You Are Here

Tag: viva expectations

Nathan

Fired Up

Daily Post

What could get you enthusiastic for your viva? Not just “not stressed” or “prepared” but ready.

Would a piece of music do it?

Exercising in the morning?

A motivational talk from someone who believes in you?

I meet very few candidates who are excited about their viva or even looking forward to it. I think sharing expectations and viva stories can help change perceptions – but, on reflection, that won’t make many people fired up that their viva is coming. They’ll be prepared, not scared, but not excited either.

What might do it for you? Even if you can’t get super-excited, what steps are you going to take to get you further away from worry, closer to happy?

Nathan

What’s In A Name?

Daily Post

Most commonly it’s “the viva” but I’ve also heard people refer to it – the event, the exam – as thesis examination, thesis defence, defending your thesis and of course the full viva voce.

I’ve also heard people call the viva, for various reasons: the interrogation, the End, the final hurdle and “I can’t even say it, I’m just dreading it!”

All of these people are talking about the same thing, but all from different personal perspectives. Whatever label they attach, whatever word they use, influences and reinforces how they think about it.

If you label your viva as “my interrogation” then I can imagine you won’t be looking forward to it. “Thesis examination” is quite neutral, neither hot nor cold. If it’s “the End” it’s possible you’re not being negative about it, but maybe you are. The label – the name – you give to your viva, influences how you think about it…

…but you can change the name. It’s a choice. So if you feel negative about it now, perhaps finding out more about the viva can change that feeling. Getting better expectations – both of the event and how you could be prepared – can help you to find a better name for it.

It’s OK if you just name it “the viva.” It’s fine if you call it something else. But the name always means something.

I suppose what I’m trying to say is: pick the most helpful name that you can.

Nathan

The Best Viva

Daily Post

Not just a good viva: the best.

Make a list of all of the conditions of the best possible viva for you. However long it is, now make another list of the things you could do to help it turn out that way.

You can’t control everything, so try to stop worrying about the things you can do nothing about. There are plenty of things you can do to help yours be the best viva for you.

Make your lists and get to work.

Nathan

Finite

Daily Post

Just because some properties of the PhD and the viva are difficult to count, that doesn’t mean they’re infinite.

There’s only so many papers you could have read.

Only so many ideas you’ve had time to consider.

Only so many experiments you could have tried.

Only a few months at most for you to prepare.

Only so many questions that you’ll be asked.

Only so many words you could use to answer a question.

Only a short time really that you’ll be in the viva.

There are real boundaries. You might not be able to see them but they are there.

You can’t do everything, so think about the finite steps you can take to get yourself from where you are to where you want to be.

Nathan

Viva Day Essentials

Daily Post

At a minimum you need to have your thesis, pen and paper and something to drink for the viva.

Your thesis is there to refer to. You don’t have to commit everything to memory. It’s your guide to years of work.

Pen and paper is for making notes. You might need to work something out, depending on your discipline, or might want to record a question or a thought. It’s good to have it with you.

Refreshments are not always provided. Take something to drink. You could be talking for some time, and as well as staying hydrated you can stealth-pause by taking a sip of water!

These are the absolute essentials. What else do you think might help you?

Nathan

What Examiners Do

Daily Post

Their job.

They read your thesis. Think about it. Make notes. Think some more.

Think about topics that need to come up in the viva. Check some of your references, and maybe do some more background reading. Think about specific questions to ask in the viva.

They think about whether or not your thesis is good enough. They think about what to do on the day of the viva. They write a report and think about what the likely outcome of the viva.

Your examiners understand what this all means in terms of your thesis, the process and the outcome of the viva. They understand what your viva means to you.

Your viva is a big deal for you. It’s not trivial for them either.

They take your viva seriously, and although it could feel overwhelming that they do so much, it really is good for you.

Your examiners do their job.

Nathan

Easy, Hard, Challenging

Daily Post

Don’t worry about whether or not your viva will be easy or hard. Who knows what you’ll feel like on the day, in the moment?

Prepare for a challenge. Two people have read your thesis and are ready to ask you all about it. This isn’t trivial, an elevator conversation or dinner party chit-chat. It’s there to explore what you’ve done, what you could have done and what all that means.

On the day you could find this easy or hard, but it will still be a challenge.

It’s still a challenge even if you are necessarily talented.

Nathan

Once

Daily Post

It’s tempting to build up the viva as an epic once-in-a-lifetime event.

Make-or-break, do-or-die, all-or-nothing…

What about the 1000+ once-in-a-lifetime PhD days that lead up to the viva?

Nathan

Time And The Viva

Daily Post

How long will the viva be? How long should it be? If it’s long – or short – is that bad?

There are norms – two to three hours is quite common – but you can’t know in advance. It could be less, it could be more. Many candidates, I think the majority, feel like their viva passes in the blink of an eye.

The length doesn’t indicate something good or bad. There’s no correlation between the length of the viva and the outcome.

A successful viva is not a function of how long it takes. The time isn’t as important as you are.

Nathan

Serious

Daily Post

How serious do you need to be about your viva?

It’s an exam. You might think of it as the exam, but it’s still a test. People prepare for tests. They don’t, if they’re serious about them, just shrug their shoulders and say, “Oh well, que sera, sera!” But if they go too far the other way, think of it as life and death, then they get in the way of their preparations and their potential enjoyment.

You can look forward to it, people do. You can get ideas from the conversation, make new connections. You can do more than pass.

Your viva could be enjoyable!

So how serious do you need to be? Enough to motivate you to ask some questions – to reflect, to prepare, to think for yourself what you need – but not so much you treat it like a sign of the coming apocalypse.

A little serious then, not Serious.

1 … 90 91 92 93 94 … 104