Is it common now for Ph.D. programs to have professors contact you from programs you apply to? I ask this since I've been called by two professors from a Ph.D. program I applied to talk more about my research......but their interests are not really what I hope to study and are not the POI(s) I listed interest in on my SOP. Their research is similar to my past experiences (applied and research wise), but I plan to pursue a different focus on research. Does this seem to be a tool to weed people out? They also were not phone interviews and believe the program doesn't conduct in person. Also, they are newer faculty, which people may not see their work as much as applicants. Thoughts would be great!
Being contacted by professor in a department that are not your POI's
- Thread starter McPsychy
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It may be the case that your POI isn't taking students or is interested in other students, but the program in general is interested in you and wants to see if you'd fit with someone else. I didn't verify that all my POI's were taking students when I applied, so this happened to me once or twice. One actually turned out to be a good possibility and I almost opted to go there.
There may be other reasons, but this is the one I have experience with.
Good luck!
Dr. E
It's interesting because I have about three professors that have interests similar to mine that I contacted before asking if they are looking to accept a student, which all three said they did. I guess that's why I'm confused, but could be they have found students they want. The program is a non-applied Ph.D. program and while the professors I've contacted stated that they look for students that fit the programs a whole, they also look for that mentor type model fit. It also could be my previous training with more sereve aspects fo mental health, which these professors who contacted me have interest in.
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I haven't had that experience, but here's my 2 cents for what it's worth. Some programs (even ones that have the mentor model) accept you to their program without assigning you to an advisor at first--which is why they look for you to fit in with their program as a whole. Then, as you start working on your thesis, you choose an advisor who matches your research interests most closely. But it's possible that for the first year or two, you would be working with a variety of professors, even though it's understood that you will eventually be matched with one professor (likely one of the professors you initially listed in your SOP). So they might just want to see if you would be a good person to have in their program regardless of your actual research interests (aka can you work with other professors in the department, are you competitive or collaborative, etc). I would approach this interview with an open mind--obviously don't lie about your research interests, but I wouldn't close any doors, so to speak, either. It's also a fair question to ask the professor--"I know my past research experience aligns well with what you're doing, but I also want to pursue X line of research--will there be opportunities to work with Professor Z?"
Hope this helps!
Hope this helps!
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I had this exact situation happen. I applied to work with folks who apparently opted not to take students during the process, but my application had been passed around anyway. I was caught more than a bit off guard by a prof who called me the first time it happened (as I wasn't expecting it--especially while I was at work
). To say I stumbled would be an understatement. 😳Similar threads
