MalHansi

“A research proposal is a concise and coherent summary of your proposed research. It sets out the central issues or questions that you intend to address. It outlines the general area of study within which your research falls, referring to the current state of knowledge and any recent debates on the topic. It also demonstrates the originality of your proposed research.” The proposal is one of the significant document that is needed during the application process. It can demonstrate your potential for graduate-level research while representing the capacity to communicate complex ideas clearly, concisely and critically. The Necessity of a Research Proposal A research proposal is a document needed to suggest and present your research project you are expecting to continue with already connected supervisor/ any professor with similar research interest. Only some universities recommend contacting potential supervisors with a research proposal. But in my case, I had to make research prop...

After 1st contact by emails, some supervisors prefer to have an interview/meeting to get to know about yourself. I have experience in interviews with 7 professors (2 from Canada, 2 from New Zealand, 1 from Australia and 2 from Singapore).  They were held as Zoom meeting or as Skype video calls. 3 interviews were conducted just after my first emails while the other 4 interviews were conducted after I made my online MSc/ PhD applications.  Among them, only 1 supervisor told me to give a presentation related to one of his research papers. I was given a few days for the preparation and told me to do a presentation of one of his research paper I preferred. It was about 10-15 minutes of oral presentation and then he asked only a few questions with regards to the presentation. After that, he asked a few questions about myself, my research experience and my working experience in my lecturing position. However, only a few questions were asked and the interview was mainly based on the...

Many research-based master's and doctoral programs in some universities expect you to connect a supervisor prior to applying while others may assign a supervisor once you apply/ start in your program. If there is such need of having the approval of a potential supervisor, then it is recommended to write to potential supervisors in advance (keep in mind about the deadlines of scholarships and deadlines for a certain university intake).  Usually, most universities have 2 intakes for postgraduate studies. They are fall intake (starting on August/ September) and winter intake (starting on December/ January). For fall intake, deadlines for MSc/ PhD applications are usually ranging from September (previous year) to April (applying year). For winter intake, deadlines for MSc/ PhD applications are usually within May to August. However, this may vary according to the country, university, and your desired program. To find potential supervisors who have parallel research interests like yo...

“The academic curriculum vitae (CV) is a formal document widely used by researchers and scholars when applying for academic jobs. It details the educational background, professional appointments, research and teaching experience, publications, grants, awards, fellowships, and other key achievements.” Academic CV is really significant when you are going to send your first emails to potential supervisors and it is a summarized document that he/she can refer and evaluate whether you will be a good candidate for their research work. In addition to that, academic CV is also needed when you are making an online application for postgraduate studies as well as if you need to obtain some job opportunity in academic/ research field. Making an academic CV is different from the CV prepared to apply for a job. In my experience, it has taken some time to create an academic CV and I self-studied about the correct and appropriate method to make a good academic CV. A good CV can build a good impressi...

“The Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) is a standardized test that is an admissions requirement for many graduate schools in the United States and Canada. The GRE is owned and administered by the Educational Testing Service (ETS). The test was established in 1936 by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.” GRE scores are only needed by some universities. Based on my experience and some of my friend's/ senior's experiences, universities in the USA, Singapore (NTU and NUS), a few Canadian Universities and some high ranking universities in Europe have some entry requirements for GRE score. However, these universities also have some exceptions for GRE in some graduate programs. Therefore, it’s recommended to check eligibility of postgraduate programs on university websites. There are two types of GRE tests; GRE General Test and GRE Subject Test. GRE General Test “GRE General Test is a graduate-level admissions exam used by many graduate schools and busines...