Help Wanted

You might be looking to appoint a couple of people to the position of “Viva Prep Helper-Outer”.

What do you need from others to help with your viva prep? What are you looking for?

Think about it and make a decision. Find out who is available. Think about what they know and what they can do.

Make it clear that it’s a low-paid job, but you might be able to manage the odd coffee by way of compensation. Essentially the position is somewhere between a coach and a consultant. You want questions, ideas, advice, encouragement and someone to listen.

You might need to take on more than one person.

Don’t be too demanding on anyone’s time, and remember to settle up with anyone who is a really big help.

Say thank you when your viva is done, and be ready to help someone in the future.

 

Viva Survivors Summer Sabbatical: I’m taking July, August and September off from new writing to concentrate on other creative projects, so will be sharing a post from the archives every day throughout those months. Today’s post was originally published on June 9th 2018.

Viral Viva Stories

this one time, a person had a two-day viva

your examiners play good cop/bad cop with their questions

they’re just out to get you

you can’t really prepare

Urban legends about the viva have spread well. Little idea-viruses swarming through the postgraduate population. Most candidates, however positive they are, have heard stories of a friend-of-a-friend that sound awful. Even if the vast majority of vivas work out fine, the myths and legends persist, leaving doubts and worries in their wake.

Ask around, not for what people have heard but for what happened to them. Ask PhD graduates what they did to prepare, and what happened on the day. Build a picture of what vivas generally look like and you’ll see what you need to do for yours.

When you’re done, share your story. Release your own idea-virus into the wild.