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Nathan

Solving Viva Prep

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If 20 to 30 hours of viva prep is about right for most candidates then depending on someone’s plans that might mean:

  • 1 or 2 hours of viva prep every day over the course of two weeks;
  • 30 mins to 1 hour of viva prep most days over the course of a month;
  • At least 3 hours of viva prep every day if there is just one week left.

The last option is probably not desirable or helpful!

The other two could work and more generally you can find a solution for viva prep simply by thinking about your circumstances, needs and preferences.

How much time do you have? What pressures constrain you? How do you like to work?

Reflect on those questions and compare the timings above. Then you can start to think about how you might plan your viva prep in a kind and sustainable way for yourself.

Nathan

Defending & Supporting

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Defending your thesis means supporting your research.

Defending doesn’t mean protecting. Your examiners’ comments and questions aren’t trying to exploit weak points or diminish your work.

Defending means saying and doing more in the viva in addition to the thousands of hours of work that lead to your thesis.

Defending can mean exploring a topic, providing clarity, expanding on details and more.

More than anything, defending might mean saying why. Even if you’ve said it in depth in your thesis and you feel you’ve said it clearly, your examiners could want a little more from you.

Why does your work make a contribution?

 

PS: If you want more ideas of how you can defend your thesis and respond well to questions in the viva then take a look at  The Confidence Issue, the latest instalment of Viva Survivors Select. The issue contains twenty posts from the Viva Survivors archive plus two new pages of viva help and I think it’s worth your time to take a look 🙂

Nathan

What Did You Enjoy?

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When you’re getting ready for your viva there’s both time and a need to explore what was a challenge. Anything that challenged you has some value. You can explore what made it difficult and what you achieved by rising to the challenge.

If you faced problems then it makes sense to consider them again before your viva. You might need to talk about them with your examiners. It then makes sense to write summaries, rehearse and figure out how you explain why something was a problem and what you did about it.

Then there’s your research contribution. What makes it significant? How does it make a difference to your field or disciplines?

 

All of the above are worth exploring as you prepare for your viva but perhaps begin with something simpler. What did you enjoy during your PhD? What did you look forward to doing or come to appreciate?

When you’re getting ready for your viva a good starting point might be to think about what you enjoyed doing your research. There’s plenty of time for harder topics. What did you enjoy?

Nathan

Viva Prep Recipes

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I do a lot of the cooking in our house. Most of what I make regularly is the result of recipes I carry in my head but I sometimes look in cookbooks to check my instincts around cooking times, temperatures and good ingredient pairings.

It also helps me to figure out alternatives too. Will this dish still work if I change the seasoning? Probably. Can I swap tomatoes for carrots? Maybe not. And what do I do if I need to make a big change from the process described?

 

Viva prep feels a lot like this too. There are a lot of good ideas for how to get ready but you have to find something that feels right for you and tweak it from there.

A mock viva is often held around two weeks before the viva date but a week before your viva or a month before could work too with a few adjustments.

It’s common to start viva prep by reading your thesis but journalling or making other notes is equally helpful and valid.

Ask around to find out what others did. Read blog posts for good ideas. Then assemble your own recipe for viva prep success.

 

PS: I released the latest edition of Viva Survivors Select this week. As with today’s post The Confidence Issue has lots of practical ideas from the Viva Survivors archive for building confidence for the viva!

Nathan

Catalysts For Action

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I bought a leather cover for my blog post ideas notebook and it completely changed how I use it.

The cover makes the book feel special. The cover protects the paper notebook so I feel better about carrying it around with me. The cover has little pockets for notes too!

And the cover is an extra reminder to me about what the book is for. It’s one more thing to encourage me to do the work.

Leather notebook cover with a yellow Bic pen on top against a blue background
The cover does mark quite easily!

The leather cover wasn’t that expensive. By itself it doesn’t do the work. It just helps the work get done.

What little things can you do to help your viva prep? What little changes could make you feel more ready for your viva?

By themselves little changes aren’t the work but they help the process along. A small change can be a catalyst for action. It can be an encouragement for or a reminder of what you’re doing or why you’re doing it.

What could you do to help your viva? Make a list of some ideas that might help – then make a choice and take it from there.

 

PS: one more helpful idea would be to subscribe to the Viva Survivors blog and get a new helpful post emailed to you every day!

Nathan

First Steps Of Prep

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Step one could be to breathe after submission and take a short break.

Your first step could be to read the regulations and check there’s nothing unexpected.

Top of the list might be to check in with your supervisor and see what they think.

And if you feel you’ve got a good handle on what you need to do then step one of viva prep could be to make a plan of how you’re going to get it done.

 

There are lots of really good, sensible things that a candidate might do to prepare for their viva. The starting point and the process is different for everyone: it depends on what you need, how you feel and what your circumstances are like.

Take charge though. Only you can take all the steps needed and only you can take the first step, whatever you need it to be.

 

PS: If you’re looking for more ideas of steps you can take to be prepared for your viva then check out my Viva Survivor webinar on Wednesday 3rd December 2025. This is my comprehensive live session on getting ready for your viva. There’s full details at the link of what to expect from the webinar and what past participants think of it. Please get in touch if you have any questions!

Nathan

A Kind Process

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Whatever your situation and circumstances you can make viva prep a kind process for you.

  • Find out what helps viva prep before you get to submission and read your university’s thesis examination regulations.
  • Sketch out a rough plan of what you need to do and how you might need to do it when you submit your thesis.
  • Be generous with your planning and don’t assume that life will allow your plans to remain fixed; work out good milestones for your progress.
  • Ask for help well in advance of when you need it so that you are sure that your helpers’ schedules will allow the support you need.
  • Find time to remind yourself every day that you have got as far as you have by being good at what you do and by making a contribution to your field of research.

Step by step and bit by bit you can prepare for your viva without stress and without unwelcome pressure. You have the opportunity to make viva prep a kind process for you.

 

PS: I’ll be digging into this kind process in much more detail at my Viva Survivor webinar on Wednesday 3rd December 2025. This is my comprehensive live session on getting ready. There’s full details at the link of what to expect from the webinar but please get in touch if you have any questions!

Nathan

Removing Obstacles To Being Ready

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What’s getting in the way of you being prepared for your viva?

  • Not being sure what to do;
  • Not knowing something;
  • Not having support from people;
  • Feeling like there’s not enough time;
  • Feeling like there’s not the right time;
  • Feeling like there’s too much to do;
  • Feeling nervous, worried, scared or unsure;
  • Not feeling as confident as you want to.

 

What can you do about these sources of friction and irritation?

  • Read viva regulations;
  • Talk to your supervisor and your friends;
  • Make a plan;
  • Reflect on your PhD experience;
  • Read a blog post or two;
  • Explore what help is available from your university;
  • Explore what help is available elsewhere (like daily blogs that also offer webinars sometimes!)
  • Reflect to find the root cause of what’s in the way.

 

That last point is really helpful actually: if you know you feel something that’s getting in the way of being prepared and you know WHY you’re feeling it then there’s typically a lot you can do to help yourself.

Figure out why and you can remove any obstacles in your way.

Nathan

Nice Ideas

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“…I’m sorry but that won’t work for me…”

I’m always slightly sad when I hear that or see it in response to a piece of advice or help for the viva.

Please don’t mistake me: I don’t think that someone is wrong for not agreeing to what I suggest! I want to help people get ready for their viva and if options I offer don’t work I’m sad that I couldn’t help.

I’ve come to accept that there is no universally helpful idea for getting ready for the viva. Ideas for making plans might run counter to someone’s preferences or situation; the good idea of having a mock viva might not be practical given a candidate’s supervisory relationship; a particular annotation idea could be a non-starter given the nature of someone’s thesis.

Still: if a nice idea, a tip, approach or piece of advice you receive for your viva really won’t work for you, then use that as a provocation. What could work for you? If a particular annotation won’t help, what might? If you’re not going to have a mock viva, how will you rehearse?

If someone’s nice ideas for getting ready for your viva won’t work for you, then you have to come up with some nice ideas of your own.

 

PS: one nice idea for getting ready for your viva is my Viva Survivor webinar on Wednesday 3rd December 2025. This is my comprehensive live session on getting ready and there’s full details at the link. Also, if you use code VIVASURVIVORS before midnight tonight you can save £10 on registration!

Nathan

Plan Ahead

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Read the regulations for vivas at your institution before you get to submission time.

Sketch out a plan for your prep when you submit your thesis, looking ahead at your obligations and circumstances for the coming weeks.

Assume that you have a good plan as you get to work but review it as and when you do work or your situation changes.

When confronted with several options for how to get ready – or when circumstances change ahead of your viva – the best option is probably the one that allows you to keep as many options open as possible.

The more freedom you have to pivot and change your plans the less stress you’ll hopefully have as you get ready for your viva.

 

PS: if you’re thinking about how to plan your viva prep you can get many more ideas at my Viva Survivor webinar on Wednesday 3rd December 2025. This is my in-depth 3-hour session on getting ready for your viva. Participants can attend the live session, get a catch-up recording and a bundle of resources to help their prep. Also, if you use code VIVASURVIVORS before midnight on Sunday 5th October 2025 you can save £10 on registration!

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