Looking Forward
Think about what might be good in the viva. If you could, what would you like to talk about with your examiners? If you could ask any question, what would you ask? What tone would you want for the discussion?...
Daily viva help for PhDs
Think about what might be good in the viva. If you could, what would you like to talk about with your examiners? If you could ask any question, what would you ask? What tone would you want for the discussion?...
There’s so many things that can be awful in the PhD. Tight deadlines, fuzzy goals, abstract references, weird politics, bad supervisors, hard topics, vague questions, and a lot more… And that’s the tip of the iceberg, the general postgraduate researcher...
Candidates often worry about “what they don’t know” but frame it as a nebulous fear that waits out of the corner of their eye… What they don’t know is something that examiners do know, and examiners are looking to use...
Confidence isn’t like flicking a switch. Confidence has to be fine-tuned by practice and experience. Confidence in your own ability can be dented by the importance of a big event (like the viva) and the nervousness that can come with...
I chatted to a PhD candidate recently about her viva prep. “I don’t know where to begin,” she told me, “I’ve got so much material, so many questions I think about, and my examiners, my methods, my results – my...
A Bank Holiday PhD Craft Project. You need a jar, some small pieces of paper and decorations: fun stickers, labels and so on. Stick a label on the outside that proudly says, “I, Future Doctor insert last name here, am...
It won’t be perfect. Accept that, listen, then: Just get them all done! There’s always something. “No corrections” means your examiners didn’t see the typos! Nearly everyone is asked to do something to help make their thesis better. Smile,...
Both have a place in shaping your expectations of the viva. Stats can give you an outline, a pencil drawing that is a reasonable shape of the viva experience. Stories can help to colour in that picture, give you details...
I have failed many times. Three years ago I spent a lot of effort and time developing an independent viva preparation workshop. I found a great venue and booked it three times upfront. I spent a lot of time and...
There are always some. For the viva think of them as exceptions to the expectations… …the six hour vivas, out of the ordinary, but they do happen. …the vivas done over video chat, which don’t happen that often, but often...