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Tag: viva process

Nathan

Fair Adjustments

Daily Post

You might need adjustments for your viva to be fair for you.

  • You might need your examiners to use a microphone.
  • You might need them to ask questions in a particular way.
  • You might need to write questions down so that you can process your thoughts.
  • You might need frequent breaks.
  • You might need a room at a particular location or with a particular setup.
  • You might need your viva to be over video or have some other technology involved.

It’s expected that every PhD viva might be difficult. The viva is supposed to be a challenge because of what you’re there to do, the level you work at, the meaning of what you’ve done.

Difficult is reasonable but barriers that limit you engaging with the viva are unreasonable. If you need adjustments to make the viva fair then make sure your institution knows.

Nathan

A Non-Examiner

Daily Post

An independent chairperson isn’t there to examine you at your viva. They’ve not read your thesis and don’t have questions. They’re there to make sure the process is fair and make sure that the viva is following regulations. They might steer your examiners or provide guidance but they’re not there to examine you.

If you have a supervisor present at your viva then they’re not examining you either. They’re there to watch and maybe make notes. They can’t respond on your behalf and they can’t ask you anything.

If you want to know more about the examiners and non-examiners who might be at your viva then look at the regulations well in advance. Get a sense of what to expect, what that means for you and what you might need to do as a result.

Nathan

Similar, Not The Same

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If you hear five viva stories from different people you will spot common threads and notice differences.

If you hear five viva stories from people in your department you will notice examination practices and understand why they are different.

Every viva is different.

Every viva is influenced by regulations, expectations and departmental practices.

You viva will be similar to others, but can’t be the same.

Nathan

Point By Point

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Your examiners will have a lot of questions for you at your viva, along with various comments they will make.

You won’t know them in advance. You can get a sense of what to expect by consulting resources, talking with your supervisors and reflecting on your research. Anything you are asked is purely to help drive the discussion forward and create a space where your examiners can explore you and your work.

 

All of this could make someone feel intimidated but here’s the important thing to remember: you only have to respond to one question or comment at a time. Your examiners don’t serve you twenty questions to start the viva and expect you to keep track of them all. You aren’t given a sheet of comments to work through.

One at a time, point by point, you respond to what your examiners need so that they can confidently say you are good enough.

Nathan

Sudden Problems

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A week before submission you find that a section in your thesis is missing something important. What do you do?

Two weeks before your viva you learn that one of your examiners is cancelling. What do you do?

The day before your viva you find a big mistake in your thesis – you know what the correction is but you can’t change it now. What do you do?

Thirty minutes into your viva you are shaken by a question you’ve never considered before. What do you do?

 

These situations aren’t equivalent to each other. Impact and context matters. In some cases you can ask for help directly: for example, if your examiner cancelled that could be very stressful but it wouldn’t be your situation to resolve alone.

More than anything for any sudden problems the best advice I could offer is to stop: pause and breathe and get past any panic.

What can you do? Before you decide what you will do, think about what your options might be. Can you ask for help from someone? Have you faced a situation like this before? As stressful as it might immediately feel what is the real impact?

What can you do – then what will you do?

You have to do something but you don’t have to do the first thing that comes to mind when you’re experiencing the stress of a sudden problem. Pause and breathe then consider your options.

Nathan

You Can Have It All

Daily Post

You don’t get to choose or refuse questions. You don’t decide how long your viva will be. You can’t arrange the tables just so. You don’t technically get to choose your examiners.

You can’t dismiss a rule or regulation that sounds unfair. You can’t say no to corrections. You can’t change the scope or the process. You can’t decide when it’s over.

All of the above are true, but what do they matter?

You can succeed like most candidates do.

You can do the work before and during the viva. You can show up ready. You can focus on the expectations that make a difference and leave aside all of the above.

You can have everything that does matter by checking a few things out, asking the right questions and preparing. Do what you need to and you can have it all at the viva.

Nathan

Just In Case

Daily Post

Around submission time, if not before, look for someone who can help you if something goes wrong. You’re probably looking for someone at your doctoral college or graduate school, or possibly even your departmental or faculty director of postgraduate studies.

You want the name and contact details of who to turn to in case:

  • One of your examiners cancels;
  • You are ill and need to postpone;
  • You require accessibility accommodations that aren’t being met;
  • You need to check some point of the regulations;
  • Something truly unexpected happens!

Get the details of an emergency contact just in case. You might not need them. I hope you won’t. But you will be glad you have them if something goes wrong.

Nathan

Ready To Wait

Daily Post

After submission there’s a lot of waiting. It’s a good idea to be ready for it.

  • You have to wait to know your viva date.
  • You wait to get started with your preparations at the right time.
  • The wait could feel nervous in the last few days before your viva.
  • You’ll wait to get going on viva day.
  • Wait for the questions one by one.
  • Wait to see if you have the chance to talk about the things you like most.
  • Wait to find out if any sensitive topics or questions come up.
  • Wait for your examiners to decide the outcome in the final break.
  • Wait later to see if your corrections have been accepted.
  • And then wait, possibly for months, before you have the chance to graduate and formally be Dr Someone.

Get ready to wait when you submit your thesis!

Or rather, make sure you have a good sense of the viva process – both before, during and after – so that you know when you’ll need to wait and perhaps how long some of those waits will be.

 

PS: want to dig into the viva process more? Take a look at Viva Survivor, my upcoming live webinar on Wednesday 25th June. I’ll be talking about expectations, viva prep, examiners and a lot more, as well as responding to questions from everyone present. Viva Survivor is a 3-hour live webinar and all attendees get access to a catch-up recording and follow-up materials. Please check out the details and see if it might help you or someone you know. Thanks for reading.

Nathan

Pause to Think, Think to Respond

Daily Post

One approach to engaging in the viva could be summarised as pause, think, respond.

  • Pause first to give yourself a moment. Consider the question or comment. Take your time.
  • Think to explore whatever ideas come to mind. Remember what you need. Put ideas together.
  • Respond to the point, clearly. Take your time to say whatever you need to say so that your examiners get what they need.

Another way to look at this is to see that all three points are linked. You pause to think, taking time to be sure of what you need to say. You think to respond well, being reflective and careful.

Pause, think, respond. Pause to think, think to respond. Whichever way resonates, the connection is that a candidate engages well at the viva when they take their time.

It doesn’t need to be a hard question for you to take a few moments to consider what you will say or how you will say it.

Nathan

Less Than Perfect…

Daily Post

…but you don’t need perfect to succeed in your PhD or at the viva.

  • You need to have worked to produce research.
  • You need to be a capable researcher.
  • You need to have written a good thesis (and submitted it!).
  • You need prepare for your viva after submission.
  • You need to engage with your examiners and the discussion at the viva.

None of these are trivial but none of them requires perfection.

You don’t need perfection to pass your viva.

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