Rehan Mirza

Rehan Mirza

PhD student researching digital platform design and governance at the University of Pennsylvania

Advice for PhD applicants

DISCLAIMER

All views below are my own, based on my application process, speaking to current PhD students during this process, and several helpful online resources, which I have linked at the bottom of this piece.

Your experiences may differ wildly from mine based on a range of factors, including the field you’re applying for, specific schools, the specifics of your profile, and timing. Moreover, this advice is geared towards U.S. PhD applicants in Communication and related fields.

Above all, this is a human-centric process. A PhD is a job application (replace the word “salary” with “stipend”), and like any job application, there’s no guaranteed outcome. Once you’ve maximized your credentials and refined your application to the best of your ability, shoot your shot!

SECOND DISCLAIMER

I’m writing this as I start my PhD program, so my perspectives will likely evolve. I may update this post to share new insights.

For the full narrative version of this guide, including my personal journey and detailed examples, read the complete blog post.

Why I’m writing yet another PhD application guide…

There are a multitude of PhD application guides out there, but (to my knowledge) few, if any, specific to Communication. If at least one aspiring Comms PhD reads this guide and draws some confidence or knowledge for their applications, I will consider that a success.

I may not represent the ‘typical applicant’, if there is such a thing - older than the median PhD applicant with around 10 years of professional experience, imperfect credentials including a low 2.1 at undergrad and zero journal publications. If any of this applies to you, please don’t be discouraged from applying. I am sharing what I know to help you communicate what truly matters – research potential – and hopefully help you find phenomenal programs that will take a chance on you too.

Contents

Preparation

Here are the list of things you need to figure out for a PhD application:

  • Having clear motivations for doing a PhD
  • Demonstrating research capabilities through strong coursework, research experience, publications, and/or translatable professional experience
  • Identifying your research area(s) and the questions you want to address
  • Selecting programs to apply for, understanding requirements, and tracking deadlines
  • Identifying faculty you want to work with and demonstrating research fit
  • Researching program details: research centers/labs, coursework, stipend availability, and culture
  • Distilling all the above into a well-focused statement of purpose (SOP) (~1,000 words)
  • Crafting a compelling personal statement (~500 words)
  • Choosing recommendation letter (LOR) writers and securing their commitment early
  • Taking the GRE if required (increasingly falling out of favor)
  • Preparing supplementary materials: CVs, writing samples and transcripts
  • Post application – preparing for potential interviews

Create a high-level workplan that breaks down into daily tasks, using target dates to stay on track for your earliest deadline. You can find the resources I used to prepare for my application in the Google Drive folder shared in the resources section below.

Selecting programs and staying organized

Start with research questions: Brainstorm the research questions you want to answer and identify fields that could help address them. For example, questions about user behavior on platforms might require knowledge across information sciences, computer science, behavioral psychology, economics, and political science.

Other approaches and important considerations:

  • Center on discipline: An equally valid approach is to choose a field you’re passionate about, or where you want to build methodological expertise, and choose topics within that field.
  • Following successful alumni: Research PhD alums doing interesting work you’d like to do in future and see what they studied
  • Institution and location: Apply broadly given competitiveness, but consider prestige, location preferences, and opportunity costs
  • Program structure: Some programs pair you with faculty immediately, others have you find an advisor later
  • Funding: This should be non-negotiable - you should receive a livable stipend

How many programs? There’s no right answer here, but around 10 seems optimal. I’d estimate each application requires at least 10 additional hours of work: researching faculty, personalizing statements, and completing applications. Don’t underestimate costs, as application fees and GRE can easily reach $1,000-2,000+.

Stay organized: Maintain spreadsheets tracking deadlines, submission requirements, faculty of interest, and costs for each program. I’ve shared tools to help with this in the resources section below.

Faculty outreach

Faculty outreach can be helpful or even necessary as a way to provide visibility to your application, demonstrate interest in their research, and gain the practical information about whether they’re taking students. However, every faculty and program is different – some may be irritated to receive large volumes of emails from prospective students, or consider it gaming the system. Every faculty and program is different, which is why it’s important to your research first. Before contacting anyone:

  • Read their recent work extensively
  • Understand where their research is heading
  • Check their websites for communication preferences, as some explicitly mention if they prefer not to be contacted

Doing a ‘literature review’ of prospective faculty: Read 3-5 papers from each faculty member you want to work with. This helps you precisely communicate research fit in outreach emails and your statement of purpose, while improving your understanding of the field. It’s an extensive amount of work, but I’d say it’s worth it – it gives you ample material to communicate research fit, puts you in the habit of reading research, and can improve your understanding of the field.

Speaking to current students: Contact current students in programs you’re interested in. Students are more likely to respond than faculty and provide more candid responses. They can tell you which faculty would be good research and personality fits, and who’s taking students in the upcoming cycle. I’ve found the PhD student community to be exceptionally supportive and helpful!

Basic structure of a cold approach to faculty

Dear Professor X,

I’m a recent graduate with a degree in biology from the University of Michigan, and I’m applying for a PhD in Biological & Biomedical Sciences this fall. I’d like to focus on mutant genetics, with particular interest in research questions related to the heritability of enhanced genetic traits, given recent advances in gene therapy technologies.

I’d be excited to work under your guidance given your groundbreaking work in this area, if you are taking on students this year. I particularly enjoyed reading about your recent paper employing computational methods to analyze genetic sequences associated with enhanced sensory abilities, and I’m interested in applying similar methodologies to understand the neurological basis of telepathic communication. This builds on my undergraduate research with Dr. Octavius on bio-mechanical interfaces, which approached neural enhancement from a more physiological perspective.

If you’re available, I’d love to chat further to learn more about your current research directions. Thank you for your time, and I look forward to hearing from you.

Kind Regards,

Peter Parker

Basic email structure:

  • Brief introduction of your background and research interests
  • Specific connections to their work (cite specific papers)
  • Clear question about whether they’re taking students
  • Professional but personable tone
  • Keep it concise – no more than 3-4 paragraphs

Avoid: Generic emails, excessive details, basic questions answerable through research, or being overly demanding. One polite follow-up after 2-3 weeks is acceptable. Even without responses, still mention these faculty in your application materials.

Letters of recommendation

Strong letters can swing things in your favor, while poor ones can break your application. It’s crucial to carefully choose your recommenders and support them with the information needed to write the strongest possible recommendations.

Choosing recommenders: Ideally three academic recommenders who can speak to your research potential. If coming from industry, include a professional supervisor who can address research capabilities. Choose people who know you in a research capacity and can point to specific projects.

When and how to ask: Ask at least three months before your earliest deadline. Approach in person if possible. Explain your goals clearly and provide an “easy out” for potentially lukewarm recommendations.

Writing a prospectus for recommenders: Send your letter writers a comprehensive packet containing a mini statement of purpose, list of programs, specific projects you worked on together, your CV and transcripts, talking points about your strengths, and deadlines. Sending an information packet shows you’re prepared and serious while providing material to help them write the strongest letter possible.

Managing the process: Send reference requests as soon as possible after getting their agreement. Send gentle reminders two weeks before deadlines. Have a backup plan - identify a backup recommender in case someone can’t submit on time.

The GRE

Many Communication programs have dropped the GRE requirement, especially post-COVID. Check each program’s requirements carefully. If optional, consider whether your scores would strengthen or weaken your application.

If taking it, a few weeks of focused study should suffice. I recommend GregMat for prep materials. Take it early enough to retake if needed. And don’t stress! Perfect scores look great, but they’re rarely the deciding factor.

Statement of Purpose

This is your most important document - your sales pitch for why you belong in their program.

Key components:

  • Opening: Start with a clear, compelling hook grounded in a specific research question. Avoid clichés.
  • Research experiences: Detail experiences focusing on what you did, learned, and how they prepare you for doctoral study. Be specific about methodologies and individual contributions.
  • Research interests: Articulate interests clearly, connecting them to broader theoretical frameworks and current debates.
  • Program fit: Demonstrate specific knowledge of the program and faculty. This section should be different for every program.
  • Future goals: Briefly outline your career trajectory and how this PhD will help.

Common pitfalls to avoid:

  • No clear throughline or narrative arc
  • ‘Telling, rather than showing’ capabilities
  • Focusing on non-academic experiences without connecting to research potential
  • Generic statements that could apply to any program

Every sentence should be focused on one of the following:

  • What research you’re interested in, grounded in specific topics and research questions
  • What research (or professional) activities you’ve conducted, with a focus on research questions and methodologies
  • Specific contributions you’ve made through thoughts and actions
  • What you’ve learned from these activities, and reflections for future work
  • Which faculty you’d like to work with, grounded in specific topic and research questions
  • Optionally, what coursework you’d like to study, grounded in specific topics and research questions
  • What you’d like to do in future, grounded in a how a PhD will enable you to get there

On the writing process, start drafting early, ideally late September or early October for December deadlines. Your first draft will not be good, and it’s going to take many iterations. Make sure you read other statements from successful students in your field, and a few different guides, some of which I’ve linked in the resources section below.

Please, please, please, share your statement with mentors and current PhDs, and ask for candid feedback and multiple reviews.

Personal Statement

While SOPs focus on research interests and academic preparation, personal statements typically ask about your background, challenges you’ve overcome, and personal motivations.

Note – some schools, like Stanford or Penn, may ask targeted supplemental questions you can treat similarly to the personal statement.

The personal statement should still answer the same fundamental question as every other part of your application: “Does the applicant demonstrate research capability and potential?”

Focus on experiences that genuinely shaped your intellectual development or research interests, and connect personal experiences meaningfully to your academic trajectory.

Avoid:

  • Unfocused personal stories: While it is OK to share personal struggles, these should be clearly connected to research goals
  • Unprofessional content: Avoid stories that make you seem unreliable or unsuitable for academic work
  • Controversial topics: Be cautious with political identity or religion unless they directly relate to your research interests. If you do address these topics, do so thoughtfully, because you never know the views of the person reading your statement

Supplementary materials

Academic CV: Unlike industry resumes, academic CVs should be longer and include everything relevant to your development as a researcher. Key components: education, research projects, professional experience, publications, technical skills, teaching roles, service and leadership.

Writing samples: Choose academic pieces demonstrating strong writing and methodological sophistication. Single-author published articles are ideal, but undergraduate theses, graduate coursework, or professional research reports can work.

Transcripts: Follow instructions carefully. Although grades are important, they’re not the single most important part. You can build context around less-than-perfect grades through upward trajectory or subsequent research experience.

Interviews

Not all programs interview, but those that do typically notify in December or January. I’d recommend preparing for the following questions:

  • Why a PhD (and why now)?
  • Research projects – be prepared to discuss any research mentioned in your SOP in detail, including research questions, methods, findings, and your specific contributions and learnings
  • Research interests – have a clear vision of your proposed research area which you can clearly articulate, including how you hope to contribute to existing knowledge
  • Which faculty members you see yourself working with, and how your research can align with them
  • How the specific program serves your research goals
  • Methodological interests

I’ve included a template to prepare for potential questions in the resources folder.

Equally important is your mindset around the interview. See it as a chat with someone who is an expert in your field, rather than a test. View yourself as a potential contributor to this program and the advisor’s work, not just a student. Remember, you’re evaluating fit as much as they are. Stay humble but confident – you belong in this conversation, or you wouldn’t have been invited.

To reiterate, enjoy these opportunities to talk with brilliant people about ideas you care about – with some luck, you’ll be speaking to them for the next few years!

Decision time

Sometime between January and April, you will know where you stand.

If successful, congratulations! Take time to consider offers carefully. Visit if at all possible – you’ll be there for 5–6 years, and there are intangibles you won’t pick up unless you’re there in person. Hold follow-up questions with students and faculty, and ask detailed questions about funding, expectations, and culture.

If you have to decline other offers, do so professionally. People have invested significant time in evaluating your application and offering you a spot, so it was important for me to decline gracefully and express gratitude for their show of faith. There may be opportunities to collaborate with faculty at these programs in future.

If unsuccessful, I’m sorry – it sucks after putting so much effort into applications. But you’re not back to square one if you reapply. You have the another year to build research experience, strengthen your application, and develop clearer research focus.

If you’re waitlisted, don’t give up hope! I got off the waitlist for my previous masters program at Harvard, so it’s not an impossibility. You can send brief updates to the admissions team if there are significant changes in your situation (e.g., you can now bring funding with you).

General advice

Preparation is key
Most elements of a strong application are the result of months if not years of work. Once you decide you want to do a PhD, make a plan and stick to it. If you’re early in your career, I’d recommend giving yourself a runway of at least 18 months.

Consider professional experience
A couple of years outside academia can be invaluable for developing research methods and general professionalization – skills such as how to structure workplans, turn around work under tight deadlines, and produce materials to professional standards. For those of you with more professional experience, it is an asset, not a liability. Frame it in terms of research potential, as both analytical and professional skills translate well to academic contexts.

Details matter
When you’ve done some great research, it’s quite conceivable that you get rejected from a journal not because of the quality of your work, but because you didn’t meet the journal’s standards or messed up your references. You need to take the same care with your application. Proofread everything multiple times. One or two typos probably won’t sink your application, but misspelling a professor’s name or mentioning the wrong school definitely will.

Focus on process, not outcomes
Control what you can control – the quality of materials, the thoroughness of your preparation – and let go of what you can’t. And once you’ve submitted, please stay off GradCafe! It’s not a good place for your mental wellbeing. Any incremental informational benefit you get will be massively outweighed by people speculating on decision timelines based on piecemeal information. It’s not worth it.

Consider this a life decision
The time commitments and opportunity costs are too significant to just treat this as getting another degree, especially if you’re older or already have personal responsibilities. Make sure you understand what you’re signing up for, and where it’s taking you.

Build community
You can’t go through this process or work in academia alone. Success depends heavily on relationships and community. Find your people, who will support you both critically within the field, and emotionally outside of it.

International students
Don’t be afraid to apply. Despite everything going worldwide, know that the academic community genuinely welcomes the diversity you bring. I won’t speak directly to visa complexities, as these are highly personally contextual, but I would say it’s all the more important to be organized as an international applicant given the additional steps in moving to a new country.

Trust the process and trust yourself
Imposter syndrome is real and pervasive in academia. If you’ve done the work into putting together your application, you’ve already demonstrated the intellectual curiosity and capability that belongs in graduate school. The fact that you’re even considering a PhD suggests you have something valuable to contribute to human knowledge.

Remember why you started
In the stress of applications, deadlines, and rejections, it’s easy to lose sight of what drew you to apply for PhDs in the first place. Hold onto these motivations; they’ll carry you through the process and remind you why this journey is worth taking. The path to a PhD is rarely linear, and everyone’s story is different. Whether you succeed this cycle or need to try again, the skills you develop, relationships you build, and self-knowledge you gain through this process have value beyond any single outcome. You’ve got this.

Thank yous and acknowledgments

To my supervisor, Laura, for giving me the confidence to apply when I needed it.

To Nancy, Latanya, and Jolene, for writing the letters that got me in. To Max B. (my MVP!), Josh, Leonie, Kevin, and others, for helping ensure those letters got in on time.

To Kevin, Jim, Sharad, Jen, Shiv, Theo, Gaby, Brian, Ruru, Swapneel, and many others, for their support and guidance throughout this process. Special thanks to Sid, Michelle, and Megan, for taking time to do multiple reviews of my application materials, offering much needed candid feedback, and tolerating my stress on multiple occasions!

To Max S., Ke, Viswanath, Chloe, Ryan, Cid, Cristiana, Suyash, Lei, Eun, Daniel, Achi, Nusrat, Matt, and Paul for taking the time to share insights about their respective programs.

To my grandparents for giving me that extra motivation to publish research, knowing I can send it to you to make you proud.

And most importantly, to my parents for their unwavering support during this process, for having my back, and for always allowing me to follow my own path despite an uncertain future.

Resources

Shared materials: All templates and tracker tools mentioned are available in my Google Drive folder. Feel free to adapt for your own use.

Additional guides that helped me: