Questions & Answers
In your viva, remember:
Every question you get is because of something you’ve done.
All of your answers are because of something you’ve done too.
Author: Nathan
Deserving
There are lots of big picture questions that seem natural for the viva.
- “Why did you choose this topic?”
- “How do you describe your main contribution?”
- “How would you summarise your thesis?”
These aren’t unexpected questions exactly; you’ve probably thought about them during your PhD. Another question that shows up on lists of common viva questions is “Why do you deserve a PhD?” I’m not sure how common this question actually is, but at first glance, answering it could be a little trickier than the other questions mentioned so far.
“Why do you deserve it?” Deserve. You could look at this question and wonder if it is a trick or not. Are your examiners trying to trap you somehow? It feels a little like a trap…
Or perhaps we can find a similar question that makes it easier to answer. Perhaps, “What have you done that merits a PhD?” or “What have you done to achieve a PhD?” That’s what we’re really getting at. And when you look at that phrasing, actually we’re not far away from “How do you describe your main contribution?”
The work, the result, the outcome, the contribution, the talent, the knowledge – all of these are because of what you’ve done. They’re what you’ve achieved, they’re why you deserve a PhD. It may feel uncomfortable to think about why you deserve something…
…so get comfortable with it. Not in a proud or boastful way, but in an honest sense of your own accomplishments. Explore how you would describe what you’ve done, and you’ll find a way to talk to your examiners about your contribution: something that merits your PhD.
You might just start to believe it yourself!
Transfer And Final
I didn’t have a transfer viva at the end of my first year. This was nearly fifteen years ago; I had a forty minute meeting with my second supervisor. He read my ten-page summary of what I’d done in my first year, asked a few questions and then said, “Well, that all seems fine.”
From listening to other researchers’ transfer viva stories I’m aware this isn’t always as simple. A real sense of “will I pass?” can be the case for some people. If that was your story, or if you just wonder how the two events might compare, remember that the transfer viva and the PhD viva are two different events with two different purposes. They might have some similarities, but those are structural. The why behind them really is different.
The PhD viva is likely to be longer than your transfer; you’ve done more by the end of the PhD, so there is naturally more to cover. How you felt about the transfer, positive or negative, can influence how you feel about the PhD viva. If you feel like the transfer was a terrible thing then I can understand how the PhD viva would seem intimidating.
Focus on the fact that you must have passed your transfer viva to have got to the final viva. You must have. It might have been hard, but you did it. You did it because you had whatever you needed to pass.
And you’ll have that for the final viva too.
Why Do Vivas Vary?
Because every set of circumstances is unique. The candidate, the research, the supervisors, the results, the thesis, the examiners, the day, and so on…
There are common aspects. Regulations, academic culture and people’s experiences suggest probable outcomes and eventualities.
Check the regulations, explore the way vivas happen, listen to your friend’s story – but don’t expect their story to be your story.
And don’t expect your story to be completely unlike any other story you might hear.
Solo Preparation
If your supervisor is busy or you don’t have a good relationship with them then you can still prepare for your viva. You don’t need them – or anyone else – to help you read your thesis, or annotate it, or check the regulations, or do many of the other valuable things you might do as part of your prep.
But a supervisor is uniquely placed to offer some useful help: feedback on your progress over the years and perhaps a mock viva. You could be prepared for the viva without these things, but they do help.
If you think you need these sorts of things but your supervisor isn’t the person to help you, then think about who else is in your circle. Colleagues, friends, and so on – who could help? Even if they can’t do exactly what your supervisor could, think about what they could offer.
Like the rest of the PhD, you’ll do most of the preparation for your viva by yourself – but you are not alone.
The Challenging Questions
Two types of questions can seem challenging: unexpected questions and tricky, topic-related questions.
You can’t prepare an answer for an unexpected question, but you can be prepared to answer. You can build confidence through a mock viva or by just finding situations where you can talk about your work and take questions. You’ll never predict every question, but you can at least get comfortable with thinking in those kinds of situations.
Tricky, topic-related questions could be more challenging to some candidates than unexpected questions. Tricky questions are the ones you’re aware of, or the aspects of your work that leads to them. They can seem challenging because there’s something there to focus on, something to worry about. Maybe it’s how you explain something, or a contentious detail, an idea that’s not 100% proved.
You can build your confidence for unexpected questions through practice, and you can improve how you think about tricky, topic-related questions through reflection and writing summaries. Take the topic apart, explore it and find the bits that you need to address. Thinking is good, but writing will help you shape those thoughts into something concrete.
Both types of question – the unexpected and the tricky, topic-related – can be challenging in the viva.
Thankfully, both types of question can be prepared for.
Fate Accomplished
“What determines your fate in the viva?” is one of the more unusual questions I’ve been asked in seminars.
- Could it be your topic? Perhaps you need to choose something that resonates with your examiners and others.
- In which case, could it be your examiners? Maybe you need the “right” ones to listen to you, read your work and ask the “right” questions.
- So maybe the biggest element is your supervisors? Their mentoring helps develop you and your thesis over many years.
- But then surely it has to be your thesis, right? A great thesis means you’ve shown yourself in a good light.
The common factor is you. You undertook the topic, you wrote your thesis, you worked with you supervisor and you’ll answer your examiners in the viva. It might be overreaching to claim you determine your fate in the viva, but you’re definitely the biggest factor of your own success.
(Apologies for the title! It just jumped out at me!)
Past, Present, Future
An upcoming viva, like any major life event, can come to dominate your day-to-day life. There’s likely nervousness, possibly excitement, a slight melancholy at another chapter of your life coming to a close. There’s wondering if you’re ready, wondering what will be asked, wondering how it will go…
The viva is important, but it’s not the biggest thing you’ll do in your life, or even in your PhD. If you feel like your viva is really starting to take over then you could:
- look back at your PhD for evidence that you’re exactly where you need to be;
- make a plan for the prep you’re going to do in the near future, and restrict it to only certain times;
- think about everything you’re going to do after your PhD is done.
The viva is important, but it’s vital for your own wellbeing that you keep it in the proper perspective. Consider the past, the present and the future to keep you grounded and sure of your talent.
100% Wrong
It’s not likely, but if you find something that’s just wrong, then own up to it. Don’t lead with it in the viva, but go prepared. Make notes and figure out what would make it right. You don’t need to be perfect, you don’t need to have all the answers, but you can go with a sense of what you need to explain and explore things with your examiners.
Wrong doesn’t automatically mean you fail. Just because something isn’t right in your research, it doesn’t mean there’s something wrong with you.