跟读练习: PhD Interview Questions | What do PhD supervisors look for in applicants? - 通过视频学习英语口语

选择练习模式

每种模式都会打开全屏练习室。

228 句

如果句子过短或过长，请点击 Edit 进行调整。

Hi, I'm Casey.

I'm a professor and I've been running PhD admissions in my department for a number of years.

I've done a series of videos about the PhD application process

and most of it so far has focused on getting your application materials together.

Of course, once you're done with that, there's still more to come.

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.

And I've had a lot of requests to talk about this exact thing so more videos!

Yay!

The way that I'm going to address this issue of interviews specifically

and the kinds of questions

that you get asked is to talk about it in terms of what potential PhD advisors

or supervisors are looking for in students because

that should kind of help frame how you approach this

and this is regardless of whether it is a formal interview

which sometimes happens sometimes even in front of a panel of people I don't have any experience with

that or it might be a site visit

which of course this year might happen virtually but this is the thing

that often happens is

that people are flown out to a school for a kind of open house thing sometimes it happens before

or after admission or it might just be an informal conversation with a faculty member.

But no matter what this is I want to give you some ideas of the kinds of things

that you might talk about and how to put your best foot forward.

But I'll also do another video later specifically about site visits and what those look like and what to expect.

For right now just imagine any kind of conversation you're having with a potential advisor.

So first my usual disclaimer, much of the advice

that I'm giving here is most useful for people who are

applying to PhD programs in lab based disciplines where they're going to be working very closely with an advisor.

Some might be broadly applicable but that's where I think it's going to be most useful.

My experience is with computer and information science so also just make sure

that you find out about the norms of your particular discipline.

So first, some tips, and hopefully these are obvious before going into this conversation,

whether it is a faculty member has sent you an email and has to set up a phone call.

Another thing that might happen is there's a site visit

and you're given a list of faculty that you're going to have conversations with.

In any case, here's what you do.

First, reread the statement of purpose that you sent to that program.

Don't let it freak you out.

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.

So keep that in mind.

Don't freak out if you figure out all the things that you think are wrong with your statement of purpose.

The reason you want to reread is

because you want to remind yourself the reasons why

when you were writing that statement of purpose you thought about why you wanted to go to

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.

Basically you're reminding yourself what they already know about you.

Then do your research on the specific faculty member or faculty members that you are talking to.

You probably did a little bit of this

when you were writing your statement of purpose but now you can like laser focus it right?

Now this actually becomes especially true if it's someone that you didn't mention in your statement of purpose.

So if you get an email from a faculty member saying they'd like to talk to you

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,

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.

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,

look to see if they have any recent grant funding

that is probably on their CV on their website if they have one.

And also look into the research that their students are doing.

Now one caution is that every faculty member that you talk to, especially on a site visit,

may not be a potential advisor.

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.

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.

Now I have a whole video on this topic that you should definitely check out, especially if you're not clear on this answer.

A lot of the kinds of advice on how to talk

about this in a statement of purpose applies more broadly for all of the rest of these conversations.

But basically have a good answer to the question, so why do you want to get a PhD?

This answer needs to communicate two really important things that a potential supervisor is looking for.

One is commitment and two is passion.

A very, very bad look for a PhD applicant is

that they're getting a PhD because they don't know what else to do or they're getting a PhD as a hobby.

So an advisor is making an investment in you.

definitely in time and in many cases in money.

This means that it's really unfortunate when a PhD student leaves after a year or two.

Now sometimes that happens because once you get into the PhD program it just turns out

that it's not for you and when that happens it's totally okay

and we are happy for you to go find your bliss doing whatever else.

However at the point

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.

So show that passion and show your commitment to this.

Second, kind of relatedly, you need to have a reason for wanting to be in that particular program.

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.

Again the same kind of advice

that I talked about for statements of purpose in terms of showing why you're applying to that particular program still applies here.

It probably has to do in large part about research fit except now

if you're talking to a very specific person you can talk about research fit for them specifically.

What is it that they're doing that you want to be involved with

and you can also talk about intersections with other faculty members

because these are the people who are going to be on your committee or maybe you might even have co -advisors.

Being able to say how excited you are about the research that's happening in that department in general is great.

And also there might be things like maybe you've heard good things about the culture,

maybe this department is particularly something that you love, like interdisciplinary or collaborative.

You can totally talk about those things because a prospective advisor wants to know that you want to be there.

And another thing I'll add is

that particularly at this point there's nothing wrong with saying that you really want to be in that location.

Now you can't only say that you have to give precedence to the research fit etc

because that's the most important but saying you know my family all live in Denver

and so I really was hoping to go to school in Colorado

that can actually be great because it suggests in part that

if you are offered admission into

that program you probably will take it now I'm not saying

if we think you're not gonna come we're not going to offer you admission

100

but if we have two students

101

and well this person has a 40 % chance of coming and this person has a 60 % chance of coming.

102

I've only got one spot so I'm gonna offer it to both of them.

103

Like that is seriously the kind of math that we're doing.

104

So it actually is really useful to know that kind of thing.

105

Now another thing is of course we want to hear about the kind of research you want to do.

106

This is another chance to show off both your passion and to talk about your research experience which is great.

107

In my statement of purpose video I talked about how to talk about your research interests in a way

108

that is not too vague and not too specific.

109

The same kind of thing applies here

110

but sometimes it's a bit easier to do this when you're having a back and forth.

111

Now if you're able to try to ask early in the conversation about what

112

that faculty member is currently working on or currently excited about

113

because they will probably talk about whatever they think is the alignment with your interest

114

which then tells you what they think is the alignment with their interests.

115

And then you can draw from that in thinking about this as well.

116

Now that said, and this is so important, be honest.

117

Do not do the like I'm going to tell you what you want to hear thing

118

because if you say you want to do some kind of research

119

and then you go to that program you're probably going to have to do that kind of research.

120

And if it's not what you want to do you would have been better off going somewhere else.

121

Now a prospective advisor is looking for a few things.

122

One is that they can competently mentor you and this is as much for you as it is for them.

123

You know I have students who talk to me about working with me all the time.

124

Maybe they want to do work that's related to online communities

125

and social media which is some of the research that I do

126

but then they tell me that what they really want to do is use machine learning techniques.

127

And then I'm like, I might not be the best mentor for you.

128

Now that's not to say

129

that I'm not excited to have PhD advisees who do different kinds of work than what I typically do because A,

130

mixed methods, awesome.

131

B, I want students who can do things that I can't do, that's awesome.

132

But if your core research interest is really something that that professor doesn't feel that they can competently mentor you with,

133

then it's just not going to be a good fit.

134

So that's one of the things that they're looking for.

135

They also want to see that you have ideas

136

but again don't sit down and say here is what I want to do for my dissertation.

137

I will do three studies and they will be this, this, and this.

138

Too specific.

139

You also can't be too rigid in part

140

because you need to fit into the work that's already happening

141

and in some cases a prospective advisor might have grant funding where they're looking for someone to work on a specific project.

142

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.

143

And so you need to show that you are willing to do things

144

that are related to what you want to do as well as like whatever you are specifically passionate about.

145

And again this is mostly relevant when the person that you're talking to is a potential advisor.

146

If you're just talking to some other faculty member in the department then just like talk about your interest

147

and passion and be awesome and don't worry too much about the research fit.

148

And this is also a great time to talk about your research experience

149

because you can talk about what you've already done and how that's led you to what you're interested in now.

150

Now you don't need to recite your cd but you know make it a narrative.

151

Talk about what excites you.

152

Alright next, be able to talk about both your strengths and your weaknesses.

153

Now I have never actually asked this question directly like tell me your greatest strength or tell me your greatest weakness,

154

but it is something that you want to get at.

155

That's because a potential advisor wants to know both what you bring to the table and where you're going to need support.

156

Now this is important.

157

Weaknesses aren't bad.

158

Everyone has them.

159

Everyone has them.

160

Do not pretend that you do not have them because it's just going to come off as arrogant and weird.

161

Like please do not give the answer.

162

My greatest weakness is that I work too hard so I don't have good work -life balance.

163

Barf.

164

Don't do that.

165

Be truthful and also frame it in terms of how you want to grow and how this program will help you grow.

166

For example, let's say you're a bad writer.

167

You might say, I know that I really need to work on my scientific communication, which is one of the reasons why I'm

168

so excited about collaboratively writing papers with other students and with my advisor so that I can learn through working with others.

169

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.

170

And in talking about your strengths, again, you can reiterate your experience without like giving a laundry list of your accomplishments.

171

Let's say you're a really good writer.

172

You might say something like because I have a lot of writing experience, because I worked on the student newspaper,

173

I found that I really enjoyed collaboratively working on this paper with other people in the lab

174

that I worked in as an undergrad.

175

I did a lot of editing and I helped craft the literature review.

176

You know I'm so looking forward to being the lead author on a paper

177

because I feel like I at have a leg up on the writing part even though I know

178

that I might have a lot to learn in other areas.

179

This is also a really good way to emphasize other things that are important to a potential advisor.

180

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.

181

You can also use this as a way to talk about, for example, methods that you're excited about learning more about.

182

Remember you are not supposed to know everything going in.

183

You are getting a PhD so that you can learn.

184

You're not expected to like come right out of the box being able to do everything.

185

If that were the case we just hire you as a postdoc.

186

All right and lastly there might be some kind of generic question like

187

why don't you tell me a little bit about yourself.

188

Now this is a good opportunity for you to emphasize the things that you want to.

189

It doesn't mean give them your life story, keep it brief, but let's say for example you're a first gen student

190

or you're part of a group that is underrepresented in this particular discipline

191

and this is part of why this journey is

192

so important to you or maybe you've had to really overcome some things to get where you are.

193

totally cool to talk about that kind of thing.

194

Maybe you have some personal connection to the kind of research that you want to do.

195

Maybe you're really passionate about science communication

196

and you've been looking forward to creating a YouTube channel about your research once you start it.

197

This is also a time when you could mention having a connection to the location where this university is.

198

Maybe there's something non -research related that you have in common with the interviewer.

199

When I talk to students during site visits sometimes they'll look around my office

200

and see all of the like geeky stuff

201

and then feel comfortable telling me that they play Dungeons and Dragons or something like that.

202

Like totally fine.

203

But another part of this conversation is that something else

204

that this potential advisor is looking for is are you a good cultural fit?

205

Are you pleasant to be around?

206

Now importantly this does not mean that you have to be extroverted or like have amazing social skills, but you can at least be,

207

you know, polite and pleasant.

208

If the two of you have a severe personality clash for whatever reason, it's gonna be a bad time.

209

So basically this means you just need to not be a jerk.

210

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.

211

Like if a staff member who's booking flights tells us

212

that you are really rude to them in an email like that kind of thing matters.

213

All right so that is a sense of the kinds of things

214

that you should be prepared for regardless of whether it's a formal interview or more of an informal conversation.

215

Another part of this of course is asking good questions so I'm to make that the topic of another video.

216

I'll also do a video again about site visits

217

and what to expect and also how you should be making this decision

218

and in particular things that you should be looking for in a potential advisor

219

because it's probably the most important decision that you will make in this whole PhD application process.

220

So stay tuned for that and if you haven't already make sure

221

that you check out my video on reasons why PhD applicants are rejected.

222

This was kind of focused on statements of purpose

223

but I think it's sort of broadly applicable to all of this as well.

224

And so good luck!

225

Please feel free to leave questions in the comments below if you have any and I'll do my best to answer them.

226

And of course subscribe if you want to catch my later videos.

227

This is Casey.

228

Thanks for watching.

下载应用

流利口语所需的一切

AI 发音评分逐句打分

音标练习掌握每个音

词汇学习建立你的词库

词汇游戏边玩边学

扫码

Download on theApp Store Get it onGoogle Play

FOR YOU

博士面试准备：教授亲授核心考察点

在准备博士面试时，了解导师的考察重点至关重要。视频中，拥有多年招生经验的Casey教授分享了关键 insights，不仅适用于正式面试，也能帮助你在与导师的非正式交流中脱颖而出。对于想要提升英语表达的学习者来说，这段对话也是极佳的“英语影子跟读”素材，能锻炼口语流畅度与专业语境下的沟通能力。

面试核心考察点与口语练习技巧

申请动机：需清晰阐述读博理由，展现热情与承诺。可模仿视频中教授提到的“避免模糊表述”，用具体例子说明研究兴趣的由来，这对“雅思口语练习”也很有帮助——学会用故事性语言传递观点。
项目适配度：提前研究导师近期成果，对话中主动提及研究交集。这部分可通过“shadow speak”训练，模仿教授建议的沟通逻辑，提升专业表达的准确性。
自我认知：坦诚谈论优势与不足，并用成长型思维框架回答。比如视频中提到的“通过合作提升写作”，这种表达既真实又积极，适合作为“shadowspeaks”的练习内容。

影子跟读快速入门指南

针对这段视频，建议采用“英语影子跟读”三步法：1. 先听一遍，抓住核心观点；2. 逐句跟读，注意教授的语调和节奏，尤其关注专业术语的发音；3. 复述关键内容，用自己的话总结考察点。坚持练习，不仅能提升口语流利度，还能掌握学术面试的沟通技巧，为“雅思口语练习”或博士面试打下坚实基础。

记住，面试不仅是展示能力，更是双向匹配的过程。通过影子跟读熟练掌握这些表达，你既能清晰传递个人优势，也能自然展现与项目的契合度，轻松应对各类面试场景。

视频中的语法

说话人最常用的结构，并附上视频中的原话：

结构	视频中的用法
现在完成进行时 have/has been + -ing — 以前开始、现在仍在继续的动作	I've been running · you've been looking
现在完成时 have/has + 过去分词 — 过去发生但与现在仍有关联的事	I've done · has focused · I've had
被动语态 be + 过去分词 — 强调发生了什么，而不是谁做的	are flown · you've been invited · aren't published
定语从句 who / which + 从句 — 补充说明人或事物	decisions, which is · people who are · experience which is

什么是跟读法？

跟读法 (Shadowing) 是一种有科学依据的语言学习技巧，最初开发用于专业口译员的培训，并由多语言者Alexander Arguelles博士普及。这个方法简单而强大：您在听英语母语原声的同时立即大声重复——就像是一个延迟1-2秒紧跟说话者的影子。与被动听力或语法练习不同，跟读法强迫您的大脑和口腔肌肉同时处理并模仿真实的讲话模式。研究表明它能显着提高发音准确性，语调，节奏，连读，听力理解和口语流利度——使其成为雅思口语备考和真实英语交流最有效的方法之一。

影子跟读法: 阅读完整分步指南 →

跟读练习: PhD Interview Questions | What do PhD supervisors look for in applicants? - 通过视频学习英语口语

选择练习模式

下载应用

推荐视频

PhD Interview: Questions, Answers & Explanation (by a PhD supervisor)

Interviews: tell us a bit about yourself! How to answer, 4 tips and an example. #interviewtips #phd

The Essential UX Interview Questions (And How To Answer Them!)

QUALITY CONTROL Interview Questions & Answers! (Inspector, Manager + Assessor Interview Questions!

Interview Practice

How To Answer Data Analyst Interview Questions to Get a Job

Faculty interviews: how to answer questions about the fit to the department #interview #phd

PHONE INTERVIEW QUESTIONS & ANSWERS! (A Real ‘LIVE’ Telephone Job Interview Example!)

What makes a good doctor

How to Ace an Interview: 5 Tips from a Harvard Career Advisor

Answering behavioral interview questions is shockingly uncomplicated

How to be a RECRUITER with no EXPERIENCE?! Explained by Recruiter

博士面试准备：教授亲授核心考察点

面试核心考察点与口语练习技巧

影子跟读快速入门指南

视频中的语法

什么是跟读法？