The Happy Viva
What do you need the viva to be like for you to be happy? Does it need to be short? Do you need to know all of the answers? Do you need your examiners to tell you what they think...
Daily viva help for PhDs
What do you need the viva to be like for you to be happy? Does it need to be short? Do you need to know all of the answers? Do you need your examiners to tell you what they think...
I’ve heard it said that the Earth is in the Goldilocks zone for planets. Just the right distance from the Sun, just the right composition of elements and so on. If things were a little different: no life, no humans,...
There are lots of ways your examiners could begin your viva, lots of questions to start the discussion. It could be “how did you get interested in this topic?” or “how would you summarise your findings?” Maybe they’ll ask “what’s...
The strangest viva myth I’ve been asked about is whether examiners take a “Good Cop/Bad Cop” approach. It really puzzles me. I can’t wrap my head around the idea. Which one is supposed to be the bad cop? Your internal?...
When postgraduate researchers imagine the viva they often dial it up to 11… The viva is not just tough, it’s very tough. The questions aren’t just tricky, they’re very tricky. It’s not just long, it’s very long, and so on…...