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Nathan

Non-PhD Vivas

Daily Post

A PhD isn’t the only research degree that has a viva.

The vast majority of PGRs I meet at webinars are PhD candidates but in the last six months I’ve also shared viva help with MPhil candidates, MScR candidates – and a couple of MRes researchers too.

Over the years I’ve also had professional doctorate candidates reach out to me, EngD researchers and more. There are many flavours of PGR that have a viva!

 

A natural question for non-PhD PGRs is “how will my viva be different?”

Let’s start with how they’re the same:

  • Vivas for research degrees have the same purpose. Your examiners are exploring the contribution you’ve made and how capable you are as a researcher.
  • Vivas for research degrees require the same kind of preparation. You need to take time to read, to think and to rehearse – and you need a plan that works well for you.
  • Vivas for research degrees follow regulations. There are ways of doing things and you can learn all about it in advance.
  • Vivas for research degrees always have a little of the unknown about them. There are expectations but you can’t know everything until you’re in your viva.

To explore the differences it’s good to start with regulations for your university. See what they say about your institutional expectations and requirements. Then talk with other people who have been in your situation to get a sense of what that was like.

Viva prep is the same kind of work whether you have done a PhD or, say, an MPhil. You’ll probably do less prep work for an MPhil viva because there is typically less material to read and prepare for. The kind of work is the same and the importance is the same but it might not take as long. The same could be true for your viva too.

 

Whatever your research degree, know that your examiners are prepared. Know that the purpose is the same. Know that you can be prepared and remember that you did the work.

It helps to explore expectations for your viva, whatever your degree, but it helps more to know that you are ready for it whatever happens.

Nathan

Not A PhD

Daily Post

For over a decade Viva Survivors has been geared towards the PhD viva and helping people get ready, but PhD candidates aren’t the only postgraduate researchers who have a viva.

What if you’re doing an EngD or an EdD? Or an MPhil? Or an MScR? Or you’re researching towards another collection of letters?

How do the hundreds of thousands of words on Viva Survivors (and the resources, and the podcast archive) apply when you’re not doing a PhD viva? What changes? What stays the same?

I don’t know – or at least, I don’t know everything.

 

The basic principles of viva prep hold. The ideas of getting ready and building confidence based on your success and development hold.

But the regulations will differ, at least a little. Viva expectations might differ because the general experience of an MScR viva, for example, might not be quite the same as a PhD viva.

But still there is help out there and on Viva Survivors.

Whatever your research degree, read the regulations for your institution. Whatever you’re working towards, talk to people who have gone on the journey before you and ask them questions about what their viva was like. Take time to think about what you need to do to prepare, plan your prep and then get it done.

Whatever you do, ask for help. Whatever you do, take time to get ready. Whatever you do, share what’s helped with others when you’re done.

Then go on and do something even better, because your research degree is only one step in the journey.