Grad School Interview.com

Grad school interview prep for the research you can defend

AI can help you rehearse. Practice explaining your own methods when an interviewer changes an assumption.

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Practice a research interview

What admissions teams say they’re looking for

01 Explain what the method can tell you

“Be ready to discuss potential next steps as well.”

Ethan Leviss and Ashley Tseng, Harvard Virology PhD students · PhD Program in Virology, Oct 30, 2026

Explain what you observed and what the next test would resolve.

These cases cover PhD and research master’s admissions. Oxford’s undergraduate interviews explore academic potential. The HBS MBA interview follows review of the candidate’s application. Oxford undergraduate interviews and HBS MBA application process

Research admissions practiceWhat did the reminder pilot measure?Example

03 Check research fit and supervision

“assess whether your research goals align with our current work and research direction.”

Anaís Delilah Roque Antonetty, Assistant Professor of Environmental Justice, Duke · Scholars@Duke, Undated

Use a current project to explain where your question fits.

“Before contacting me, make sure you read my recent papers.”

Junjie Hu, Assistant Professor of Computer Sciences, UW–Madison · Junjie Hu, Undated

Bring one question about a specific result or method.

“Each potential doctoral thesis supervisor recruits their doctoral students themselves.”

ETH Zurich Doctoral Administration, Doctoral position guidance · ETH Zurich, Undated

At ETH Zurich, a professor must be willing to supervise. Check when that commitment enters the program’s process.

MIT Biology uses first-year rotations before students choose a lab. MIT Biology prospective student FAQ

ETH Zurich Computer Science accepts direct faculty contact or a central initial application. ETH Zurich Computer Science admissions

Research admissions practiceCan this program support Maya’s research?Example

Sources

  1. Ethan Leviss and Ashley Tseng, Harvard Virology PhD students, at the time. PhD Program in Virology, “The Art of a Statement of Purpose”, Oct 30, 2026. Open the source. Checked against the published text.
  2. Yu Research Group, Lab guidance for initial PhD contact, at the time. Yu Research Group, “For PhD students”, Undated. Open the source. Checked against the published text.
  3. Anaís Delilah Roque Antonetty, Assistant Professor of Environmental Justice, Duke, at the time. Scholars@Duke, “Anais Roque”, Undated. Open the source. Checked against the published text.
  4. Junjie Hu, Assistant Professor of Computer Sciences, UW–Madison, at the time. Junjie Hu, “Prospective PhD students, updated August 15, 2026”, Undated. Open the source. Checked against the published text.
  5. ETH Zurich Doctoral Administration, Doctoral position guidance, at the time. ETH Zurich, “Finding a doctoral position”, Undated. Open the source. Checked against the published text.
  6. University of Oxford, Research proposal assessment criteria, at the time. Oxford Graduate Admissions, “MSc by Research in Engineering Science, 2027–28 entry”, Undated. Open the source. Checked against the published text.
  7. University of Oxford Graduate Admissions, Graduate admissions interview guidance, at the time. Oxford Graduate Admissions, “Using Artificial Intelligence in your graduate application”, Undated. Open the source. Checked against the published text.

Last reviewed Nov 11, 2026