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Month: May 2023

Nathan

Before You Know It

Daily Post

It’s almost twenty years since I started my PhD.

I remember the first week very clearly, sitting at my desk, skim-reading through papers I couldn’t grasp, making notes and chatting with my office-mates.

I very distinctly remember thinking, “I don’t know what I’m doing, but at least I have a long time to figure it out.”

And I did have a long time, and I did – more or less – figure it out.

But that time went by so fast. Before I realised I was looking at my final months of writing up, those weeks of prep, those hours of my viva and an eye-blink afterwards when I did my corrections.

Plan the end of your PhD before you get too close. When will you do your prep and how will you get it done? What might your corrections period look like? And what are the key dates or weeks when you will have to hit targets?

Before you know it, you’ll be done.

Nathan

The First And Last Questions

Daily Post

Old viva advice says that the first question you’re asked at the viva will likely be easy, while the last question likely won’t be. Like a lot of advice, there’s a kernel of truth to this belief but a lot more to be said.

Let’s say that the first question you’re asked in the viva will likely be simple: whatever it is, you’re being asked to start the viva and start it well. Your examiners want to get you talking, get you past nerves and worries; they ask something simple about the beginnings of your research or get you to share an overview of what you’ve done.

These might not be easy questions, but they will be simple to understand and likely be topics you’ve thought about and talked about a lot in the past. First questions are asked for a specific purpose. They get the viva started well. They may or may not be easy, but your examiners won’t be looking to make things hard for you.

The last question of a viva could be many things:

  • “Do you have any questions for us?”
  • “How would you like to see your ideas developed in the future?”

Or it could just be another question: challenging, probing, digging into the work and words of your thesis.

First, last and everything in between: take every question as it comes.

Breathe. Pause. Think. Respond as well as you can.

Every question is an opportunity for you to share a little more and add to the good things that your examiners think about you and your research.

Nathan

Sure

Daily Post

When you consider the viva, there’s not a lot you can be precise about.

The reasonable expectations of the exam describe a range of possible experiences. Vivas vary in length, examiners can have lots of different backgrounds and every thesis is unique. You can’t guarantee certain questions, though maybe you can have reasonable hopes and expectations of what your examiners will say. There’s a lot you won’t know until the viva is happening.

Being precise is difficult, but there’s a lot you can be sure of.

You can be sure that your examiners have prepared, just like you. You can be sure that despite the variety there is a core process at work: regulations, common expectations, norms in your department. You can be sure that your examiners will be fair with you.

And you can be sure of yourself. You can be sure that you have come as far as you have through hard work, a skillset and knowledge base that you’ve earned, and achievements that matter.

You can’t be precise about your viva. You can be sure.

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