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Month: December 2025

Nathan

Basic Expectations

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Here’s an incomplete list of what to expect for your viva:

  • Examiners have training and support.
  • Examiners prepare for the viva in an appropriate way.
  • Examiners ask relevant questions and make appropriate comments to examine a candidate.
  • Logistics for the viva are communicated in a fair and appropriate way.
  • The viva will be a fair and reasonable challenge given the nature of the research, the thesis and the candidate.

And as the candidate you’re expected to have done the work, prepared and have a sense of what the viva is supposed to be like.

Or, more concisely, at a basic level you are expected to be ready.

There are patterns for lengths of viva, common first questions and so on, but the expectations that really matter are knowing that your examiners are professionals and that you are capable – ready to do what you need to do to succeed.

Nathan

The Technical Stuff

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If there are any technical or specialist terms in your research that you struggle with – or which you need to feel more certain about – then take steps during your preparation to help remind you.

  • Make a list of ten terms and write short definitions or reminders.
  • Underline or highlight terms as they appear in your thesis.
  • Add notes in margins to help you unpick meaning or make connections.
  • Ask your supervisor or a friend to have a conversation with you about any difficult topic to help you practise.

What else could you do to be ready for the technical stuff at your viva?

Nathan

Questions For Friends

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Before submission check in with your academic friends and colleagues. Ask those who’ve had a viva what it was like. Look for detail and common threads in the stories that you hear. Ask anyone who might be willing if they can practically help you with viva preparation when the time comes.

After submission ask your friends to listen. Will they be a sounding board for rehearsal? Will they be happy and able to help you rehearse over tea or coffee? (this resource might help!) Do they have any other insights into viva prep that might help you? And do they have any insight into your examiners’ work that might help you prepare well?

After the viva ask your friends to celebrate!

And in the future ask any friends or colleagues who are approaching submission if they need any help or advice. Help make a better community for getting ready for the viva.

Nathan

Why People Pass

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Why do people pass the viva?

They do the work.

They make something that matters. They grow and develop as people and researchers. They get ready. They figure things out and figure out ways to meet challenges.

And hopefully, in time, they share what they learn with others still working their way through to help them avoid or be aware of problems on the way.

Nathan

Cutting Corners

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Don’t do the minimum. Don’t try to squeeze viva prep in. Don’t cut corners on your confidence.

Ask for help. Make a plan. Do the work. Have certainty in your efforts.

There are no good shortcuts on a PhD journey and no good shortcuts to being ready for your viva.

Nathan

Hope and the Viva

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You can hope that your viva won’t be too long – but be prepared to engage for as long as is required.

You can hope you don’t get corrections – but know that the most common outcome is minor corrections and know what’s involved.

You can hope your preparations are enough – but perhaps it’s better to do the work and feel certain that you are as ready as you need to be.

There is a place for hope in the viva process. I think that comes after you’ve done the work and have a feeling you’ve done all you can to be ready.

Nathan

Worthwhile Worry

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The viva is worth worrying about.

  • What will my examiners ask?
  • Will I be prepared?
  • What do I need to go to get ready?
  • Will I pass?!

Let’s add some context though: the viva is worth worrying about because it is important.

Worry isn’t the end. If you’re worried about what someone will ask then you can find out what to expect. If you’re worried about being prepared or don’t know what to do then you can take steps to find out and get ready. And if you’re worried about passing you can explore what typically happens to know that you’ll be alright.

Worry is a motivator. If you have a worry then work past it to a better feeling.

Nathan

What’s Stopping You?

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Is there anything in the way of you finding out more about the viva process?

Is there anything stopping you from being prepared for meeting your examiners?

Is there anything in the way of you feeling confident?

 

These aren’t strictly rhetorical questions: anyone might have practical or emotional barriers to any of the above. You could have a supervisory relationship that makes you feel like you can’t ask questions. You might have personal circumstances that make your time pressured. Or you could face challenges from a disability that impact how you can get things done.

All of these are real obstacles. And all of them have to be acknowledged or overcome in some way.

If there’s a barrier and you need to know more or do more then you need to figure out a way. You could ask for help from someone, take time to consider how to get something done or in some cases ask for specialised support from your institution.

If something is stopping you from making progress with your viva readiness then you need to figure out a way to stop it. It might not be fair that it’s happening to you but it might still be up to you to take the first step to making it better.

Nathan

Little Actions

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Find little actions or reminders to help steer your confidence for the viva.

  • A piece of music that calms you.
  • A checklist or cheatsheet that confirms you’ve done what you need to.
  • A plan of action for your viva day.
  • An outfit choice that reassures you.

What else could you do? Find small steps to help build up your certainty that you are ready for your viva.

Nathan

Contribution Is Cumulative

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Or, in simpler words, the value of your work builds over time.

It’s unlikely that there was one particular day of your PhD that you did one particular thing that made the only valuable contribution in your work. Even if your contribution is a big maths theorem or is highlighted by a paragraph that neatly explains the other 70,000 words in your thesis these things don’t just appear. They don’t standalone.

Your contribution is pieced together from all kinds of work over years of effort. As you prepare for your viva take a little time to reflect. How did all of this come together? How did your early results develop? And how did the work change you?

Contribution is cumulative – and so is your capability.

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