Daily viva help for PhDs
Viva preparation starts after submission, but the right questions – asked in advance – can help you submit well and set up your success in your preparation and viva. Before submission, ask your supervisors the following and build on these...
There’s a few key things it would be good to know around submission time. Questions which occur to candidates all of the time, but which I very rarely have answers for because they’re particular to their institution. If you’re submitting...
I encourage candidates to reflect on their research, their examiners’ publications and think about how these things connect. It’s useful advice but at the same time a little vague. What concrete steps can candidates take? It isn’t always clear to...
Good answers don’t just appear on the day. Good answers to your examiners’ questions happen because you’ve done the work. Good answers happen because you know things. Good answers happen because you’re talented. I think great answers in the viva...
It’s possible your research went down a path you didn’t choose. Your supervisor insisted. You followed. Whatever that meant for your research, you still disagree with the approach or idea now. OK. …That’s it. You disagree. That’s OK. Disagreement by...
What do you need to know about the circumstances of your viva for you to feel happy? Who do you need to turn to for support with your viva prep? How do you describe your significant original contribution? How much...
I think a huge part of viva confidence for a candidate is based on feeling comfortable when talking about their research. Examiners need to ask the candidate questions, they need to share opinions and they need the candidate to respond...
Important questions in the viva are interested in the why of the decisions you made during your PhD. Why this topic? Why this method rather than that one? Why did you decide to focus on this approach? Take a little...
It was five years ago yesterday that I first published 7776 Mini-Vivas. Since starting this blog in 2017 it remains one of my favourite resources I’ve created. Since then I’ve shared it with over five thousand PhD candidates in workshops and...
I’m still quite pleased with the Mini-Vivas Resource I made several years ago. I think it’s a nice little way to get ready for your viva with a friend; it doesn’t require a lot of preparation to use, and gives...