Personal
What do you do in your free time (not in the lab)?
What motivates you?
What drives you as a scientist?
Who has influenced you the most?
How do you work best – independently, or with a team, at home?
How do your interests fit with the strengths and goals of the program?
What do you expect to be challenging about graduate school? What are your plans for managing those challenges?
Graduate school often involves a combination of intense days, long nights, and high expectations. What strategies will you use to manage this combination of demands?
What are your strengths and weaknesses?
Tell us about a time when things didn’t go the way you wanted. How did you handle it, and what did you learn from the experience?
Tell us about your most successful or interesting research experience in a lab environment. Which of your qualities helped facilitate this success?
Describe a time that you encountered a significant personal obstacle? How did you handle it?
Is there any information pertinent to your application that you would like to add?
In what ways, other than research and teaching could you contribute to this department?
Questions for you to ask current grad students
Does the environment feel more collaborative or competitive?
What is the funding structure/guarantee for students?
Is it an inclusive environment?
Where do you (and students in general) live?
What is the area around campus like?
Do you think the stipend reflects the cost of living?
Is the university helpful with finding housing?
How easy/difficult was the process of joining a lab?
Do most people join their first choice lab?
How much time are you expected to spend in the lab?
How would you describe your PI's advising style?
How do you maintain a successful relationship with your advisor?
How regularly/quickly does your advisor publish?
What research are you working on?
How quickly were you able to start your research?
Is the project you're working on what you thought you'd be doing, or has the project you're working on gone in any unexpected directions?
Who is on your committee and why?
Would you choose this advisor if you were doing it over?
Do you get to attend conferences?
What do you think of the courses - useful content, well taught, relevant to your research/goals?
How easy/hard is it to customize the program?
What would you change about the program?
What kind of schedule do you work?
What do grad students do in their free time?
Do most students have a good work/life balance?
Do grad students in this program hang out with each other?
Do you know many people in grad school who regret starting it?
Do you know people who have left the graduate program?
What kind of resources does the program offer (e.g. for mental health, career development, learning new skills, etc.)?
Is there anything you wish you had taken into consideration when making your decision about where to attend?
Questions for you to to ask potential PI’s
I read your paper/book X. Can you tell me about your future research goals related to X? What are your current projects?
What research projects do you have that would be looking for graduate students?
What advice would you give to a student who wants to be successful in your program? Are there any specific pitfalls to be avoided?
What are the expectations for a graduate student in your lab?
Do students create their own projects or work on something already developed/in progress?
How is your lab organized? Do you have a lab manager, or do other members of the lab take on this role?
Do you have lab/group meetings, and what is the format of those meetings?
How much collaboration is there within the lab?
How much do your students publish?
How often do you sent students to conferences?
How long do students in your lab take to complete their PhD?
What do students from your lab typically do after graduation?
What is the big picture/goal/focus/priority of the department?
Questions for you to ask other interviewers (like program or admissions directors)
What are the responsibilities of grad students in this program?
What is the workload/time commitment?
Do grad students have to TA? How many terms do you TA?
Are students generally collaborative or competitive?
How big is the program?
What's the biggest strength of the program?
What professional development services are available?
How/when are students paired with advisors?
What does the program do if someone doesn't find a lab to join by the deadline?
What percentage of students complete the PhD? Pass quals?
How would you compare this program to X and Y?
Is there funding available for attending things like conferences or summer schools?
What are the career outcomes for students in this program?
