What makes a good PhD student?

“Hard working and paying attention to supervisors’ advice are highly required.” Good research students have strong reasons for pursuing a PhD or Master’s degree; they are ambitious and highly motivated to learn new things and get a graduate degree. “A candidate for a PhD must WANT to do it, and be a self-starter”.

How many questions is thesis defense?

Overview: 13 Essential Questions How did you design your study and why did you take this approach? How generalisable and valid are the findings? What were the main shortcomings and limitations created by your research design? How did your findings relate to the existing literature?

Can I publish my thesis without my supervisor?

Yes, you can certainly publish your own work under your own name. There should never be a question about that. You should acknowledge help you got within the paper, of course.

Are PhD students intelligent?

Albert Einstein, Steven Hawking, Niels Bohr… many of the people whose names are synonymous with the word genius were also PhD graduates. After all, if you have done well enough in your masters to get accepted to a PhD program, you are undoubtedly intelligent enough to succeed! The rest is hard work and inspiration.

Do you have to be smart to do PhD?

It’s likely that you need curiosity and intelligence equally to succeed in obtaining a PhD degree. But then again, you also need things like skills, knowledge, focus, motivation, supervision, responsibility, perseverance, punctuality, money, time…. and even luck.

How do you end a thesis defense presentation?

Have a last slide with a summary/conclusion of your main results, and possibly some future work. Also end the talk by quickly reiterating your main result(s). Then at the end, let the words “Thank you” (or “Questions?” or whatever you want to end the presentation with) appear at the bottom of this slide.

Should I put my supervisor on my paper?

In some institutions it is stated that you MUST put your supervisor as a coauthor of any research paper; which is the result of your working at that research group. In this cases it does not matter even if your supervisor has only told you to adjust the font size (being sarcastic by the way).

Should I include my supervisor as an author?

Supervisors should be included as co-authors! We do not suggest that your supervisors have to be excluded in all circumstances from your paper.

How do you prepare for a title defense?

Advice for the Defense

1. Learn about the structure.
2. Outline the parts you’ll present.
3. Attend another defense.
4. Talk to colleagues who’ve successfully defended.
5. Anticipate possible questions.
6. Practice, Practice, Practice.
7. Dress the part.
8. Have an answer ready (for questions you don’t know the answer to)

What is outline defense?

(a) Defenses usually consist of a presentation no longer than 45 minutes, followed by questioning from one to two hours. Questions after the presentation typically explore the assumptions, limitations, extensions, and applications of the dissertation work. (b) The defense is intended to be a “public” presentation.

What should I do if I disagree with my supervisor’s idea?

If you disagree with your supervisor’s idea (or anyone else’s for that matter), first listen to their point of view before speaking up. There are researchers (we all know who they are), who just want to be heard and they speak up at every meeting.

How did Sam’s thesis supervisor react to her project?

Feeling confident in himself after having been in industry for so long, Sam worked on his project solo, without giving updates to her supervisor. Sam’s thesis supervisor was an assistant professor with limited funding, and when he realized that the project was going in a different direction he gave Sam a warning to go back to their original plan.

Is it bad to disrespect your supervisor in grad school?

While disrespecting your supervisor will surely damage your professional relationship, disagreeing politely can actually help you gain more respect. In graduate school you are expected to learn how to become an independent researcher, and questioning the standard way of doing things is a sign that you are an original thinker.

What are the signs that your supervisor is too busy?

1. Never Has Time for You. Is your supervisor “too busy” to meet, even when it is important, or does he or she cancel when a meeting has been scheduled? Good supervision means being responsive to supervisees—giving them the time they need to get information, understand assignments, and especially receive clear feedback. 2. Micromanages.