The Paperweight
It was a gift from my daughter on Father’s Day a year or two ago. I love my paperweight. It feels like I’ve always had it. Whenever I feel nervous before a webinar – which is every time I deliver...
Daily viva help for PhDs
It was a gift from my daughter on Father’s Day a year or two ago. I love my paperweight. It feels like I’ve always had it. Whenever I feel nervous before a webinar – which is every time I deliver...
Don’t sweat the small stuff. Do every little thing to help yourself. These are not contradictions when applied to the viva and viva prep. When you find a typo after submission, you could underline it or add it to...
The viva is an oral exam at the end of your PhD. Typically two examiners study your thesis and prepare for a discussion with you centred on your work and ability as a researcher. You’ll have plenty of time to...
A lot can happen during a PhD: success and failure, progress and setbacks and halfway stages in-between all of these. You learn more. You know more. You won’t know everything (probably!) but you’ll gain a perspective that helps you to...
Vivas aren’t a great big unknown. There are patterns of experience: for example, they tend to be two to three hours in duration, often begin with similar opening questions and typically result in minor corrections. Yours will be unique though....
Maybe your viva is the full stop on your research. Maybe it’s the final occasion where you will really have a conversation about what you’ve done. That’s OK: a PhD is a big, important thing but it can be seen...
This is an extra blog post today to say thank you for subscribing. This post is public on Viva Survivors but I won’t be publicising it on Twitter etc. It’s really just for you. I’ve been writing this blog for...
When you’re certain of who your examiners will be for your viva, ask five questions about them. Have you cited either of them in your thesis? What do you know of your internal’s recent publications? What do you know of...
Good advice about viva prep doesn’t include the following: Read your thesis for twelve hours a day, every day! Make notes on everything you can think of!! Re-read every reference in your bibliography!!! Have three mock vivas! Do one while...
My PhD was in an area of pure maths. Maths was the thing I was most interested in for many, many years. Looking back I can remember the day that maths became exciting for me. It was a long time...