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Nathan

Back To Basics

Daily Post

You do the research and you write a thesis.

Two examiners, one from your institution and one from elsewhere, prepare to examine you. They read, make notes, think and discuss what they need to to do at the viva.

On the day, they need to lead a discussion. They need to ask questions that explore, clarify and assess.

To be ready, you need to prepare. You need to read, think and rehearse. You also need to remember that you did the research and you wrote a thesis. At the viva you could be nervous but you can feel confident because of the thousands of hours you’ve already invested to get this far.

There’s a lot to say about the viva, of course, but the basics cover a lot.

Nathan

Best of Viva Survivors 2021: Confidence

Daily Post

I finished my look back over favourite posts last year with the theme of “surviving” – a break with several years of tradition.

2020 was a hard year, 2021 has continued to be challenging, but it feels right to come back to confidence. Confidence makes a real difference for the viva and how a candidate engages with it. Here are some thoughts from this year:

  • Confident or Arrogant – the difference between the two. (it’s a big difference!)
  • The Basics – a lack of confidence for the viva sometimes comes, very simply, from not having a good picture of what the viva is like.
  • A Few Thoughts On Survive – while confidence is the theme for today, it feels appropriate to share a few thoughts on this too.
  • Clearing Out Viva Doubts – confidence blossoms when we remove doubts.
  • Be Brave – a little extra step you might need to take.

Survive means “manage to keep going in difficult circumstances”. If you’ve made it through the last few years and your viva is some time in 2022 then you can be confident that you can rise to the challenge.

If you have managed to keep going so far, you can continue. You’ve not come this far by being merely lucky.

Keep going.

Nathan

The Basics

Daily Post

The viva is an oral exam at the end of the PhD. You submit a written thesis based on your research in advance. Typically two examiners, one internal and one external, will read your thesis carefully. In the viva they facilitate a discussion with you.

The viva is different for every candidate but there are common expectations. Most candidates pass. Most candidates are asked to make amendments to their thesis.

Nervousness is common, but only a symptom of how important the viva is. Candidates can prepare and rightly feel confident of their success given their experience, work, talent and knowledge.

 

I am sometimes asked very simple questions about what the viva is and what happens. I make assumptions sometimes about what someone might know, and get puzzled looks about certain details. The three paragraphs above are my attempt to share “the basics” in 100 words. What do you think?