Leap
You’ve done everything you can, become everything you are, know everything you can and need to know. Viva day comes and you have to leap and trust you’ll reach the other side. A day that’s different from all the others...
Daily viva help for PhDs
You’ve done everything you can, become everything you are, know everything you can and need to know. Viva day comes and you have to leap and trust you’ll reach the other side. A day that’s different from all the others...
After the final act, the climactic battle between good and evil, heroes and villains clashing, a white knuckle adventure with thrills and chills… …there’s corrections. It’s always worth remembering that for most candidates the PhD process does not end with...
PhDs typically take between three and seven years to complete in the UK. Thesis examinations happen around two or three months after submission. Vivas are usually 90 minutes to two-and-a-half hours long. And all of these things are typical, but...
When it’s going to rain, take an umbrella. If it’s due to be cold, wrap up warm. If there’s ice on the path, take care! Sensible advice that many can follow, partly because weather forecasting has got pretty good. More...
Amusement park signs have never bothered me. I’m tall and I don’t like rollercoasters. Those signs with arrows indicating heights have always been for someone else. My daughter, however, is six, and tall for her age, but short for the...
Take breaks while you’re doing your PhD to help you get through. Take breaks while preparing for your viva so that you can keep things in perspective. Take breaks in the viva (it’s OK to ask for them!) for whatever...
Your viva isn’t a day just like any other. It’s unique to you, but it will be similar to a lot of other vivas. Check the regulations, talk to others about their experiences and ask your supervisors for their thoughts...
You can’t be perfect. You can be prepared. Help yourself by switching your goal for the viva. Move away from wanting “nothing to be wrong” and work towards “being ready and confident”. No-one has a perfect viva. Everyone can be...
It’s early in the year for spring cleaning, but I have been sorting out my office space and shelves recently. Last summer I was struck by a notion, I wish I could remember where I read it, but (paraphrasing) it...
You will be vulnerable in the viva. In a way, you have to be. Your examiners have to ask you questions. But they are carefully asking questions. They’re not trying to hit a weak spot; they have to ask you...