Prep Is Personal
The purpose of viva prep is universal among PhD candidates: it’s part of the work that someone does to help them get ready for the particular challenge they’ll find in the viva. The principles of viva prep are sound for...
Daily Post
The Highlights
Highlighter pens can be a useful part of a viva prep toolkit. You can use one colour to show key references and another to make essential information stand out. You could add a colourful edge to specific pages or mark...
Simple Doesn’t Mean Easy
The viva isn’t hard to understand. You do the research over years, write your thesis probably over months and then talk with your examiners for a few hours. In the viva itself you’re discussing what you’ve done, what it means,...
Soundtrack For The Viva
I find that I do a lot of work better when I’m listening to music. Whether I’m writing, working through admin, searching, researching or just developing ideas, I tend to have music in the background. More often than not, particularly...
Preparing For A Video Viva
Since 2020 video vivas have become much more common, first as a necessity and then later as an accepted part of practice. If you have one soon or are wondering whether it might be a good option for you, consider...
Together
That’s how a viva happens: you need to have your examiners there. You can’t do it alone. Before your viva: Be sure you know who your examiners are and what they have done. Checking their recent papers will be enough....
Regeneration
Today is the 60th anniversary of Doctor Who and as I’m a massive nerd that had to inspire today’s thoughts! As a character, the Doctor is curious, helpful, determined and very, very clever – all things I believe that...
Your Questions
The viva is a discussion but as your work and capability is being assessed most of the questions will flow from your examiners. Their questions will prompt response and the discussion that follows. You have the opportunity to ask questions...
Quiet Time
It’s probably better for many candidates to have quiet while they do practical viva preparation tasks like reading their thesis, checking notes, adding annotations and so on. To get that quiet you might need to talk to friends and family...
Discovery
What did you discover during your PhD journey? I don’t know if that’s a typical viva question, but reflecting in advance on your discoveries can help you realise just how fruitful your journey has been. Discovery isn’t limited only to...