
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which then tells you what they think is the alignment with their interests.
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And then you can draw from that in thinking about this as well.
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Now that said, and this is so important, be honest.
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Do not do the like I'm going to tell you what you want to hear thing
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because if you say you want to do some kind of research
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and then you go to that program you're probably going to have to do that kind of research.
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And if it's not what you want to do you would have been better off going somewhere else.
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Now a prospective advisor is looking for a few things.
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One is that they can competently mentor you and this is as much for you as it is for them.
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You know I have students who talk to me about working with me all the time.
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Maybe they want to do work that's related to online communities
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and social media which is some of the research that I do
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but then they tell me that what they really want to do is use machine learning techniques.
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And then I'm like, I might not be the best mentor for you.
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Now that's not to say
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that I'm not excited to have PhD advisees who do different kinds of work than what I typically do because A,
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mixed methods, awesome.
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B, I want students who can do things that I can't do, that's awesome.
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But if your core research interest is really something that that professor doesn't feel that they can competently mentor you with,
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then it's just not going to be a good fit.
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So that's one of the things that they're looking for.
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They also want to see that you have ideas
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but again don't sit down and say here is what I want to do for my dissertation.
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I will do three studies and they will be this, this, and this.
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Too specific.
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You also can't be too rigid in part
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because you need to fit into the work that's already happening
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and in some cases a prospective advisor might have grant funding where they're looking for someone to work on a specific project.
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Now much of the time that doesn't mean that that has to be your dissertation, but it might mean that that's part of the work that you do.
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And so you need to show that you are willing to do things
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that are related to what you want to do as well as like whatever you are specifically passionate about.
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And again this is mostly relevant when the person that you're talking to is a potential advisor.
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If you're just talking to some other faculty member in the department then just like talk about your interest
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and passion and be awesome and don't worry too much about the research fit.
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And this is also a great time to talk about your research experience
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because you can talk about what you've already done and how that's led you to what you're interested in now.
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Now you don't need to recite your cd but you know make it a narrative.
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Talk about what excites you.
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Alright next, be able to talk about both your strengths and your weaknesses.
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Now I have never actually asked this question directly like tell me your greatest strength or tell me your greatest weakness,
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but it is something that you want to get at.
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That's because a potential advisor wants to know both what you bring to the table and where you're going to need support.
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Now this is important.
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Weaknesses aren't bad.
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Everyone has them.
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Everyone has them.
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Do not pretend that you do not have them because it's just going to come off as arrogant and weird.
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Like please do not give the answer.
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My greatest weakness is that I work too hard so I don't have good work -life balance.
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Barf.
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Don't do that.
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Be truthful and also frame it in terms of how you want to grow and how this program will help you grow.
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For example, let's say you're a bad writer.
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You might say, I know that I really need to work on my scientific communication, which is one of the reasons why I'm
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so excited about collaboratively writing papers with other students and with my advisor so that I can learn through working with others.
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And you know, I also hear that there's a writing center at this university for graduate students, which I think I could really benefit from.
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And in talking about your strengths, again, you can reiterate your experience without like giving a laundry list of your accomplishments.
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Let's say you're a really good writer.
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You might say something like because I have a lot of writing experience, because I worked on the student newspaper,
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I found that I really enjoyed collaboratively working on this paper with other people in the lab
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that I worked in as an undergrad.
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I did a lot of editing and I helped craft the literature review.
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You know I'm so looking forward to being the lead author on a paper
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because I feel like I at have a leg up on the writing part even though I know
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that I might have a lot to learn in other areas.
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This is also a really good way to emphasize other things that are important to a potential advisor.
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That you're a good collaborator, that you're willing to help others, and that you know how to ask for support when you need it.
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You can also use this as a way to talk about, for example, methods that you're excited about learning more about.
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Remember you are not supposed to know everything going in.
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You are getting a PhD so that you can learn.
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You're not expected to like come right out of the box being able to do everything.
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If that were the case we just hire you as a postdoc.
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All right and lastly there might be some kind of generic question like
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why don't you tell me a little bit about yourself.
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Now this is a good opportunity for you to emphasize the things that you want to.
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It doesn't mean give them your life story, keep it brief, but let's say for example you're a first gen student
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or you're part of a group that is underrepresented in this particular discipline
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and this is part of why this journey is
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so important to you or maybe you've had to really overcome some things to get where you are.
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totally cool to talk about that kind of thing.
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Maybe you have some personal connection to the kind of research that you want to do.
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Maybe you're really passionate about science communication
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and you've been looking forward to creating a YouTube channel about your research once you start it.
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This is also a time when you could mention having a connection to the location where this university is.
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Maybe there's something non -research related that you have in common with the interviewer.
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When I talk to students during site visits sometimes they'll look around my office
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and see all of the like geeky stuff
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and then feel comfortable telling me that they play Dungeons and Dragons or something like that.
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Like totally fine.
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But another part of this conversation is that something else
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that this potential advisor is looking for is are you a good cultural fit?
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Are you pleasant to be around?
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Now importantly this does not mean that you have to be extroverted or like have amazing social skills, but you can at least be,
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you know, polite and pleasant.
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If the two of you have a severe personality clash for whatever reason, it's gonna be a bad time.
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So basically this means you just need to not be a jerk.
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And this also means not just to whoever you think you're interviewing with, but also when you're interacting with current students or even staff.
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Like if a staff member who's booking flights tells us
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that you are really rude to them in an email like that kind of thing matters.
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All right so that is a sense of the kinds of things
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that you should be prepared for regardless of whether it's a formal interview or more of an informal conversation.
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Another part of this of course is asking good questions so I'm to make that the topic of another video.
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I'll also do a video again about site visits
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and what to expect and also how you should be making this decision
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and in particular things that you should be looking for in a potential advisor
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because it's probably the most important decision that you will make in this whole PhD application process.
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So stay tuned for that and if you haven't already make sure
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that you check out my video on reasons why PhD applicants are rejected.
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This was kind of focused on statements of purpose
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but I think it's sort of broadly applicable to all of this as well.
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And so good luck!
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Please feel free to leave questions in the comments below if you have any and I'll do my best to answer them.
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And of course subscribe if you want to catch my later videos.
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This is Casey.
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Thanks for watching.
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Why Practice Speaking with This Video?
This video is a goldmine for English learners aiming to shadow speak and improve real-world communication. It features natural, conversational speech from a professor sharing insights about PhD interviews—perfect for practicing tone, pacing, and clarity in academic contexts. By shadowing the dialogue, you’ll learn to articulate complex ideas (like research fit or strengths/weaknesses) smoothly, while also picking up common phrases used in professional conversations. Plus, the video’s focus on preparation and authenticity makes it ideal for building confidence in high-stakes speaking scenarios.
Grammar & Expressions in Context
Notice how the speaker uses conditional structures to give advice, like “If someone's asking to talk to you, you're already on a short list.” This pattern (“If + present continuous, present simple”) is key for explaining cause and effect in real time. She also uses phrasal verbs naturally, such as “freak out” and “laser focus,” which are common in casual academic speech. Another useful structure is frame-shifting, like “Don't let it freak you out—you're already on a short list.” This balance of warning and reassurance is a great way to connect with listeners. Finally, she often starts sentences with “Now” to transition ideas, a simple trick to make your speech flow better.
Common Pronunciation Traps
Watch out for tricky words like “interdisciplinary” (in-ter-DIS-cipl-in-ary) and “collaborative” (col-LAB-or-a-tive)—stress the wrong syllable, and they’ll sound off. The speaker also uses a relaxed tone, so words like “probably” often become “prob’ly” in fast speech. Practice shadowing these to avoid sounding too formal. Another trap is the phrase “research fit”—make sure the “ch” in “research” is soft, not hard, and “fit” is short, not drawn out. Using a shadowing site to repeat these phrases will help you master the rhythm and intonation of natural academic English.
Whether you’re using this video to learn English with videos or refine your shadow speak skills, focusing on these details will boost your speaking fluency and confidence. Dive in, repeat the lines, and notice how small changes in grammar and pronunciation make a big difference!
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect continuous have/has been + -ing — an action that started earlier and is still going on | I've been running · you've been looking |
| Conditional sentences if + clause, will/would + verb — a condition and its result | if you have any and I'll do |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | I've done · has focused · I've had |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | are flown · you've been invited · aren't published |
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.