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Tag: viva logistics

Nathan

Change Of Circumstances

Daily Post

At some point you’ll know the date, time and location for your viva and, importantly, who is going to be there. Typically, a candidate gets at least two weeks notice of the viva circumstances.

Sometimes those circumstances have to change.

There’s a small chance you or one of your examiners will get sick in the days leading up to your viva forcing a postponement. There’s a small chance that one of your examiners, for illness or another reason, might have to cancel their involvement.

Travel disruption could have a last-minute impact. Room availability can change unexpectedly. It’s unlikely but not inconceivable that someone could forget something they felt was needed for the viva leading to a delay.

It’s worth remembering that most vivas happen exactly as planned – and it’s worth finding out in advance who you would contact if something was to go wrong.

If there was a change of circumstances for your viva who would you get in touch with? And are there any potential problems you can identify and guard against in advance?

 

PS: if you have any viva worries then check out tomorrow’s 7 Reasons You’ll Pass Your Viva live webinar on Wednesday 17th June 2026. As well as being a big confidence boost all about the viva there’s plenty of time for questions too. If tomorrow is too short notice to attend then you can find full details for all my June and July webinars here.

Nathan

A Time and A Place

Daily Post

You won’t get to fully decide when and where and how your viva takes place. You’ll be asked when you’re free and what your preferences might be. By then you’ll know who will be involved and you’ll know what it will all be about: your thesis will be finished and you’ll be in the process of getting ready.

The final logistical details of the viva are when and where.

When you know the time and the place just consider what else you need to do. Do you need to go and check the room out at your university? Or do you need to think about where will be best at home? Do you need to decide how you will get there on the day? Or do you need to practise using whatever video platform the viva will use?

When the time and place are confirmed, simply think about what that means for you. What else do you need to check or do?