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Tag: viva success

Nathan

Lots Of Reasons

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There are lots of reasons why a PhD candidate might not get to submission.

When I did my PhD I knew someone who didn’t get on with their supervisor and he left, thankfully to do his PhD elsewhere. Sometimes a person’s funding isn’t secure and they aren’t able to continue. Sometimes people start a PhD and it’s only through doing the work that they realise it’s not what they want to do, so they stop.

For these and many more reasons, some people who start a PhD journey don’t work through to submission and the viva.

 

There are also lots of reasons why PhD candidates who get to submission go on to succeed at the viva.

They did the work. They have made a contribution to knowledge. They are knowledgeable. They are a capable researcher in their discipline. They learn what to expect from the viva process. They do the necessary work to get ready for their viva.

For these and many, many more reasons, PhD candidates who work to submission then go on to pass their viva.

Nathan

The Seven Steps

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I like details. I like tips. I like solutions.

I also like the big picture, like these seven steps to being ready for your viva:

  1. Submit your thesis.
  2. Sketch out a viva prep plan.
  3. Check the regulations and make sure you follow them.
  4. Ask for help when you need it.
  5. Do the prep work needed to be ready.
  6. Find opportunities to rehearse being in the viva.
  7. Reflect on the knowledge, capability and progress that has got you this far.

This is the big picture – and there over 2800 more posts on the Viva Survivors blog that dig deeper!

 

PS: I’ll be sharing a lot of advice and ideas at my Viva Survivor session on March 27th 2025. Registration is open now for my webinar and includes a catch-up recording if you can’t attend live.

Nathan

“Have A Great Time”

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…is a sentiment that is a bit like “Good luck” or “Don’t worry” when related to the viva. It’s very well meant, but there might not be a lot that you can do directly.

While you can’t control whether or not you will have a great viva, you can influence things. You can:

  • Do the work
  • Plan and prepare.
  • Check the regulations.
  • Reflect on your PhD journey to build your confidence.
  • Check out your examiners.
  • Read, review and rehearse.

Having a great time at the viva does not rest on good luck. It won’t happen if you simply don’t worry. As with all of your PhD success, you have to do the work.

Nathan

The Secret

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There’s a really obvious trick to viva success. It’s a secret hidden in plain sight, obvious when explained, and even though it makes absolute sense some candidates refuse to believe it even when it’s pointed out to them.

Are you ready?

 

The secret is that it takes a dedicated, knowledgeable and capable PhD researcher to succeed at the viva.

That’s it. Someone who has done the work. Someone who showed up. Someone who grew and learned and can demonstrate that.

Sound like someone you know?

Nathan

The Best!

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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 be the best conversation, matching all your hopes and dreams is a sure way to find disappointment.

You don’t know exactly what your examiners will ask. If they ask something you don’t want, that will diminish how you feel. If they don’t ask something you really want then that will be disappointing too! You don’t know how long your viva will be, so hoping for either a short chat or a long and in-depth discussion is just that: a hope that your viva will go a certain way.

Hoping that your viva will be the best exam ever leaves things out of your control. Instead of hoping for the best, do your best to be prepared, to find out what you can reasonably expect, to be ready to engage with your examiners whatever they ask and however long your viva happens to be.

You can’t expect your viva to be the best thing ever. But you can work towards enjoying it as an experience – and you can reasonably expect that you will succeed.

Nathan

Imagine Your Success

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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 can use it to make future plans and motivate your viva preparation. Looking ahead can build your confidence up too. If you can dream it, maybe you can make it real.

 

What corrections do you think you might get?

How long are you given to complete minor corrections at your university?

How busy might you be during the likely correction period?

It helps to think about the likely practicalities of viva success! Most candidates are asked to complete minor corrections, so it’s probable that you will have to do that too. Looking ahead can help you to think about the weeks after your viva realistically.

 

Imagine your success, both the happy realities of passing your viva and the practical nature of finishing your PhD.

Nathan

Not To Plan

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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 a reasonable sense of what a viva is supposed to be like.

Individual candidates can have logistical expectations too. Examiner A and Examiner B are nominated and approved. Date and location are set. Preparations are completed, confidence builds and all is right with the world.

 

Then something happens.

In spring 2020 that something might have been a sudden shift to a video viva.

Or an examiner having to postpone or cancel the week before viva day.

Or through miscommunication it could be that the start time is not what was expected.

When things don’t go to plan, as viva expectations of all kinds collide with viva reality, what do you do? What can you do?

 

You ask for help. Whatever is driving the change of plans you ask for help, because it won’t solely be your problem to resolve. Talk to your supervisor, your director of postgraduate studies or someone in your graduate school. There will be a friendly face. They will listen. They will help.

The change will then become part of your expectations. A new examiner. A new date. A short delay or a moment or two while you adjust to a different video software.

Remember: things don’t have to go completely according to plan for you to succeed at your viva.

Nathan

Expect Success

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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 that you will be asked to complete corrections as well!

The vast majority of viva candidates pass. You can only get to thesis submission after years of work, guidance and development. Your research grows because you grow. You make something good in your thesis because you yourself are good at what you do.

Expect your viva will be difficult but expect that you will succeed.

Nathan

No Luck Required

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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 dedication in your work.

Hard work takes you to the viva. You can’t pass by being lucky. You will pass through your own efforts.

 

PS: One way you can remind yourself of all the good you’ve done would be by playing How You Got Here, a reflective writing game about the PhD journey that’s part of the Viva Help Bundle – a collection of helpful viva prep resources on sale for £6 until Thursday 30th November 2023 – that’s today!

Nathan

The Cornerstone

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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 built on what you have done and what your examiners need to dig into during the examination process.

So if you reflect and review what you did and learn more about what examiners do then you can be ready.

 

Viva preparation is founded simply on you continuing to do the work. A particular focus and perhaps a particular urgency, but more good work that you are capable of.

So do the work!

 

Your success has you at the cornerstone. Your past achievements and progress are the basis for doing well and passing your viva.

So remember that.

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