How To Prepare For PhD Entrance Examinations
Find out how to prepare for PhD entrance examinations with the tips provided in this article by reading through.
Taking PhD entrance examination is one of the refraining obstacles you have to overcome before you can be enrolled in the PhD program. As a graduate, you might possess a considerably good Master’s or Bachelor’s degree. That, however, does not make the PhD program a walk in the park for you. You have to take the entrance examination and must perform excellently at it.
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What are PhD Entry Examinations?
The PhD entry examinations are designed by universities as well as every graduate school to assess the proficiency of every intending student of the PhD program.
The Essence of this examination is to find out if you have the needed advanced knowledge, and residual / background knowledge, and to check if you have at your disposal, every arsenal required to tackle and pursue a doctorate in your field of specialization.
Some of the most popular entrance examination to pursue a doctorate includes the GMAT (Graduate Management Admissions Test) and GRE (Graduate Record Examination). Applicants should note that the type of entrance examination for PhD program varies depending on the country you chose to enroll yourself in for the program.
Applicants hoping to study and obtain their doctorate abroad should have in mind that language tests like IELTS may be one of the pre-requisites alongside their bachelor’s or master’s degree certificates.
This will be needed to check if you will be able to carry out research assemble your results and communicates particularly in English languages.
Who Is Eligible to Enrol For PhD Program?
Applicants for the Doctorates program must possess at least any one of either a Master’s degree or MPhil in some cases. Note that you can only pursue a doctorate in your specific field.
How To Prepare For PhD Entrance Examinations
PhD programs used to be one of those Doctorates, A bachelor’s or Master’s degree holder can enroll in without having to write entrance examinations years ago. But there is a turnover to that now.
Entrance examinations have now become a mandatory process to undergo by intending PhD holders. Successful candidates will be shortlisted and later on invited over for an interview by the school. Candidates will be made to discuss researched facts in the areas they intend to construct a thesis about.
Find out from the guide provided below how to prepare for PhD entrance examination.
1. Know the Format / Pattern of PhD Entrance Examination
The duration of the PhD entrance exam usually ranges from 2-to 3 hours. The question papers are segmented and include both the multiple-choice type of questions (objective) and the theoretical type of questions segment. These questions however will be based on related subjects to your specific field.
You will be tested with questions in different subjects related to your field and the maximum number of marks awarded is 100. The format of the questions varies in different universities anyways and we recommend that you adequately prepare for the examination.
2. Attempt Past Years’ Questions
Another important way to prepare yourself for PhD entrance exams is to reach out to PhD senior students of previous years and get the materials they used as well as the previous years’ questions.
Past questions prepare you for the task ahead. It exposes you to the type of questions and specific areas of concentration in your chosen subject. Attempting past questions helps you to identify where your strength lies as well as realize your weakness.
Discuss and Seek answers to queries that seem unclear to you from your mates and/or lecturers. Attempt every question and “leave no stone unturned”.
Create a time for yourself, and work strictly towards achieving your aim. Past questions are reflections of exams and will further give you a clear picture of the examination you are about to take.
3. Get Conversant With Current Affairs
It is okay to equip yourself with every available knowledge you can find in the subject you have chosen. Seek guidance from your lecturers, and read from newspapers for the latest gist and development about your specialization.
Seek expert guidance. Make a list of uncompleted projects in your course of study and find out if updates about them came up already. You may be tested on awareness and relevancy related to the subject you chose.
See Also:
What To Wear To A Scholarship Interview
Frequently Asked Questions on How to Prepare for PhD Entrance Examinations
Can I Be Enrolled For PhD Program Without Writing Entrance Examinations?
This depends on your school of choice. Universities in the UK for instance are mostly concerned with how convincing your research proposal is, they base their eligibility criteria on how relevant your existing degree is.
Meanwhile, universities that have limited spaces to admit the enormous number of applicants for the program in their institutions resort to settling the competitiveness with entrance examinations such as GMAT and GRE. This is most common in some graduate schools in Canada and the United States.
What Minimum Exam Score Will I Need To Be Shortlisted?
The exam score needed to put you on the merit list is not published. It is safe to say there is no standard minimum GMAT or GRE score required.
However, we recommend that you meet at least the average score requirement set in the published advert by the school to boost your chances of being shortlisted.
Note that average scores are only a yardstick to keep you on your toes and they are not always the minimum score required.
Is my GPA part of my test score for a PhD?
A good GPA is always a boost for students as it drives the attention of teachers. It is one of the good ways to create a good impression of yourself anywhere. But this does not add up to your PhD entrance examination score.
Some schools in the United States may look for a target score of 3.5 and above out of a possible 4.0. this only can be used to pick a special interest in your personality.
Your entrance examination score is counted separately. So you need to work extra and not be reliant on your GPA
What other entry tests are there for PhDs?
This varies with respect to the country of your school of choice and examples include the following.
| The Research Eligibility Test (RET) | Used mostly in Indian universities and graduate schools. |
| Law School Admission Test (LSAT) | Widely used by schools in Canada and USA for students majoring in law. It is used to test the reasoning skills of students. |
| The Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) | This is used for medical doctorate PhD programs. Widely prescribed for medical students by the Association of American Medical Colleges in North America. |
| The Graduate Pharmacy Admissions Test (GPAT) | GPAT is also a subject-based PhD test taken by students who are majored in both pharmacy and pharmacology in India for some postgraduate admissions |
| Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) | Traditionally used by Indian schools for doctoral programs in Science and Engineering. Asian countries like Malaysia and Singapore also take the test. |
| The Postgraduate Admissions Test (PAT) | This is used by Chinese universities for master’s and doctorate programs admission. PAT is designed to test applicants’ skills in statistics, political theories as well as languages. |
Conclusion
We hope you found out how to prepare for PhD entrance examinations with the tips above
Good-Luck with your examination!!!!
