How to Research a PhD Program Before You Apply (Most Students Skip This Important Step)

In the previous post in this series, I made the case that research fit matters more than simply getting accepted to a PhD program. If you haven’t read that post yet, I’d encourage you to start there. This post assumes you’re convinced and ready to start evaluating fit. So let’s get talk about what to do before you ever submit an application.

Before you dive into evaluating a lab’s research, however, you should understand how graduate school admissions in the US work. I’ve written about this in a separate post, but the short version is this: in most cases, the professor you want to work with needs to have funding available to support you. No funding means no spot, regardless of how strong your application is. Before you invest significant time evaluating whether a lab is the right fit and completing an application, it’s worth confirming that the lab is actually in a position to take you. The best way to do this is to reach out directly by email to the professor you would like to work with. I have a post on how to write that email effectively here , and another on why you should not use AI to write it for you here. Once you’ve identified professors who are actively accepting students, the real work of evaluating fit begins.

Read the lab’s recent publications

The most reliable window into what a lab actually does is its published research. Most faculty members have a lab website or a Google Scholar profile where you can find a list of their publications. Start there.

What you’re looking for is not just a general sense of the topic but a genuine reaction to the work itself. Do the research questions interest you? Do you find yourself wanting to read further, or does your attention drift? You don’t need to understand every methodological detail at this stage, but you should be able to follow the general argument and feel some interest about the questions being asked.

Pay attention to the most recent publications, ideally from the last two to three years. A professor’s early career work may look quite different from what their lab is doing now, and it’s the current work you’ll be joining. If the recent publications are sparse, that’s worth noting, too. It may indicate that the lab is transitioning focus, that funding has been limited, or that the professor is occupied with administrative responsibilities that leave less time for active research. One thing that surprises many students is how readable a lot of academic literature is once you’re in the right field. If you find that you genuinely cannot access or understand any of the work coming out of a lab you’re considering, that’s useful information about whether you’re prepared for that research environment.

Understand the difference between a professor’s past work and their current focus

A professor’s reputation is often built on work they did years or even decades ago. Their current lab may be asking quite different questions. This distinction matters because you will be working on what the lab is doing now and in the near future, not what made the professor famous early in their career.

Look at the titles and abstracts of the lab's most recent papers and compare them to work from five or ten years ago. Are the questions consistent, or has the focus shifted significantly? Check whether they have active grants, which in the US are often publicly searchable through databases like NIH Reporter for biomedical fields. An active grant is a strong indicator that a lab has both funding and a defined research agenda that you can evaluate. If you’re not sure how to find this information, your university’s library resources and even a straightforward internet search will give you an idea. This is also exactly the kind of self-directed research that will serve you well throughout your PhD, so consider it practice.

Check whether the lab is actually active

A lab can appear productive on paper while being relatively dormant in practice. There are a few signals worth checking before you commit significant energy to an application.

Look at when papers were published. A long gap in recent output, particularly if the professor’s earlier work was prolific, may indicate a change in circumstances. Look at the lab’s current graduate students. Most lab websites list current members. Are there active PhD students? When did they start? Have recent students graduated, and if so, where did they go? A professor who has successfully mentored students to completion and placed them in good positions is a stronger prospect than one whose students seem to disappear from the record.

For international students evaluating labs remotely, this kind of desk research is especially important because you may not have the opportunity for an in-person visit before making a decision. Taking the time to build a clear picture of a lab’s current activity before you apply is time well spent.

A note on evaluating fit from a distance

Many international students conduct this entire process from another country, often across significant time zone differences and without the informal networks that domestic students use to learn about programs through word of mouth. This is a real disadvantage, but one you can partially compensate for with thorough preparation.

The desk research described in this post, reading recent publications, checking lab activity, reviewing graduate student outcomes, is available to anyone with an internet connection. Taking the time to build a clear and honest picture of a lab before you apply is especially important when you don’t have access to campus visits.

A final thought before you apply

The work you do at this stage, reading publications, checking lab activity, reviewing graduate student outcomes, is not just due diligence. It’s the beginning of your development as a researcher. The habits of mind that make someone good at evaluating a lab before they apply, curiosity, attention to detail, willingness to dig into unfamiliar material, are the same habits that will serve you throughout your PhD. Going into the application process with a clear sense of what each lab is actually doing, and an honest assessment of whether that work genuinely interests you, puts you in a fundamentally stronger position than the student who applies broadly and hopes for the best.

In the next post, we’ll pick up where this one leaves off. Once you have an offer in hand, a different and in some ways more important set of evaluation questions begins. We’ll look at what to do during a campus visit, how to talk to current and former students, and the specific questions worth asking a potential advisor directly, including what to listen for in their answers.

If any of this graduate school advice resonates with you, or if you're still figuring out whether a PhD program is the right path, feel free to reach out.

Back to the Blog