What Now?
You’ve written a thesis that captures a signifiant and original contribution to your field. What now? What could you or someone else do to build on these ideas? How might this inspire someone else? You’ve done several weeks of...
Daily viva help for PhDs
You’ve written a thesis that captures a signifiant and original contribution to your field. What now? What could you or someone else do to build on these ideas? How might this inspire someone else? You’ve done several weeks of...
I once took survey responses from over 300 PhD graduates about their viva experiences. There was a lot of data and a lot of clusters within the data. Without being careful it would have been easy to share wrong ideas...
Do a little homework when your examiners are selected. Make notes on each of them and concentrate on the following questions and points: Why were they asked to be your examiners? Knowing the relevance of their selection gives you helpful information....
Every viva is different but knowing what to expect can help you to paint a picture for yourself. Read the regulations, listen to stories and find out about norms in your department or discipline. Your viva will be different from...
I can’t imagine that many people reading this would want to encounter surprises at their viva. A question that you’ve never considered. A piece of feedback that makes you freeze. A suggestion that you really don’t want. A realisation that...
There doesn’t need to be rush in viva prep. Before you get to submission, sketch out a plan. Think about your life, commitments and responsibilities. Plan your prep so the work gets done. Bit by bit. Day by day. Slow...
First, a candidate can think that vivas are random. It’s true that you won’t know what will happen exactly until you get to yours, but there are general expectations that can help you understand the process. Second, a candidate can...
Candidates need to know more about examiners: how they prepare, what’s involved, what they’re asking, what they might ask and do and why. Examiners need to know more about candidates and the PhD journey in the 2020s: they need to...
A morning viva starts sooner, but an afternoon viva might finish more quickly. An afternoon viva could be more nervous for a candidate because they have more hours to think before it starts. But are there distinct advantages or disadvantages...
In the viva, examiners drive the discussion by asking questions that: Explore your contribution; Investigate your authorship; Assess your capability as a researcher. In turn, a candidate typically worries that: They haven’t done enough; They won’t remember enough about the...