PhD application advice

[indagenes]

I will be working on my application to a nursing PhD program

the next two months. ANY advice/suggestions would be

extremely helpful. Thanks !

[llg, PhD, RN]

It's kind'a hard to answer such a broad request. If you could be a little more specific in your questions, it would help me focus my response.

... and BTW ... The ability to hone in on key issues is an intellectual skill that is valuable in academic work. That's one of the skills the admissions committee would appreciate.

llg, PhD, RN

[indagenes]

I am looking mostly for general advice regarding the process of applying to a PhD program, experiential wisdom.

In addition, the program to which I am applying states that is is very research-oriented and requires a written research proposal with lit review. With that in mind, how important is it that my research question be aligned with the current research of the faculty? The faculty have "research interests" which encompass my research question, but no directly associated research.

Thanks.

[llg, PhD, RN]

It's very important that your research interest be aligned with that of the faculty. That's what they are interested in, have expertise in, can get funding for, etc. They are looking to expand their research programs by recruiting students whose work will further their own work. They don't want to "waste their time" by having to develop knowledge of areas that don't add to their own work.

They also want to see that you are prepared to focus your studies and invest a lot of effort over a period of years on your topic of interest -- ready to "settle down" so-to-speak and develop deep expertise in a single area rather than be a "generalist" who knows a little bit about a lot of different things -- or "still searching for your niche" etc.

What is your area of interest? If it doesn't obviously fit well within the faculty's interests, sometimes you can "bend it a bit" to make it fit. So, if that is the case, all is not lost: it's not hopeless. But you should invest the effort to make your proposal fit in with the faculty interest.

[BBFRN, BSN, PhD]

One thing you can also do is to email one of the professors that you feel may have the same research interests as you, and ask for a meeting. I did this, and am glad I did. It was helpful to have someone to bounce questions off of in an informal manner before I made it to the interview process, and she gave me some very good insight on soul-searching and coming up with what I wanted my focus to be. She kind of laid out the boundaries of the institutional wiggle room factor that llg was talking about.

Apparently, it's very common for professors to meet with prospective doctoral students, so don't feel weird about asking for one.

[indagenes]

I think I may contact two of the faculty and discuss my research

ideas with them prior to applying. Thanks for the suggestion!

[BBFRN, BSN, PhD]

No problem! Good luck to you, and let us know how it goes!

I need a cohort here at Allnurses. :chuckle