I have a BS in biology and am currently waiting to hear back about my application for a biology PhD program this fall. All has gone surprisingly well for me so far. My prospective advising professor is extremely kind, and I think I have even been nominated for a fellowship! However there is one last major obstacle I must overcome before I can start with the program: THE DREADED INTERVIEW

If you are a current biology PhD student, do you recall what questions were asked of you in your interview?

Since I am comming straight from my undergrad, do you think I will be asked to give a specific prospective project idea for my dissertation during my interview?

I went straight from undergrad into my PhD.

I was asked lots of questions about my final year project and some about my year in industry project. I was asked why I wanted to do a PhD and why I wanted to study at this particular university. At two other interviews I was asked to do a 10 minute presentation of my previous work. They also asked me if I'd applied anywhere else and if I'd be willing to take on one of their other projects if selected.

Ok, so I'm just about to graduate from my BSc and have already been offered a PhD in Plant Sciences at the John Innes Centre.

In the interview, they really wanted to get to the heart of my current and past research experience. So expect a lot of questions on your final year project and any research placements you've done. They'll use them as platforms to ask questions about how you would go about tackling research questions, how well you understand the literature on your subject and how well you can put seemingly abstract concepts into a context where findings can be applied to technology.

They aren't going to expect you to have the entireity of your PhD planned out but expect them to ask what your understanding of the project is and what implications any potential results would have for the field.

Good luck!