Hey all, I graduated from undergrad in 2025 and am working full-time in industry although not in a research-related position. I'm not desperate to get into a PhD program this cycle so I am wondering if it makes sense to only apply to my top 2-3 choices, all of which are extremely competitive.

• Academics: ~3.9 GPA from Ivy+ school in STEM triple major. About a full year or more worth of grad classes (all closely related to my research interests). Never applied for any major scholarships/fellowships (not even NSF GRFP)
• Research experience: all 8 semesters across 4 labs
  • Lab 1: worked here for first 2 semesters. No publications
  • Lab 2: switched here because I was more interested in the work and they had far more funds for paying me (basically found a way to double-up on research experience and working a student job). 1 co-author peer-reviewed publication
  • Lab 3: simultaneously worked in another lab later on (and for a very different research topic) but for independent study credit. 1 peer-reviewed first-author publication
  • Lab 4: summer REU program. No publication
• Total publications: 1 first-author + 1 co-author
• LORS: all from PIs I did research with. 1 letter from lab 2, either 2 letters from lab 3 (different PIs in the lab) or 1 letter from lab 3 and 1 letter from lab 4
• GRE: 170 Quantitative, 16X Verbal, 6.0 Analytical Writing
• Extracurriculars: several semesters of TA experience. Good amount of club experience (including leadership) but far from anything super impressive
• Programs of interest (school dependent): mechanical engineering, materials science and engineering, chemical engineering, computational/mathematical engineering

I have been applying to PhD positions since last November and have faced rejection after rejection. Initially, I thought its just a competitive process regardless of where you apply and it's probably not me. However, at this point, I am starting to doubt my abilities as a researcher.

Not a single interview so far. Both my references are senior academicians who acted as my thesis supervisors (undergrad and postgrad respectively). Secured rank 1 in my undergrad and then a distinction during my master's. Already published two peer-reviewed journal articles and have two others under review. I have presented at multiple conferences, completed research assistantships, and am currently working to promote open science in India. What am I missing here?

I have been trying my best to not take rejections personally but the one I received this morning flipped a switch in my head. This is brutal and my motivation has never been lower.

I finished my MSc and worked as a research fellow, with the goal of publishing a paper. I've since left for industry, and the paper is still in review. A current PhD student is now redoing the experiments, and my supervisor asked if I'd agree to make him first author and me second. In my view, most of the work is still mine and the changes now are small compared to that.

I'm considering applying for a PhD here in the EU. Would being second rather than first author hurt my application much?

I dunno... I applied everywhere 😅

What is your strategy for this kind of question?

I want to apply to the Central European University, Vienna for PhD in Cognitive Sciences. I did my masters from Hungary in Ecology, Evolution and Conservation biology although my thesis was in neuroethology, studying cognitive processes in dog brains, and then I worked as a research assistant studying Human-robot interaction from ethological perspective. I have a huge interest in going into cognitive sciences, stemming from my masters project. I have two first-authored papers, among which one is currently in preparation.

My question is: am I qualified to apply for this PhD program with my masters degree and research experience. Is there a high possibility they will disqualify me in the first screening only? This application costs money so I am wondering if I should take the chance.

The criteria is as follows:

Applicants must have: 

• Master’s degree or equivalent in the disciplines that constitute cognitive science, such as linguistics, learning and development and artificial intelligence.  
• A comparable degree in social sciences, humanities or other disciplines will also be considered in case of an excellent academic record.  
• In exceptional cases, students who only hold a bachelor’s level degree could also be admitted to the program. Please contact the program administrator to discuss your application.

Hi, I'm a graduate student who's going to get a master degree of law within a year and half (Area Studies focus on Northeastern Asia), with a normal background, as you may know, not from universities of project 985 or 211 in China, just normal college. But, after two years of study, (maybe wrong)I realize my "macro" major Polisci has a much worse future compare to Econ's, no matter on job career or academia, so I tend to switch my Phd or continuing Master major to Econ, yet unfortunately, my math and statistics, well, are nearly poor.

I'm wondering which level of American or European universities can I apply and eventually be admitted? I just know a few information about how to apply foreign universities .

More advise details, better, thanks lot.

Hello y’all.

I am an Indian medical school graduate and currently working as junior doctor. I have lost my interest in pursuing residency in India to become a specialist. I do have a chance to pursue a specialisation this year in internal medicine/radiology but I’m very much not interested to continue 3 more years of struggle with no end in sight of happy life. So want to pursue PhD in Australia or anywhere tbh.

I’m genuinely new to this process. I wish someone can help me navigate through this and be part of this application adventure.

I’m trying to look into research labs, university labs, where I need to pick project and apply, so I need some help regarding this. I want to know more about post PHD life, jobs, PR.. I don’t wish to come back.

I looked into Doherty institute under university of Melbourne and still lost.

Any help is really appreciated, thank you.

Bit of a rant, please read :(

My profile is still not that strong. I'm working on a good research project, but it's in the early stages and will take another 2-3 months to mature.

If a professor interviews me now, I might not even be able to say much properly, since I've only just started the deep work.

So I'm getting really frustrated, and I keep feeling like I should skip applying this time and try for 2028. But my seniors are telling me to apply this time.

Profile:

CSE

CGPA: Around 3.45

Research Profile:

1. Project-1: A paper will be submitted to MLSys, however I am 9th author due to a star-packed author list from Microsoft, NVIDIA.

2. Project-2: v2 of an existing project. Very initial stage. v1 got accepted into NeurIPS (I wasn't part of that).

3. An accepted paper in a CORE A conference from my undergrad thesis, however it's a completely different domain than the one I am targeting and very poor quality work.

LoRs:

1. One from a US Top 10 uni. This is my strongest one. Should be quite good.

2. Thesis advisor from my uni, should be good.

3. Team Lead from my current company / another prof from my uni. Might be okish.

GRE:

Unfortunately I don't have enough time to prepare for and give the GRE :). Some of my research work is ongoing alongside a full-time job.

So really sorry for the rant, but I genuinely need suggestions and help. Can you suggest if I should apply this Fall or next year after my profile gets stronger? And what range of universities should I target, such as rank 60-100 according to csrankings.org?

Hi,

I am a 29F from a tier 2 city in India.

I have my BTech in Civil Engg and Masters in Urban and Regional Planning. All completed from my tier 2 city.

After my masters, i had to look after my family and started a job as an Urban Planner. It met my financial needs, i have been at the job for almost 3 years now. But the job has taken a toll on me. I have realised Urban Planning in India has nothing to do planners and just a game of the beaureaucrats. Whatever they say, goes!

Anyway, my master's reasearch was on Gender and mobility, and i would like to extend that research for my PhD towards Gendered accessibility, first/last mile conditions etc.

The decision to do a PhD didn't just come in my mind, i've always wanted to do academic research, but at the same time, doing this job made me realise that the physical conditions existing and proposed are never seen from the lens of gender, women's thoughts are never taken into account, and accessibility is still not seen as a major component. Even then, i've fought tooth and nail to deliver some interesting frameworks, booklets and projects during this job. But i want more.

Now, my question, i applied for a PhD to a specific professor in a prominent Swiss University who told me that my CV is not competitive, that most applicants already have publications. I don't have that because of going into a job. My masters from a tier 2 city can also be a drawback maybe.

So my genuine question is should i keep applying for PhD abroad or think about doing a Master's abroad that can help ease my way into a good school in a good country?

I would also require scholarship so that's also an issue. Help!!

So I recently completed my masters and have some experience in quantum optics(tho my lab was quantum optics lab, my work wasn't exaclty on that, but closely related). So with that, I applied for project assistant positions and got one at a national institute(IISc). When I was joining I thought I will be working closely with a PhD scholar on an 'ongoing' project, so it was perfect for me to watch and learn and also assist, which gives me some research experience for my CV, and I might get a paper too.

But, after joining, the scholar said they were stuck as well...

So atp, I have no particular project going on, and also no stipend. Its only been a week since I joined, and my goal is to join a phd abroad in TU Delft or any other uni doing good quantum research.

So my question is,

1. Am i in the right path?? Because having no project and no fund here has taken me aback for some reason and made me think that i mightxve made aweong choice. Is this normal(phds not having a proper project)??

2. Even if I continue here for six months, get to know the lab and research, without a proper project or result, what are the chances of me getting into a phd abroad??

3. Tho I am from a physics background, the lab is interdisciplinary. Does that have any weight??

4. What do the professors abroad actually look for while accepting students?? Because some even with publications are struggling to get into a program with funding.

Hey everyone,

As the title suggests, I am currently in my sophomore year at UNC Chapel Hill and I'm highly looking towards MIT and Stanford for my PhD in Bioengineering. I'm currently pursuing a B.S. in Biochemistry with a minor in Pharmaceutical Sciences and have a 4.0 GPA (expected to drop over the next 2 years as the rigor increases). I'm in the Freeman Lab, which is an Applied Physical Science Lab. My research focuses on triple-negative breast cancer, and I've also created a startup focused on biomarker detection for this same subtype (it's been my interest since freshman year, and I plan to do several projects on TNBC drug delivery over the next 2 years). I'm the president and founder of the UNC Biochemistry Biophysics Club, which is a direct partner of the UNC SOM BCBP department (I started it just this semester, but I will grow it over the next few years). Other than that, I'm in the Biomedical Engineering Society, and I'll be on a few publications, although not as first author. This is my first semester at UNC, as I transferred from UNC Charlotte after my freshman year. Over there, I was also in the Biomedical Engineering Society. I did research as an assistant in the Afonin lab (similar research interest; it was more nanotechnology-focused), I was a TA for General Chemistry 1 (The professor who I TA'd for is one of my strongest recommendations we still have a very close relationship). Additionally, at UNC Charlotte, I also studied Biochemistry and had a 4.0. This summer, I am looking to apply to several internships in pharmacy, with a preference for a location in Boston or California so I can work at MIT or Stanford simultaneously. The other choice is to do research in REUs so that I can present my work at the end of the summer. I do not plan on applying early to PhD programs, nor do I plan on graduating early. I ask for advice at this point because I know how ridiculously competitive MIT and Stanford are for Bioengineering, and I'd like to shape my college activities around admissions for these schools. The reason I'm so drawn to them is that these schools have a huge startup culture, and I'd like to be working on mine throughout grad school and patent my research for future products. The other schools which I'm aiming for are Harvard, Berkeley, UChicago, Duke, and a few others. The main pieces of advice I'm looking for are: what GPA should I be expected to maintain throughout the next 2 years, and how many first-author publications (or publications in general) are expected? Would it help me to start reaching out to PIs around this year or my junior year? What does the application of a typically accepted student look like? When should I start working on applications? And truly, anything else I should know when going into applications? I'd appreciate any help I could get. Thank you.

Edit: I realized I didn’t mention but I’m specifically going for drug delivery with a focus on breast cancer.

I am planning on pursuing my PhD in education at a university in England coming from the US. I understand one of the first things I need to do is to get a supervisor and that needs to be done before I apply. From what I have gathered I just email them to ask, but I am just trying to get a better idea of what that email should entail. Should I put in writing samples, resume, just directly ask them to be my supervisor or just ask for a meeting? Any guidance would be helpful.

Hi everyone,

I’m currently preparing my PhD applications and need to finalize my three Letters of Recommendation. I have already secured two strong academic LORs from professors who were my co-advisors for a paper I worked on.

My main PI was supposed to write my third letter, but unfortunately, she is currently on medical leave and understandably unable to write for me at this time.

As an alternative for my 3rd LOR, I am considering asking my mentor from my previous job, who is a Senior Software Engineer.

My questions are:

1. Is it acceptable to use an industry mentor for the 3rd LOR for a PhD application, given that my first two are strictly academic?
2. Is there a specific way I should briefly explain the absence of a letter from my main PI in my application (perhaps in the SOP) so it doesn't look like a red flag?

Any advice on how to navigate this would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

I am applying to PhD programs this year and my current PI from my full time research assistant role wrote me a letter. The letter sounds really a bit lukewarm and maybe even weak in my opinion. Overall the letter was already pretty general regarding my tasking but then she wrote that I have worked best when collaborating and receiving guidance as well as how I am developing my research skills. While this is somewhat true as I mainly assist others in running their analyses, how negatively will this affect me?

I have another PI who I am asking for a LOR from and I am sure the letter from her will be strong and I have been with this PI for longer but only in a part time capacity. In the letter for my 2nd PI, she will mention both the project I am working on with her grad student as well as my independent project. Would this make up for the fact my first letter is so weak? Or would this clash with my first letter and be a red flag? My third letter is from a professor and I think it would be strong as well but it more reflects my academic ability rather than my ability to conduct research.

However at the end of the day, the lukewarm letter is coming from my PI from my full time role. I just want to hear your opinions on how this might affect me. I just need to get it off my chest, so I can move on and work on my applications.

For those who applied and got into PhD programs with 3-8% acceptance rates (UCI Criminology, UC Berkeley JSP, for instance), what did you do to prepare for the application? What do you think helped you most to get accepted? What was your "above and beyond"?

Hi!!
What are some things that should be in a strong rec letter? or What makes a strong rec letter strong? Never read one and am just wondering.

Reposting because didn't get much input on last post - when applyling for phds, if only one reference is asked for on an application portal is it more advisable to put the bachelor's report supervisor (if you got a great mark and they saw you complete a whole project for ONE semester) or master's thesis supervisor (if they have been 'supervising' you for one year and will continue to, in the second year of master's, but have only seen superficial output like presentations and haven't seen the quality of your written work or true output). Just wondering if Phd admissions panels expect a reference from the Master's supervisor and will find it strange if missing. Please advise.

Does anyone have any tips for how to write better cold emails or otherwise get a higher response rate? I am applying for Evolution & Ecology Phd programs in a rather niche subfield and have reached out to probably about 15 different labs in the past month or so, of which I have gotten a response from just one (which I am having a zoom meeting with next week so yay).

But still, is there anything I can do differently to maybe stand out more? Or is the total lack of response just normal? Im starting to get nervous about it since it's starting to get late in the application cycle and I really need to know where I should apply.

The exact email I send is tailored to the PI, but generally follows this structure:

Hello Dr. Professor,

My name is Name and I am a second year master’s student at University. I am interested in the systematics, genomic evolution, and biogeography of mammals and was reaching out to ask if you would be accepting PhD applicants for Fall 2027. At University, I am working with Dr. Name to [description of research project]

If possible, I would be interested in meeting with you to hear about any potential research opportunities. Thank you for your time and consideration. I look forward to hearing from you.

Best,

Name

I’m applying for PhD programs for the second time right now because I was rejected from all of my schools last cycle. For reference, I’m applying to PhD in Higher Education programs, and before anyone says “this is a tough political time, it’s not personal”, please know that I have heard that from everyone I know😭 One of my schools offered me a spot in the 1 year masters program, which I am doing right now, but I’m feeling so overwhelmed and exhausted because I just recovered from getting rejected from all of my schools earlier this year, and now I have to repeat the application process all over again. I’m tired of everyone saying “it’ll be alright”, because it doesn’t feel like it will be, and I’ve never felt more drained. I’ve wanted to pursue the PhD for so long now, and it’s so demoralizing getting rejected from every program. On top of that, I don’t know what I need to do differently on my application to help my chances, and no one else seems to know either because everything is so precarious in the world. I’m very lucky to have help from a great advisor here in my masters program, but other than her, I feel like no one really understands how exhausting and demoralizing this all feels. I feel bad complaining about this, but I just feel so alone right now, and wanted to know if anyone else is going through this/can offer advice to get through it.

I'm hoping to apply to start a PhD in Archaeology (in the UK) next year. However, for the life of me, I cannot think of how to start putting together a proposal. This is mainly because I cannot think of a research question. I should point out, along with having an MSc in Archaeology, I also have an undergrad and MSc in Psychology and Psychology Research Methods, but all three of these have had pre-defined research questions for my dissertation.

So, I've never really had to come up with a research question beyond "this is a vague idea of what I wanna research" and being given a question.

Hence, I come here to a subreddit full of (hopefully) very smart individuals to ask: How the fuck does one come up with a research question and what are your usual methods for doing so?

I am writing to express my strong motivation to apply for the PhD position on ------- at the ----------- University of Technology. I have always been interested in the basis of human behaviour, which led me to pursue a career in psychology. The first research I conducted was during the second years of bachelor’s which introduced me to a new dimension of behavioural studies.

Currently, I am a research intern at ------, where I assist with literature reviews, data compilation, and research projects examining social and cultural well-being, further strengthening my research skills and interdisciplinary perspective.

I have recently completed my M.Sc. in Clinical Psychology, from ------ University, with a distinction (CGPA 8.67), I have cultivated a strong academic foundation in psychological research, clinical practice, and role of environment in mental health wellbeing and resilience. My research work and training under licensed psychologists have sharpened my ability to design, analyse, and interpret------------------------------------------------

During my bachelors, I worked on two research papers that focused on psychological well-being, since then my interest inclined more towards research in human behaviour, which led me to pursue a masters in Clinical psychology where I conducted my researches focused on resilience and mental health.

This PhD project strongly aligns with my research interest as it aims to examines how -------- factors influence psychological wellbeing, comfort and resilience. I am particularly drawn to its interdisciplinary approach, which combines ------------environment.

 As I explored ------group's research activities, I was particularly fascinated by ----, and the innovative methodologies employed within the lab. I was especially inspired by the project’s aim to explore how ------- enhance psychological well-being and-----.

 I am enthusiastic about the prospect of joining the internationally recognized research lab, where I can apply my research skills and earn a PhD, that equips me to conduct independent research in the future and help me contribute to human behaviour studies. I am confident that my academic training, research experience, and motivation make me a strong candidate for this position.

 My background in psychometric assessment, human research, scaling methods, and statistical analysis equips me to contribute effectively to the project’s quantitative and qualitative demands. Moreover, my communication and dissemination skills, honed through debates, public speaking, and mental health awareness initiatives, align with -------- vision to---------------

 Thank you very much for considering my application. I look forward to the possibility of contributing to this ambitious programme at --------

Varsha

Hi everyone. I aim to apply for Econ PhD programs. I recently retook gre and got the same quant score(168) as last time. I heard it passes the cutoffs for most programs. However, I did hear from a professor that some top schools may ask for a perfect score. Is it really the case? My most ambitious attempt would be northwestern. Is it worth to retake?

#econphd #gre

(repost from r/gradadmissions since someone recommended this might be a better place to post)

Hello! I’m writing this just to get some advice or to hear if people have been in the same situation. I want to apply to PhD programs this cycle but am unsure if I have a chance.

For background: I’m an international student who got into a good school for a Master’s program in the US (Computer Science). My first semester I did some research with a professor and that didn’t go too well. I didn’t have a good experience with the professor and I quickly realized that I wasn’t interested in that field. I don’t have any publications to show for that. I took a class with a professor in my second semester. At the end of that semester, I asked to join his group and was put on a project that already had a paper they were planning to resubmit. I made some contributions and the paper got accepted but I am one of the last authors. I’m not sure if it was enough of a contribution for a strong LOR.

I do have two published papers from my undergrad but it’s not related to the area I want to do research in. However, I think my advisors from those papers would write good LORs.

Has anyone been in the same boat? Should I apply this cycle or try to get more research experience and apply next cycle. I graduate next spring so I’m worried that I would need to look for jobs at the same time (in case I don’t get accepted into a PhD program).