At A Distance
Ask for help when you’re getting ready for your viva. Talk to your friends and colleagues in your department. Get them to listen to you talk about your work or ask about their experiences. Get the benefit of their help!...
Daily viva help for PhDs
Ask for help when you’re getting ready for your viva. Talk to your friends and colleagues in your department. Get them to listen to you talk about your work or ask about their experiences. Get the benefit of their help!...
I don’t advise every PhD candidate take a month to get ready for their viva but a month is a good place to start from when considering your plans. Viva prep – the deliberate tasks someone does to get ready...
Don’t rush into viva prep. Make sure you have everything you need and a plan to help you get through the work you need. Do small tasks first. Check the regulations. Ask for help. Place bookmarks at the start of...
There are lots of statistics about the general experience of the PhD viva – but we can’t combine them to find out the probability of a particular outcome. Want to know how likely it is you’ll have a four-hour viva...
If you had an extra day to get ready for your viva, what would you do? Would you spend a chunk of time reading your thesis again, just in case you missed something? Perhaps you’d feel better if you sat...
Viva prep is a necessary part of getting ready. No tasks are particularly difficult, but if you are already tired, busy or stressed with regular work and life, then they can seem like more chores to get done. There are...
If a friend or colleague asks for help with their viva prep then assist them if you can. Ask what they need and help with their request as much as you’re able. Perhaps they need to know what to expect...
Between submission and your viva, take an hour or two to see if any recent, relevant papers have been published that you haven’t noticed while you’ve been busy. You’ve not missed them though. They’re still there. You can read them...
Some of your viva questions will have great answers. You’ll know something for certain, either because of your reading or your research. In that situation, when asked you will be able to give an answer. You won’t know in advance...
To feel confident for your viva you have to do the work: you have to do the research needed, write your thesis, develop yourself and really realise what all of that means. Confidence isn’t a destination on your PhD journey....