Timing
If you check the viva regulations and talk with friends who have been through the process then you can start to appreciate the possible timing of your viva. Ask how long people had to wait for a viva date and...
Daily viva help for PhDs
If you check the viva regulations and talk with friends who have been through the process then you can start to appreciate the possible timing of your viva. Ask how long people had to wait for a viva date and...
Expectations for a viva fall within ranges. There are common lengths, probable questions and likely areas of interest. It’s not as simple as rattling off a bullet point list of what will happen. There are ranges of aspects to consider...
I often describe the work of viva prep as being similar to the work of a PhD. The work has a different focus but it exercises the same knowledge and abilities. For the most part it continues to be something...
Writing a summary of some aspect of your thesis or research before the viva can do a lot of things to help you. It forces you to focus on something, to highlight the best parts or the most difficult sections...
Submitting your thesis can feel like a finish line has been crossed. Passing your viva could be the end – but for most PhD candidates there is another step of submitting corrections, then having them approved. Then there’s the final...
There’s always more. More research. More prep. More you could say in the viva. At some point you have to say enough. You have to figure out and decide when you have enough research and you’ve done enough in your...
There’s a chance that something could go wrong before, during or after your viva. It might a small thing, but if something does go wrong: Stop. Ask yourself why this thing is wrong. Ask yourself if you can solve this...
I am very happy to share that, after my recent Kickstarter project, 101 Steps To A Great Viva is now available to buy! 😀 Thanks to the generous support of backers I was able to finish this project and create a...
A lot of viva prep – and the viva itself – is not that dissimilar to many things that you will have done during your PhD. Many prep tasks draw on the same skills and knowledge you have used throughout...
What part of viva prep are you not looking forward to? What task do you wish you didn’t have to do? An old piece of productivity advice centres on a sort-of analogy: “If your to-do list for a day included...