Taking Your Time
There’s a time frame for completing your PhD, for preparing for the viva and for engaging with it on the day. Each is measured differently of course! Years for a PhD, weeks for preparation, hours for the viva. You might...
Daily viva help for PhDs
There’s a time frame for completing your PhD, for preparing for the viva and for engaging with it on the day. Each is measured differently of course! Years for a PhD, weeks for preparation, hours for the viva. You might...
Starting the viva could make you feel a minute or two of nervousness. Your examiners will know this might be the case, so will respond accordingly. Simple questions to get things started. Perhaps a presentation, requested in advance, to give...
You don’t need to have done perfect research. You don’t need to have written the perfect thesis. You can’t have done every possible task in preparation. You don’t need to have an answer for everything. You don’t need to be...
Gather the things you need to get ready. Your thesis. A notebook or papers. Pens and assorted stationery. A loose page with a sketch of the coming weeks. Decide where to do your prep. Find a place and make your space....
A helpful part of viva preparation is making your thesis ready for the viva. Then, throughout your discussions with your examiners you have a silent partner, able to support how you think and what you say. You can write in...
Be careful what you wish for your viva, because you have no direct control of what will happen. Wishing for this question or that direction of conversation, for a certain length or a particular comment is a distraction. Be careful what you...
As you prepare for your viva, remember who did the work. Remember who read the papers. Remember who figured things out. Remember who wrote your thesis. Remember who became more capable and more knowledgeable. Remember who made a real contribution...
For all the prep I did, it never occurred to me to think about where my viva was going to be. It was early June, but a warm week. The seminar room, which I was very familiar with, was on the...
Your viva is coming up and you got this! Whatever questions, comments or criticisms your examiners have, you got this! Whatever pressures you faced throughout your PhD, you got this! However the pandemic impacted your work, you got this! Whatever...
Beneath the surface of the viva is a conversation. For all the importance it has, it’s a discussion and one you can prepare for. Beneath the surface of your thesis is a contribution. Across thousands of words you tell the...