Aware of the Outcomes
I don’t think I knew – at all – what the result of my viva might be. I naively expected that I would pass, and I was right in expecting that. I suppose I expected I would have to make...
Daily viva help for PhDs
I don’t think I knew – at all – what the result of my viva might be. I naively expected that I would pass, and I was right in expecting that. I suppose I expected I would have to make...
PhD candidates are generally nervous about the viva. In my experience, most will feel a portion of nervousness at some point before they meet their examiners. Some will continue to feel it during their viva too. I don’t know that...
Getting ready for the viva could take twenty hours of work spaced out over several weeks. What’s the first task on your list? Gathering stationery supplies? Reading the first page? Chatting to your supervisor? Clicking for a random piece of...
I ask “How do you feel?” a lot. By my records I’ve asked this question in seminars and webinars at least 300 times, to over 5000 PhD candidates. It’s good to reflect on in a seminar but that’s one moment,...
I try not to be clickbait-y in the titles that I choose for posts. Numbers are sometimes really useful to help me round up ideas, and they also help to draw attention too. It dawned on me that in and...
Write down all of the things that you’ve achieved over the course of your PhD. Write down as many things as you can think of where you’ve succeeded despite a setback. List all the times you overcame your own doubts...
The viva is you and your examiners; the viva isn’t you versus them. You don’t have to challenge all their questions. They don’t have to bring you and your work down. It’s not combat. It’s not a trial. It’s not...
…you’re ready to face one more challenge: your viva! Wait, I skipped ahead! Go back to the beginning… You got onto a PhD programme because you were good enough. Your story before then, your successes, your challenges, your grades...
A little webinar update! I’m running my 7 Reasons You’ll Pass Your Viva session next Monday, 8th February 2021. It’s a 1-hour webinar all about why you can feel confident for your viva, exploring some of the things you can do...
You can do a lot with one blank sheet of paper to help your viva prep. You could write “What’s important?” as a provocation to get you thinking about what really matters in your thesis. Respond to the prompt using...