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Tag: viva expectations

Nathan

Assumptions

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Whatever you assume about your viva will have an impact on how you prepare for it, how you feel as you get ready and what you do as you start talking to your examiners.

Before you get to that point it makes sense to check regulations, viva stories and general expectations: do your assumptions line up with what the rules and other people say about the viva?

 

If you assume that your viva is going to be hard questions and unfair criticism then you’re going to make a tough time for yourself.

If you assume that your examiners are there to talk and listen and prompt a discussion then you might still be nervous but you’ll be able to prepare yourself.

And if, after all the work you’ve invested, you assume that you’re ready then you will approach the viva with a more positive outlook than if you assume you are somehow lucky or just getting by.

 

PS:  very quick announcement that The Survival Issue of Viva Survivors Select is out tomorrow! This is the final issue of this volume and joins seven other collections I’ve curated and released over the last seven months or so. Do look out for an announcement email tomorrow 🙂

Nathan

Keeping Score

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You don’t get points for right answers in the viva.

You don’t get marks deducted depending on how long you take to respond.

You don’t get a final mark – there’s no A, B or 7/10.

Your level of corrections aren’t a grade: they are simply a part of the process.

 

You can keep score for yourself before your viva.

Tally the days you showed up. Count the papers and books you’ve read. Add up all the versions of all of the pages you wrote. Consider how many times you’ve done the practical elements of your research (experiments, models, paper, interviews, hypotheses and so on).

When you consider the numbers of all of these things you can see that you’ve built up an impressive score of your own – that corresponds with your capability, your knowledge and the confidence you can feel for meeting with your examiners and succeeding at your viva.

 

PS: If you want more idea on confidence building then take a look at The Confidence Issue – the most recent curated collection of Viva Survivors Select. Twenty posts from the Viva Survivors archive plus new helpful resources. And the final collection of this volume, The Survival Issue, will be released next week on Wednesday 12th November 2025!

Nathan

Right and Wrong Examiners

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Some academics are definitely wrong as examiners for your viva: they don’t know your subject, your discipline or don’t have the requisite experience. They would never be asked.

Some academics are definitely capable to be your examiners: they are subject experts, experienced and have a good combination of knowledge and ability that means they could do the job.

Some academics might feel wrong to you as examiners: you’ve heard rumours or you’ve got a sense from interacting with them that you’d prefer not to engage with them in your viva.

Some academics might feel more right to you as examiner choices: they have a specific research interest you think connects with your work.

And some academics might be selected as your examiners regardless of whether you approve or not: ultimately, your supervisors decide.

What you can do, in advance of your viva, is think, consider and suggest names. You can express preferences and your supervisors can listen and decide what they need to decide.

Whoever your examiners are, they will be experienced, supported and capable. You will know who they are and know what they do. You can help yourself to be ready for meeting them.

Nathan

The Good Viva

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How do you have a good viva?

That’s a hard question to answer. What counts as good is going to vary depending on what you think, feel and know about vivas. It also depends on what you really want from your viva. If you are trying to get through your PhD and want the viva to be an exam and done then you’ll have a different set of criteria than if you are looking for a rewarding conversation with your examiners.

So on one level it’s hard to say how someone has a good viva when they can have different expectations or desires.

On another level it’s quite straightforward:

  • Do the work;
  • Write the best thesis you can;
  • Read the regulations;
  • Find out what to expect;
  • Do the necessary prep;
  • Show up to do the work on the day.

And that’s how you have a good viva. You do the work and keep doing the work. If you have other criteria that are bound up in your viva being good then you can probably work out steps that will help you get closer to that too.

 

PS: Want to explore having a good viva in more depth? Then check out the details of my Viva Survivor webinar which is running on Wednesday 3rd December 2025. I’ve shared this session more than 400 times and it is my comprehensive live session on getting ready for the viva. Check the link for full details of what to expect!

Nathan

A Special Day

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Vivas are special days.

Like most special days it’s not the setting or the build-up that makes it really special. There are lots of expectations about what special days need – cost, preparation, traditions and so on – but like any other day what makes your viva special are the people involved.

While your examiners are special and particular to your viva you could also have your viva without them; they could have been busy and someone else would have said yes. Your examiners are like the DJ at a party or a celebrant at a wedding: they’re good but there are other people who could fill that special role.

So let’s be clear: you’re the reason why your viva is a special day. You and your work are what make it matter. Prepare and get ready but remember who the viva is for and how you got there.

Nathan

Zombies & Examiners

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Allow me a slightly silly post for Halloween…!

I’ve been thinking about zombies and examiners.

One group can feel quite scary. They just keep coming. They don’t stop until they’re satisfied. If you’re careful, when you encounter them, you can pause to think about how you’ll respond to their approach.

Thankfully they don’t move so fast that you can’t stay ahead of them and they’re very manageable in small numbers. They’re not really something to worry about if you keep your wits about you.

Anyway, that’s how I think about examiners – zombies are pretty scary too!

Nathan

Making Sense Of Expectations

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Viva expectations are the patterns and trends that we find in university regulations, personal experiences and departmental practices. Viva expectations are estimates and ideas of what someone could reasonably experience for themselves.

  • What are they? You can find out. Check regulations and ask others about what it was like for them.
  • How do they apply? Broadly. It’s reasonable to assume if most people get minor corrections you probably will too. If vivas tend to being more than ninety minutes yours is unlikely to be less than an hour.
  • What do expectations mean for you? They mean you have something to prepare for. They mean that vivas aren’t random. They’re unique but not chaotic.
  • What might not apply? You’ll have to explore that for yourself. Your research or needs might lead to a viva that is different from a typical experience. If that’s the case though, it won’t be a surprise and there will be time and support to help you understand.

There’s a wide web of information that underpins vivas. It’s not hard to make sense of it though, either in generally or for a particular situation. Take a little time to ask some questions and make sense of it all for yourself.

 

PS: if you want to explore viva expectations more you could check out September’s edition of Viva Survivors Select. The Expectations Issue is a curated collection from the Viva Survivors archive with twenty helpful posts all about viva expectations plus some original writing to help you get ready.

Nathan

Not For Them

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Who is your thesis for?

It’s unlikely that you have written your thesis with only your examiners in mind. Whatever your topic, structure or conclusions, your thesis isn’t for your examiners. You’ll have another general audience in mind but your examiners have to read it, digest it and plan to ask you about it at your viva.

It’s not for them – but you have to think a lot once it is written and ready about how you will talk to them about it at your viva.

To do that it helps to know who your examiners are. Do a little research into them and their publications if you need to. It also helps to know what they might be interested in. Remind yourself of the regulations and purpose of the viva.

Prepare to talk to your examiners about your thesis but remember who it is really for.

Nathan

Making Mistakes

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It’s important if you find a mistake after submission that you take a little time to think about the correction. Other people – including your examiners – might think you are unprepared.

It’s important to correct any mistakes after your viva because otherwise you won’t pass!

 

It’s not important generally whether you have things to correct or not. Writing is hard. Doing research is hard. Bringing those difficulties together makes making mistakes almost inevitable.

It’s important to know what’s important at your viva. You can work hard, proofread and do your best. Did you make mistakes or not spot some typos? That’s OK, so long as you’re prepared.

You did something that matters in your research – and that’s far more important than a few mistakes that can be corrected.

 

PS: The Confidence Issue, the most recent issue of Viva Survivors Select, has a lot about focussing on what matters. Do you want to know how to build confidence for your viva? Do you want ideas on how to respond well to questions from your examiners? Then take a look at this curated collection of twenty posts from the Viva Survivors archive plus two new helpful resources!

Nathan

Crossing A Line

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Some PhD candidates worry about getting something wrong at the viva because they don’t know what they need to do to get it right.

Does that resonate? If it does you don’t have to do a lot to get rid of the worry.

  • Read the regulations for your institution;
  • Talk with friends and colleagues about their viva experiences;
  • Ask your supervisors if your department has any particular viva practices.

These three sources are enough to figure out a useful sense of what to expect. You’ll see that there are no hidden red lines, no secrets and no terrible traps waiting ahead.

You’re unlikely to cross a line. Get things right at your viva by learning that there’s nothing really you can get wrong.

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