Citing Your Examiners
It’s not necessary for every PhD candidate to cite their examiners in their thesis. It might be helpful for you in particular to have cited your examiners. Or rather, who you have cited might have an influence on the list...
Daily viva help for PhDs
It’s not necessary for every PhD candidate to cite their examiners in their thesis. It might be helpful for you in particular to have cited your examiners. Or rather, who you have cited might have an influence on the list...
Between Christmas and New Year I shared some of my favourite writing from 2021. In case you missed those posts here are links to each with a piece that particularly stands out to me. Best of Viva Survivors 2021: Viva...
Last year I waited for the latest Spider-Man movie for a long time. I wondered if I would even get to see it at the cinema because of the pandemic. Then I wondered if all of the rumours were true...
You can ask for a break in the viva. You can let your examiners know that you need one for a medical or health-related reason. You can ask for one because your viva is becoming long. You can ask for...
After submission you need to read your thesis to prepare for the viva. Inevitably you’ll find a word that is in some way wrong. It’s not spelled correctly, it’s the wrong word, you meant something different or perhaps it is...
Make a plan for submission. Set milestones to help keep you on track. Check the details for the official things you need to do. Maybe ask a friend to go with you if you have to submit paper copies and...
The viva is nearly-but-not-quite the end of the PhD journey. It really won’t take much to get ready for it. You’ll get to have a conversation with two interested academics about your research. Once your viva is finished and your...
If you have doubts that you’ve done enough, that your thesis is good enough or that you are good enough then take a little time to reflect on what you’ve done. How many days did you do the work? How...
The two most useful questions for a PhD candidate to reflect on, particularly after submission, are: “When is my viva?” and “How do I feel?” The first is often a useful prompt to realise that there is still time. There’s...
The practical tasks involved in viva prep are not hard, but shifting focus to do the work can be tough. Why? Perhaps because you’ve done it all before. You did this work! Haven’t you done enough already? You did the...