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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

Seven Reasons

Event, Update

I posted recently that I have five independent viva help webinars happening soon so this is a little reminder post!

7 Reasons You’ll Pass Your Viva has grown to be one of my most-requested webinar sessions since I first delivered it during COVID lockdowns in 2020. I love sharing this 1-hour viva confidence-boost and seeing how it resonates with PhD candidates.

Why might this session be worth your time? Here are seven reasons to attend 7 Reasons You’ll Pass Your Viva!

  1. I’ve offered viva help for more than fifteen years to over 10,000 PGRs so I’m not new to the topic.
  2. I’ve shared 7 Reasons You’ll Pass Your Viva almost 100 times – in fact the final session in July will be number 100.
  3. The session is designed to be a confidence boost, concise and valuable, with plenty of time for questions too.
  4. “Thanks, really helpful session that’s helped me feel confident about the viva!” – one of the many pieces of feedback I’ve received about the session.
  5. I’m offering 7 Reasons You’ll Pass Your Viva at a range of times in June and July – including evening and weekend sessions.
  6. Attendees will have access to a catch-up recording to review for four weeks afterwards…
  7. …and receive a follow-up email and resources including my pdf guide 101 Steps To A Great Viva.

Tickets for all 7 Reasons You’ll Pass Your Viva sessions are available now. If you’re looking for viva help then I hope you can join me on Zoom on one of these dates:

One more time: registration for these live 7 Reasons You’ll Pass Your Viva webinars is £20 and includes a follow-up email, a pdf copy of my 101 Steps To A Great Viva guide and access to a catch-up recording of the session.

Thank you for reading. I hope you can join me for one of these sessions – and if this news might help a friend with their upcoming viva then please share this message.

All the best,

Nathan

Nathan

Bad Vivas

Daily Post

I’ve heard many things from candidates that would make a viva “bad”:

  • It would be bad to forget something;
  • It would be bad to get an unexpected question;
  • Having the wrong examiner would make the viva bad;
  • Feeling nervous would be bad.

I’ve even heard that getting corrections would be bad – which is tricky because the majority of vivas result in a pass with some form of corrections!

There’s a difference though between something feeling bad and something being bad.

It’s rare for something to be bad at the viva but there’s a strong chance that something about the situation might feel bad, whether that’s anticipating worry, feeling nervous or being unsure about the circumstances or process.

If something feels bad or something feels like it would be bad (going blank, getting an unexpected question) then you can consider what you can do. Many worry points or “bad” aspects of the viva can be addressed in advance. You can learn more, do something practical or in some cases change your perspective with a little reflection.

If something feels bad about your viva what are you going to do about it?

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

All The Questions

Daily Post

Simple questions aren’t necessarily easy to respond to at the viva. They can be simple because you understand them with no trouble, because they’re short or because they’re expected. You might still have a lot to say.

Complex questions might not be hard. A question with lots of points could be straightforward because of how much experience you have with that topic.

An easy question is just easy. A small question. A clarification. A detail.

A hard question is hard. Opinions. First thoughts. Unknown or unexpected. Not impossible though; asked because it needs to be asked for some reason, never to haze, harass or harm.

Difficult questions are common at the viva. Consider the level you work at. Consider the standard of your significant and original contribution to research. Consider the nerves you might feel and the outcome you’re working towards.

Difficult questions account for a lot of questions at the viva – but you have a lot of experience with difficult work.

 

All the questions you’ll get at your viva are unconfirmed until you hear them. You can have expectations and good guesses but you won’t know until you’re there.

Rather than worry, do the work: rehearse and find a way to engage with any question you’re asked. Don’t just hope you get easy or simple questions. Acknowledge the reality of all the questions you’ll be receiving on your viva day.

Nathan

Famous Last Words

Daily Post

We can express l(Yn) – r(Yn) as a linear combination of annulus diagrams a^m….

That’s how the last sentence in my thesis begins – please don’t ask me what it means!

Where do you leave things in your thesis?

I’m eighteen years past my viva so I don’t feel I need to remember everything now. For you, with your viva at some point in the future, it makes sense to have a good grasp on where you leave things in your thesis.

Many candidates give a lot of focus to the start of the viva: what might those initial questions be? You’ll never know for sure until your examiners ask. You’ll never know the closing questions until they’re asked too.

It makes sense to unpick the final pages of your thesis to look for possible areas of exploration:

  • What are your final words on your thesis research?
  • What future steps could someone take to continue what you’ve done?
  • What do you think of the end of your PhD research?
  • What do you think your examiners will ask?

The final sentence of my thesis was a conjecture. I had a theory, an idea I could never show to be true. At the time I had a hope. Eighteen years on I still have a little flicker of belief that I was probably right.

What do you hope you’ll be asked at the end of your viva?

 

PS: today’s post was a super-specific reflection but if you’re looking for more general viva help then check out the details for my upcoming live 7 Reasons You’ll Pass Your Viva webinars in June and July. The first of these is Wednesday 17th June 2026 and I have four more dates including evenings and weekends. Thanks for reading!

Nathan

Yeses & Noes

Daily Post

I had to look up the proper pluralisation of yes and no for this post!

And when I did it turned out that there are variations: there are several different options for both. Do you capitalise your YES to make it clear? Do you simply refer to a lot of negativity as “nos”? Do you dare to offend grammar lovers by adding apostrophes?

Whatever you decide you have to be ready to say why.

Which brings us to the viva: when you’re sharing what you did during your PhD there are some aspects that could seem as simple as a yes or a no.

Yes I did that or no I did it this way. While it might be simple you’ll still need to say why.

Be ready to share the whys for all your yeses and noes at your viva.

Nathan

Every Question, Any Question

Daily Post

You can’t know every question you’ll be asked in advance of your viva.

You can be prepared to respond to any question you’ll be asked at your viva.

Read your thesis, annotate it well, make helpful summaries to focus on what matters and rehearse – you still won’t know every question you’ll be asked but you’ll be ready for any question that your examiners have for you.

Nathan

Live Webinars, Summer 2026

Event, Update

In brief: I have five independent viva help webinars happening soon.

 

“Thank you so much this was very helpful – I have my viva on Monday and am feeling a bit more confident now :)” – Liverpool John Moores University PhD candidate

I regularly deliver Viva Survivor and 7 Reasons You’ll Pass Your Viva sessions for universities and doctoral programmes around the UK. However, not every university engages me to deliver sessions – and sometimes even when they do there’s limited availability.

So, to create more opportunities for PhD candidates to access viva help sessions, I’m offering a range of dates and times for my 1-hour 7 Reasons You’ll Pass Your Viva live webinar in June and July:

Morning, afternoon and evening slots – and for the first time ever I’m offering a Saturday morning session for anyone who might struggle to attend during the week.

 

“Thank you for such an engaging and helpful session!” – University of Liverpool PhD candidate

7 Reasons You’ll Pass Your Viva was developed in the early days of the first COVID lockdown in 2020 and has grown to be one of my most-requested sessions. I love sharing this 1-hour confidence-boost for the viva and seeing how it resonates with and helps PhD candidates.

Registration for these live 7 Reasons You’ll Pass Your Viva webinars is £20 and includes a follow-up email, a pdf copy of my 101 Steps To A Great Viva guide and access to a catch-up recording of the session.

 

“Thanks, really helpful session that’s helped me feel confident about the viva!” – University of Edinburgh PhD candidate

Tickets for all 7 Reasons You’ll Pass Your Viva sessions are available now. If you’re looking for viva help then I hope you can join me on one of these dates:

Thanks for reading. If this might help a friend then please share this message.

All the best,

Nathan

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