Pro practicePhD economics selection panel practice interview
Research contribution, economic reasoning, identification strategy, data feasibility and readiness for sustained independent doctoral work. Practise the 6 questions admissions panels ask with follow-ups. Paid plans add scored feedback on every answer.
A Pro practice interview, on the Pro plan from ₦5,000 a month billed yearly, or on Premium.
- 20 minutes
- 6 questions
- Scored feedback on paid plans
About the programme
A PhD economics selection panel tests whether your proposed question is important, answerable and suited to doctoral research. Expect close discussion of the literature, economic mechanism, identification strategy, data access and limitations. The panel also watches how you respond when an assumption is challenged, because revising ideas is central to research.
How to prepare
- Reduce your proposal to one question, one contribution and one central empirical challenge.
- Map the mechanism from economic theory to observable outcomes and rival explanations.
- Review the assumptions behind your proposed method and the main threats to identification.
- Confirm how you could access the required data and prepare a narrower fallback design.
- Revisit the papers closest to your question and explain precisely where your project differs.
- Practise acknowledging a limitation before proposing a proportionate way to address it.
Common mistakes
- Describing a broad topic instead of a research question that can be answered.
- Claiming causality without defending the identifying assumptions.
- Assuming that restricted or sensitive data will be available without checking access conditions.
- Listing literature without showing the gap or the project's distinct contribution.
- Defending every original choice instead of engaging honestly with a valid criticism.
What to expect
A real admissions interview
6 questions the way admissions panels ask, with follow-ups when an answer needs more.
Spoken, like the real thing
Speak your answers in your browser or the free desktop app, with live captions. You can ask the interviewer to repeat anything.
Scored on 5 areas
The things this interview weighs most. With a paid plan, your report shows how you did on each one.
A private report
On Plus, Pro and Premium: every answer scored, your strongest lines quoted and what to say differently next time. Interview creators never see it.
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