So You Want to Pursue a PhD? Here’s What You Need to Know About Applying to Grad School
Maria Kesisoglou
“You are more than the work that you do.”
Many college students may not have a clear idea of what they want to do after graduation. There are many different avenues to gain work experience, build professional skills, and start a career. One of those paths is obtaining a doctoral degree, or a PhD. By continuing to study a field at an advanced level, specializing in research and depth of knowledge, PhD students set themselves up for high-level jobs in impactful fields like medicine and biotechnology. Yet first- and second-year students are often unaware of the opportunities opened by obtaining a PhD, and additionally they are unfamiliar with the grad school application process.
Adi Sivakumar, an Organic Chemistry PhD student at UCLA, wasn’t set on going to grad school when he began college either. However, after taking an organic chemistry class and discovering a passion for the subject, he reached out to a professor and began working in a lab that developed antimalarial therapeutics. Sivakumar said that being able to manipulate experiments and see their outcomes gave him a feeling of empowerment and a sense of accomplishment. Ultimately, this love for research prompted him to continue his studies in graduate school.
In order to do so, he would first need to apply. A grad school application has many components, and two of the most critical parts are the statement of purpose and the personal statement. In the statement of purpose, you describe your motivations for becoming a scientist in your chosen field and explain how the school can help you achieve your goals. The personal statement is a more general demonstration of who you are, what has shaped you, and what has led you to pursue science.
Sivakumar explained that while it depends on the school, most U.S. institutions require chemistry students to apply to the department’s PhD program, not directly to a lab. However, he advised applicants to do research on which labs they would like to be placed in and include in their statement of purpose why they are interested in those labs and how they are well suited to work in them.
In addition to these two written components, it is also important to have a well-developed CV. A CV, or curriculum vitae, is a concise yet thorough overview of your education and experience. CVs are intended to highlight your skills, accomplishments, and prior research experience, all of which are heavily considered by graduate school admissions. Equally weighted are letters of recommendation, written by professors, employers, supervisors, or others who know you well academically and professionally. Both your CV and your letters of recommendation are strengthened by having a wealth of experience in undergraduate research, as PhD programs are looking for candidates who are committed and capable of completing independent, original research for a dissertation.
Evidently, gaining research experience is essential for college students who want to pursue PhDs at top universities, but it’s not the only thing you should focus on. Sivakumar stressed that a successful application should also show who you are as a person outside of the lab; he advised students not to forget “that you are more than the work (and research) that you do.”
It’s important to keep in mind that going to graduate school is not about winning a competition, but about self-improvement and pursuit of knowledge. Sivakumar says that his “main goal (in getting a PhD) is to become more experienced, dive deep into research, and become an expert” in the field of organic chemistry, specifically how chemical compounds act in biological systems. He plans to work in drug discovery or an adjacent sector, hoping that his expertise can be put to good use developing treatments that extend and improve people’s lives.
Again, very few have their education and career path mapped out within the first few months of college. Many people, including Sivakumar himself, prefer to keep their options open while taking advantage of opportunities to learn more about grad school as they make their way through college. Sivakumar said that those opportunities are, in fact, great for developing your own research interests that you can discuss in your application. His final words of advice? “Take it easy.” So while you don’t need to decide if you’re going to grad school right away, it’s helpful to keep in mind the many elements and experiences that factor into a grad school application as you consider if pursuing a PhD is the right path for you.
