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Nathan

Viva Survivors Select 11

Update

Cover of VSS11, The Examiners Issue, dated June 2026 and by Nathan Ryder. Two towering figures loom over a smaller figure; all are stylised as simple game pieces

It’s release day for The Examiners Issue, the latest issue of Viva Survivors Select!

You can find The Examiners Issue on my Payhip store now. This issue is a curated collection of writing from the blog and I’ve tried to cover every angle: who examiners are, what they do, how they’re selected and how you can prepare for meeting them at your viva.

Page 1 of VSS11, titled HELLO! and introducing the content of the issue

The Examiners Issue contains twenty posts from the Viva Survivors archive as well as two original pages of viva help: a reflection on my own examiners and a helpful quick process for exploring who yours are. This issue continues my plan for this year’s zines to create all of the art myself. I’m very happy with the cover for this month and can’t wait to share the next cover too! (you’ll find it as the back cover teaser on this issue!)

Page 5 of VSS11, titled Citing Examiners. The top half of the page is a short article and the bottom shows a black and white illustration of a figure examining a noticeboard with various images and papers connected by strings

Viva Survivors Select 11, The Examiners Issue, is out now for £3. If you like the blog, want more help and want to support what I do then please consider buying Viva Survivors Select. If it helps you then please pass on details of The Examiners Issue and Viva Survivors Select to anyone you know who is looking for viva help.

Thanks for reading!

Nathan

 

PS: the next collection, The Contribution Issue, is due out on Wednesday 15th July 2026!

And PPS: if you’re looking for even more viva help then check out the details for my upcoming 7 Reasons You’ll Pass Your Viva webinars: you can check dates for sessions over the next six weeks at Eventbrite, and the first session is next Wednesday 17th June 2026.

Nathan

Icebreakers

Daily Post

How might your viva begin?

  • Why did you want to do a PhD?
  • How would you summarise your research?
  • Can you briefly describe your main conclusions?
  • How are you doing today?

These example questions might break the ice at your viva. They might seem easy, challenging or unexpected – yes, some examiners really will see how you’re feeling!

Your examiners are asking a simple question and giving you something familiar to talk about:

  • Why did you want to do a PhD? – because you’ve likely thought about this many times before and told others why.
  • How would you summarise your research? – because you’ve had to think about, talk about and write about this many times before.
  • Can you briefly describe your main conclusions? – as this is something you’ve had to consider in writing your thesis.
  • How are you doing today? – because you and they are humans and they’re checking that you’re good to get started.

Whatever the question, that’s ultimately why they’re asking. Everyone in the room is human. Nerves play a part in the viva and everyone can engage better by starting well.

A simple icebreaker helps the viva to begin.

Nathan

What Your Supervisor Knows

Daily Post

Your supervisor knows what vivas are like from their own experience but they might not have read the latest version of regulations for your institution. Ask them about their experiences and check what the rules say too.

Your supervisor knows what your works means. It’ll help to ask for their perspective. At the same time, you need to do the work to read over your work, reflect and write summaries that will help you think in advance of your viva.

Your supervisor knows who your examiners are and can offer insights into what they do, what they focus on and more. You have to take responsibility for making sure you’re really aware of what they do.

Your supervisor knows enough to be of real help as you prepare for your viva. Respect their time by asking for help in advance and being targeted with your requests. Recognise that for all they know about your work it’s you who is the expert on your research and your thesis.

Nathan

Their Problem

Daily Post

If your examiners have an issue with something in your thesis then their problem is your problem.

Kind of.

Maybe.

First, it helps to ask, “What is the problem?”

Or even, “Is it a problem?”

Another person’s opinion doesn’t mean there is automatically a problem. It could just be a different perspective. Or a question of style.

If there is a problem it might then help to ask, calmly, carefully, “Why is this a problem for you?” Once you know why there is an issue for your examiner then you can start to think about how you can address it. If there is an unmet need you can consider how you bridge the gap. If you have to simply say more or do more then you can think about how that could be done.

Your examiners’ problem is your problem – but first be sure that there is a problem! Don’t rush to solve a situation that simply requires you to listen. Listening first is the way to approach any situation that may or may not be a problem at your viva.

 

PS: of course, you might find something that feels like a problem before you get to your viva. You can approach that with the same calm too and check if it’s really a problem before you get frantic! If you’re looking for more pre-viva support then take a look at The Submission Issue, the latest Viva Survivors Select collection – twenty posts from the archive and two original pages of help for £3.

Nathan

Scoring Points

Daily Post

Your examiners aren’t making a tally of your contributions as you engage in the viva.

That response was a 5… I think we can give a bonus mark for that observation…

They don’t ask harder questions to give themselves a chance to mark you down either. They might make notes on what you say and how you say it but it’s not for points. The viva isn’t a great zero-sum discussion where only one side can “win”. The discussion is built together.

The viva is an exam but it’s not about scoring points.

Nathan

Useful Tensions

Daily Post

Knowing what you know and knowing what you don’t know about your research creates a tension that can help you feel like you know enough.

Needing to be ready for the viva pulls you in the direction of preparation

The tension you feel about your examiners – balancing your experience and theirs – could be uncomfortable. But feeling that can pull you in the direction of a little more work, targeted prep, and drag you towards feeling better.

When you notice the various tensions connected with the viva and getting ready you might feel uneasy or worried. Look closer though and you can realise that these tensions help you figure out where you are, where you’re going and what you might still need to do to get there well.

Nathan

Not At The Viva

Daily Post

Expect the unexpected at your viva but don’t expect:

  • Tiebreaks, lightning rounds and top tens.
  • Sudden death, all-or-nothing questions!
  • Written responses, trial by combat and surprise guests.
  • Irrelevant questions, impossible tasks and cunning riddles.

Expect an unexpected question. Expect an unexpected opinion. Expect that your examiners might have less understanding or require helpful explanation. Don’t expect them to change the rules or broader structure of the viva.

Expect the unexpected but expect that the unexpected will still be reasonable and relevant for your work.

Nathan

Prep Parallels

Daily Post

You’ll do very similar work to your examiners as you all get ready for your viva.

Both preparations involve reading your thesis. Your examiners will be considering it for the first time while you refresh your memory. All of you will be reading it carefully.

All of you will be making notes and writing summaries in some form. You’ll all probably mark up copies of your thesis and while you might summarise various aspects of your research your examiners will write reports ahead of the viva.

You’ll all be thinking about questions although you’ll do it in different ways. Your examiners will plan for questions or topics that they think need to come up. You could do similar but more likely you’ll find rehearsal opportunities.

You approach your viva with a different purpose to your examiners. You’re doing similar work for different reasons but you have a lot in common – including the fact that all of you could be feeling quite nervous!

Nathan

No Tricks, No Traps

Daily Post

That’s what you can expect most of all from your examiners. They’re not there to ask awkward or difficult questions to catch you out. Their questions are always asked with real purpose. They want to hear what you think, what you know, what you understand and what you can do.

They don’t want to catch you out. They don’t want to haze you or break you. They don’t want to find the edges of your capability and test you that way. Every question they ask is an opportunity for you to demonstrate what you can do. Every question is one more chance for you to keep going and keep showing what your research is all about.

No tricks, no traps – just opportunities to shine.

Nathan

Valuable Work

Daily Post

It’s a PhD expectation that you will have made a significant and original contribution to research.

Your work is valuable – so as you prepare, reflect:

  • Who will value your research?
  • What does your contribution add to knowledge?
  • Which journals might find your results and conclusions valuable?
  • What might your particular examiners find valuable?

The last question isn’t necessarily the most important but it is relevant because you’ll be talking with these two people for hours.

If there is something they might connect with then it makes sense to think about who they are, what they do and what they might really want to know – then rehearse how you might share that with them.

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