14 Questions I Was Asked for Clinical Psychology PhD Interviews

Below are 14 questions I was personally asked during my Clinical Psychology PhD program interviews. While every program is different, I hope these questions give you a helpful starting point as you prepare, practice your responses, and build confidence for your own interview.

Questions

1. Tell me a little bit about yourself. 

2. Why are you interested in a clinical program? Why clinical psychology? 

3. Why [university]? Compared to other programs? 

4. What are your strengths in academia and what is something you can still work on?

5. What was a research project that was impactful for you and why? 

6. What research project would you be interested in doing? 

7. What do you look for in a mentor? 

8. What are your strengths and weaknesses in academia? 

9. What research questions are you wanting to answer? 

10. What are your goals in the future? 

11. Do you see yourself moving to [city]? 

12. What do you look for in lab mates? 

13. Do you speak Spanish? Are you interested in being trained bilingually?

14. What do you look for in a mentor?

Additional Resources

Interview Questions - The University of Texas Austin