The Viva Is Not…
The viva is not a rite of passage. The viva is not an academic ritual. The viva is not a Q&A session. The viva is not an interview. The viva is not a mystery. The viva is not trivial. The...
Daily viva help for PhDs
The viva is not a rite of passage. The viva is not an academic ritual. The viva is not a Q&A session. The viva is not an interview. The viva is not a mystery. The viva is not trivial. The...
I don’t remember a lot of the day-to-day life of my pure maths PhD now. I remember little sparks, breakthroughs, and the feeling of being “in the zone” while trying to figure something out. I also remember, as my PhD...
Getting ready for the viva is far more productive and beneficial if it’s done in a sustainable way. Don’t sit down to get ready when you’re already tired. Don’t sit down in a space that isn’t right for you, where...
You can’t control how long your viva will be. Or what question you’ll be asked first. Or what parts your examiners do or don’t like. Or how they express themselves or pose their questions to you. You can’t control the...
There are lots of general expectations for the viva. Common lengths. Typical structures. Regulations that determine process. But whatever the expectation, there are always exceptions: Really short vivas or really long vivas. Vivas with more than two examiners. An examiner without...
Another chance to show up, do good work, show and share your knowledge, your ability, your insight. By the viva you will have had hundreds and hundreds of days where you have done this. So while it’s an important day,...
There are lots of elements to the viva: There is what’s presented in your thesis, the pre-requisite to being in the viva at all. There is why you did it in the first place, a subject that often comes up...
Because cheatsheet sounds a bit wrong, how about you make a keysheet for your PhD? One page capturing all the things you need to know. Success in the viva is more than rote memorisation of details, but there are some that are...
First: What question do you hope your examiners don’t ask in the viva? Second: …whatever the question was that you thought of in response to the question above! Third: Since you can’t do anything to prevent the question from potentially being...
I was playing with the random post link when I came across Starters (from a few years ago) and was once again reminded of these very helpful words by Rudyard Kipling: I keep six honest serving-men (They taught me all I knew);...