viva expectations

Assumptions About The Viva

I’ve heard candidates confidently assume and then assert that…

  • …new academics make terrible examiners and should be avoided!
  • …short vivas are best!
  • …corrections mean you’ve failed!
  • …the viva is a trial by fire!
  • …you can’t really prepare for the viva!
  • …the viva is a great big messy unknown.

Are these true? For the most part, no, I don’t think so. But they’re common assumptions that people make.

Challenge any and all assumptions about the viva. Check with graduates’ experience and reasons, not just surface beliefs. Check with regulations and academic practices. Don’t just accept something scary and then worry. Check your assumptions.

What do you think about the viva? How do you know that’s right? Are you sure it’s right?

Scope

In the viva your examiners have freedom to ask about everything in your thesis. They can also ask about anything that isn’t in there.

You have to have boundaries for your research. You can’t do everything, but you’ll probably think about a lot more than you finally include in your thesis. Your answer can simply be, “That was out of the scope of my research,” but that might not be answer enough for your examiners.

So explore the why with them. Why didn’t you do it? Don’t take the question as a criticism; questions explore. Give your examiners your reasons – lack of time, lack of interest, lack of resources, lack of information, deliberate choice to focus on something else… Whatever it is, but be real. Don’t bluff. Be honest.

There might be interesting, exciting things that you’ve not done, but you must have done something good to be in the viva.

Ask For Opinions

Ask your supervisors what they think about your examiners, your work and vivas in general.

Ask friends who have had their viva what they think you should do to prepare, what their viva was like and how they felt about it.

Ask friends who haven’t had their viva about your work, your field, and generally anything you think will help.

You can always ask for opinions, but remember you get to choose what to act on.

Things I Don’t Know

There are lots of things I don’t know about the viva.

I don’t know if there’s any great differences between the vivas of part-time and full-time PhDs.

I don’t know how well vivas over Skype work compared to vivas in person.

I don’t know what percentage of people submit a thesis-by-publication.

I don’t know all of the regulations for all of the universities in the UK. (but I’m working on it!)

And I don’t know what percentage of candidates fail their viva, because universities are very reluctant to share that sort of data.

I have theories or ideas about all of these; hunches based on incomplete information, or ideas about how to get more stats. I’d like to explore these topics and many others, I just need to find the time to do it.

But the information is out there.

On smaller scales, your personal scale, the information is out there. There are regulations for your institution. You have a supervisor who can help shape your expectations. There are graduates you can talk to about viva experiences.

Figure out what you don’t know about the viva, then get to work finding out more.

(and I’ll do the same!)

The Big Day

If it helps you to think of the viva as a one-shot, once-in-a-lifetime super-mega-event then keep going.

If that motivates you then stay motivated and do what you can to get ready and be present with your examiners.

But if thinking that way leaves you stressed out, then figure out a new story to tell about your viva. You don’t have to downplay the importance, but you can remind yourself you got this far by working hard and being good at what you do (there’s no other explanation).

The viva is a big day, maybe a challenging day, but it’s just one day. It comes after many other challenging days of your PhD.

Why Do Vivas Vary?

Because every set of circumstances is unique. The candidate, the research, the supervisors, the results, the thesis, the examiners, the day, and so on…

There are common aspects. Regulations, academic culture and people’s experiences suggest probable outcomes and eventualities.

Check the regulations, explore the way vivas happen, listen to your friend’s story – but don’t expect their story to be your story.

And don’t expect your story to be completely unlike any other story you might hear.

Emerging Discussions

It’s possible to overthink about viva questions. Yes, you need to prepare for them; no, you can’t prepare for every question or anticipate everything that might come up.

Your examiners might not know which direction the conversation will flow either. They have questions, but not a script; they can’t see all possible twists and turns that you might take together.

The discussions will emerge from the questions they ask, and you can’t know them in advance…

…well, not exactly.

Their questions are a response to what you’ve set out in your thesis. This is the end point of the questions you’ve been asking yourself all through your PhD. So a good starting point to be ready for the emerging discussions in your viva is to return to your original questions.

Reflect on those, then think about how you might approach the viva’s questions.

Logistics

I’ve love the six honest serving men – who, what, when, where, why and how. The six proto-questions are handy for finding the root of interesting questions. They’re also valuable for unpicking the logistics of your viva day…

Who? Who are your examiners? Who else is going to be at your viva?

Where? Where is the viva taking place? What is the room like and what is in there?

When? When is it taking place? How will you be sure you’ll be on time?

What? What do you need to take with you? What will help you to feel confident on the day?

How? How will your viva be? How do you feel about it?

And finally, most importantly, why? Why are you doing all of this?

Whatever else happens, whether or not you feel nervous, focus on why you’ve been doing it all.

Anti-Worry

So much worry is put on the viva, that many candidates overlook the idea that it could be really, really good.

How good?

You could get new ideas for future research. You could get validation from high-standing members of your community. You could get feedback and opinions that will help. You could get ideas of how to be a better researcher.

You could even enjoy it.

If you spend a little time worrying about your viva, at least try to balance that and spend some time thinking about how good it could be.

Needs & Examiners

You need to talk about them with your supervisors.

You need to know why they’re a good choice.

You need to know why they might be interested in your work.

You need to explore their research.

You need to think about how their work is related to yours.

You need to believe they’ll be fair.

You need them to do their job.

And you need to accept that they’re just people, same as you; they’re not on a great high pedestal, they’re just humans, filling a necessary role, and doing it because they’re highly qualified to meet the needs of your viva.