Qualities of a Successful PhD

1.      The ability to select a small number of significant research contributions from a larger set of published papers, and justify that selection.

2.      The ability to suggest alternative approaches to answering the research questions posed in these papers.

3.      The ability to relate the papers to one another, and to other research in the literature.

4.      The ability to identify and prioritize lines of investigation for further research, based on limitations of the research described in the papers and/or important open problems that the papers fail to answer.

5.      Research Environment : Understanding the research context Complying with ethical requirements Following good research practice Complying with heath and safety legislation Understanding research funding and evaluation Justifying research methods Understanding academic and commercial exploitation. 

6.      Perseverance: To escape with a Ph.D., you must meaningfully extend the boundary of human knowledge. More exactly, you must convince a panel of experts guarding the boundary that you have done so. 

7.   Personal Effectiveness:  It includes Ability to learn Creativity and innovation Flexibility and open-mindedness Self-awareness Self-discipline Asking for help and Independent working.

8.   Cogency:  A good Ph.D. student must have the ability to clearly and forcefully articulate their ideas in person and in writing. 

9.   Selfmotivaton: Someone with a lot of self-motivation and a driving curiosity to understand how  nature works. This person should have a good critical mind; that is,  they should not accept everything they are told but also think before  they question anything. A good graduate student feels personal responsibility for learning, for understanding the science behind the research, for making and recording careful observations in the laborator.

10.  Communication Skills: It includes Academic writing Presenting to non-academics Academic presentations Promotion of public understanding Teaching, mentoring, demonstration. 

11.  A good moral compass and a respect for the scientific process.   Many many (many, many) times the data from experiments will NOT support your brilliant hypothesis.   The data is the data and needs to be properly controlled and interpreted.