How to Apply for Phd Degree in USA?

It is quite well-known that the USA tops the list of students willing to study for any program. This is not different for a Ph.D. program either. This is because the USA is one of the countries that invests the most in their research programs making study in the USA highly lucrative. But with the numerous awards that universities in the USA walk away with, come to a lot of competition to get into those universities to study in USA. Some of the important questions asked are about the application process, and this article aims to shed some light on the same.

Majors and Universities:

When you write to the universities in the USA regarding your major, you have to be extremely clear on which major it is that you want to pursue. It would certainly help if your bachelor’s or master's was in a similar field. This would provide the assessing committee with reasons for your major. Even if want to change your field, you need to provide the committee with strong reasons as to why you want to pursue a Ph.D. program in that field. This would help your case if you did some amount of research about the universities in the USA. The first thing is to see if a certain university’s department conducts research in the field you are interested in. Some universities take students in after their Bachelor’s also but have to apply for a combined program. So that is something that the student would merit from considering too.

Deadlines:

Most universities in USA offer rolling deadlines for a PhD Programme. However, the seats, as it is, are quite a few for Ph.D., and fewer for rolling applications. Therefore, it is best if the students look at the deadlines well in advance. For Example, for the top colleges like Cal Tech, Stanford, CMU, etc., the applications for fall intake close by December or January. So you have to sed in your applications by that time

Eligibility Criteria:

The first thing that is required is 16 years of education which is 10+2+4 meaning 4 years of formal education after your high school diploma. It should be noted that correspondence courses are not valid. Students who have done their Master’s or any bridging courses are also welcome. They look at the number of years of education, not what you’ve studied. Relevance of what you’ve studied is required for applying to the course. So, do not get confused when choosing your 15^th or 16^th year of education.

Exams and Miscellaneous:

Universities in USA while applying for PhD Programmes, look for top students that can contribute something to the field of research since most of the programs are paid. You should excel in GRE or GMAT depends on your major. Language proficiency like IELTS and TOEFL is also an important consideration. Beyond this, there are some other things like submitting your resume, an SOP, letters of recommendation from professors in your field, academic transcripts, and if the university wants, they would conduct interviews to select you via person or telephone.

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