The Best!
I meet the occasional PhD candidate who is excited. That’s a good thing and I wonder sometimes about how to encourage excitement more generally. It would be nice to go to the viva with eagerness. But expecting your viva to...
Daily viva help for PhDs
I meet the occasional PhD candidate who is excited. That’s a good thing and I wonder sometimes about how to encourage excitement more generally. It would be nice to go to the viva with eagerness. But expecting your viva to...
What will it be like to hear your examiners congratulate you? What do you think your friends and family will say? How do you want to celebrate passing your viva? It helps to imagine what success might be like. You...
Vivas have institutional regulations, general expectations and local norms from recurring practice within departments all over the UK. Together these describe a picture of what any candidate can reasonably expect. The picture is a bit blurry in places but there’s...
Expect to succeed at your viva. There’s a variety of experiences, but this one is very, very common. Expect your viva to last hours. Expect your examiners to be prepared. Expect that you will be challenged by the process. Expect...
PhD success is built on work. The happy accident can happen. You can be in the right place at the right time. When all things are considered though, you put yourself in that happy place with the decisions, determination and...
The foundation of viva expectations is hearing the stories of others. Statistics and generalisations only exist because people share their experiences. So ask around before your viva and tell others afterwards. The questions and structure of your viva are...
What does PhD success mean? I’ve heard lots of possible ideas over the years: No corrections? Is that the goal? Two or more publications? Is that what you want? Or need? Just getting through?! Is that enough? Feeling proud at...
The viva is a discussion. Questions are asked to prompt and probe; responses are given to move the conversation along. Your examiners ask questions and make comments to explore your research and your capability. If your examiners disagree with you...
You’re not Doctor Somebody until graduation. On the day of the viva you’ll pass, you’ll shake hands perhaps, and after that you’ll smile whenever someone uses the title. It’s not official until the corrections are done, checked, passed and after that until the...
You have to define what it means for you. Having a good conversation? Passing? Passing with a certain outcome? Feeling happy on the day? Not feeling nervous? Remember that your definition of viva success can be a motivation to you,...