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Tag: viva expectations

Nathan

Saving For A Rainy Day

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That’s one way you could look at your PhD and the viva: throughout all of the reading, research and writing you’re storing up exactly what you need for when you sit down with your examiners. Whatever they bring your way, whatever “rain” comes from them, you’ve saved up enough to get through.

On the one hand, there’s some truth to this. Over the course of your PhD you will have saved up enough to be able to pass through the challenge of your viva.

On the other hand…

Whoever said that a rainy day had to be hard, or that a challenge couldn’t be enjoyable?

Why can’t it be true that you spend three or more years building yourself to be who you need to be for the viva – and then arrive to find it a good experience in it’s own right?

Nathan

No Fooling

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No trick questions. No gotcha statements.

Your examiners aren’t in the viva to fool you or trap you, to belittle you or break you.

Your examiners are there to examine you. It’s in the name! They ask questions to start conversations; they have conversations to build evidence. They need the evidence to justify their conclusions and the outcome.

Trick questions wouldn’t help them get what they need. There’s no space for fooling you.

Nathan

It Might Be Weird

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After years of work it could feel odd to be talking about your research in your viva.

Perhaps if you’ve had a break between submission and the viva, things might feel a bit rusty when you think or talk about your work.

Or if your viva has to be over video it could feel awkward if there are delays, nervous moments waiting silently to get a response.

It might be weird to have unexpected questions, or be weird in advance trying to figure out what questions you might be asked by your examiners.

There’s plenty of space for weird around the viva, but remember: weird doesn’t mean bad. Even if your viva is a little unexpected, a little strange or a bit weird, it will still most likely be absolutely fine.

Nathan

After The Viva

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Thank your examiners.

Take some deep breaths.

Make a few notes about what just happened.

Make sure your supervisors know what just happened.

Call whoever you need to and let them know.

Take some more deep breaths.

Go find a way to celebrate.

And in and among all of those moments, have a minute for yourself to really take in what you’ve achieved in the viva. The almost-end of a long, long period of hard work and discovery. Don’t forget that it wouldn’t have been possible but for you.

You deserve every congratulation you receive.

Nathan

Made To Measure

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Your viva is a unique exam, tailored just for you and your thesis. No-one else will have this one-of-a-kind experience.

But like made to measure clothes, there are patterns. There are ways that things are done. Jacket sleeves stop at a certain point so the jacket fits well. A skirt would be no good if it wasn’t stitched properly. Vivas are unique for the individual candidate, but there are expectations for what they should be like.

Find out about regulations and expectations for the viva, so that when yours comes around you can be sure it fits you well.

Nathan

Overthink

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Try not to overthink the viva.

It’s an exam, but just an exam. It’s an important conversation, but still just people discussing things. They’re asking questions, simply looking for honest responses.

Each question is a chance to add something to the viva, but is also just a question.

Preparation is about getting ready, not being perfect. Photographic recall and encyclopaedic knowledge are not required.

Overthinking won’t help you prepare for or get through the viva.

Nathan

Solved

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Outside of maths, solutions can sometimes be tricky to find.

  • There isn’t a solution for the problem of how to best prepare for the viva.
  • There isn’t a never-fails approach to responding to a question from one of your examiners.
  • There’s no perfect format for opening your viva with a fantastic summary of what’s in your thesis.

There are, however, lots of approaches that might work for all of these for you. You need to sit back, think about your needs, your research, your situation – and your solution will present itself.

  • Your way for getting ready: the plan you need, the tools you require, the space only you can make. Your solution and nobody else’s.
  • Your way for responding to questions in the viva. Not standard scripts but your thoughts put into words. You are the only one who can respond to your examiners’ questions.
  • Your way of summarising the years of work that makes up your research, your thesis.

You have the solution to all of your problems. Advice and expectations help – but if you solved the problems you found along the way through your PhD, you can solve any and all problems you find around your viva.

Nathan

Mismatch?

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I don’t know what I will do if my viva is four hours long!!!

You could ask for a break… And most vivas aren’t that long.

Ahhh, but when the examiners ask me really mean questions what if they won’t give me time to think???

They’ll ask questions but they won’t be mean. Questions might be tough, but they will definitely give you time to think.

And another thing: I’ve spent three years on this, what if they ask me to complete corrections????!!!!

Most people are asked to complete corrections. Most of the time they don’t take too long to do.

 

I’m not being flippant: viva worries and concerns are legitimate and they need to be addressed. In my experience a huge part of worries about the process of the viva comes down to a mismatch between personal expectations of candidates and general experiences in the viva.

You could have an idea about what the viva is like that is radically different from the experience of the viva. You won’t know until you find out more. If an expectation for your viva is troubling you then check it with some friends, colleagues or your supervisor.

  • They may simply say, “That’s not so common.” That won’t dismiss the worry completely perhaps, but it will start the process of working past it.
  • They might say, “Well, actually, yes, that does happen a lot.” In that case you can still start the process of working to where you need to be.

Being worried won’t help you though. Worry is the first thing. You have to work your way to a better place.

Nathan

Video Viva Prep

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Let’s keep it simple.

  • Check the regulations and requirements for your institution. Find out who will organise the viva, what platform you will use and the procedure for a video viva.
  • Practise using the tech. Check you can use the software, so you know where the buttons and options are. At the same time check your wi-fi and internet connection are up to the task.
  • Consider where you will be for your viva. You may have a regular workspace, but that might not be the best place to have your viva. Think about light, think about quiet and consider your options. There won’t be a perfect place, but there will be a best option.
  • Rehearse using the tech. Practise means knowing how the software operates. Rehearse means investing time to simulate the experience of being in the viva with your examiners. Do this to get confident in your ability to manage the practical elements of that situation.
  • Let go of the idea of a video viva being “wrong”. Put to one side the idea that it would be better to have your viva in-person, in your department, around the seminar table at the end of the corridor.

These points are all simple. The last one, however, might not be easy.

Nathan

It’s Not Just You

Daily Post

You’re not the first person to feel nervous, excited, unprepared or whatever you feel before your viva. Ask around, find out how others coped.

You’re not the only person in your viva who might feel nervous, wanting to do a good job. Remember that your examiners also want the viva to go well. And you’re not the only person in your viva who will be prepared. You prepare because you want to pass; your examiners prepare because it’s the right thing to do, to show up ready to examine you.

You’re not the only person who will have felt uncertain during the viva before – so again, ask your friends about what their vivas were like, what they did when they felt unsure.

And you’re not the only person who will feel thrilled when you pass, so consider how you can celebrate your success when you’ve finished.

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