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9 things you should consider before embarking on a PhD

June 23, 2021 | 15 min read

By Andy Greenspon

The ideal research program you envision is not what it appears to be

Editor's Note:  When Andy Greenspon wrote this article, he was a first-year student in Applied Physics at Harvard. Now he has completed his PhD. — Alison Bert, June 23, 2021

If you are planning to apply for a PhD program, you're probably getting advice from dozens of students, professors, administrators your parents and the Internet. Sometimes it's hard to know which advice to focus on and what will make the biggest difference in the long-run. So before you go back to daydreaming about the day you accept that Nobel Prize, here are nine things you should give serious thought to. One or more of these tips may save you from anguish and help you make better decisions as you embark on that path to a PhD.

1. Actively seek out information about PhD programs.

Depending on your undergraduate institution, there may be more or less support to guide you in selecting a PhD program – but there is generally much less than when you applied to college.

On the website of my physics department, I found a page written by one of my professors, which listed graduate school options in physics and engineering along with resources to consult. As far as I know, my career center did not send out much information about PhD programs. Only after applying to programs did I find out that my undergraduate website had a link providing general information applicable to most PhD programs. This is the kind of information that is available all over the Internet.

So don't wait for your career center or department to lay out a plan for you. Actively seek it out from your career center counselors, your professors, the Internet — and especially from alumni from your department who are in or graduated from your desired PhD program. First-hand experiences will almost always trump the knowledge you get second-hand.

2. A PhD program is not simply a continuation of your undergraduate program.

Many students don't internalize this idea until they have jumped head-first into a PhD program. The goal is not to complete an assigned set of courses as in an undergraduate program, but to develop significant and original research in your area of expertise. You will have required courses to take, especially if you do not have a master's degree yet, but these are designed merely to compliment your research and provide a broad and deep knowledge base to support you in your research endeavors.

At the end of your PhD program, you will be judged on your research, not on how well you did in your courses. Grades are not critical as long as you maintain the minimum GPA requirement, and you should not spend too much time on courses at the expense of research projects. Graduate courses tend to be designed to allow you to take away what you will find useful to your research more than to drill a rigid set of facts and techniques into your brain.

3. Take a break between your undergraduate education and a PhD program.

You are beginning your senior year of college, and your classmates are asking you if you are applying to graduate school. You think to yourself, "Well, I like studying this topic and the associated research, and I am going to need a PhD if I want to be a professor or do independent research, so I might as well get it done as soon as possible." But are you certain about the type of research you want to do? Do you know where you want to live for the next five years? Are you prepared to stay in an academic environment for nine years straight?

Many people burn out or end up trudging through their PhD program without a thought about what lies outside of or beyond it. A break of a year or two or even more may be necessary to gain perspective. If all you know is an academic environment, how can you compare it to anything else? Many people take a job for five or more years before going back to get their PhD. It is true though that the longer you stay out of school, the harder it is to go back to an academic environment with lower pay and a lack of set work hours. A one-year break will give you six months or so after graduation before PhD applications are due. A two-year gap might be ideal to provide time to identify your priorities in life and explore different areas of research without having school work or a thesis competing for your attention.

Getting research experience outside of a degree program can help focus your interests and give you a leg up on the competition when you finally decide to apply. It can also help you determine whether you will enjoy full-time research or if you might prefer an alternative career path that still incorporates science, for example, in policy, consulting or business — or a hybrid research job that combines scientific and non-scientific skills.

I will be forever grateful that I chose to do research in a non-academic environment for a year between my undergraduate and PhD programs. It gave me the chance to get a feel for doing nothing but research for a full year. Working at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in the Space Division, I was the manager of an optics lab, performing spectroscopic experiments on rocks and minerals placed in a vacuum chamber. While my boss determined the overall experimental design, I was able to make my own suggestions for experiments and use my own discretion in how to perform them. I presented this research at two national conferences as well — a first for me. I was also able to learn about other research being performed there, determine which projects excited me the most, and thus narrow down my criteria for a PhD program.

4. Your current area of study does not dictate what you have to study in graduate school.

You might be studying the function and regulation of membrane proteins or doing a computational analysis of the conductivity of different battery designs, but that doesn't mean your PhD project must revolve around similar projects. The transition between college or another research job to a PhD program is one of the main transitions in your life when it is perfectly acceptable to completely change research areas.

If you are doing computation, you may want to switch to lab-based work or vice versa. If you are working in biology but have always had an interest in photonics research, now is the time to try it out. You may find that you love the alternative research and devote your PhD to it, you might hate it and fall back on your previous area of study — or you may even discover a unique topic that incorporates both subjects.

One of the best aspects of the PhD program is that you can make the research your own. Remember, the answer to the question "Why are you doing this research?" should not be "Well, because it's what I've been working on for the past few years already."While my undergraduate research was in atomic physics, I easily transitioned into applied physics and materials science for my PhD program and was able to apply much of what I learned as an undergraduate to my current research. If you are moving from the sciences to a non-STEM field such as social sciences or humanities, this advice can still apply, though the transition is a bit more difficult and more of a permanent commitment.

5. Make sure the PhD program has a variety of research options, and learn about as many research groups as possible in your first year.

Even if you believe you are committed to one research area, you may find that five years of such work is not quite what you expected. As such, you should find a PhD program where the professors are not all working in the same narrowly focused research area. Make sure there are at least three professors working on an array of topics you could imagine yourself working on.

In many graduate programs, you are supposed to pick a research advisor before even starting. But such arrangements often do not work out, and you may be seeking a new advisor before you know it. That's why many programs give students one or two semesters to explore different research areas before choosing a permanent research advisor.

In your first year, you should explore the research of a diverse set of groups. After touring their labs, talking to the students, or sitting in on group meetings, you may find that this group is the right one for you.

In addition, consider the importance of who your research advisor will be. This will be the person you interact with regularly for five straight years and who will have a crucial influence on your research. Do you like their advising style? Does their personality mesh with yours? Can you get along? Of course, the research your advisor works on is critical, but if you have large disagreements at every meeting or do not get helpful advice on how to proceed with your research, you may not be able to succeed. At the very least, you must be able to handle your advisor's management of the lab and advising style if you are going to be productive in your work. The Harvard program I enrolled in has professors working on research spanning from nanophotonics to energy materials and biophysics, covering my wide range of interests. By spending time in labs and offices informally chatting with graduate students, I found an advisor whose personality and research interests meshed very well with me. Their genuine enthusiasm for this advisor and their excitement when talking about their research was the best input I could have received.

6. Location is more important than you think — but name recognition is not.

The first consideration in choosing a PhD program should be, "Is there research at this university that I am passionate about?" After all, you will have to study this topic in detail for four or more years. But when considering the location of a university, your first thought should not be, "I'm going to be in the lab all the time, so what does it matter if I'm by the beach, in a city, or in the middle of nowhere." Contrary to popular belief, you will have a life outside of the lab, and you will have to be able to live with it for four or more years. Unlike when you were an undergraduate, your social and extracurricular life will revolve less around the university community, so the environment of the surrounding area is important. Do you need a city atmosphere to be productive? Or is your ideal location surrounded by forests and mountains or by a beach? Is being close to your family important? Imagine what it will be like living in the area during the times you are not doing research; consider what activities will you do and how often will you want to visit family.

While many of the PhD programs that accepted me had research that truly excited me, the only place I could envision living for five or more years was Boston, as the city I grew up near and whose environment and culture I love, and to be close to my family.

While location is more important than you think, the reputation and prestige of the university is not. In graduate school, the reputation of the individual department you are joining — and sometimes even the specific research group you work in — are more important. There, you will develop research collaborations and professional connections that will be crucial during your program and beyond. When searching for a job after graduation, other scientists will look at your specific department, the people you have worked with and the research you have done.

At the Asgard Irish Pub in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Andy Greenspon talks with fellow graduate students from Harvard and MIT at an Ask for Evidence workshop organized by Sense About Science. He grew up near Boston and chose to go to graduate school there.

7. Those time management skills you developed in college? Develop them further.

After surviving college, you may think you have mastered the ability to squeeze in your coursework, extracurricular activities and even some sleep. In a PhD program, time management reaches a whole new level. You will not only have lectures to attend and homework to do. You will have to make time for your research, which will include spending extended periods of time in the lab, analyzing data, and scheduling time with other students to collaborate on research.

Also, you will most likely have to teach for a number of semesters, and you will want to attend any seminar that may be related to your research or that just peaks your interest. To top it all off, you will still want to do many of those extracurricular activities you did as an undergraduate. While in the abstract, it may seem simple enough to put this all into your calendar and stay organized, you will find quickly enough that the one hour you scheduled for a task might take two or three hours, putting you behind on everything else for the rest of the day or forcing you to cut other planned events. Be prepared for schedules to go awry, and be willing to sacrifice certain activities. For some, this might be sleep; for others, it might be an extracurricular activity or a few seminars they were hoping to attend. In short, don't panic when things don't go according to plan; anticipate possible delays and be ready to adapt.

8. Expect to learn research skills on the fly – or take advantage of the training your department or career center offers.

This may be the first time you will have to write fellowship or grant proposals, write scientific papers, attend conferences, present your research to others, or even peer-review scientific manuscripts. From my experience, very few college students or even PhD students receive formal training on how to perform any of these tasks. Usually people follow by example. But this is not always easy and can be quite aggravating sometimes. So seek out talks or interactive programs offered by your department or career center. The effort will be well worth it when you realize you've become quite adept at quickly and clearly explaining your research to others and at outlining scientific papers and grant proposals. Alternatively, ask a more experienced graduate student or your advisor for advice on these topics. In addition, be prepared for a learning curve when learning all the procedures and processes of the group you end up working in. There may be many new protocols to master, whether they involve synthesizing chemicals, growing bacterial cells, or aligning mirrors on an optical table. In addition, the group may use programming languages or data analysis software you are unfamiliar with. Don't get discouraged but plan to spend extra effort getting used to these procedures and systems. After working with them regularly, they will soon become second nature. When I first started my job at Johns Hopkins, I felt overwhelmed by all the intricacies of the experiment and definitely made a few mistakes, including breaking a number of optical elements. But by the end of my year there, I had written an updated protocol manual for the modifications I had made to the experimental procedures and was the "master" passing on my knowledge to the next person taking the job.

9. There are no real breaks.

In a stereotypical "9-to-5" job, when the workday is over or the weekend arrives, you can generally forget about your work. And a vacation provides an even longer respite. But in a PhD program, your schedule becomes "whenever you find time to get your work done." You might be in the lab during regular work hours or you might be working until 10 p.m. or later to finish an experiment. And the only time you might have available to analyze data might be at 1 a.m. Expect to work during part of the weekend, too. Graduate students do go on vacations but might still have to do some data analysis or a literature search while away.

As a PhD student, it might be hard to stop thinking about the next step in an experiment or that data sitting on your computer or that paper you were meaning to start. While I imagine some students can bifurcate their mind between graduate school life and everything else, that's quite hard for many of us to do. No matter what, my research lies somewhere in the back of my head. In short, your schedule is much more flexible as a PhD student, but as a result, you never truly take a break from your work.

While this may seem like a downer, remember that you should have passion for the research you work on (most of the time), so you should be excited to think up new experiments or different ways to consider that data you have collected. Even when I'm lying in bed about to fall asleep, I am sometimes ruminating about aspects of my experiment I could modify or what information I could do a literature search on to gain new insights. A PhD program is quite the commitment and rarely lives up to expectations – but it is well worth the time and effort you will spend for something that truly excites you.

Contributor

Andy greenspon.

• How to Apply For a PhD: Step-By-Step

Written by Hannah Slack

Deciding to do a PhD is a big step and the road to submitting applications can seem long. To help you wade through all the information out there we’ve put together a simple step-by-step guide to the PhD application process.

Complete with top tips and links to further information, applying for a PhD has never looked simpler.

On this page

Step 1: choose your research area.

The first, and most obvious, step to applying for a PhD is to decide what research area you want to work in. Whether you’re looking for an Arts and Humanities PhD or a STEM one, each individual subject is made up of a vast array of research topics.

Most PhD courses will expect students to have a degree in a relevant field, although your previous qualifications do not have to be in the exact same discipline as the PhD you apply for. Students with a Masters in History, for example, may apply to research within the Religious Studies department. As long as the nature of research is similar and your chosen topic correlates with your experience, it’s possible to apply for a degree in a different department.

It’s worthwhile spending a bit of time considering what department you might want to join and what type of research you want to conduct.

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Step 2: decide what kind of PhD you want to do

There are two main types of PhDs: predesigned projects and self-proposed projects. The route you choose to take will mainly depend on your personal preference and situation.

While STEM subjects tend to have more predesigned projects, there are many students who choose to plan their own. Similarly, most Arts and Humanities PhDs are self-proposed but there are also many advertised projects out there.

Predesigned project

Advertised projects usually come in three different forms:

• Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT)
• Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP)

The main difference between these three types of PhDs is the level of industry experience offered to students, DTPs usually having the least industry involvement and iCASEs the most. However, all three do offer internship opportunities.

Some of these terms are used interchangeably, but you can read more about the differences between predesigned studentships in our guide.

The benefit of predesigned projects is that they are typically fully-funded four-year studentships. There are also many that come with an integrated Masters during the first year for those applying with only a Bachelors degree.

You also won’t have to research and plan your own project, which can save a lot of time.

However, as multiple students will be applying for the same advertised PhD opportunities, places can be competitive. Your choice of projects will also be limited to whatever research is currently advertised.

Design your own project

Many students in all fields choose to design and propose their own research project for PhD study. This option can be extremely rewarding as it allows students a lot more control over their work.

The downside is that not every self-proposed PhD is funded. While there are lots of funding opportunities available, there is not enough to cover the amount of PhD applications each year. Students may have to apply for part-time work or small grants throughout their studies.

Additionally, you will have to put in more time to your application as you need to design a viable PhD project.

For students choosing this route some additional steps are needed:

Step 2.1: research

To be able to propose a viable research project, you will need to spend a significant amount of time researching your chosen field. You may have already conducted some research during your previous degrees, giving you a good starting point.

The point of this step is to become familiar with the main academic arguments in your research area. You should then be able to identify a gap in the academic discussion which you will be able to fill in the timeframe of a PhD. This could include discussing an underused or new source base, criticising an academic argument or applying a new or different theory to the current discussions.

You should then look to identify a preliminary source base and decide how you intend to use the information.

Step 2.2: draft a research proposal

After completing a period of research, you should write up a draft research proposal. While this won’t be your final piece for submission with your application, having a draft can be useful when it comes to step three, contacting prospective supervisors. You can find out more about how to write a good PhD proposal in our guide.

Step 3: contact prospective supervisors

Once you have decided on which projects you intend to apply for, or drafted a research proposal, it’s time to reach out to prospective supervisors. This is an important step as it allows you to gain more insight into how your potential PhD might go. Our top tips for getting in contact with potential PhD supervisors can help you to reach out.

For predesigned projects the supervisor will be listed in the advertisement. By contacting them you can introduce yourself and discuss the research in more detail.

If you are proposing your own PhD research then you will have to search for potential supervisors yourself. The research stage of step two should mean that you have a good grip on the prominent academics in your field. This is a good place to start. It is also worthwhile looking through staff lists on university websites to find other experts who are perhaps earlier on in their career.

Contacting prospective supervisors is a good opportunity to receive feedback on your ideas and research proposal. You should first ask if they are able to take a look at your draft after briefly explaining who you are and summarising your project. Any feedback can be extremely useful as their expertise and experience could help them notice any holes in your proposal that you should consider and fix before applying.

Receiving feedback from an inhouse academic will also help you tailor your proposal specifically to the expertise of your prospective institution and supervisor expertise.

Step 4: check entry requirements

The next major step is to check the entry requirements of the institution or project. Most PhD applicants should have a Masters degree in a relevant field as well as a history of strong academic achievement.

PhD without a Masters

Some funded studentships will allow Bachelors graduates to apply. There is also the possibility to apply for an integrated programme that will include a year of Masters level training before beginning PhD research.

International applicants

If you are applying as an international student, make sure to check what visas may be required and how to obtain them. To study in the UK, international applicants will need a Student Route visa. To apply for this, you will need:

• a confirmation of acceptance into a university
• proof of sufficient funds
• proof that you meet the English language requirements

Make sure to check beforehand the eligibility criteria of the visa you need to apply for in case you need to undertake a language exam or entry test .

Step 5: check fees and potential funding options

Once you have decided which PhD opportunities you want to apply for, and know that you’re eligible, it’s time to look more deeply at the financial practicalities. PhD study is not cheap and often has many unforeseen costs such as books, equipment, travel and conferencing fees. Knowing your potential funding options can help you plan ahead.

Funding options

Practically all PhD applicants hope to be fully-funded. If you are applying for an advertised project then you will typically receive full funding if successful. This funding most commonly comes from Research Councils who outline their own restrictions on how the money can be used and deadlines for thesis submission. It’s a good idea to read the funder’s terms and conditions and make sure you understand what would be required of you as a researcher.

Those designing their own PhD are likely to apply for Research Council funding. Unfortunately, there is only a set amount of money available from Research Councils for self-proposed projects and so some PhDs are unsuccessful in their application. However, this does not mean you can’t go on and complete a successful PhD.

As receiving fully-funded studentships can be very competitive, it’s important to know other potential sources of funding. These can include:

• Universities – Many institutions offer their own funding , ranging from small fee discounts to full studentships. Make sure to research any financial support your chosen universities may offer and what you and your project could be applicable for.
• Charities, trusts and societies – some independent organisations offer to partially (and sometimes fully) fund PhD students if their research correlates with the groups’ interests. Support is available for a large variety of subjects so make sure to do some research.
• PhD loans – The UK government offers doctoral loans to English and Welsh PhD students who were unable to secure a full studentship. This will not usually cover the full cost of a PhD. Students wishing to self-fund with the help of a PhD loan will potentially have to take up part-time work such as teaching within the university.

PhD funding

Find out more about PhD funding options and how it works on FindAPhD.com.

Step 6: prepare to apply

Now that you have thought about the practicalities of PhD study you can start to gather the required documents to apply.

The most important thing to note down when starting to prepare is the PhD application deadlines. Many universities will have different deadlines and if you are applying for funding, applications may need to be submitted even earlier.

It’s a good idea to aim to submit your application with plenty of time to spare, taking into account any difficulties that might arise gathering together the relevant paper work.

The documents you need for your application will depend on the university and funding you are applying for. Some things you may be asked to provide are:

• Personal statement / cover letter
• Research proposal
• Details of at least two referees (make sure to contact them beforehand so they know what you are applying for and why)
• Academic transcript

International students may also need to provide:

• Proof of language proficiency
• Proof of funds
• Student visa

Step 7: submit your application

Once you have written, polished and gathered all the documents you need, it’s time to apply. Most PhD applications are done through the university’s application portal. Many also allow you to start your application and come back to it at a later date, so don’t feel like you have to submit everything all in one go.

If you are applying for funding separately make sure to read the details of how to apply on the funder’s website. Typically, Research Council funding is applied for with the same application you submit to the university. Other sources of funding may have a different application system.

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Hannah slack.

Hannah worked at FindAPhD as a Content Writer from 2020 to 2023. She started with us part-time whilst studying for her PhD, giving her personal experience with balancing work responsibilities with academia. Hannah has a Bachelor’s degree in History from the University of East Anglia, and both a Masters in Early Modern History and a PhD on Early Modern English seafarers from the University of Sheffield.

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We've answered some of the most frequently asked questions about PhDs, covering course types, applications, funding and the benefits of further study.

Getting ready to apply for a PhD? Our guides explain research proposals, references and entry tests for doctoral programmes.

Understand what a successful PhD research proposal needs to include and how to go about writing one for your project application.

Our guide explains how to contact a potential PhD supervisor to discuss your proposal or ideas with them before applying.

A checklist of the things you'll need to do when making an international PhD application, from meeting the entry requirements to sorting out your visa.

What documents you need for a complete study abroad application, what they are and what they should and should not include.

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• Youth Program
• Wharton Online

Wharton Stories

How to prepare a strong phd application.

Doctoral candidates and departmental coordinators at the Wharton School outline a few tips to help you navigate the PhD application process.

It’s no secret the application process can be intimidating. Where do you start? What exactly are schools looking for on your application? What materials do you need to submit? Doctoral candidates and departmental coordinators at the Wharton School have outlined a few tips to help you navigate the process.

Don’t Delay the Process

A successful PhD applicant starts thinking about their application months or even years before the deadlines. For Alejandro Lopez Lira , a third year student in Finance, the application process began a year before he actually submitted the paperwork. He said, “I spoke to my advisors way before, like one year before, about my letters of recommendation, where to apply, everything involved in the process.”

Each program has different requirements, which can make for a tedious process. Karren Knowlton , a third year in Management, said, “I took a little while to draft a personal statement. I had my mom, who teaches creative writing, and a few other people that I trust just read over it. Then you have to tweak it for different schools because they want slightly different things.”

Taking time to prepare your application is critical. Starting the process sooner rather than later gives you several advantages:

• It allows your letter of recommendation writers enough time in advance to thoughtfully prepare a letter that speaks to who you are as a PhD candidate.
• It gives you more time to review your materials, fix any errors, and proofread, proofread, proofread.
• Finally, it means a lot less stress when the deadline starts rapidly approaching. By planning ahead, you’ll have a much smoother process applying.

Get Letters of Recommendation

Prof. Matthew Bidwell , who previously served as the doctoral coordinator for the Management program , said a common mistake he sees are letters of recommendations from employers. Although he said it is impressive to see work experience, having an employer write a letter is not the best choice.

“We don’t pay very much attention to those because rightly or wrongly, we worry that they’re not looking for the kinds of things that we’re looking for,” he said. “If you have one, it’s not a disaster, but when you see people with two or three — most of their recommendations coming from their work — that kind of heightens our concern. You’re committing to a fairly specialized career, do you really know what that career entails?”

Instead, he suggests getting to know an academic who will be able to write a recommendation attesting to your ability to manage doctoral-level research and work.

Include Research/Work Experience in Your Field

Each program has a unique set of criteria to evaluate applicants, but several doctoral coordinators agree that some research and work experience in your field of interest will strengthen your application overall.

Prof. Fernando Ferreira , doctoral coordinator for the Business Economics and Public Policy and Real Estate programs, thinks work experience can be useful in demonstrating an applicant’s abilities. He said, “Any work experience after undergraduate school is important. If that experience is more related to research it’s even better, but work experience in general is always good.”

Prof. Guy David , doctoral coordinator for the Health Care Management & Economics program , thinks that work experience benefits applicants in terms of giving them a broader view of business. “Work experience creates retrospection about how the world works, how organizations make decisions, and how people function in various situations,” he said.

However, he warns that spending too much time away from an academic setting can have its drawbacks too. “It may lead people to start their PhD later when they are not in the habit of immersing themselves in rigorous studies and have a shorter horizons to develop a name for themselves,” he said.

Although having both research and work experience can strengthen your application, you will not be denied entry because you are lacking either.

Prof. Bidwell said, “I think research experience does give us some confidence that people have some idea about what it is that we do. In terms of work experience, I think we don’t have a strong view. We quite like work experience, but we also take people straight out of undergrad.”

Prepare for the Standardized Tests

Most PhD programs require students to take the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE). Having high test scores is a key part of an application as it tests skills learned over the course of many years in school. Quantitative skills are especially important when applying to doctoral programs in business areas. Much like any other standardized test, the GRE requires preparation.

Karren, who took the GRE twice to ensure her scores were high enough, offered advice to those who may be struggling. “I would absolutely recommend practicing the writing beforehand. Look up examples and have your outline structured,” she said. “So much of it is just getting the right structure and how you formulate your arguments so knowing what they’re looking for is key.”

Test prep can be time-consuming, but like anything else, practice makes perfect. There are multiple text books and online sites to help you prepare for the exam. Karren aimed to improve her math scores the second time she took the GRE and recommended this site to help strengthen math skills.

Taking advantage of resources to help you study can limit the number of times you need to take the GRE while ensuring you score high enough to remain in the applicant pool.

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Posted: August 4, 2017

• Admissions and Applying
• Advancement and Transition

Doctoral Programs

Start your doctoral journey.

Whether you’re just starting your research on PhD programs or you’re ready to apply, we’ll walk you through the steps to take to become a successful PhD candidate.

Deciding to get a PhD

You might be surprised to find out what you can do with a PhD in business.

Is an Academic Career for You ? What Makes a Successful PhD Student

Preparing for the Doctoral Path

The skills, relationships, and knowledge you need to prepare yourself for a career in academics.

How the PhD Program Works How to Become a Successful PhD Applicant

Choosing the right program

What’s the difference between PhD programs? Find out how to choose one that fits your goals.

What to Consider When Choosing a Doctoral Program What Differentiates R1 Universities?

Starting an application

Tips for a successful application process.

Application Requirements Preparing Your PhD Application

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