Aspiring PhD

In this post, I will cover what you can expect in an interview for an undergraduate research position!

This interview usually consists of the following parts:

1. The professor (and/or graduate student) asks you questions
2. The professor tells you about their lab and current research projects
3. You ask them questions about the lab, project, etc. (this is a two-way conversation!) 

Part 1. Be prepared to answer the following kinds of questions:

• Why do you want to get involved in research? 
• What made you interested in our lab? How does the lab’s research align with your interests?
• What do you hope to gain from this experience? 
• What do you want to do after you graduate?
• How much time would you be able to commit to the lab?
  • Be honest about your other commitments, such as extracurriculars, volunteering, and working. 
• Do you have prior research experience?
  • It is completely fine if your answer is no, but just have an answer ready that emphasizes your enthusiasm and desire to learn.

One potential pitfall for the “why this lab” question (from personal experience) is that you build your answer around a paper the lab previously published, but it turns out they have moved on from that research direction completely (possibly due to lack of funding or the graduate student working on the project graduated). Thus, if you are going into the interview unsure of what the lab is working on right now (especially if they don’t have a lab website or if it’s not up-to-date), consider keeping your “why this lab” more general and possibly focused on their methodology.

Part 2. The professor will probably spend a significant portion of the interview describing how their laboratory is organized and their current research projects. As you listen, think about whether you would be interested in working on any of those projects and whether they would be a good fit for you. For example, if your goal is to learn how to perform experiments at a lab bench (wet lab), but the projects are computational (dry lab), the lab may not be the best fit for you. Additionally, take into consideration your personal boundaries, including ethical ones. For example, maybe working with infectious diseases is outside of your comfort zone, or you don’t want to work directly with an animal model.

Part 3. Your turn to ask questions! Interviews are a two-way street. While your primary goal during the interview is to secure an offer, it is just as important to determine whether the professor, the research project, and ultimately, their lab, is a good fit for you.

Consider asking some of the following questions to assess this: 

• What will be my role in the lab?
• What are your expectations for undergraduate students?
  • Time commitment, type of work, level of independence
• Is there room for growth?
• Who would be my mentor/What is your mentoring style?
• What will be the most difficult aspect of this position?
• Will I be able to register for research credit?
• If you are an honor’s student and plan to defend an honors thesis: have you have mentored any honor’s theses before?

At the end of the interview, if the professor offers you a spot in the lab, you are welcome to accept it, but you are not obligated to do so! You can always thank them and ask whether you could let them know your response say by the following week to give yourself more time to think over the opportunity. Good luck!