Your choice of supervisor can significantly shape your PhD experience, so it’s crucial to find someone whose mentoring style aligns with your needs. A supportive supervisor can make all the difference in your academic journey.

Consider reaching out to potential supervisors for an informal chat over coffee or a virtual call. This allows you to get a sense of their personality, expectations, and approach to supervision before making a commitment.

DON'T use ChatGPT to write your email to them, they can almost always tell. Make the email personalised, what do you like about the work they've done? Do they have any PhD positions? Think about what you want out of the interaction.

When you do get to meet, make sure you ask the 'hard' questions:

1. What's your supervision style? More hands-on or hands-off? This will help you determine if their approach aligns with your preference

2. I am considering a career in X, are there opportunities within your lab or network to gain relevant experience? This can give you an insight into their ability and willingness to support your aspirations.

3. What are your expectations for PhD students in terms of workin hours, meetings and research progress? This will also help you gauge whether their working style aligns with your own.

Before you meet, make sure you've read about your (potential) supervisor, look at the work they've published and other things they're involved in. They want to know that they're picking someone who can socially fit in with the lab, and someone who is genuinely interested in the work - this is a great way to demonstrate that.  Ask them questions about it.

Not all PhD programmes in the UK follow the same structure, so it's important to know your options and choose one that best aligns with your goals.

For example:

Traditional PhDs (3-3.5years): primary focus on your project from start to finish, ability to complete other tasks at your discretion.

Doctoral Training Programmes (DTPs)/Centres for Doctoral Training (CDTs) (4 years): these often include additional training and experience. They differ depending on funding bodies but may involve:

• Lab rotations in the first year: allowing you to experience different labs and topics before committing

• 3-month non-PhD-related placement: gives you a break from your research, but allowing you to widen your skillset, great for employment/

Think about WHY you are doing a PhD. Your motivations will inform which structure suits you best.

Before apaplying it's important to know how the research will be funded. Depending on how it'll be funded, your workload, experience and ability to focus on research will differ.

• Fully funded PhDs - guaranteed funding for tuition and a stipend for living costs

• Self-funded/partially funded PhDs - you'll either have to pay for the research fees or obtain funding through scholarships or grants.

• Grant-dependent funding - you (and/or your supervisor) will need to apply for grants to sustain your project.

You need to know if your application requires a research proposal, or to answer questions on a form. Different application styles rerquire different approaches.

Either way you need to understand your motivations for doing a PhD, why you want to undertake the research at that institution and why you like that lab group/supervisor.

Always get someone to proofread your application and don't use ChatGPT to write your responses.

Supervisors play a key role in your professional development, but mentors can also do that too. Seek out mentors such as postdocs, PhD students or professionals in your field.

A good mentor can offer career advice, help you navigate challenges, and provide insight into academia or industry pathways. Building a strong support network of mentors ensures that you have a range of perspectives and resources to draw from, making your PhD experience more enriching and less isolating. 

There are places where you can find mentors, such as LinkedIn. You can also reach out to us to see if we have available mentors: hello@blackphdcollective.com.