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Tag: viva outcomes

Nathan

Almost Zero

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Viva failure is exceptionally rare.

I’ve asked graduate schools, doctoral colleges and doctoral training programmes: they consistently tell me around one in one thousand vivas result in failure. That’s not zero, but I think we can reasonably deduce a few things:

  • The vast majority of PhD candidates meet the requirements, both in their thesis and themselves, in order to succeed.
  • The regulations and patterns of experience at the viva result in success (whatever shortcomings they might have).
  • However people prepare – whether they read a blog, buy a book or attend a webinar/workshop – they do enough to help themselves succeed.

If candidates reflect on their journey they’ll appreciate they’ve done enough. If people read the regulations and ask about expectations they should find information that helps. If they ask for advice or help with preparation then they should be able to figure out what to do (and do it).

Could things be better? Most likely! It would be great if all candidates enjoyed their viva experience. It would be great if the culture around the vivas was less opaque and mysterious so people knew more of what to expect.

All of that said: do the work, ask for help, take time to get ready and there’s almost zero chance that you’ll fail.

Nathan

The End Point

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When you come to plan your viva prep consider what you want to have and how you want to feel when you’ve finished the work.

  • What resources do you want to have made?
  • What tasks do you have to complete?
  • Who can support you?
  • Ideally, how do you want to feel while doing the work?
  • And, again ideally, how do you want to feel when you’re done?

Whatever your responses are, they can guide you into thinking about what you will do, how you will do it and what you are ultimately aiming for.

What do you want to have done? How do you want to feel?

Nathan

Don’t Chase Perfection

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Perfect answers don’t exist in the viva. With preparation and rehearsal you can give good responses.

A perfect thesis is an ideal: if you’re very fortunate then perhaps you’ll pass your viva with no corrections required. It’s something you can only hope for though.

Vivas have ranges of expectations and patterns of experience. You might have an idea of your perfect viva. You can’t really steer your viva towards the 90-minute, no-corrections, easy-conversation that you might have in mind.

Perfects and ideals are nice, but you’ll over-commit your time, energy and focus if you chase them.

Instead, just do the work you can. Do your best research, write the best thesis you can, prepare with the time you have – while resting and looking after yourself and your other responsibilities – and then show up on the day of your viva determined to engage with your examiners.

Your best is better than chasing PhD perfection.

Nathan

Considering Outcomes

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A few loose thoughts…

 

Viva regulations are impersonal.

They give structure. Section 2, paragraph 3, check appendix 2A.

Regulations say yes and no. They specify and describe: this is a pass, this is a fail.

 

But viva outcomes are not a binary. Most people pass, but they pass in different ways. Most people pass with minor corrections, but all corrections are unique, in the same way that all candidates and their theses are unique.

Universities offer multiple outcomes that are passes – no corrections, minor corrections, major corrections and more. Typically there’s only one real category of failure, something that the vast majority of candidates don’t experience.

 

When considering viva outcomes, the point that stands out to me most is that every candidate has to find the meaning and the value in their success. Rules and regulations don’t care: you do.

What does your PhD mean to you?

What’s going to keep you going while you finish and have your viva?

And how will you celebrate your success when you find it?

Nathan

Why Most Candidates Get Corrections

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Because there are typos in their thesis and passages that need editing.

That’s it! That’s all! Enough said!

 

 

 

OK a little more… 🙂

Writing a book is hard. Proofreading is hard. Combining these both in a project with a word count in the tens of thousands means the resulting thesis will likely have mistakes that need correcting.

Some thesis corrections are simple. A missed or misspelled word is obvious when spotted.

Some thesis corrections are subtle. They take patience to see and consideration to correct.

Some thesis corrections are style-choices. Examiners might feel something is needed and usually their requests are followed.

Remember that all thesis corrections are requested with the goal of making the thesis better. Most candidates get asked to complete corrections. Expect that you will too, get them done when you’re asked and then you’re done!

Nathan

“No Corrections”

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“No corrections” is a possible outcome for candidates at their viva. Not for many: it seems to be the case for around 10% of UK PhDs. You can hope you get this outcome, but that’s about it.

“No corrections” is like finding a coin on the path as you walk down the street. You had to go that way anyway and this is a nice extra thing you weren’t expecting.

“No corrections” doesn’t mean that a thesis is perfect.

“No corrections” doesn’t mean that someone’s PhD is better than someone else. It’s just one of the outcomes.

“No corrections” does mean that a candidate will have less work to do after the viva than someone asked to complete minor corrections.

And as it’s much more likely to be asked to complete corrections after the viva it’s worth planning ahead: check your diary, think about your other commitments in that period and explore how you would get the hypothetical-but-likely work done.

Nathan

Predicting Failure

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It’s clear that most PhD vivas results in success.

Ask your graduate school. Look online. Talk to people who have been through the process. The vast majority succeed. Corrections are part of the process and not a failure or setback. The process of doing a PhD, submitting a thesis and having a viva is not perfect, but it tends to work.

So accurately predicting success as the outcome of submission and the viva is simple.

Candidates succeed at the viva for very similar reasons, even when their research and theses could be very different. They succeed because they did the work, they wrote a good enough thesis and became a capable researcher. In the viva, they were able to demonstrate everything they needed to in order to pass.

 

Accurately predicting failure is much, much more challenging. Candidates pass for very similar reasons. They fail for very different, personal ones. It’s hard to know in advance.

Worry and nervousness isn’t enough. The vast majority of candidates succeed and most of them are in some way nervous about their viva! If you genuinely feel concerned that you’ve missed something or that something isn’t good enough, talk to someone. Talk to your supervisor. Talk to your graduate school. Talk to friends and colleagues and anyone who could help and ask them, “Do I really have a problem here? Am I just a little nervous? What can I do?”

Get help if your thoughts are turning to failure. It’s extremely unlikely, but finding a way that you can work towards success is much better than trying to assess how likely it is that you’re headed for failure.

Nathan

Flaws & Problems

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After submission it’s likely that your thesis will have flaws. It’s possible that your thesis may have problems too. Both of these have the potential to be talked about in the viva and have consequences for corrections afterwards.

Flaws are simple. A flaw is relatively simple to spot through careful reading and obvious with hindsight. It’s the spelling mistake that gets overlooked and corrected, or an alteration to a diagram or table that provides clarity. You might find it or your examiners might; a flaw could be frustrating but it’s not a challenge to fix.

Problems are complicated. A problem might not be obvious at first glance. A problem could need exploring or explaining; it could have a simple solution after conversation removes confusion. The biggest contrast with a flaw is that a flaw is definite: something needs to be changed. That might not be the case with a problem. A problem could exist in the mind of a candidate or examiner – something has been read and interpreted one way when the truth is something different.

Flaws are found and fixed simply. Problems are perceived and pondered on carefully.

Neither flaws nor problems should get in the way of success at the viva. Read your thesis carefully in preparation, make notes if you need to, then be ready to talk in your viva about the amazing work you’ve done, as well as the flaws and problems that need addressing in some way.

Nathan

Viva Omens

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Some things just are, in life and in the viva,

Typos don’t indicate that you’ll face stern questions or tough corrections.

Silence in the viva doesn’t mean that anything is wrong.

If you pause to think then your examiners don’t expect you have a problem.

And if your examiners are subject experts or take a long time to discuss something or if they have done research in something different you are no more likely to face a bad experience.

Some things just are. Typos are simply missed, silence happens when people think and pause. Examiners need to be experienced and can take their time.

None of these are omens of a bad viva or a bad outcome.

Nathan

Spoiler Alert!

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You’ll most likely pass your viva!

It really is the most likely outcome.

Which doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be nervous. It doesn’t mean that there’s nothing to prepare for or you can just take time off until you meet your examiners. And it doesn’t mean that you won’t be challenged by your viva, the preparation, the corrections or anything connected with it.

You’ll most likely pass your viva. Do the work to fulfil that. Be nervous, but work to get ready and be confident. You’ll be challenged, so work to meet that challenge and respond to your examiners’ questions.

Spoiler alert: you’ve got this.

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