The PhD Application Tracker

PhD Application Tracker | Excel

Every programme, every deadline, every document — in one place.

Applying to PhD programmes is a project management job that nobody trains you for.

Eight programmes. Each with a different deadline, a different word count for the research proposal, three referees who need chasing, a separate funding application with its own deadline, and one supervisor who said "email me in October" four months ago.

Miss one date and a year of work evaporates.

I made this tracker during my own applications, after realising the notes app wasn't going to cut it. It's the difference between hoping you've remembered everything and actually being able to see that you have.

📊 THE DASHBOARD

Open it and immediately know where you stand:

• Application status at a glance — drafting, submitted, interview, offer, rejected
• Deadline countdown — what's due next, highlighted before it becomes a crisis
• Completion tracking — which applications are genuinely ready and which are missing a document
• Funding overview — scholarships and their deadlines tracked alongside the programmes they belong to

📦 WHAT YOU GET

• Excel file (.xlsx)
• Google Sheets compatible, with possible minor adjustments
• Pre-built dashboard, formulas and sample data

✅ FEATURES

• Log university, programme, supervisor and contact details
• Deadline tracking with visual urgency flags
• Document checklist per application — CV, statement, proposal, transcripts, references
• Referee tracker, so you know exactly who's been asked and who's replied
• Separate scholarship and funding tracker with its own deadlines
• Interview and outcome logging
• Notes field for every conversation, so nothing lives only in your inbox
• Everything feeds the dashboard automatically

🎓 BUILT FOR

PhD applicants · Master's and grad school applicants · Research programme candidates · Anyone applying to more than two programmes at once

Also a genuinely useful gift for someone in the middle of applications.

🖥️ YOU'LL NEED

Microsoft Excel (desktop or web) or a free Google account. Open it and start typing — that's the whole setup.

⚡ INSTANT DOWNLOAD

Available immediately after payment. For personal use; no resale or redistribution.

Message me any time with questions — I reply to every one. 🤍

Built by a researcher, for researchers.