Daily viva help for PhDs
If you can honestly say that you tried hard, learned lots and did the work for your PhD then that’s enough. If you can say that despite challenges and obstacles, setbacks and worse, that you did your best throughout your PhD then that’s enough.
Your determination, knowledge and capability helped you to keep going. That will help you to get ready for your viva.
Ultimately, it’s what will lead you to succeed in your viva.
Your best is enough.
Some examiners say harsh things…
Some examiners don’t prepare well…
Some examiners treat the viva as box-ticking…
Some examiners use the viva as an opportunity to be cruel…
I can’t dispute the possibility of these kinds of statements. I’ve heard them before and I’ve heard fragments of enough stories to know that these statements are true.
…for some examiners.
Not all. Not most. In fact, only for a tiny percentage.
The vast majority of academics who take on an examiner responsibility try to do it well. The vast majority prepare and plan and get ready. They’re careful and thorough. Being asked questions might not always be comfortable – but the atmosphere in the viva is not totally dictated by examiners.
Some examiners could be described as not doing the job well.
Most examiners will do what’s appropriate.
Don’t let the rare exception skew your expectations.
Day two of my best of posts for 2024. I am very fortunate to have time to think about and write about the viva.
I like to try and consider the viva from as many angles as possible, which leads to posts like today’s that reflect on the overall viva experience.
How have you been thinking about your viva over the last year? And how do you think you might need to change your thinking?
It’s not unusual to feel that the viva is a bit of an anticlimax.
It takes a lot to submit a thesis. It takes work to prepare for a viva. There’s a lot of anticipation and a lot of feelings-
-and then it’s over.
Two, three or four hours. They could be tough. They could be a nice chat. The viva could feel long or short. The questions could be a natural part of a conversation or feel like a challenging exercise.
But your viva will be over before you know it. You’ll most likely succeed.
Then what?
It’s one day. A few hours of one day. One challenge after years of challenges.
Get the viva in the right perspective. Find out what other people experience so you know what you can reasonably expect. Plan to do something to celebrate so that even if the viva makes you say, “…was that it?!” you still have something to look forward to.
What would make your viva a good experience?
None of the above are irrational. Many of them might be beyond your control though.
Your viva can be a good experience. Focus on being prepared, not on the aspects that you can’t know or can’t control.
There was a time when I would have described my PhD journey as incredibly lucky. Somehow, I made it through.
I had months where it seemed like nothing worked. Weeks where I couldn’t figure out how to get something simple done.
I don’t think it’s a coincidence that I arrived at viva time and felt a lack of confidence in myself. How could I feel good about my chances of success when I had somehow bumbled my way to submission?
I had a little confidence that my thesis had some good results – but what about me? Was I any good?
Sixteen years later, a little hindsight and a lot of self-reflection and I feel differently.
I wasn’t perfect but I worked hard. It wasn’t luck that got me through but I had my share of good fortune. I had funding, I had a good supervisor and I found topics to explore that lead to interesting results. I developed myself and my research.
But I didn’t see it that way at the time. I just kept thinking, because of all the challenges in my projects, that somehow I was “luckily” making it through.
If you’re looking for confidence for your viva start by reflecting on the journey. Recognise the work you’ve done. Appreciate the good fortune you’ve encountered. Highlight the success that you have made.
There’s no way you can get to submission by simply bumbling along.
Success at your viva is not directly determined by:
Success isn’t directly determined by any of these numbers but your capability and confidence can be helped by simply considering just how much you’ve done to complete your PhD.
Run the numbers. Reflect on how much you’ve done, how far you’ve come and what that all means for you and your viva.
Thesis corrections are part of the PhD journey for most candidates.
The way they’re talked about often makes corrections sound like one of the worst possible aspects of the viva process – as if they were so undesirable as to make all other parts of the experience better by comparison. Maybe it’s as simple as the fact that they’re a continuation of the viva: corrections are something you have to do even though it’s all supposed to be over.
Most candidates get corrections – so all candidates need to be prepared to do them.
Most candidates get minor corrections – so all candidates need to keep that in mind when thinking about the viva and the weeks that will come immediately after it.
In most cases corrections are a very small part of the journey.
PS: another common part of the journey is success at the viva. To find out why that happens and what you can do to get ready, take a look at Viva Survivor, my live webinar running this Thursday 5th December 2024. The registration deadline is Wednesday 4th at 5pm so register soon if you want to attend!
Viva prep involves shifting the kind of work you were doing to submit your thesis to the kind of work that will help you be ready for your viva.
Viva prep operates at a different scale. Perhaps a few dozen hours are needed in total compared to the weeks and weeks of effort to get your thesis finished for submission. Viva prep requires focus on a few helpful activities while submission preparations need overall awareness that everything is done and nothing is missed. Viva prep benefits from a break to rest but submission can feel like there is no time to pause.
Submission is a challenge. The viva is a challenge. Both come in quick succession, relatively speaking, but both come after years of experience of someone rising to meet a challenge. If you work through to submission you can shift your attention and work through viva prep.
And then succeed one more time in the viva.
There’s a lot of fresh thinking in and around the viva.
Your thesis has to contain a significant and original contribution; there must be something new and fresh in it.
To get ready for the viva you have to look again at what you’ve done and try to explore it in different ways to be ready for your examiners.
Then your examiners will likely have fresh questions at the viva. You will have a lot of experience of talking about your work but it’s probable you’ll face a question or idea you’ve never considered before.
There’s a lot of fresh thinking in and around the viva – but thankfully you have a lot of knowledge, understanding and experience.
PS: your significant original contribution is a big discussion point for the viva – find out what else to expect at Viva Survivor, my live webinar on Thursday 5th December 2024!