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Tag: viva norms

Nathan

Local Viva Culture

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There are lots of stories that paint a picture of typical viva experiences. Your university has regulations that determine the framework and expectations for how vivas are conducted.

Your department will have a history and culture of viva examination: a way of doing things that is just how things are. If you ask around you can get a sense of the little things that could be useful to know.

Ask staff and postgraduate researchers in your department to find out more about the local viva culture:

  • Is it common for vivas in your department to be a particular length?
  • Are there areas or topics that seem to frequently be discussed?
  • How often do examiners ask for a presentation to start the viva?
  • Are there any post-viva traditions for celebration in your department?

Then, when it happens, your viva will be a unique examination and another example of the culture in your department.

 

PS: I’ll be exploring more aspects of viva expectations this Saturday morning, July 4th 2026, at my 7 Reasons You’ll Pass Your Viva webinar. This is my first-ever weekend webinar and I’m very excited! Registration includes a catch-up recording, follow-up email and my pdf guide 101 Steps To A Great Viva. There are full details for all of my July webinars here. Hope to see you at a session soon 🙂

Nathan

Unique, Unknown

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Every viva is unique because every person, their research and their thesis are unique.

There are regulations, broad expectations and local norms for the viva process so no viva should be a complete unknown. However, every viva has aspects that will be unknown until a candidate experiences it.

There is a tension between what you can reasonably expect and what you can’t know – and that tension pulls you in the direction of preparation and building confidence. Unique but expected, a little unknown but in no way impossible.

 

PS: I’ll be digging into more viva tensions tomorrow afternoon at my 7 Reasons You’ll Pass Your Viva webinar. Registration includes a catch-up recording, follow-up email and my pdf guide 101 Steps To A Great Viva. There are full details for all of my June and July webinars here. Hope to see you at a session soon!

Nathan

How It’s Done

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Good viva expectations follow from considering three sources of information:

  1. Read the regulations for your institution. This will give you the big picture, the formal process and who to get official help from.
  2. Listen to viva stories. Find out more of the general experiences of people who have vivas. From a few stories you’ll get a sense of viva length, flow, process and more.
  3. Ask about local norms. Talk to staff and graduates from your department to get a sense of what vivas are like locally. Are people asked to prepare presentations? Are there any common post-viva traditions?

Good viva expectations are not difficult to find out and can help you unpack how it’s done.

 

PS: if you want to explore viva expectations in greater depth then check out this week’s 7 Reasons You’ll Pass Your Viva live webinar on Wednesday 17th June 2026. You can find full details for all my June and July webinars here. Registration includes a catch-up recording, follow-up email and my pdf guide 101 Steps To A Great Viva. Hope to see you there!

PPS: if you just need to know how examiners get things done at the viva then check out The Examiners Issue. The 11th issue of Viva Survivors Select came out last week and contains twenty posts from the blog covering examiners and two new pages of ideas.

Nathan

Unspoken Rules

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“Everyone knows that about the viva!” – except when they don’t.

Regulations can be consulted but only show some of the picture of what to expect. Your department could have expectations that are assumed as common knowledge. There may even be expectations within your discipline that “everyone knows” about viva lengths, discussion focus and examiner selection.

Everyone knows what to expect – except when they don’t. If you don’t know what to expect or don’t know how something is supposed to be with your viva then find the right person to ask – and ask!

Then, whenever you can, share what you do know with others to help them on their journey to PhD success.

Nathan

Different

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There are regulations that cover every viva at your university: strong ideas of what needs to happen at a viva.

There are viva expectations that filter out into common understanding: patterns, trends and descriptions that guide future candidates (and examiners) in their anticipation and preparation.

There are viva norms for your department or discipline: common ideas of practice for the viva and for what you need to have as a candidate, both on the day and in your past experience.

All of these aspects combine with you and your thesis to create a different viva every single time – and still you might expect your viva to be even more different from other vivas because of your personal circumstances, your specific thesis, your personal needs and more.

 

Get a sense of what might happen from regulations, expectations and norms. Get a sense of what you, your work and your situation might do to make changes from past experiences. Get a sense of what you might need to do or ask for to be ready.

A different viva doesn’t mean a difficult viva or anything worse.

 

PS: checking regulations is a good use of your time when you get to submission. There’s a lot you can do then to get ready and work towards viva prep. If you’re looking for more pre-viva support then take a look at The Submission Issue, the latest Viva Survivors Select collection, out this week, and featuring twenty posts from the archive and two original pages of help for £3.

Nathan

People Like Us

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Seth Godin defines culture as “people like us do things like this.”

This relates to the viva in lots of ways.

Some academic culture comes from rules. The regulations describe how things must be done in a formal way. General viva experiences follow stories: past experiences are shared, become embedded and then show up as general expectations. Examiners and candidates do things in a certain way because past examiners and candidates have done it before.

More particular viva experiences can become an expectation too. The culture in a department could lead to presentations as viva starters, a particular opening question, a way of communicating results or even celebrating success.

“People like us do things like this.” It’s important to figure out the things that people do – and remind yourself that you’re included in that definition. People like YOU do things like this – including succeed at your viva.

Nathan

Unclear Expectations

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Academic culture likes to make the viva seem big, mysterious and important.

The viva is definitely big and important but it’s not mysterious. Every institution has regulations. There are thousands of people every year in the UK who have a viva. There is a wealth of information about it if you look.

If anything about the viva seems unclear then ask questions, read the regulations and generally look to find out more. Send me an email if you like!

Finding out realistic expectations for the viva means you can prepare for it well, feel good about it and know that you are on track to succeed.

So what’s unclear for you? As a result, what will you do to find out more?

Nathan

What To Expect

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Viva expectations are hard to pin down sometimes.

Every viva experience is different, but there are patterns in the stories. Viva regulations vary between institutions but there is consistency around key practices.

More than anything you can build up a general impression of the tone of vivas; you can get an idea of what areas are discussed and what topics examiners focus on. You can get a better sense of all this if you get a feel of what vivas are like in your department or your research area.

It’s important to remember that expectations aren’t guarantees. Past experiences don’t automatically drive future events.

Expectations are a feeling: you feel that your viva will likely go a certain way. Ask enough questions, read enough regulations, see enough stories and you can get a good sense of what your viva will be like. Eventually you know what to expect.

Nathan

Find Out More

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A lot of viva worries come from not knowing what to expect – so find out more.

Read the regulations. Ask your supervisors. Talk to friends, talk to post-docs, talk to people who have been down the path to the viva before and succeeded.

Check online. Read a blog or two. Listen to a couple of podcasts. Explore the many resources produced by your institution and others.

It’s not wrong to be worried about the viva. There’s work to do and academic culture makes the viva seem a bit daunting.

There’s a little mystery in the process and what to expect, but a wealth of information in so many places that can help take away any worries you have – or at the very least help you to figure out what you can do to beat those worries back.

If you feel worried about the viva, go find out more.

Nathan

Map, Compass, Landmarks

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A map can show you all of an area, but to use it well you need either a compass or to have sight of some landmarks. The map won’t show every detail, but can show things that you can’t otherwise see. A compass helps to give you a direction to follow. Landmarks are useful to highlight your position.

This situation is, in some ways, similar to how someone can get a feel for what the viva is like.

The regulations for your university show a lot, but to really get a sense of what they mean in practice you need to find out about the general experiences of PhD candidates – or find out more specifically about vivas in your department. Regulations describe the big picture. Viva stories can help you to understand what to expect – and knowing about vivas in your department can help you see the hyperlocal practice where you are.

Regulations help you to map out the way things are supposed to be. Viva stories give you a direction to follow. Stories from your department give you the landmarks to know exactly where you are.