One Day, Not Day One
The viva is a single day when you have to rise to the occasion – but not the first day of the journey that you’re on. Your viva could be difficult. You can expect to be challenged, but that challenge...
Daily viva help for PhDs
The viva is a single day when you have to rise to the occasion – but not the first day of the journey that you’re on. Your viva could be difficult. You can expect to be challenged, but that challenge...
It’s not a quiz. You need to know a lot, of course, but you’re not expected to have rapid recall or a photographic memory of your research and your thesis. It’s not an interview. You might choose to dress smart,...
Questions in the viva do not fall neatly into one of two piles. Easy and hard are relative terms that don’t help to describe the questions that prompt the kind of discussion found in the viva. An easy question for...
I enjoy playing video games where I can alter the setting to “easy” and feel powerful. I can advance through the story, feel present and connected to the world of the game (as enemies don’t knock me down every two...
In some video games you defeat monsters or complete tasks and gain quantifiable experience that helps you to level up: over time you gain points to invest in making your character better. Stronger abilities, new equipment and perhaps completely new...
You could be enthusiastic but untalented at the start of a PhD, and unsure but hardworking in the middle. The only explanation for getting to the end is that you’ve done the work and done it well. It’s not an...
Don’t worry about whether or not your viva will be easy or hard. Who knows what you’ll feel like on the day, in the moment? Prepare for a challenge. Two people have read your thesis and are ready to ask...
The viva is an exam for you and your thesis at the end of your PhD. With a little prep you’ll be ready to discuss your thesis with your examiners. Why? Because by then you’ll have spent thousands of hours...