Questions to Ask a Professor in a PhD Interview
Questions to ask a professor in a PhD interview or informal chat, sorted by what each reveals, plus who to ask about funding in the US, UK and Europe.
Questions to Ask a Professor in a PhD Interview
Ask two questions about the work and one about how the lab runs. Save funding for the person whose job it is to answer it. Before admission at MIT EECS, for example, that is not the professor: "Faculty members will not discuss financial support or thesis supervision with a student who has not yet been admitted."
Do not bring job-interview questions with "lab" swapped in. Your questions show how seriously you have thought about the next five years, and the professor will also judge them as evidence of fit. This page sorts the questions by what each one tells you, gives a destination table for funding questions, and lists the questions that hurt you. For the questions you will be asked, see our guide to PhD interview questions for international students.
The university pages quoted below were checked on October 31, 2026.
Why the last five minutes count
The "do you have any questions?" part is not a formality. Cambridge's postgraduate interviews page lists, among the reasons departments interview, to "Give you the opportunity to ask questions and learn more about Cambridge". It adds: "Avoid asking questions just to impress and ask what you actually want to know." In its preparation list: "Prepare your questions. Write down anything you genuinely want to know so you don’t forget."
Our view: prepare five questions and ask two or three. Choose the ones the conversation has not already answered. A question that shows you read their recent work does more than any question about the university. The countercase: in a call that comes after admission, such as the MIT EECS calls that are arranged "Once a student has been admitted", the questions are your main job. There you should ask all five, plus the mentoring questions below, because you are now choosing an adviser.
Questions about the project
Each question below tells you something specific. Pick the ones where the answer would change your decision.
| Question | What the answer tells you |
|---|---|
| What would a first-year student in your group work on? | Whether there is a defined starting project or you build one yourself |
| Is this project funded by a specific grant, and how long does it run? | Whether the topic is fixed by the grant, and for how long (ask only after admission in the US; see below) |
| Which open question from your recent paper on [topic] are you most interested in now? | Whether the paper you read is still the lab's direction |
| How much freedom do students have to choose their own question? | Whether you will be given a project or expected to define one |
| What does a good first-year outcome look like in your group? | The real expectations for year one |
| Who else in the group works closest to this topic? | Who you would work with every day |
| What equipment, data or collaborators does this project depend on? | What could delay the work, and who controls it |
| How would my background in [your field] fit this work? | What gaps the professor sees, so you can plan for them |
| Where do you see this research line going in the next few years? | Whether the topic will still be active when you finish |
Replace the square brackets with real details before the call. A question with the paper's actual topic in it shows preparation. The same question with "your research" in it does not.
Questions about mentoring and the lab
These matter more after admission, when you are choosing between advisers. They are still fine to ask in a pre-decision interview if time allows.
- How often do you meet with students, one-to-one or as a group? Tells you how much direct supervision to expect.
- How are author positions decided on papers? Tells you whether there is a clear practice.
- What have your recent graduates gone on to do? Tells you about outcomes, and whether the professor tracks them.
- How are projects assigned when a new student joins? Tells you whether you choose or are placed.
- Could I speak to one or two current students? Tells you whether the professor is comfortable with you hearing the student view. If yes, our list of questions for choosing between two PhD offers covers what to ask them.
Do not ask all five. Choose the two that matter most to you.
Funding and contract questions: who to ask and when
Funding decides whether you can accept an offer, so ask it, but ask the right person. The rule we found depends on the destination.
| Destination and route | Who answers funding | When to ask | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| US PhD before admission (MIT EECS rule) | The graduate program office | Before or after admission, in writing | MIT EECS: faculty "will not discuss financial support or thesis supervision with a student who has not yet been admitted" |
| US PhD after admission (MIT EECS rule) | The program office for the offer; the professor for which grant funds the project | After the offer arrives | MIT EECS: "Decisions on support are made after decisions on admission" |
| UK PhD with a studentship or scholarship | The supervisor or the studentship contact named in the advert | In the interview, if the studentship is the reason for the call | Cambridge: "Some scholarships and studentships will also invite shortlisted candidates to interview." |
| Advertised PhD position in Europe | The contact named in the vacancy | Before the interview, from the vacancy text | Our recommendation; see our guide to PhD position interviews in Europe |
| Canada thesis master's or PhD, Australia PhD | The supervisor, then the graduate office | In the supervisor call | Our recommendation; see the MASc supervisor interview in Canada and Australia PhD interview and offer guides |
The Basis column quotes a published rule for the first three rows; who to ask and when is our recommendation built on that rule. The last two rows are our recommendation only, because the details sit in each university's own scholarship rules. Read those pages for the program you applied to.
How to ask without sounding like it is your only concern: "Could you tell me how students in your group are usually funded, or who I should ask about that?" This works in every row of the table, because it lets the professor redirect you.
For US funding details on offers, our page on asking for more time to decide on a PhD offer covers the written questions to send the program.
The informal chat before applying
If a supervisor offers a short call before you apply, treat it seriously. It is not a formal interview, but the supervisor is still forming a view. Our guide on how to find a PhD supervisor covers how to get to that call.
Three questions to ask in that chat also improve your written proposal:
- "Is this question still open, or has your group already answered part of it?" Stops you proposing work that is already done.
- "Which methods or data would you expect a project like this to use?" Gives you the methods paragraph.
- "What would make this project too big for the time available?" Cambridge says interviews discuss your "research proposal, including feasibility and resources required". This question gets you the answer early.
Write the answers down straight after the call. Use them in the proposal, and do not quote the supervisor's words back as if they were your own idea.
Questions that hurt you
Some questions tell the professor you did not prepare, or that your priorities are elsewhere:
- Anything answered on the lab or program website. "What does your lab work on?" means you did not read it.
- "Will I get in?" or "What are my chances?" They cannot answer, and it puts them in an awkward spot.
- Salary or stipend as your first question. Ask about funding, but not first, and use the redirect wording above.
- "Can I change topic completely after I join?" If that is your plan, the professor reads it as poor fit.
- "Do you have any questions about me?" It sounds like a job-interview tactic.
Questions about asking questions
How many questions should I ask?
Two or three in a pre-decision interview, unless the professor invites more. In a call after admission, ask as many as you need to decide.
Is it okay to say I have no questions?
Not if you can avoid it. If the conversation has already answered your prepared questions, say so and ask one follow-up: "You mentioned the field data. Who collects it?" That shows you were listening.
Can I ask about work-life balance?
Yes, but ask about the practice, not the feeling. "How often does the group meet, and how do students plan around field seasons?" gets a real answer.
Should I ask about visa or work-permit support?
Not in a faculty interview. Visa questions go to the university's international office after you have an offer.
Can I email questions I forgot to ask?
Yes, one question in your thank-you email. Our thank-you email after a PhD interview shows how to add it.
Get a free review of your statement of purpose
The answers you get in an interview or informal chat feed straight into the fit paragraph of your statement. Get a free Quick Review of your statement of purpose against GradPilot's PhD SOP adviser-fit rubric. It reads whether your research direction is specific enough to match to a person or group, whether each reason for applying names what that group works on, and what your own work would bring. For the whole statement, use the general PhD statement of purpose rubric, or start a PhD SOP review.
Before the call, our guide on how to find and contact a PhD supervisor covers the first email. Browse the PhD essays hub for the rest.
Sources
Retrieved October 31, 2026, except where noted.
- MIT EECS, Graduate Admissions FAQs (no year stated): support decided after admission; interviews after admission; no funding or supervision talk before admission.
- University of Cambridge, Postgraduate interviews (no year stated): reasons for interviews, asking questions, preparation list, studentship interviews.
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