Academic departments are expected to interview applicants before making an offer of a place on PhD degree programmes. You will only be invited to interview if you are successfully shortlisted by the academic department you have applied to. Interviews are intended to be an opportunity for information exchange between you and the academic department and/or your supervisor(s).

Before interview, the department will have already assessed a number of criteria from information provided in your application.  This will include academic qualification and history, English language ability, academic references, research proposal and personal statement. An interview seeks to gain more information on this criteria.

The primary aim of interviews is for you to provide more information about your motivation, commitment, and potential for study at the doctoral level. Interviewees will hope to gain a better understanding of the skills and knowledge you have that will make you suited for a PhD programme.

More specific purposes of interview are that research students may vary between different academic departments. For instance, some interviews may be more focused on digging into the specifics of your research proposal, others may want to gauge your academic presentation skills, and others may want to focus on your performance in a specific assessment task.

The department you have applied to will make the arrangements for your interview via email. This will contain the details of the interview, including the interview format and details of any specific assessment tasks you will need to prepare for.

Interviews should be offered as either in-person or online.  If you have a disability and need any specific arrangements or accommodation and/or would like to make the interview panel aware of any disabilities such as neurodivergence, specify these with the department when they contact you for your interview.

The interview may include one or more members of academic staff and might include your potential supervisor(s).

Interview panels may range from a panel of senior academic staff to a smaller group.

We encourage all academic departments to select an interview panel with a fair representation across gender and race. If you have concerns about this please contact the academic department directly.

This will vary across academic departments and specific programmes. Some will provide an assessment task to be prepared beforehand, such as a presentation on your proposed research or a specific topic, or a close reading exercise of an academic text. You will be notified of any such task when invited to interview.

The interview will include questions that seek to understand more about your:

• ability to process complex concepts
• ability to reason and evaluate analytically and critically
• capacity and skills to conduct independent research
• understanding of the current field/literature
• motivation and enthusiasm for research
• fit with King’s, your department, and supervisor(s)
• organisation and time management skills
• capacity to establish good working relationships
• personal and academic integrity.

Most interviewers will be seeking to understand your thought process, ability to reason, opinions, and attitudes, rather than getting a ‘right answer’. In particular, they will be looking for evidence of a strong interest in and knowledge of the subject, and the feasibility of the research project.

For your interview you may want to:

• review your research proposal and be prepared for answers that seek more information and/or justification of your research choices
• research the research interests and publications of various academic staff in the department, certainly your supervisor(s)
• look at the research interests of the members of your interview panel, as this may give you an indication of the questions they may answer (e.g. if they specialise in research methods, it may be more likely they will ask questions on your methodology)
• research the academic department and their relevant research groups/centres/clusters
• if you are applying to a specific research project or team, thoroughly review and demonstrate good understanding of all aspects of this.

If you are asked to complete an assessment task, leave yourself enough time to prepare for this properly. If you will be presenting at your interview, practice your presentation to ensure clarity, that you can stick to a time limit, and to ensure you are familiar with your content.

If you will be conducting your interview online:

• test your Internet connection, audio and video on the platform you will be using
• log onto the call before the interview begins, to ensure that everything is in good working order
• blur your background or keep it plain
• ensure that you are in a quiet and private environment 

If you will be conducting your interview in-person:

• try to arrive at least 30 minutes before your scheduled interview time
• report to the campus reception desk to sign in and get a visitor pass
• you may want to prepare concise notes for you to consult during the interview, written, printed, or digital (e.g. on an iPad)
• bring a notepad and pen to make notes

Interviewers are looking to understand your thought and reasoning processes, interpretations, and justifications.

Interview lengths can vary, a good guideline is that they will be 45 minutes or longer.

The interview may begin with a round of introductions of the panel. You are permitted to ask for/take a moment to consider your answer before answering.

The panel will likely invite you to ask them questions in the latter portion of the interview. See below for some questions you might consider preparing.

Academic formats, styles, and questions will vary considerably. Some interviews may be conducted as a more ‘informal’ organic conversation, and others may be conducted as a more ‘formal’ series of standardised questions.

Interview discussion and questions may cover:

• a general understanding of who you are and/or a brief personal introduction (including academic background and your relevant interests or work experience)
• motivation for doing a PhD (including motivation for this particular programme, project, or department)
• interest in and understanding of the topic
• readiness for doctoral study, including your academic skills, relevance of your previous study to your proposed research
• your research proposal. This can vary from specific questions asking you to justify your research choices, to a more informal discussion of your research project. They may ask you to reflect on possible challenges (and how you plan to overcome them). Keep in mind that the interviewers will ultimately want to understand the feasibility of the project, e.g. are you able to complete it within the timeframe?
• your strengths and weaknesses. Responses should usually be focused around transferable skills, such as time management or effective communication, rather than technical skills or academic knowledge. Identifying ways to address these weaknesses (such as training opportunities) will be looked upon favourably
• post-PhD plans.

We recommend you prepare questions to ask the panel in the latter portion of the interview.

 Consider preparing questions about:

• supervision arrangements (e.g. frequency and expectations)
• opportunities to participate in the research life of the department
• opportunities for training and development
• opportunities to teach, present, or publish
• departmental funding schemes (e.g. small grants for conference attendance)
• interdepartmental collaboration.