Back To Basics
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...
Daily viva help for PhDs
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...
I don’t think there’s ever a situation in the viva where you can do nothing. I can’t think of a question that could be asked that a candidate couldn’t respond to. Questions from examiners are asked to prompt discussion. They’re...
A few hours have passed in the viva. Another question. Deep breath. Pause. Respond: talk, watch their faces, listen… Say more. OK… Well, I think that’s all we need… Would you like to go outside and… Back in. Poker faces...
Looking out of a window might not be enough to help you decide whether you should take an umbrella with you. You might need to step outside and feel the breeze. You might want to think about what the weather...
One of the main principles of improvisational comedy is “yes, and…” There’s no script in improv. If you’re on stage and someone says something, you agree with them and build on what they have said. If someone remarks about the...
It could be exciting to have the chance to sit down and talk with your examiners! You may be eager to finish your PhD journey! Getting ready for your viva might have put a smile on your face as you...
It could be that you have an independent chair at your viva; they would be a member of staff from your university. Their role in the viva would be, largely, to observe what happens. There are lots of reasons you...
You don’t need to answer every question. You don’t need to know every fact. You don’t need to have absorbed every detail about your examiners. To be alright in the viva, you don’t need to get everything all right in advance...
There’s no single right way to select examiners. There’s no best criteria for deciding whether you should have you supervisor at your viva. I can think of many options for planning out and completing viva prep. I have a lot of suggestions...
Survive means manage to keep going in difficult circumstances. In some ways I feel like this is quite a mundane definition, almost boring: it doesn’t capture the flavour of what people tend to think about survival. Over time we have skewed...