The Questions You Expect
A question that’s expected can be prepared for. A question you expect can still be difficult to respond to. If you expect a question you might not be asked it after all. And if you prepare you may still find...
viva expectations
Discipline Differences
Reading viva regulations and googling about what to expect for your viva can only tell you so much. There are a lot of general viva expectations worth paying attention to – related to the format, the questions and examiners –...
It Depends
There are many questions asked about the viva to which a response has to begin with, “It depends…” Is it best to have an expert in my research area for an examiner? – It depends on what you think about the...
When You Don’t Know
What would you do if you went blank or froze or could only think “I don’t know”? It’s a situation you wouldn’t want; it could even be stressful. It’s reasonable to think about it before the viva but unhelpful to...
Plan For The Unexpected
Plan your viva prep. Take a sheet of paper when you submit and spend ten minutes thinking about how you would space out the work that you need to do. When will you start? Will a month investing an hour most...
Time And The Viva
“How long is the viva?” It’s the number one question I have been asked in over twelve years of doing work related to the viva. The most appropriate response I feel that I can give is to say that two...
The Wild West Viva
Stereotypes of 1800s western towns are often invoked when it seems like “anything could happen” but that’s really not the case for your viva. Regulations have to be kept to, and can be known well in advance by everyone involved....
Up Your Sleeve
You don’t need to be magical to do well in your viva. You don’t need a hidden card with notes up your sleeve or to be able to divine your examiners’ questions before they ask them. You don’t need to...
The Chair
It’s not good or bad to have an independent chair at your viva. Independent chairs are not examiners. They’re often a senior member of staff from your institution who is mostly acting as an observer. In your experience of the...
It Doesn’t Matter
Lots of things matter about the viva and how you succeed at it, but lots of thing really don’t. It doesn’t matter if you have typos in your thesis, not really. Do your best to proofread and eliminate them, but...