Viva Horror Stories
The internal examiner dabbed the red away from his lips and paused before settling his stone-grey eyes on the shivering candidate. “How,” he began, his voice like the echo of a whisper, “How… Hmm… How did you arrive at this...
Daily viva help for PhDs
The internal examiner dabbed the red away from his lips and paused before settling his stone-grey eyes on the shivering candidate. “How,” he began, his voice like the echo of a whisper, “How… Hmm… How did you arrive at this...
My thesis was full of codewords: technical terms and jargon that would have been tough for the uninitiated to break. Genus 2 manifold. Unoriented link. Plait presentation. How coded is your thesis? Jargon can save on words and be a...
Your viva can’t be the best, but there are many steps you could take to make yours better. Proofread your thesis before submission. Read your institution’s thesis examination regulations. Take a break after submission. Put Post-it Notes in your thesis...
If every outcome was a pass with various conditions then the viva wouldn’t be an exam. Failing is possible but not likely. A rare outcome, not one you should expect. Failure is an option for the PhD viva, but one...
It’s important to read your thesis as part of your viva prep to refresh your memory: a valuable check against mistaken impressions and details gone astray. It’s useful in another sense of the word too: the modern, computing sense where...
If you’re unsure about some aspect of the viva – the process, expectations or even something as subjective as the tone – then the answer is simple: Figure out what questions you need answers for, then find people who can...
Need some help thinking of who could examine you? Start with these six questions to get a list of names: Whose work have you built on in a meaningful way? Who have you met at conferences? Who has a good...
You could be enthusiastic but untalented at the start of a PhD, and unsure but hardworking in the middle. The only explanation for getting to the end is that you’ve done the work and done it well. It’s not an...
What will they ask? What will they think? What will they say? How long will it take? What corrections will I get? What if I freeze? What if I don’t know? What if they don’t like it? You can’t answer...
Consider your examiners. Two people sat across the table from you and they’re interested. They’ve read your thesis, thought about it and now have questions for you. You’ve got to answer their questions to pass, but maybe you can get...