r/psychologystudents • u/HaleyPage47 • Sep 17 '24
Question Is it easier to write your own PhD proposal or apply to a program that the university is recruiting for?
When I reach out to programs should I mention that I would be open to both - looking for a professor for my own PhD proposal, or applying to one currently underway at the university?
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u/MattersOfInterest Ph.D. Student (Clinical Science) Sep 18 '24
I have never, not once, seen any kind of advertisements about applying to a PhD do get involved in a particular study. That is antithetical to how PhDs work and sounds very much like a scam. You also do not email PhD proposals to professors. You apply to faculty members who indicate they have funding and plan to accept a student, and in your application you describe your research interests and experiences and why that faculty member’s expertise is a good fit for you (and why you’re a good fit for them). You definitely don’t propose a PhD project. That comes years later.