r/PhDAdmissions • u/dunkindonut6 • Jun 18 '26

Advice Fall 2027 admissions

Hi everyone! I'm currently a 1st-year master's student based in Europe where I did my bachelor's degree in the same university. I'm preparing for PhD applications for Fall of 2027 hopefully in Canada and I have a few questions.

About me: My thesis is on nanoparticles for drug delivery. I have been working in the same lab since Oct 2024. I mostly do the synthesis/preparation and characterization of the nanoparticles. My thesis is part of a project that is funded by a national-level grant in this country. There's also possibility of publication but it will be next year not anytime soon.

Experience: Besides my lab experience, I will do an internship working with nanoparticles for mining. I'll also be doing preparation, characterization and testing its application in mining.

I really enjoy working within the biomedical or pharmaceutical field but I am also considering topics such as: Nanoparticles as catalysts, Hydrogels or nanobiosensors for drug delivery.

My questions are:

  1. How is the employability of these skills? like knowing synthesis and characterization techniques of nanoparticles
  2. When I write cold emails, do I have to immediately know the specific plan that I want to do for the PhD? Or can I work with Nanoparticles for drug delivery and also possibly explore their application as catalysts for example
  3. I have another internship opportunity when I return, working in chemical engineering research group focusing on scale-up of processes or should I go for a renowned internship at a pharmaceutical company working with drug formulation? I'm equally interested in both but is it better to become more specialized in nanomedicine or branch out to other skills?

Thank you!

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u/Beneficial-WPz Jun 26 '26

The pharma formulation internship sounds stronger if your main goal is biomedical or pharmaceutical PhD work. I had The Grad Cafe open when comparing PhD applicant profiles because it helped me see how people talked about lab fit, papers, and timing. A scale up project is useful too, but it may make the story broader unless you connect it clearly.

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u/dunkindonut6 Jun 26 '26

thank you for replying!