Look For Connections
A small part of viva prep is to make sure you have a little familiarity with your examiners’ work. You might read that and think, “Of course I know about my examiners! I cited them ten times!” That’s not always...
Daily viva help for PhDs
A small part of viva prep is to make sure you have a little familiarity with your examiners’ work. You might read that and think, “Of course I know about my examiners! I cited them ten times!” That’s not always...
Imagine a service on the internet or app on your phone: at the press of a button and by answering a few questions you could be connected to a PhD graduate who could tell you all about their viva. They...
Viva. We can say doctoral defence and thesis examination, but those four letters are enough. Two syllables capture a lot of meaning: it’s the end, an exam, requires prep, carries a lot of emotional significance and a certain degree of...
“No corrections” is a possible outcome for candidates at their viva. Not for many: it seems to be the case for around 10% of UK PhDs. You can hope you get this outcome, but that’s about it. “No corrections” is...
I’m still enjoying my summer break from webinar delivery, but looking forward to starting again in the coming weeks. One thing I always do now is see if everyone that I’m talking to is in the UK. There have been...
That’s the key to getting viva preparations done. There are core tasks and activities, but no blueprint for when, where and how you do them. You need to read your thesis. Do you do that in an afternoon? For an...
Before your viva, reflect on the best of your work, your results and your thesis. How can you communicate the value of what you’ve done? What are the words that will share how good your thesis is? Write summaries, capture...
Not want, need. What do you need for your viva? Do you need certain people or kinds of people to be your examiners? Do you need particular support from your supervisors or others? Do you need confidence or a better...
How many of the following bits of viva wisdom have you heard before? The first question will be easy, the last one won’t be. No-one fails. Your examiners will just be your supervisor’s friends, so there’s nothing to worry about....
Again and again this year I am reminded of a lesson I’ve heard many times. “Getting started changes everything.” When I was wondering what to do exactly forĀ 101 Steps To A Great Viva or how to run a Kickstarter, getting...