My Atypical Viva
Later this year I’ll “celebrate” fifteen years since I had my viva, and remembering that makes me realise one more time just how different my viva was to everything I’ve heard since about vivas. Before I had my viva I...
Daily viva help for PhDs
Later this year I’ll “celebrate” fifteen years since I had my viva, and remembering that makes me realise one more time just how different my viva was to everything I’ve heard since about vivas. Before I had my viva I...
I forget where I first heard that “slow is fast and fast is slow” – the point being that taking one’s time to do something helps it to get done more quickly than charging ahead and risking problems. This idea...
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...
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 –...
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...
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 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...
“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...
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....
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...