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Tag: viva expectations

Nathan

A Simple Start

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No candidate needs to have an opening statement prepared for their viva – with the obvious exception being people specifically asked to prepare a presentation! But if you want something in mind to help you feel confident, take time to reflect and practise with the following three questions:

  • Why did you do your PhD?
  • How did you do your research?
  • What have you got in your thesis?

You don’t need a monologue. You don’t need a script. Together, these three questions can provide a helpful reflection to help your confidence grow, and give a simple start to your viva.

You won’t know for certain what question you’ll be asked first, or where the discussion will begin, but between them, these three questions will plant a lot of seeds for how you might respond.

Nathan

Unavoidable

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The viva is unavoidable for a PhD candidate in the UK, but despite rumours and misgivings, a truly negative outcome is far from unavoidable. You can find out what to expect, both the regulations and experiences of friends; you can take time to prepare, to know your work well and reflect on the talent that’s made it.

There’s always a place for doubt about the outcome with something important, a space for nervousness to creep in, but that doesn’t mean some terrible result for your viva. Learn more about what vivas are like and you can give perspective to your concerns.

You can avoid being unprepared for your viva – and once you move past extreme possibilities brought on by worry, you’ll hopefully see that the only unavoidable event in your near future is viva success.

Nathan

Awesome Anticlimax

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I love hearing stories about vivas that were transformatively awesome for the candidate. Not only did they pass, not only did it go well, not only was it enjoyable – it was AMAZING!!!

I love hearing them, but occasionally there is still that little twinge of sadness thinking about my own. I passed, it went well, it wasn’t unenjoyable, but it wasn’t awesome. It wasn’t amazing. If anything it was an anticlimax.

I remember thinking afterwards, “Was that it?”

I think now, particularly if your viva is over video and you’re without a peer community around you to help you celebrate, there’s a chance that your viva could lean towards being an anticlimax rather than totally awesome. By comparison to 2020, the viva – this thing that gets hyped so much for so many reasons and in so many ways – might seem to drop in terms of significance.

Maybe. On the day, or the day after, or the week that follows, however long, there might be a time where your viva feels like an anticlimactic end to your PhD.

But pride will follow eventually.

You’ll recognise the achievement. You’ll realise, as you finally take a breath after it all, that this is something amazing.

I hope your viva is awesome, but if on the day it doesn’t quite hit the heights you were hoping for, I hope that the anticlimax is short-lived, and the awesomeness finds you soon.

Nathan

Viva Expectations: Facts & Feelings

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There are two kinds of expectations you might have for your viva, facts and feelings. In the swirl of thoughts about the end of the PhD, and anticipation for what might happen, it can be difficult to determine whether an expectation is one or the other.

Is it a fact that vivas are long, or is that a feeling?

Are you certain your examiners will be looking for problems or do you just believe it?

Reflect on whatever expectations you have. What do you think you know about the viva?

Which are facts? What do they then mean for your viva?

Which are feelings? What do they tell you about what you might need to do?

What can you do to fine-tune your expectations, to know more facts and to have better feelings for the viva?

Nathan

Stretch Now

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I’m a big fan of the Comfort, Stretch, Panic way of framing challenges. If something is well within your capabilities, it belongs to the first category; if it requires more effort but you can approach it with some confidence then it’s a Stretch. And if it fills you with Panic, then perhaps it’s not something to try for just now.

I think a lot of PhD candidates worry that their viva will be firmly in the Panic Zone. They’re concerned that questions will be beyond them, that pressure will break them, that perhaps the relationships in the room (or over video) will make them feel awful.

It doesn’t matter that most vivas go well – hindsight is great – but what about now? What about when someone is headed for the viva?

Candidates anticipating panic need to stretch themselves. Hoping that questions won’t be too tough won’t help defeat panic. Avoiding more difficult challenges is a way to store up pressure for later. Viva preparation should involve stretching.

For the pre-panic candidate, find new ways to reflect on your work; take time to rehearse for the viva; be open to developing yourself just that little bit more – it might only take a little stretch. Stretching now might help a candidate see that the viva doesn’t have to be a cause for panic.

In fact, it might even be a comfortable experience.

Nathan

Gotta Catch ‘Em All

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My daughter used to be obsessed with Pokémon.

We watched every episode of two series, bought books about them, played with toys, looked through cards, role-played being in the world…

(she drove this process)

(honest)

Pokémon has the famous tagline, “gotta catch ’em all” – which refers to collecting all the different creatures in the world of Pokémon. It’s an attitude I see expressed all the time around PhDs and the viva. People think they have to catch every typo before they submit. Anticipate every question. Read every paper. Perform every test. Do everything for their research, their thesis and their viva.

And none of this is possible. This is fine. You’re not expected to have done everything. Perfection is not the standard.

In case you ever confuse Pokémon and PhDs, remember:

  • Pokémon: gotta catch ’em all!
  • PhD: cannot catch ’em all!
Nathan

Myth & Truth

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There are lots of myths about the viva: they’re impossible to really prepare for, they’re unfair, unknowable, harsh, a hazing, and not that fun.

There is lots that is true about the viva: the vast majority of people pass, regulations and expectations can be found out quite easily, preparation is possible, examiners don’t aim to be harsh – and a viva might not always be fun but it’s usually fine.

Myths circulate among PGR (candidate) communities. The truth is known in PhD (graduate) circles.

You have to ask the right people to find out the truth about the viva.

Nathan

Hopes & Disappointments

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There was a time, thankfully long ago now, when my background philosophy could probably be summed up by, “I’d better not hope for too much, then I won’t be disappointed.”

This was a time when I generally expected that I had to work hard and then hope I achieved what I was aiming for, rather than working hard and seeing confidence rising from my actions.

Hope is good, but hope is not the word you want to have hanging around your viva. Don’t only hope you will pass: know that you will. You won’t be disappointed.

Nathan

Explaining Absences

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If you had to pause your PhD – for medical reasons, for personal reasons, for pandemic-related reasons – then you can absolutely explain that to your examiners. I think it should be enough to say, “Oh, it was disrupted for personal reasons,” and you’re done. A PhD is important, the viva is important, but the work that goes into them shouldn’t be put on such a pedestal that day-to-day human life is overshadowed by them so completely. But you can say more if you want to.

Most of the time, when someone asks me about anything to do with the viva, my first thought is to direct them to think, “Why?” But absence, whatever the reason, was probably quite personal. I don’t think your examiners need to know “Why?” – so perhaps think “How?” instead.

Think concretely and clearly about the impact that the absence had. Did it pause things? There was a gap and then you had to start again. Did you have to change your plans? Explore the differences brought about by the delay. Did you have to leave things out? List what didn’t make it into your thesis.

For absences, reflect on how it had an impact over why it happened.

Nathan

Strange Circumstances

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At the start of the year, having a viva conducted over video would have seemed strange. It certainly wasn’t typical. Now, it’s pretty much the only way they’re happening.

It’s normal to have just two examiners and you present – except when it’s not! Some universities have independent chairs in the room as part of their regulations, some departments regularly invite supervisors as observers as part of their practice. It’s normal to expect examiners to have PhDs as well, but sometimes they don’t.

Your viva, by itself, as an event, might seem strange to you. Unusual. Not the… normal way of doing things. It will certainly be different. Some of the strangeness may be coming from the formality, from the process, from the examiners, from the expectations. Some of it may be coming from you.

If the regulations say X, Y and Z but your situation doesn’t fit, you most likely will not be the first person to have encountered this difference. Vivas over video are normal now, but they were happening before the pandemic. They’re far more likely, at least for a time, but leaving aside the pressure of sudden changes, there were plenty of people around who could share experience of doing vivas over video.

Whatever your circumstances, strange or otherwise, if you need help to unpick what you could do or how you could act, there are people who can help. Check regulations, ask your graduate school, ask your supervisors, colleagues and friends. Ask me!

I think it’s normal for the viva to feel strange.

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