skills required for phd

The top 3 skills needed to do a PhD are skills employers want too

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Lilia Mantai is an Executive Member of the Australasian Council for Undergraduate Research (ACUR), a non-for-profit association promoting undergraduate research.

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More and more people are applying to do a PhD. What many don’t know is it takes serious skills to do one – and, more importantly, complete it.

We analysed the selection criteria for PhD candidates on a platform that advertises PhD programs. Our analysis of thousands of these ads revealed exactly what types of skills different countries and disciplines require.

Why do a PhD in the first place?

People pursue a PhD for many reasons. They might want to stand out from the crowd in the job market, learn how to do research, gain a deeper expertise in an area of interest, or pursue an academic career.

Sadly, too many PhD students never finish. The PhD turns out to be too hard, not well supported, mentally taxing, financially draining, etc. Dropping the PhD often means significant financial loss for institutions and individuals, not to mention the psychological costs of other consequences such as low self-esteem, anxiety and loneliness .

Read more: 1 in 5 PhD students could drop out. Here are some tips for how to keep going

Our society and economy can only benefit from a better-educated workforce, so it is in the national interest to manage PhD intakes and be clear about expectations. The expansion of doctoral education led to a more competitive selection process, but the criteria are opaque.

To clarify PhD expectations, we turned to a European research job platform supported by EURAXESS (a pan-European initiative by the European Commission) where PhD programs are advertised as jobs. Required skills are listed in the selection criteria. We analysed 13,562 PhD ads for the types of skills different countries and disciplines require.

We made three specific findings.

1. Top 3 skills needed for a PhD

It turns out that it takes many so-called transferable skills to do a PhD. These are skills that can be translated and applied to any professional context. The top three required skills are:

communication – academic writing, presentation skills, speaking to policy and non-expert audiences

research – disciplinary expertise, data analysis, project management

interpersonal – leadership, networking, teamwork, conflict resolution.

Trending skill categories are digital (information processing and visualisation) and cognitive (abstract, critical and creative thinking and problem-solving).

Previous research shows transferable skills are requested for post-PhD careers, including both academic and non-academic jobs. Our research shows such skills are already required to do a PhD. Those keen to do a PhD are well advised to provide strong evidence of such skills when applying.

2. Skill demands vary by country and discipline

Skill demands significantly differ by country and discipline. For example, 62% of medical science ads mention interpersonal skills. This is twice as often as in biological science ads. Digital and cognitive skills score much higher in the Netherlands than in other countries.

Our research article reports on 2016-2019 data and the top five represented countries (Netherlands, Germany, France, Spain and the UK) and the top five represented disciplines (biological sciences, physics, chemistry, engineering and medical sciences). However, you can use this tool for granular detail on 52 countries – including non-European countries like Australia, New Zealand, the US, etc. – and 37 disciplines included in the data sample. For continuously updated data, please visit https://www.resgap.com/ .

3. PhD expectations are rising

We see a rise in PhD expectations over time (2016-2019) as more skills are listed year on year. The publish or perish culture prevails and rising demands on academics have led to calls for more engaged research, collaborations with industry, and research commercialisation .

PhD students get accustomed early to competitiveness and high expectations.

Read more: Is it a good time to be getting a PhD? We asked those who've done it

Research-based learning needs to start early

These insights have implications for pre-PhD education and pathways. Undergraduate and postgraduate degrees can further promote PhD readiness by embedding authentic hands-on research with academic or corporate partners, either as part of the curriculum or as extracurricular activities.

Many postgraduate degrees offer authentic research project work opportunities but are shorter. Those entering the PhD without a postgraduate degree miss out on developing essential research skills.

Authentic research experiences need to happen early on in higher education. Organisations like the Council on Undergraduate Research ( CUR ), the Australasian Council for Undergraduate Research ( ACUR ) and the British Conference of Undergraduate Research ( BCUR ) are designed to support institutions and individuals to do this effectively. They showcase great models of undergraduate research.

To get a good idea of what undergraduate research looks like, start with this comprehensive paper and catch up on undergraduate research news from Australasia .

We know research-based learning develops employability skills such as critical thinking, resilience and independence.

Embed career development in PhD programs

Doctoral training needs to take note, too, if it is to further build on the skill set that PhD applicants bring with them.

The good news is doctoral education has transformed in recent decades. It’s catching up to the call for better-skilled graduates for a range of careers. The training focus has shifted towards generating practice-based and problem-solving knowledge, and engaged research with other sectors.

Read more: It's time to reduce the number of PhD students, or rethink how doctoral programs work

Some institutions now offer skill and career training. Generally, though, this sort of training is left to the graduates themselves. Many current PhD candidates will attest that the highly regulated and tight PhD schedule leaves little room for voluntary activities to make them more employable.

Most PhD candidates also know more than half of them will not score a long-term academic job. Institutions would serve them better by formally embedding tailored career development opportunities in PhD programs that prepare for academic and non-academic jobs .

It’s not only PhD graduates’ professional and personal well-being that will benefit but also the national economy.

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PhD Transferable Skills

Translating your skills and experiences.

Transferable skills are skills you acquire or learn in one setting that can be applied or translated to new and different settings, environments, and activities. Doctoral students often fall into the trap of seeing their skills as applicable in only one setting, thus do not recognize that they are qualified for a wide variety of career paths. Don’t let this happen to you! In the table below you will find a list of skills most sought after by employers. In the final column of the table are examples of activities that demonstrate these essential skills. For several of the skills you can also take online assessments to identify which areas you still need to develop.

ESSENTIAL SKILLS: Adaptability , Analytic skills , Balance & resilience , Communication skills ( oral and written ), Conflict resolution/negotiation , Cultural/Intercultural , Discipline-specific skills , Ethics & Integrity , Follow-through/Ability to get things done , Fundraising , Independent (self-starter), Intelligence , Inter-/Multi- disciplinary , Interpersonal skills , Leadership (program) , Leadership (personnel/management) , Networking & collaboration , Organization , Outreach , Project management , Research , Self-direction/Entrepreneurial skills , Supervision , Technical skills (information technology), Work ethic

Essential Skills and Competencies for Graduate Students 1 :

1 Contents of table are adapted from Blickley, et al. (2012). “Graduate Student’s Guide to Necessary Skills for Nonacademic Conservation Careers.” Conservation Biology, 27:1. 2 Winterton, Delamare - Le Deist, and Stringfellow (2006). “Typology of knowledge, skills and competences: clarification of the concept and prototype.”

Additional resources on transferable skills:

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• Graduate Student Skills (UIUC) [PDF]

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The 7 Essential Transferable Skills All PhDs Have

During your PhD, you’re not just learning about your research topic. You’re also learning core skills that apply to jobs both in and out of academia. Most institutions don’t teach you to articulate these transferable skills in a way that aligns with how they’re described in the business world. Knowing your skills increases your value as a candidate.

Written Communication

It takes practice to become a good writer. Fortunately, as PhD student you have years of practice writing papers, conference abstracts, journal manuscripts, and of course your dissertation. The feedback you receive from your supervisor and peer reviewers will help improve your communication skills.

Research skills are valuable even in many fields outside of academia. As a trained researcher, you are able to determine the best approach to a question, find relevant data, design a way to analyze it, understand a large amount of data, and then synthesize your findings. You even know how to use research to persuade others and defend your conclusions.

Public Speaking                   

Strong oral communications skills are always valued, and PhD students get more public speaking opportunities than most. Through conference talks, poster presentations, and teaching, you will learn to feel comfortable in front of a larger audience, engage them, and present complex ideas in a straightforward way. Winning a teaching award or being recognized as the best speaker at a conference is a concrete way to prove your public speaking skills.

Project Management

Even if you’re not working as a project manager, every job requires some degree of project management. Fortunately, a PhD is an exercise in project management. Finishing your dissertation requires you to design a project, make a realistic timeline, overcome setbacks, and manage stakeholders. During this time, you will also have to manage long-term projects at the same time as short-term goals which requires strong organizational skills.

Mentoring and teaching are the two main way PhD student can learn leadership and management skills. As a teacher or mentor, you have to figure out how to motivate someone and help them accomplish a goal. You also get experience evaluating someone’s performance (grading) and giving constructive feedback.

Critical Thinking

Every PhD student learns critical thinking skills whether they realize it or not. You are trained to approach problems systematically, see the links between ideas, evaluate arguments, and analyze information to come up with your own conclusions. Any industry can benefit from someone who knows “how to think”.

Collaboration

Very few jobs require you to work completely independently, and academia isn’t one of them. Your dissertation is a solo project, but on a day to day basis you work with other people on your experiments or preparing a journal manuscript. Doing these tasks successfully requires knowing how to divide up a task, get along with others, communicate effectively, and resolve conflict.

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PhD transferable skills

Sometimes it's difficult for PhD students to identify what skills they have since the academic experience is not necessarily focused on articulating skill sets. We also often find that PhD students struggle, understandably, to present the transferability of their academic experiences to non-academic contexts. Here are examples of PhD skill sets and ways to describe them.

• Define a problem and identify possible causes
• Comprehend large amounts of information
• Form and defend independent conclusions
• Design an experiment, plan, or model that defines a problem, tests potential resolutions and implements a solution
• Facilitate group discussions or conduct meetings
• Motivate others to complete projects (group or individual)
• Respond appropriately to positive or negative feedback
• Effectively mentor subordinates and/or peers
• Collaborate on projects
• Teach skills or concepts to others
• Navigate complex bureaucratic environments
• Manage a project or projects from beginning to end
• Identify goals and/or tasks to be accomplished and a realistic timeline for completion
• Prioritize tasks while anticipating potential problems
• Maintain flexibility in the face of changing circumstances
• Identify sources of information applicable to a given problem
• Understand and synthesize large quantities of data
• Design and analyze surveys
• Develop organizing principles to effectively sort and evaluate data 
• Work effectively under pressure and to meet deadlines
• Comprehend new material and subject matter quickly
• Work effectively with limited supervision
• Prepare concise and logically-written materials
• Organize and communicate ideas effectively in oral presentations to small and large groups
• Write at all levels — brief abstract to book-length manuscript
• Debate issues in a collegial manner and participate in group discussions
• Use logical argument to persuade others
• Explain complex or difficult concepts in basic terms and language
• Write effective grant proposals

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9 things you should consider before embarking on a PhD

June 23, 2021 | 15 min read

By Andy Greenspon

The ideal research program you envision is not what it appears to be

Editor's Note:  When Andy Greenspon wrote this article, he was a first-year student in Applied Physics at Harvard. Now he has completed his PhD. — Alison Bert, June 23, 2021

If you are planning to apply for a PhD program, you're probably getting advice from dozens of students, professors, administrators your parents and the Internet. Sometimes it's hard to know which advice to focus on and what will make the biggest difference in the long-run. So before you go back to daydreaming about the day you accept that Nobel Prize, here are nine things you should give serious thought to. One or more of these tips may save you from anguish and help you make better decisions as you embark on that path to a PhD.

1. Actively seek out information about PhD programs.

Depending on your undergraduate institution, there may be more or less support to guide you in selecting a PhD program – but there is generally much less than when you applied to college.

On the website of my physics department, I found a page written by one of my professors, which listed graduate school options in physics and engineering along with resources to consult. As far as I know, my career center did not send out much information about PhD programs. Only after applying to programs did I find out that my undergraduate website had a link providing general information applicable to most PhD programs. This is the kind of information that is available all over the Internet.

So don't wait for your career center or department to lay out a plan for you. Actively seek it out from your career center counselors, your professors, the Internet — and especially from alumni from your department who are in or graduated from your desired PhD program. First-hand experiences will almost always trump the knowledge you get second-hand.

2. A PhD program is not simply a continuation of your undergraduate program.

Many students don't internalize this idea until they have jumped head-first into a PhD program. The goal is not to complete an assigned set of courses as in an undergraduate program, but to develop significant and original research in your area of expertise. You will have required courses to take, especially if you do not have a master's degree yet, but these are designed merely to compliment your research and provide a broad and deep knowledge base to support you in your research endeavors.

At the end of your PhD program, you will be judged on your research, not on how well you did in your courses. Grades are not critical as long as you maintain the minimum GPA requirement, and you should not spend too much time on courses at the expense of research projects. Graduate courses tend to be designed to allow you to take away what you will find useful to your research more than to drill a rigid set of facts and techniques into your brain.

3. Take a break between your undergraduate education and a PhD program.

You are beginning your senior year of college, and your classmates are asking you if you are applying to graduate school. You think to yourself, "Well, I like studying this topic and the associated research, and I am going to need a PhD if I want to be a professor or do independent research, so I might as well get it done as soon as possible." But are you certain about the type of research you want to do? Do you know where you want to live for the next five years? Are you prepared to stay in an academic environment for nine years straight?

Many people burn out or end up trudging through their PhD program without a thought about what lies outside of or beyond it. A break of a year or two or even more may be necessary to gain perspective. If all you know is an academic environment, how can you compare it to anything else? Many people take a job for five or more years before going back to get their PhD. It is true though that the longer you stay out of school, the harder it is to go back to an academic environment with lower pay and a lack of set work hours. A one-year break will give you six months or so after graduation before PhD applications are due. A two-year gap might be ideal to provide time to identify your priorities in life and explore different areas of research without having school work or a thesis competing for your attention.

Getting research experience outside of a degree program can help focus your interests and give you a leg up on the competition when you finally decide to apply. It can also help you determine whether you will enjoy full-time research or if you might prefer an alternative career path that still incorporates science, for example, in policy, consulting or business — or a hybrid research job that combines scientific and non-scientific skills.

I will be forever grateful that I chose to do research in a non-academic environment for a year between my undergraduate and PhD programs. It gave me the chance to get a feel for doing nothing but research for a full year. Working at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in the Space Division, I was the manager of an optics lab, performing spectroscopic experiments on rocks and minerals placed in a vacuum chamber. While my boss determined the overall experimental design, I was able to make my own suggestions for experiments and use my own discretion in how to perform them. I presented this research at two national conferences as well — a first for me. I was also able to learn about other research being performed there, determine which projects excited me the most, and thus narrow down my criteria for a PhD program.

4. Your current area of study does not dictate what you have to study in graduate school.

You might be studying the function and regulation of membrane proteins or doing a computational analysis of the conductivity of different battery designs, but that doesn't mean your PhD project must revolve around similar projects. The transition between college or another research job to a PhD program is one of the main transitions in your life when it is perfectly acceptable to completely change research areas.

If you are doing computation, you may want to switch to lab-based work or vice versa. If you are working in biology but have always had an interest in photonics research, now is the time to try it out. You may find that you love the alternative research and devote your PhD to it, you might hate it and fall back on your previous area of study — or you may even discover a unique topic that incorporates both subjects.

One of the best aspects of the PhD program is that you can make the research your own. Remember, the answer to the question "Why are you doing this research?" should not be "Well, because it's what I've been working on for the past few years already."While my undergraduate research was in atomic physics, I easily transitioned into applied physics and materials science for my PhD program and was able to apply much of what I learned as an undergraduate to my current research. If you are moving from the sciences to a non-STEM field such as social sciences or humanities, this advice can still apply, though the transition is a bit more difficult and more of a permanent commitment.

5. Make sure the PhD program has a variety of research options, and learn about as many research groups as possible in your first year.

Even if you believe you are committed to one research area, you may find that five years of such work is not quite what you expected. As such, you should find a PhD program where the professors are not all working in the same narrowly focused research area. Make sure there are at least three professors working on an array of topics you could imagine yourself working on.

In many graduate programs, you are supposed to pick a research advisor before even starting. But such arrangements often do not work out, and you may be seeking a new advisor before you know it. That's why many programs give students one or two semesters to explore different research areas before choosing a permanent research advisor.

In your first year, you should explore the research of a diverse set of groups. After touring their labs, talking to the students, or sitting in on group meetings, you may find that this group is the right one for you.

In addition, consider the importance of who your research advisor will be. This will be the person you interact with regularly for five straight years and who will have a crucial influence on your research. Do you like their advising style? Does their personality mesh with yours? Can you get along? Of course, the research your advisor works on is critical, but if you have large disagreements at every meeting or do not get helpful advice on how to proceed with your research, you may not be able to succeed. At the very least, you must be able to handle your advisor's management of the lab and advising style if you are going to be productive in your work. The Harvard program I enrolled in has professors working on research spanning from nanophotonics to energy materials and biophysics, covering my wide range of interests. By spending time in labs and offices informally chatting with graduate students, I found an advisor whose personality and research interests meshed very well with me. Their genuine enthusiasm for this advisor and their excitement when talking about their research was the best input I could have received.

6. Location is more important than you think — but name recognition is not.

The first consideration in choosing a PhD program should be, "Is there research at this university that I am passionate about?" After all, you will have to study this topic in detail for four or more years. But when considering the location of a university, your first thought should not be, "I'm going to be in the lab all the time, so what does it matter if I'm by the beach, in a city, or in the middle of nowhere." Contrary to popular belief, you will have a life outside of the lab, and you will have to be able to live with it for four or more years. Unlike when you were an undergraduate, your social and extracurricular life will revolve less around the university community, so the environment of the surrounding area is important. Do you need a city atmosphere to be productive? Or is your ideal location surrounded by forests and mountains or by a beach? Is being close to your family important? Imagine what it will be like living in the area during the times you are not doing research; consider what activities will you do and how often will you want to visit family.

While many of the PhD programs that accepted me had research that truly excited me, the only place I could envision living for five or more years was Boston, as the city I grew up near and whose environment and culture I love, and to be close to my family.

While location is more important than you think, the reputation and prestige of the university is not. In graduate school, the reputation of the individual department you are joining — and sometimes even the specific research group you work in — are more important. There, you will develop research collaborations and professional connections that will be crucial during your program and beyond. When searching for a job after graduation, other scientists will look at your specific department, the people you have worked with and the research you have done.

At the Asgard Irish Pub in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Andy Greenspon talks with fellow graduate students from Harvard and MIT at an Ask for Evidence workshop organized by Sense About Science. He grew up near Boston and chose to go to graduate school there.

7. Those time management skills you developed in college? Develop them further.

After surviving college, you may think you have mastered the ability to squeeze in your coursework, extracurricular activities and even some sleep. In a PhD program, time management reaches a whole new level. You will not only have lectures to attend and homework to do. You will have to make time for your research, which will include spending extended periods of time in the lab, analyzing data, and scheduling time with other students to collaborate on research.

Also, you will most likely have to teach for a number of semesters, and you will want to attend any seminar that may be related to your research or that just peaks your interest. To top it all off, you will still want to do many of those extracurricular activities you did as an undergraduate. While in the abstract, it may seem simple enough to put this all into your calendar and stay organized, you will find quickly enough that the one hour you scheduled for a task might take two or three hours, putting you behind on everything else for the rest of the day or forcing you to cut other planned events. Be prepared for schedules to go awry, and be willing to sacrifice certain activities. For some, this might be sleep; for others, it might be an extracurricular activity or a few seminars they were hoping to attend. In short, don't panic when things don't go according to plan; anticipate possible delays and be ready to adapt.

8. Expect to learn research skills on the fly – or take advantage of the training your department or career center offers.

This may be the first time you will have to write fellowship or grant proposals, write scientific papers, attend conferences, present your research to others, or even peer-review scientific manuscripts. From my experience, very few college students or even PhD students receive formal training on how to perform any of these tasks. Usually people follow by example. But this is not always easy and can be quite aggravating sometimes. So seek out talks or interactive programs offered by your department or career center. The effort will be well worth it when you realize you've become quite adept at quickly and clearly explaining your research to others and at outlining scientific papers and grant proposals. Alternatively, ask a more experienced graduate student or your advisor for advice on these topics. In addition, be prepared for a learning curve when learning all the procedures and processes of the group you end up working in. There may be many new protocols to master, whether they involve synthesizing chemicals, growing bacterial cells, or aligning mirrors on an optical table. In addition, the group may use programming languages or data analysis software you are unfamiliar with. Don't get discouraged but plan to spend extra effort getting used to these procedures and systems. After working with them regularly, they will soon become second nature. When I first started my job at Johns Hopkins, I felt overwhelmed by all the intricacies of the experiment and definitely made a few mistakes, including breaking a number of optical elements. But by the end of my year there, I had written an updated protocol manual for the modifications I had made to the experimental procedures and was the "master" passing on my knowledge to the next person taking the job.

9. There are no real breaks.

In a stereotypical "9-to-5" job, when the workday is over or the weekend arrives, you can generally forget about your work. And a vacation provides an even longer respite. But in a PhD program, your schedule becomes "whenever you find time to get your work done." You might be in the lab during regular work hours or you might be working until 10 p.m. or later to finish an experiment. And the only time you might have available to analyze data might be at 1 a.m. Expect to work during part of the weekend, too. Graduate students do go on vacations but might still have to do some data analysis or a literature search while away.

As a PhD student, it might be hard to stop thinking about the next step in an experiment or that data sitting on your computer or that paper you were meaning to start. While I imagine some students can bifurcate their mind between graduate school life and everything else, that's quite hard for many of us to do. No matter what, my research lies somewhere in the back of my head. In short, your schedule is much more flexible as a PhD student, but as a result, you never truly take a break from your work.

While this may seem like a downer, remember that you should have passion for the research you work on (most of the time), so you should be excited to think up new experiments or different ways to consider that data you have collected. Even when I'm lying in bed about to fall asleep, I am sometimes ruminating about aspects of my experiment I could modify or what information I could do a literature search on to gain new insights. A PhD program is quite the commitment and rarely lives up to expectations – but it is well worth the time and effort you will spend for something that truly excites you.

Contributor

Andy greenspon.

• Transferable PhD Skills You Can Use in Any Career
• After a PhD
• Having a PhD demonstrates that you have a host of skills desirable for employers, allowing you to pursue a non academic career path.
• Transferable skills from a PhD include interpersonal skills, work ethic, problem-solving, time management, independence & responsibility, adaptability and report writing.
• It is important to sell yourself to potential employers by identifying and relating these transferable skills to the job you are applying for.

This page will explain how your PhD has prepared you for a career outside of academia, and how to make the most of your transferable skills when looking for a job.

Can PhD Doctorates Work in Any Role?

A common misconception we hear is that individuals with PhDs must pursue a career in academia. This is usually due to a lack of industrial work experience PhD students have upon obtaining their doctorate. However, this is not the case as one of the key benefits of a PhD is the transferable skills it brings.

Transferable Skills from A PhD

By completing a PhD you will have demonstrated several skills which make you desirable for employers. It is essential that you recognise these skills and can use them to sell yourself in your CV .

Transferable skills from a PhD include:

Communication

Throughout your PhD, you will have been required to work with others, be it supervisors or examiners. You will also have been required to communicate your ideas (often complex and detailed theories) succinctly and to those with less background knowledge than you. Communication skills are essential in the workplace, regardless of the job, as it shows the ability to work in a team effectively .

Completing a PhD is no easy task. In doing so, you have shown a drive to ‘ get the job done ’.

Problem Solving

Throughout your PhD, you will have encountered several problems you overcame. Use these as examples to show your ability to use creative thinking  to devise  solutions  to these problems.

Data Analysation

Most PhD research projects will involve some degree of data analysation. The ability to interpret complex information and identify relevant data is a valuable skill in numerical fields such as science and engineering. You are also likely to have developed your research skills which shows you can identify types of bias, anomalies and trends which is useful in statistical roles such as accounting.

Time Management

An important skill in the workplace is the ability to  prioritise and organise   tasks . With your PhD degree, you should be able to convince potential employers that you can establish realistic timelines and remain to deadlines. You are also able to engage in both short and long term planning . Time management skills are particularly useful for those pursuing project management or leadership roles.

Independence & Responsibility

Perhaps one of the most important things you have shown throughout your research project is your ability to take responsibility  for your  development . A potential employer should see you as someone who does not need constant instructions, but someone who can take ownership of problems and resolve them using their own  independent judgement .

Adaptability

It is unlikely that you will have stuck to your original plan. Things happen and you will have been required to adapt on the fly during your PhD. This is common transferable skill employers are looking for if they operate in volatile markets.

Report Writing

You have been able to summarise approximately three years or more worth of work in a single thesis. This shows your ability to filter through massive amounts of information, identify the key points , and get these points across to the reader. The ability to ‘cut out the waffle’ or ‘get to the point’ is a huge asset in the professional industry.

Useful Phrases To Demonstrate Your Skills

From the above list, it’s clear that a PhD provides you with a host of transferable skills employers look for in candidates. The key is to relate these skills to the job you are applying for.

To help you with this, we’ve put together a few common examples of phrases we hear from doctorates that can be refined for job-seeking purposes. It’s imperative not to stretch the truth or to mislead them but focus on convincing your potential employers how your PhD has prepared you for the role you are applying for.

Other Specialist Skills

Aside from these PhD transferable skills, you may have also developed expertise in more specialised areas of knowledge . For example, as part of your PhD were you required to use Computer Programming? Were you required to use Medical Equipment? Did you organise events? Not only are these skills in themselves, but they have inherent  soft skills  too.

Make sure you get these skills across to your potential employer as they will help demonstrate how valuable you are.

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A hallmark of the PhD is creative problem solving, and PhDs are needed in every sector to address the world’s increasingly complex problems. This booklet offers a taste of the many career paths PhD students can pursue beyond academia. The Harvard Griffin GSAS team at the Mignone Center for Career Success can help you understand your skills, explore your options, and land a great job within or beyond academia.

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7 resources to help phd students succeed on their doctoral journey.

It takes a village and a variety of skills to succeed in the doctoral world. Here are a few of the many resources Wharton Doctoral Programs offers to help.

Like most of our doctoral students, perhaps you’re preparing to go into academia after completing your PhD. Being a professor and researcher today often involves opportunities to share your research with a larger audience than a classroom of students. The doctoral journey is meant to prepare you with the wide array of skills you’ll need to be effective whether you’re in front of the classroom or a conference stage.

That includes the polish to present and speak publicly with ease, the writing and communication skills to craft your dissertation and journal articles, the analytical know-how to research thoroughly and gather meaningful data, and the ability to teach — colleagues, pupils, or the general public, whatever the case may be. And, if you have family, you’ll need support in getting them through this journey with you.

Wharton Doctoral Programs offers a wide range of resources to help you thrive in the PhD program and prepare you for life beyond it. Here are a few of the top Wharton resources our students have highlighted as most beneficial:

1. 5 Slides 5 Minutes

Researchers often have the opportunity to share their work with a larger audience through social media and mass media outlets — but it requires nuanced communication skills. How do you take complex findings and communicate them to a general audience concisely without oversimplifying the message?

That’s the focus of 5 Slides 5 Minutes. Launched in 2014, this low-stakes, high-potential event enables PhD students to present an abstract to students, faculty, and staff to practice engaging non-experts in their research topic. Students receive an invitation to participate via email from the Doctoral Programs Office.

After students present, they can work with Wharton Communications Program to review their presentation and get tips on how to improve their communication skills. Wharton’s renowned faculty also share valuable insights with students about these presentations.

“We focus on individuals. We help them convey their research content most effectively given their style and personality,” said Lisa Warshaw, Director of the Wharton Communications Program.

2. Dissertation Boot Camp

The name might sound intimidating, but some students think of Dissertation Boot Camp as a two-week writers’ retreat. Hosted twice a year by the Graduate Student Center, it’s designed for students who have dissertation status but haven’t presented their proposal yet.

The camp offers an environment and support for intense, focused writing time as well as a review on the steps, deadlines, and University policies. Limited to 20 students, the small group gives writers a chance to make connections with others who are going through the dissertation process and provides participants with the structure and motivation to overcome typical roadblocks along the way.

3. Wharton Communications Program

The Wharton Communication Program helps Wharton PhD students become more effective communicators and thus better presenters, public speakers, and writers — all critical skills in academia. All doctoral students are provided with access to on-site, one-on-one writing coaching during the academic year.

Wharton PhD students are required to attend two workshops: First-Year Communications Workshop in the fall and First-Year Writing Workshop in the spring. The skills-based approach adopted in the workshops helps students develop their personal style and strengthen their confidence as communicators.

Through multiple practice opportunities, video recording of speeches, and rigorous feedback, the program provides students with a thorough foundation in communication theory and for doctoral students, focuses on research presentations and job talks.

4. Teacher Development Program Workshop

Offered in conjunction with the Center for Teaching and Learning , the Teacher Development Program is a four-session course. It gives doctoral students a foundation in core teaching practices to support their teaching at Penn.

By helping with presentation skills and academic job placement, the workshop prepares students to become faculty in the future. Ian Petrie , Senior Associate Director, Center for Teaching and Learning described the workshop as “a collective, collaborative program.” Each week features “microteaching” demonstrations, where participants conduct a brief lesson and get feedback from their peers and the directors.

The intent is that faculty and graduate students will engage and learn from each other to master fundamental teaching methods. “Every PhD student can leave the program having gained some new tools for teaching,” Petrie said. This exchange happens when doctoral students observe “talented colleagues from other departments to get a glimpse of how they teach.”

Students also have the opportunity to enroll in the CTL Teaching Certificate program to hone teaching skills and grasp a commitment to developing as teachers.

“I’d like everyone to come out of the experience feeling more confident about their skills as an instructor or presenter,” Petrie said. “Anything I can do to support doctoral students in achieving their goals is extremely gratifying.”

5. Wharton Research Data Services (WRDS)

With more than 50,000 corporate, academic, and government users, Wharton Research Data Services (WRDS) is the global gold standard in data management, research analytics, and thought leadership. Researchers at more than 450 institutions in 36 countries across the globe depend upon this award-winning research platform and business intelligence tool — and researchers are doing the work to grow it right here on Wharton’s campus.

“The fact that the people who create the data, research analytics, and tools are here is super important,” said Prof. Cathy Schrand, Vice Dean of Wharton Doctoral Programs. “I’ve had early access to WRDS before it even became available to other subscribers. Top universities all over the world that have subscriptions to WRDS may only have access to certain elements of it, but we have access to all of it and it’s here on site which does provide an advantage.” The platform allows researchers to access more than 350 terabytes of data in one location that spans across multiple disciplines, including accounting, banking, economics, ESG (environmental, social, and governance), finance, health care, insurance, marketing, and statistics. “WRDS is by far the most important source of datasets for academic researchers. As a Wharton PhD student, you automatically get unrestricted access to every one of these databases,” said Itamar Drechsler, associate professor of finance at Wharton and NYU’s Stern School of Business, who has experience on both sides of the classroom – he earned his PhD from Wharton in 2009.

6. Wharton Behavioral Lab

A shared resource for all Wharton faculty, the Wharton Behavioral Laboratory (WBL) provides a variety of services that support data collection for behavioral research on business-related topics. The primary goal is to enhance the research productivity of Wharton faculty by minimizing the operational costs, both time and money, of conducting research. With two locations — one in Steinberg Hall Dietrich Hall and another in Jon Huntsman Hall, doctoral students can gather original data through lab experiments and panels, instead of using secondary data created by others. Each year, the lab collects about 23,000 subject hours of data. Research from WBL can consistently be found in national and international publications such as the Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the Journal of Neuroscience, Psychology, and Economics, and the Journal of Business Ethics .

7. Support for Families

For some PhD students, attending Wharton means relocating their families to a new city. To help students and their families ease the transition to PhD life, the Wharton Doctoral Program Office hosts the Maternity/Paternity Workshop , an annual event that talks about the resources available to PhD students with families.

Here are a couple of the key resources they highlight in the workshop:

• The Doctoral Programs Office allows eligible students to apply for up to one year of additional school-level funding beyond their allotted funded year. Furthermore, students are eligible for up to eight weeks of time-off for childbirth and adoption and have the option of taking unpaid Family Leave of Absence.
• At Penn, the Family Resource Center provides additional resources and facilities, such as a children’s playroom and two private lactation rooms, which cater to the needs of students with families. The Center also has two grant programs for PhD students to help offset the cost of childcare and family expenses, and health insurance for dependents.
• Wharton Doctoral Partners & Families is a student-run online resource created to communicate the resources at Penn and Philadelphia to partners and families. Its mission is to empower members to transition and settle into their new lives.

Posted: November 6, 2018

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Doctoral Programs

Start your doctoral journey.

Whether you’re just starting your research on PhD programs or you’re ready to apply, we’ll walk you through the steps to take to become a successful PhD candidate.

Deciding to get a PhD

You might be surprised to find out what you can do with a PhD in business.

Is an Academic Career for You ? What Makes a Successful PhD Student

Preparing for the Doctoral Path

The skills, relationships, and knowledge you need to prepare yourself for a career in academics.

How the PhD Program Works How to Become a Successful PhD Applicant

Choosing the right program

What’s the difference between PhD programs? Find out how to choose one that fits your goals.

What to Consider When Choosing a Doctoral Program

Starting an application

Tips for a successful application process.

Application Requirements Preparing Your PhD Application

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Educational resources and simple solutions for your research journey

What Makes a Good PhD Student?

In the competitive academic world, PhD programs seek candidates with a mix of qualities for successful academic research. Alongside strong academic achievements, they look for discipline, self-motivation, and the ability to face challenges, among other skills. In essence, PhD programs aim to admit candidates with both a deep understanding of their subject and the resilience and creativity needed to advance knowledge in their field.   

The demand for doctoral positions often exceeds availability, making it essential for PhD candidates to distinguish themselves. In a group of highly qualified applicants, those who are outstanding scholars and show they can handle tough research challenges are more likely to get into a doctoral program. Knowing how to be a good PhD student is like being in possession of a treasure map. It helps you navigate the journey towards becoming an outstanding PhD candidate. 

Table of Contents

Characteristics of a Good PhD Candidate  

A good PhD student embodies a unique combination of characteristics that extend beyond academic brilliance. Let us examine some of these characteristics.¹²

• Discipline, perseverance, and self-motivation:  Discipline ensures that the student adheres to a rigorous schedule, allocates time effectively, and stays focused on their research goals. Perseverance is essential for overcoming the inevitable challenges and setbacks that arise during the doctoral process, whether it is dealing with experimental failures or facing complex theoretical issues. A good PhD student needs to be internally motivated to sustain the long hours of independent work and the persistence required to contribute original insights to their field.  
• Independence:  The ability to work independently is among the critical qualities of a good PhD student. It means they can take charge of their research, make decisions on their own, and explore new ideas without constant guidance. This independence allows them to navigate the complexities of their study, contributing original insights and demonstrating their readiness for the challenges of PhD research.  
• Embracing challenges:  Doctoral research often involves uncharted territories, unanswered questions, and unexpected hurdles. A good PhD student not only anticipates challenges but actively welcomes them as opportunities for learning and growth. Embracing challenges also demonstrates adaptability. Whenever required, PhD students must change their strategies, reconsider ideas, and adapt to evolving research situations. 

  Academic Excellence and Research Capabilities  

Academic excellence and strong research skills are foundational qualities of a good PhD student, serving as cornerstones for success in the demanding world of doctoral studies.³

• Well-versed in the chosen field:  A deep understanding of the subject matter and staying abreast of the latest developments in their field is crucial for PhD students in formulating innovative research questions and designing robust methodologies. 
• Critical thinking:  Critical thinking involves the ability to analyze information, identify patterns, question assumptions, evaluate evidence objectively, and draw meaningful conclusions. It is integral to producing high-quality research that advances the knowledge within a particular field. 
• Passion for research: A deep-seated curiosity is a driving force behind successful PhD students. The enthusiasm for exploring the unknown motivates these individuals to invest the time and effort required for groundbreaking discoveries. 

Effective Communication and Collaboration  

The ability to communicate your academic research confidently and professionally is essential, ensuring that the significance of your work is conveyed clearly to peers, mentors, and the broader academic community. These are among the key characteristics of a good PhD candidate. 

• Confident presentation skills: Confident presentations not only showcase the depth of understanding and mastery of the subject matter but also capture the audience’s attention, ensuring that the research is conveyed with impact. Beyond mere information sharing, confident presentation skills facilitate effective connections, enabling PhD students to engage with peers and mentors, potentially leading to collaborations and valuable feedback.  
• Teamwork and networking:  In academia, teamwork encourages an exchange of ideas, diverse perspectives, and collective problem-solving. Establishing connections within the academic community is instrumental for staying informed about the latest developments, attending conferences, and building a professional reputation.  

Excelling as a PhD student goes beyond academic brilliance. What makes a good PhD student is a combination of personal qualities, a commitment to hard work, and practical communication skills. Aspiring doctoral candidates should work towards imbibing these characteristics, ensuring they not only survive but thrive in the challenging yet rewarding journey of a doctoral program. Understanding how to be a good PhD student is the first step toward making a lasting impact in the world of academia.   

References:  

• What makes a good PhD student?  – Nature 
• What makes a “good” PhD student?  – London School of Economics 
• What makes a good PhD student?  – University of Queensland 
• How to Be a Successful PhD Student  – John Hopkins University 

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The top 3 skills needed to do a phd are skills employers want too.

Posted by Lilia Mantai and Mauricio Marrone | April 12, 2022 | 0 responses

We analysed the selection criteria for PhD candidates on a platform that advertises PhD programs. Our  analysis  of thousands of these ads revealed exactly what types of skills different countries and disciplines require.

Why do a PhD in the first place?

People pursue a PhD  for many reasons. They might want to stand out from the crowd in the job market, learn how to do research, gain a deeper expertise in an area of interest, or pursue an academic career.

Sadly, too many PhD students never finish. The PhD turns out to be too hard, not well supported, mentally taxing, financially draining, etc. Dropping the PhD often means  significant financial loss  for institutions and individuals, not to mention the psychological costs of other consequences such as  low self-esteem, anxiety and loneliness .

Our society and economy can only benefit from a better-educated workforce, so it is in the national interest to manage PhD intakes and be clear about expectations. The  expansion of doctoral education  led to a more competitive selection process, but the criteria are opaque.

To clarify PhD expectations, we turned to a  European research job platform  supported by EURAXESS (a pan-European initiative by the European Commission) where PhD programs are advertised as jobs. Required skills are listed in the selection criteria. We  analysed 13,562 PhD ads  for the types of skills different countries and disciplines require.

We made three specific findings.

1. Top 3 skills needed for a PhD

It turns out that it takes many so-called transferable skills to do a PhD. These are skills that can be translated and applied to any professional context. The top three required skills are:

• communication – academic writing, presentation skills, speaking to policy and non-expert audiences
• research – disciplinary expertise, data analysis, project management
• interpersonal – leadership, networking, teamwork, conflict resolution.

Trending skill categories are digital (information processing and visualisation) and cognitive (abstract, critical and creative thinking and problem-solving).

Previous research  shows transferable skills are requested for post-PhD careers, including both academic and non-academic jobs. Our research shows such skills are already required to do a PhD. Those keen to do a PhD are well advised to provide strong evidence of such skills when applying.

2. Skill demands vary by country and discipline

Skill demands significantly differ by country and discipline. For example, 62% of medical science ads mention interpersonal skills. This is twice as often as in biological science ads. Digital and cognitive skills score much higher in the Netherlands than in other countries.

3. PhD expectations are rising

We see a rise in PhD expectations over time (2016-2019) as more skills are listed year on year. The  publish or perish culture  prevails and rising demands on academics have led to calls for more engaged research, collaborations with industry, and research  commercialisation .

PhD students get accustomed early to competitiveness and high expectations.

Research-based learning needs to start early

These insights have implications for pre-PhD education and pathways. Undergraduate and postgraduate degrees can further promote PhD readiness by embedding authentic hands-on research with academic or corporate partners, either as part of the curriculum or as extracurricular activities.

Many postgraduate degrees offer authentic research project work opportunities but are shorter. Those entering the PhD without a postgraduate degree miss out on developing essential research skills.

Authentic research experiences need to happen early on in higher education. Organisations like the Council on Undergraduate Research ( CUR ), the Australasian Council for Undergraduate Research ( ACUR ) and the British Conference of Undergraduate Research ( BCUR ) are designed to support institutions and individuals to do this effectively. They showcase great models of undergraduate research.

To get a good idea of what undergraduate research looks like, start with  this comprehensive paper  and catch up on  undergraduate research news from Australasia .

We know  research-based learning develops employability skills  such as critical thinking, resilience and independence.

Embed career development in PhD programs

Doctoral training needs to take note, too, if it is to further build on the skill set that PhD applicants bring with them.

The good news is doctoral education has transformed in recent decades. It’s catching up to the call for better-skilled graduates for a range of careers. The training focus has shifted towards generating practice-based and problem-solving knowledge, and  engaged research  with other sectors.

Some institutions now offer skill and career training. Generally, though, this sort of training is left to the graduates themselves. Many current PhD candidates will attest that the highly regulated and tight PhD schedule leaves little room for voluntary activities to make them more employable.

Most PhD candidates also know more than half of them will not score a long-term academic job. Institutions would serve them better by formally embedding tailored career development opportunities in PhD programs that  prepare for academic and non-academic jobs .

It’s not only PhD graduates’ professional and personal well-being that will benefit but also the national economy.

Author Bios: Lilia Mantai is Senior Lecturer and Academic Lead at the University of Sydney and Mauricio Marrone is Associate Professor at Macquarie University

Tags: work skills

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Skills needed for a successful PhD

My department is busy revising the set of milestones our PhD students need to meet in the course of their studies. The milestones are intended to ensure each student is making steady progress, and to identify (early!) any problems. At the moment they don’t really do this well, in part because the faculty all seem to have different ideas about what we should expect at each milestone. (This is probably a special case of the general rule that if you gather n professors together, they will express at least n+1 mutually incompatible opinions). As a result, the students don’t really know what’s expected of them, and hence spend far longer in the PhD program than they would need to if they received clear guidance.

Anyway, in order to be helpful, I wrote down what I think are the set of skills that a PhD student needs to demonstrate early in the program, as a prerequisite for becoming a successful researcher:

• The ability to select a small number of significant research contributions from a larger set of published papers, and justify that selection.
• The ability to articulate a rationale for selection of these papers, on the basis of significance of the results, novelty of the approach, etc.
• The ability to relate the papers to one another , and to other research in the literature.
• The ability to critique the research methods used in these papers, the strengths and weaknesses of these methods, and likely threats to validity, whether acknowledged in the papers or not.
• The ability to suggest alternative approaches to answering the research questions posed in these papers.
• The ability to identify limitations on the results reported in the papers, along with their implications.
• 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.

My suggestion is that at the end of the first year of the PhD program, each student should demonstrate development of these skills by writing a short report that selects and critiques a handful (4-6) of papers in a particular subfield. If a student can’t do this well, they’re probably not going to succeed in the PhD program.

My proposal has now gone to the relevant committee (“where good ideas go to die™”), so we’ll see what happens…

Hah, I’d point out a few initial steps… 1. get some funding. 2. get more funding 3. get even more funding 4. get to steve’s list.

Who is responsible for training the candidates in the skills?

What is the plan for those that miss the milestones?

My experience of graduate education is that they expend a lot of energy on setting standards, and little or no energy to answering the preceding questions.

Robert: Most of this is the responsibility of the faculty supervisor, with help from the student’s thesis committee. Which makes the choice of a supervisor the single most important aspect of grad school. Pick a supervisor who is an established researcher with a strong publication record, who also looks after her graduate students’ research careers properly. And make sure your personalities are compatible – you’ll have to work alongside your supervisor (as an apprentice researcher) for a number of years. If you don’t work well together, grad school will be a miserable experience. Decent departments also run research methods courses, which provide a basic grounding in these skills ( I run one for our department , although I don’t teach it every year).

“Decent departments also run research methods courses, which provide a basic grounding in these skills (I run one for our department, although I don’t teach it every year).”

“Most of this is the responsibility of the faculty supervisor, with help from the student’s thesis committee. Which makes the choice of a supervisor the single most important aspect of grad school.”

I suppose what I’m trying to suggest is that while clear expectations for learners are obviously a key need, many educational enterprises (including mine, training medical doctors) would benefit from clearer expectations for teachers as well. Teachers also have (or lack) skills and personality traits that are critical to their success or failure as mentors.

Both students and instructors need there to be some sort of plan in place if they are not meeting expectations. Is there remediation? (Have the skills in which the person is deficient even been taught to them in the first place?) Is there a plan for people with terrible interpersonal skills, alcohol and drug problems, or burnout?

It sounds like your department is taking positive steps to improve candidates’ education. I’m not criticizing. I just want to put a little word in for the importance of shining a light in two places: the skills and attitudes of the teachers themselves, and the plan for what’s going to happen when things aren’t working for whatever reason. These things are a problem in my field, perhaps not in yours!

The ability to work hard at hard problems for long times, identify your mistakes and correct them. (as additions). The watchword for graduate education is that if it was easy, someone would have published it already.

I liked this quote: “…if you gather n professors together, they will express at least n+1 mutually incompatible opinions” 🙂

Curious to know what the outcome for your proposal was sine you posted this blog (Skills needed for a successful PhD, 07 April 2014). Thank you in advance.

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What general skills must a student achieve to earn a Ph.D.? [closed]

I know that different learning and research institutions have different rules of what a student must achieve to learn their Ph.D. But what are some general or common skills students in fact have to adopt? If we have ranks like Ph.D., docent, and professor each level probably consists of some amount of knowledge or new skills the applicants have to achieve. So I am interested in knowing what those are in general for post-graduate and how they differ from Master's or docent preparation.

I could hypothesize, that the goal is to get deeper knowledge in a specific area and get in touch with certain types of research methods. But into what depth? How it differs from higher-ranking academics, etc.?

• 6 This question is far too broad for a proper single answer. The skills one needs to get a PhD are the skills which convince an institution, usually by way of a doctoral thesis committee, to grant a PhD. These vary widely by subject area. –  user137975 Commented Apr 26, 2023 at 19:24
• 1 @AnonymousM Yes, I know it is not standardized and therefore the requirements are different for each commission. Nevertheless, I think that it can be subjectively averaged based on the knowledge of people in higher academics. Although it is different everywhere, degree holders must have some set of similar skills to be able to move between different institutions. –  Juandev Commented Apr 26, 2023 at 19:37
• 1 So it would be interesting to get some paper on the topic, but from my fast literature review in the Web of Science, I came to the conclusion, that the topic was not at the center of scientific research and find just DOI 10.1037/0003-066X.49.9.806, which was cited by some consequent similar studies. –  Juandev Commented Apr 26, 2023 at 19:45
• 3 I find it a bit unfortunate that the question was closed (and I thus voted to reopen). Sure, the question is broad and quite vague - after reading it first I had also gathered that it might be too broad and too vague. However, what if not the existence of several very good answers could be evidence enough that the question can be reasonably answered on this site? –  Jochen Glueck Commented Apr 27, 2023 at 21:45
• @JochenGlueck I find this one rather challenging and don't entirely disagree with your point. There are multiple things going on that swayed me in the opposite direct: There is not just one vague question, but multiple ones. It has correspondingly attracted popular answers to different questions that don't even clearly answer what's posed in the original. The question posed is not: "What is the point of graduate school?" It seems to me it could be edited perhaps into something good and not a duplicate, but I'm not positive. I wish that it didn't hit HNQ, which confused the situation further. –  user137975 Commented Apr 28, 2023 at 17:21

5 Answers 5

Something that I have noticed among students is that they generally expect the "next" thing to be basically the same as the thing they are doing right now, only harder. The reality is that most transitions in education represent a change in kind . Earning a PhD is not about just studying one thing deeper, or honing a specific set of skills. It is not just "masters work, only harder".

I think that the nature of a PhD program was very well summarized by Matt Might :

Roughly speaking, before you start your PhD work, you are building skills. You are learning the basic language of your chosen field, and learning what has already been done. In a PhD program, you are ostensibly conducting your first semi-independent research project. It is in a PhD program that you learn to be an independent researcher. The goal of PhD research is not deeper learning of what is already known, but pushing the boundaries of what is known.

Upon completing a PhD, the expectation is that you will be able to conduct research on your own. A PhD program is about learning the skills to be an independent researcher.

• 8 Thanks for posting this. I was thinking of that same figure. –  Richard Erickson Commented Apr 26, 2023 at 18:59
• 2 That figure is excellent! Talk about an image being worth a thousand words! –  terdon Commented Apr 27, 2023 at 17:55

Strictly speaking, to earn a PhD, the skill set is much smaller than it is to be a successful academic. Moreover, some will become successful without some of the nominally required skills.

But, for a PhD, the normal requirement is that you demonstrate, via a dissertation, that you can do novel research that contributes to a narrow subfield of some larger field. Along the way, and contributing to that, you generally need broad knowledge of the overall field (math, history, philosophy,...) and the ability to write effectively enough that others accept the results of your research. That also implies that you know the general research process of your field.

While a somewhat narrower set is all you need for the dissertation itself, most graduate education systems insist on the set above, at least.

However, to be an effective academic, you need more in theory, though not everyone will exhibit them in practice. You need communication skills, speaking and writing. Organizational skills (more important in some fields than others). Teaching skills (more important for some careers than others). Interpersonal skills (so that others don't try to exclude you). Ethical skills (so that you don't go off the rails).

And the broader set, above, is synergistic. They contribute to one another.

Probably a few more if I think for a bit longer. But those come mostly independently of the skills required for earning a doctorate and all can be gained and enhanced over time.

• 1 I wish I could upvote this answer 100 times just for the paragraph starting with "However, to be an effective academic,...". I did not expect to meet so many academics who lack at least one of these skills, especially communication skills. –  mhdadk Commented Apr 27, 2023 at 12:37

"You demonstrate that you made a meaningful contribution to the sum of total human knowledge."

• The PhD thesis should include genuinely novel research on a subject. (Some exceptions can be made for simultaneous discoveries, etc.)
• That implies the knowledge of the state of the art in that field to judge where the summary of prior discoveries ends and where the own work starts.
• To be meaningful, the thesis also needs to conform to the professional standards of the field (regarding style, presentation, citation of prior science, etc.) and be published in a professional way.
• In addition, the candidate needs to present the results in more accessible formats than the thesis, e.g. lectures, conference talks. Just writing something is not enough if the candidate cannot give suitable lectures to a group of interested undergrad students, and different ones to a group of postdocs. (Exceptions may be made to compensate for disabilities, but they must keep sight of the fact that interaction with other researchers is essential.)

The idealistic answer is that the student must present a novel discovery in their field. This means it has to be something new - you can't just redo an experiment that was already done. However it doesn't have to be significant or impactful at the PhD level. Even higher-tier programs can be pretty forgiving with "insignificant" discoveries for a dissertation. You will also have to demonstrate sufficient technical knowledge related to your discovery and the ability to communicate it clearly. These are all subjective and decided by your dissertation committee.

Also, historically, a PhD means that you are qualified to teach at the highest levels, i.e. that you may now train other PhDs yourself. These days, the job market is tough, and it is rare to get a faculty position with "just" a PhD. But in principle, the ability to "procreate" is the essence of the PhD. In the 70s and before, it was not uncommon to start a faculty position immediately after completing a PhD.

The "real" answer is that typically it is desirable that:

• You publish many papers
• You publish first author papers
• You publish high impact papers
• You are able to secure grants
• You are highly employable as a postdoc in the field and ideally already have tentative job offers

I said earlier that the discovery doesn't have to be impactful. That's true, but your advisor will not want you to attempt defense if you don't have good papers out. For papers, impact matters. And while technically papers are not required to defend a PhD, your advisor's blessing is , so you see how that works.

Moreover, remember that early in the PhD there will be a proposal mechanism such as the qualifying exams. This is where you present a detailed proposal of the research you are planning to do for your PhD. Your committee might not accept your proposal if it seems unlikely to yield interesting results. So if you have already passed your quals, done the research, and the results turned out uninteresting - oh well, you "can" still defend (but assuming your advisor or committee doesn't care about lack of strong papers). But they also try to prevent that very situation at the qual stage.

There may also be some trivial institutional requirements such as must have taken X courses, must have TA'd Y times, etc. These will depend on the institution, they're not universal.

So I am interested in knowing what those are in general for post-graduate and how they differ from Master's or docent preparation.

A Master's dissertation does not require the work to be novel. However, like all degrees, a Master's also requires you to satisfy whatever requirements your advisor has. Master's advisors are generally the same professors that take on PhD students, and it's not unheard of for them to have a strong bias towards novel work. So they may insist that you work on novel things or else refuse to let you defend, whether the degree technically requires the work to be novel or not. Also, not all Master's degrees require a dissertation - some just let you complete coursework. Generally, the degree indicates advanced knowledge of a field, which may be desirable for private employers seeking highly trained specialists. A Master's degree does not normally qualify you to train other Master's students, nor indicate the ability to perform independent research, in contrast to a PhD.

I'm not really familiar with docents since they are a European thing. It also varies a lot with country and isn't much of a universality. Generally, this is an expression of a fresh PhD still not being enough to become a professor straight out of school. Since the PhD is now not enough, the grads are expected to publish some more meaty papers, so that a committee can finally certify them as suitable for professorship. Professorship isn't automatic in any country - even in places like USA with no "docent" rank, you still have to first please a department sufficiently as to get hired as a junior professor, then impress them further at tenure review to become a full professor. The things they look at are the same: Do you have many important papers, and are you getting many good grants. Just some countries give you an official title, others handle it more informally.

Technically, a docent must also demonstrate research that is independent , as opposed to how a PhD student is supervised by someone. However that's sort of a given. There's not many tenure-track post doc positions, and you usually do not get to this stage without already being some sort of faculty.

In sum, I guess you can say that procedural requirements dominate the difficulty of obtaining a PhD, MS or docentship. Therefore, many important skill requirements are implicit. Those that are required explicitly paint a very incomplete picture.

• 1 At my institute it was also common that there were no aimed research goals, instead, after x years (usually 4-7 years) you write down what you did, try to make a big picture out of it and submit it. But I have to say the success rate was not that high but however, many professors thought this is the way to go, meaning, give them a contract, wait some years and ask them what they got. Nowadays phd programs and stuff is not research in their eyes. –  Ben Commented Apr 27, 2023 at 6:39
• 1 @Ben If Ph.D. programs are not research in their eyes, it's also their fault, because they have formed it like that. –  Juandev Commented Apr 27, 2023 at 6:57
• 2 @Ben Really? Guess you learn something new every day. I'd be pretty pissed if I spent 5 years working on something because no one told me not to, and then I fail the defense because "well you shouldn't have worked on that". –  gomennathan Commented Apr 27, 2023 at 7:00
• 2 yep, this happened to some people I know. One of my best friends was or still is facing this situation.. he was one of the very best math students, got one (of the very rare) phd positions at the math institute at a rather new professor (who managed to get a permanent position meanwhile at a quite young age for a professor). After around 4-5 years this professor changed the university (to one that offered him this position) and since then he doesn't care about the phd of my friend anymore who is now pursuing his phd for 9 years, but he stopped working on it around two years ago.. –  Ben Commented Apr 27, 2023 at 12:55
• 2 p.s.: The university itself is saying "Well, the professor changed the university, we have no control over him,.." and other professors won't accept his phd as the topic doesn't touch their field. In addition, as he also had not been in a phd program and was, you could say, regularly working as a scientist (which meant he also had to hold lectures, carry out exams and stuff), there is also not any legal way to get a hold of that professor. In my eyes, he somehow abused my friend as he did really a lot of stuff alongside so the professor could dive into research and get a position, finally.. –  Ben Commented Apr 27, 2023 at 12:58

See "Advice for New Graduate Students", by Jennifer Rexford (September 27, 2010) , on the Freedom to Tinker blog.

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What are important skills for PhD students ( or candidates) to facilitate their success in research?

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• To undertake doctoral studies one must be s elf-directed, motivated, and highly disciplined.
• All Ph.D. degree and D.Ed. degree recipients in the College of Education should be able to:
• 1. pose a research question/problem.
• 2. examine the range of available modes of inquiry.
• 3. identify the appropriate research mode (s) and procedure(s ) complementary to the research question/problem.
• 4. define a sample/population.
• 5. identify a data collection strategy (or strategies).
• 6. analyze and interpret data.
• 7. draw conclusions from the data.
• 8. write research reports.
• https://ed.psu.edu/lps/ldt/forms/doctoral-research-skills

• Passion - keen in the research area & motivation to complete the study. 
• Perseverance - persistency while still facing numerous failed research attempts.
• Diligence - hard working & willingness to sacrifice.
• Curiosity - mindset that think outside the box & think opposite the norms etc.
• Integrity - complying to research ethics.

• Someone who is intelligent enough. (smart, but certainly does not need to be a 'genius').
• They need to be both intellectually curious, and creative (particularly because of the need to make a knowledge contribution).
• Essential to have/develop excellent (written and spoken) communication skills.
• They need 'drive' (as they will have to make sacrifices), as well as (intrinsic) self-motivation, and to be disciplined and productive. To re-emphasise , they should have perseverance, tenacity, and resilience.
• Are able to work by themselves autonomously.

• Work closely with your seniors and learn their experiances
• Read, read, read
• Never afraid to made mistake and learn out of your mistakes while doing research
• Ask your self always why?how? when? where?
• Participate in scientific forums, occasions, events
• Be SMART thinker, sharp implimenter
• Never and ever give up while trialing /experimentation/ till the end

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PhD Eligibility 2024 [Qualification Criteria for PhD]

Muhammad Hasim Sheikh Jul 31, 2024 1K Reads

Various Top Indian universities are now accepting applications for PhD programs. National or university-level entrance tests are required for admission to a PhD program. Following the test, applicants have a personal interview when they present their research ideas. A PhD completed part-time takes six years, whereas a PhD completed full-time takes three.

For PhD admissions, entrance tests such as CSIR NET, GATE, GPAT, JEST, and UGC NET are frequently conducted. The most well-known is UGC NET, which takes place twice a year. To be eligible for the PhD admission, you must have completed your post-graduation with a minimum of 55-60 percent marks from a government-recognized university. 

PhD admissions are available for research in Engineering, Management, Law, Sciences, Humanities, Commerce, Social Sciences, Mass Communication, and Pharmacy. Candidates must have a Master's degree in the relevant field. They need at least 50-55 percent aggregate marks or an equivalent CGPA. A valid PhD entrance exam score is also required.

Who Is Eligible For The PhD Program In India? 

You must fulfill the mentioned eligibility criteria to apply for a PhD Program:

• Master's degree holders can apply for PhD programs. 
• For some subjects, a Master's in Philosophy is needed. 
• Students must have at least 50-55% marks in post-graduation. 
• Some universities admit students based on interviews, sometimes with a written exam. Candidates with research work experience are preferred.

What Is The PhD Entrance Exam 2024?

GATE and UGC/CSIR NET entrance tests are required to be taken in order to be admitted to a PhD program. NTA administers the NET test for PhD admission to prominent universities including JNU, DU, and IITs. UGC/CSIR NET is held in December and June for PhD admissions.

For PhD programs, DU, JNU, BHU, and other national universities accept UGC NET scores. According to UGC, PhD admissions will begin in 2024–2025 and be based on UGC/CSIR NET scores.

What Is The Eligibility Criteria Of IGNOU For A Phd? 

If you are aspiring to apply to a PhD Program from IGNOU:

• It is a must for you to have completed your post-graduation from a government-recognized university. 
• You must have scored at least 55 percent marks in your post-graduation. Relaxation of 5 percent marks are given to reserved categories. 
• The next step is you also have to appear for a personal interview round. 

PhD Entrance Exam Syllabus Of IGNOU

Check the syllabus below for the entrance exam of IGNOU:

What Are The Eligibility Criteria Of Delhi University (DU) For A Phd?

You must fulfill the eligibility criteria mentioned below :

• To be eligible for admission to the Ph.D. program, candidates must have completed their Master's degree with a minimum of 50-55 percent marks or received an equivalent grade of "B" on the UGC 7-point scale.
• Disabled individuals, OBC, SC, and ST are all eligible for a 5% relaxation.
• Acceptance of the allied topic is decided by the relevant department's DRC.
• Applicants who are enrolled full-time in any degree program at any institution or institute are unable to apply for the Ph.D. program.
• Admission eligibility is determined by the categories specified in University of Delhi Ordinance VI (Amended 9th August 2017).
• The University's extra requirements are applied in accordance with current regulations.

PhD Entrance Exam Syllabus of Delhi University

The entrance exam of Delhi University for PhD is divided into 2 parts. Each part holds a weightage of 50 percent marks:

What are the Eligibility Criteria For a PhD at Amity University?

To apply for a PhD program, whether full-time or part-time, candidates need to meet certain academic requirements:

• Master's Degree: A master's degree from a recognized Indian or foreign university/institute in the relevant field with at least 55% marks or an equivalent CGPA.
• Bachelor's Degree: A four-year bachelor's degree from a recognized Indian or foreign university/institute in the relevant field with at least 75% marks or an equivalent CGPA.

Special cases:

• If you completed your first undergraduate degree by June 4, 1986, it is considered equivalent to a three-year degree.
• If you completed a two-year undergraduate degree after June 4, 1986, you must complete a one-year bridge course as per UGC notification dated August 17, 2015.
• Chartered Accountancy (CA) qualification holders from ICAI, ICWAI, or ICSI with at least 55% marks or an equivalent grade can apply for PhD programs in the relevant field.
• Foreign/NRI applicants or those with a master's degree from a foreign university must provide an equivalence certificate from AIU along with their online application form.

Exemption from written test 

Candidates applying for a PhD at Amity Noida who have cleared a national-level exam in the relevant field are exempted from the written test. These exams include NET (UGC/CSIR/ICAR), ICAR-AICE-JRF/SRF (PhD), GPAT, ICMR, GATE, or DST-INSPIRE. The exam must have been cleared within the last two years of the PhD session (January or July) they are applying for.

To get this exemption, candidates must submit a scanned copy of the issued certificate (not the scorecard) with their application form or via email, but no later than two days before the PhD Entrance Test (PET) date. Exempted candidates will receive a message on their admission microsite/admit card before PET. If they do not receive this message, they will need to appear for the PET.

What are the Eligibility Criteria For a PhD at IIT Delhi?

You need to fulfill the written below eligibility criteria if you are thinking of pursuing a PhD program at IIT Delhi. 

M.Tech./M.E./M.D. or equivalent:

• Minimum 60% marks or 6.00 CGPA on a 10-point scale.
• No national-level exam is required.

M.Sc./MBA/M.A./M.B.B.S. or equivalent:

• Must have qualified GATE, CSIR, UGC NET, ICAR, ICMR, or DST-INSPIRE Fellowship.

B.E./B.Tech. or equivalent:

• Minimum 70% marks or 7.00 CGPA on a 10-point scale.
• Must have qualified GATE, CSIR, UGC NET, ICAR, or DST-INSPIRE Fellowship.

Exemptions, Relaxations, and Clarification

• For SC/ST/PwD candidates, the minimum marks in qualifying degrees are reduced from 60% to 55% (CGPA from 6.00 to 5.50).
• For SC/ST/PwD candidates, the minimum marks in qualifying degrees are reduced from 70% to 65% (CGPA from 7.00 to 6.50).
• Performance in the qualifying degree is calculated by averaging all semesters/years as per the institution's approved system.

GATE/National Exam Waivers:

CFTI Students:

• B.Tech./B.E., Integrated M.Tech, Integrated MSc students who have completed 6+ semesters with a CGPA of 8.00 or higher. Must maintain an 8.00 CGPA at graduation before registering for Ph.D.

IIT Graduates:

• M.A. or M.Sc. graduates from IITs with a CGPA of 8.00 or above.

Shortlisting:

• IIT Delhi will use the primary evaluation method (CGPA/CPI or percentage) from the institution where the degree was earned to determine if candidates meet shortlisting requirements.

Special Considerations:

• For assistantship purposes, M.B.B.S. degrees are considered equivalent to M.Tech. for Ph.D. admission in Biomedical Engineering.
• For an M.A. in English, a 5% mark or 0.5 CGPA relaxation is allowed for Ph.D. admission in Humanities and Social Sciences.
• MBA degree holders can apply for the Ph.D. program in the Department of Management Studies.

What are the Eligibility Criteria For a PhD at IIT Bombay?

To be eligible for a Ph.D. program, candidates must meet the following criteria:

M.Phil. Degree:

• Awarded by IIT Bombay or an equivalent 2-year degree.
• Must be in a discipline related to the Department's research areas.
• Requires First Class or 60% marks (55% for SC/ST).

Master's Degrees:

• M.A. in Humanities & Social Sciences: 55% marks (50% for SC/ST).
• Master’s in Commerce: 55% marks (50% for SC/ST).
• M.Sc. in Science: First Class or 60% marks (55% for SC/ST).
• B.Tech./B.E. in Engineering/Technology: First Class or 60% marks (55% for SC/ST).

Other Qualifications:

• Degrees in Science, Commerce, Design, Architecture, Management, or Engineering/Technology.
• Two years of PGDM from a recognized Government institution.
• UGC-NET Lectureship (LS) or GATE qualification for Teaching Assistantship.

Professional Experience:

• A minimum of 2 years of professional work experience is required for Sponsored, External (EX), and Self-Financing (SF) categories.

Teaching Assistantship:

• Requires a valid GATE score or qualification in CSIR/UGC/ICSSR/ICPR/MET or an equivalent exam.

What are the Eligibility Criteria For a PhD at Savitri Phule Pune University?

To be eligible for a Ph.D. program, candidates must have:

• A 1-year master's degree after a 4-year bachelor's degree with Research Honours, or
• A 2-year master's degree after a 3-year bachelor's degree, or
• An equivalent master's qualification as recognized by a statutory regulatory body.

Candidates must have at least 55% marks or equivalent grades. For foreign degrees, the qualification must be accredited by an authorized agency in the country of origin.

Candidates from SC/ST/DT-A/NT-B/NT-C/NT-D & OBC (non-creamy layer), Differently-Abled, EWS, and other categories may get a 5% relaxation in marks or equivalent grades.

For candidates applying after a 4-year bachelor's degree, a minimum of 75% marks is required. The same 5% relaxation applies to reserved categories as mentioned above.

Candidates with an M.Phil. degree with at least 55% marks or equivalent grades from an accredited institution are also eligible for Ph.D. admission. The same relaxation applies to reserved categories.

Who Is Eligible For A PhD Stipend?

A PhD scholarship provides funding to support a student pursuing a PhD or other doctorate.

Eligibility and selection criteria:

• Merit-based scholarships: These are for academically excellent students who have strong qualifications and CVs.
• Need-based scholarships: These support students facing challenges due to their background or personal circumstances, especially if they are from under-represented social or demographic groups at the PhD level.

What Are The Latest Dates Of The PhD Program? And Eligibility Criteria To Take Admission To Top Colleges For A PhD 

GATE and UGC/CSIR NET entrance exams will be conducted to declare PhD admission in 2024. For PhD admission to prestigious universities like JNU, DU, and IITs, NTA conducts the NET exam.

For PhD admissions, UGC/CSIR NET is held in December and June. UGC NET results are accepted by DU, JNU, BHU, and other national institutions for PhD programs. UGC said that UGC/CSIR NET results will be the basis for PhD admissions starting in 2024–2025.

For those applying for integrated PhD admissions to IITs and IISc Bangalore, IIT Madras has made available the IIT JAM 2024 Answer Key and results. GATE/NET results are used to determine PhD admissions to IITs, NITs, and NISER.

You must have a valid entrance exam score and at least 50% of your postgraduate degree's total marks, or an equivalent CGPA, in order to be eligible for PhD admission in 2024 at prestigious universities. The PhD admissions procedure at IITs including IIT Guwahati, IIT Roorkee, and IIT Bombay is now open.

Top PhD Colleges: Application Deadline

What Is The Net Exam for a PhD?

Various universities in India may require applicants to pass the UGC NET test in order to pursue a PhD. But there are other requirements for PhD admission than passing the NET test, and different universities have different requirements.

Candidates must be eligible for the JRF category, which provides a monthly research stipend, in order to be admitted for a PhD. Candidates who meet the requirements for the Assistant Professor category are qualified for faculty posts in Indian colleges and universities.

What Is The PET Exam for PhD?

The PET (Ph.D. Entrance Test) is a national examination given by the NTA to applicants for PhD programs in Indian universities. Its two components are general aptitude tests and subject-specific aptitude tests. The general aptitude section consists of 100 questions that encompass English, arithmetic, analytical thinking, and general aptitude. The subject-specific aptitude component, consisting of 200 questions, assesses knowledge in the relevant field.

PET is held twice a year, in October and April. A Rs. 1000 application fee is paid by candidates during online registration.

The exam lasts three hours, and results are valid for a year following the date of the examination.

What Is A PhD Admission Process?

PhD Admission 2024 is done based on the entrance exam for a PhD Program

What are the eligibility criteria? 

• Candidates must have a PG degree to pursue a PhD. 
• They need a minimum of 50-55% marks in their previous degree from a recognized university. 
• Universities highly prefer candidates with research work experience.

Syllabus Of A PhD Entrance Exam 2024

If you are preparing for an entrance exam for a PhD. then written below table will be helpful for you :

Ugc New Guidelines Regarding The PhD After 4 Years Of Bachelor

After finishing their four years of undergraduate study at a government-recognized institution with a minimum of 75% of the minimum marks, students are eligible to apply straight to the PhD program through UGC.

In India, 78% of students obtain undergraduate degrees; just 11% pursue postgraduate studies. Encouraging students to enroll directly in PhD programs increases the pool of possible candidates, which is in accordance with NEP 2020 objectives.

Hundreds of Indian universities have introduced a four-year Bachelor's degree program, based on the national credit structure. This degree gives students extensive training in analytical skills, critical thinking, and research approaches, preparing them for postgraduate study. In their last year of study, students are afforded the opportunity to gain valuable experience through independent research projects, internships, and research activities.

According to a recent UGC regulation, students are free to pursue a PhD in any subject, regardless of what they studied for their bachelor's degree. This common approach encourages research that is multidisciplinary.

Is There A Maximum Age Set By The UGC To Pursue A PhD Program?

You must know that there is no age limit set by the UGC to pursue a PhD program. You can pursue your doctorate degree even in your 40s. If you believe that you can do it you must do it without thinking of others what they will think. To pursue a PhD program age does not matter as long as the person is mentally sound and in good health, with the required academic qualifications to begin a PhD.

In fact, older students often possess better time management skills and ask deeper research questions. Moreover, if you want to pursue it without visiting college daily you can even opt for an Online PhD, but an Online PhD is not a valid option in India but you can opt for its alternative and that alternative is DBA.

It stands for a Doctor of Business Administration and it is also a doctorate program that adds up the “Dr” title before your name. If you opt for an Online DBA, you can get your doctorate degree from an international university that too without visiting the college and without even relocating. Many universities offer you an Online DBA. Some of them are mentioned below 

What Is The Career Scope Of A PhD Program? 

A PhD is pursued by students deeply interested in a specific discipline or area of study. After earning the degree, many choose to apply for teaching positions or pursue roles in research and development.

However, contrary to the belief that a PhD leads only to academic and research careers, there are numerous professional options in various sectors available to graduates. Here’s a look at these non-academic career paths for PhD holders:

Non-Academic Career Aspects 

Besides traditional academic paths, completing a PhD opens up numerous opportunities in both public and private sectors. The skills acquired during doctoral studies are valuable assets in the corporate world.

For STEM PhD graduates, here are some popular career options:

• Business Development Manager
• Market Research Analyst 
• Quantitative Analyst 
• Operation Research Analyst 
• Medical Science Liason 
• Healthcare Information Technology Specialist
• Product Manager 
• Management consulting 
• Competitive Intelligence Analyst 
• Medical Communication Specialist 

Conclusion 

Applications for PhD programs are currently being accepted by several prestigious Indian universities. To be admitted to a PhD program, candidates must pass entrance exams at the national or institutional levels. After the exam, candidates present their research ideas in a one-on-one interview. You must have finished your post-graduation at a university recognized by the government with a minimum of 55–60 percent of the possible points in order to be eligible for admission to a PhD program. Students who have a strong interest in a particular topic or field of study pursue a PhD. Many decide to seek teaching positions or pursue careers in research and development after receiving their degree.

FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)

⭐ how long does it take to get a phd.

A PhD typically takes three to five years to complete, depending on the program and field of study.

⭐ What exactly is a PhD qualification?

A PhD is a postgraduate academic degree recognized globally. It's awarded by universities to candidates who have conducted significant and original research in their chosen field.

⭐ How to prepare for top PhD entrance exams?

Follow these simple steps to prepare for your PhD entrance exam:

• Understand the exam pattern and syllabus thoroughly.
• Research the specific requirements and acceptable scores for each university.
• Choose a PhD program aligned with your research interests.
• Consider factors like course offerings, tuition fees, and availability of stipends or fellowships for funding.

⭐ What are the popular entrance exams for admission to PhD courses?

UGC-NET is among the popular entrance exams for a PhD program. Candidates should be aware of the requirements and accepted exam scores for their desired colleges. The importance of clearing exams like UGC NET/JRF for securing stipends.

⭐ Who is eligible for PhD?

Eligibility requires a Master's degree with a minimum of 55% marks. Some universities may accept candidates with a 4 years Bachelor's degree with a minimum of 75 percent marks. 

⭐ What are the requirements for a PhD?

Most institutions require a Master's degree. In some cases, a strong academic record in a Bachelor's degree may be adequate for PhD admission.

⭐ Can I do PhD without a master's?

Generally, a Master's degree is required for PhD admission. In exceptional cases, candidates with a strong academic background in their Bachelor's degree may be considered.

⭐ Can I complete a PhD in 2 years?

While rare, some students complete their PhD in two years, often due to prior academic achievements and focused research goals. It requires a strong academic background and efficient planning.

By Muhammad Hasim Sheikh

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As an Academic Content Writer and Content strategist, I have great experience in crafting high-quality, research-based content across diverse subjects. My academic background with a doctorate in business Management allows me to create informative and engaging academic materials for students, educators, and institutions. I have expertise in developing well-researched course materials, academic blog

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Biological sciences, ph.d in biology.

Prepares students for research-oriented careers in academia, government, and the private sector.

Our doctoral program in biology prepares students for research-oriented careers in academia, government, and the private sector. 

Candidates for the Ph.D. must satisfy the requirements of the Graduate Program Committee (GPC) including passing the first year Core Course, which serves as a qualifying exam with a grade of B or better, and passing two at least 3-credit graduate elective courses (one of which must be at the 6000 level, and one of which must be in BIOL or BCBP). Entering students must complete three rotations in the first year. A thesis advisor must be chosen from the list of participating faculty by the end of the second semester. Students must also pass a candidacy exam which consists of a written and an oral portion, and must be taken by the end of the second year of full-time study. Degree candidates also must submit a dissertation based on an original research project, present their findings in a public seminar, and defend their work in an oral examination. Additionally, all doctoral candidates are required to participate in teaching for at least one semester under the supervision of a faculty member. Seventy-two credit hours are required for the Ph.D.

Outcomes of the Graduate Curriculum

Students who successfully complete this program will be able to:

• explain general principles and concepts from a variety of sub-disciplines within the broader field of biology.
• demonstrate expert knowledge of a specialized field of biology and be able to ask and answer challenging questions in that field.
• critically analyze and interpret the scientific literature and scientific presentations.
• independently design, prepare, and execute experiments, using appropriate research techniques.
• critically interpret research data and evaluate findings using appropriate statistical analyses.
• independently design and execute a research strategy aimed towards answering a pressing scientific question in the field.
• effectively communicate their scientific research and findings in a variety of written and oral formats, including the ability to prepare a manuscript of original research for publication in a peer-reviewed scientific journal.
• discuss issues related to scientific ethics and scientific misconduct and apply ethical standards to their research and professional conduct.

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