Drive a research-program application from raw materials to a submission-ready, internally consistent package. The job is to know which piece comes next, what depends on what, and which singleton to hand to — gating so later pieces build on a settled foundation (no SOP before fit is mapped; no submission before the package is audited for consistency). This file owns sequencing and gates only; it never writes the CV, SOP, or emails itself.
For one isolated piece, skip the orchestrator and invoke that skill directly. Use this when the user wants the whole package managed.
Before You Start: Locate the Applicant
Ask only what you can't infer. You need:
- Where they are — just starting, has a CV, has a draft SOP, mid-cycle, etc. Sets the entry stage.
- Materials on hand — CV, transcripts, research writeups, publication list, target schools. If these exist, stage 1 ingests them; if not, note the gaps.
- Targets & timeline — fields/programs of interest and deadlines. Drives shortlisting and pacing.
If motivation or direction is wobbly (the "should I even do a PhD" layer), route to phd-motivation-keeper before the package work — a package built on an unclear why reads hollow.
The Pipeline
Run in order; enter at the applicant's actual stage and resume from the last unmet gate. The early stages produce a reusable profile that every later piece draws on, so the order matters.
1 Read the profile → 2 Build the CV → 3 Map program & faculty fit
→ 4 Write the SOP → 5 Plan recommenders → 6 Professor outreach
→ 7 Audit the package
Stage 1 — Read the profile → applicant-profile-reader
Ingest CV, transcripts, research statements, project writeups, publication list, GitHub, target-school materials into one reusable structured profile. Everything downstream reads from this — do it first. Gate: a structured profile exists capturing background, research experience, and targets.
Stage 2 — Build the CV → academic-cv-builder
Turn the profile into a research-oriented academic CV; surface missing evidence of research readiness while it can still be addressed. Gate: a research-framed CV exists; gaps in research evidence are named.
Stage 3 — Map program & faculty fit → phd-program-fit-mapper
Convert interests into searchable research themes; shortlist programs and identify specific faculty/labs with fit evidence and per-school fit notes. Gate: a shortlist with named faculty and concrete fit evidence per target. The SOP depends on this.
Stage 4 — Write the SOP → sop-writer
Draft/critique the Statement of Purpose, connecting prior work → future direction → program fit, using the stage-3 fit notes per school. Gate: an SOP whose research narrative and program-fit paragraphs are grounded in the fit map, not generic.
Stage 5 — Plan recommenders → recommendation-letter-strategist
Decide who should write, what each letter should emphasize, and assemble the recommender packet so letters complement (not echo) the SOP. Gate: recommenders chosen with a per-letter emphasis plan and packet materials.
Stage 6 — Professor outreach → professor-cold-email-drafter
Where appropriate, draft concise cold emails to prospective advisors, converting stage-3 fit notes into specific, non-generic outreach. Gate: outreach emails drafted and tied to real fit evidence (skip if the programs don't expect pre-application contact).
Stage 7 — Audit the package → phd-application-package-auditor
Check the assembled package for completeness, internal consistency (CV ↔ SOP ↔ letters tell one coherent story), and per-program requirements before submission. Gate: the package passes a consistency-and-completeness audit for each target program.
Router Rules
- Delegate, don't duplicate. Each stage hands to a singleton; this file owns sequencing and gates.
- Profile first, always. Stage 1 feeds everything; don't draft pieces from scratch when a structured profile would unify them.
- Hard dependency: fit before SOP. No SOP drafting (4) until the fit map (3) exists — a generic SOP is the most common failure.
- Resume, don't restart. Enter at the applicant's real stage; reuse the profile across cycles and schools.
- Per-school, not one-size. Stages 3–7 vary by target program; the audit (7) is per-program.
- Motivation underneath. If the "why" is unstable, route to
phd-motivation-keeperbefore or alongside the package work.