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Tag: viva questions

Nathan

Not At The Viva

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Expect the unexpected at your viva but don’t expect:

  • Tiebreaks, lightning rounds and top tens.
  • Sudden death, all-or-nothing questions!
  • Written responses, trial by combat and surprise guests.
  • Irrelevant questions, impossible tasks and cunning riddles.

Expect an unexpected question. Expect an unexpected opinion. Expect that your examiners might have less understanding or require helpful explanation. Don’t expect them to change the rules or broader structure of the viva.

Expect the unexpected but expect that the unexpected will still be reasonable and relevant for your work.

Nathan

Offering Why

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At the root of a lot of viva questions and discussions is a why.

Why did you do this? Why does it matter? Why is it helpful?

Why this and not that? Why now? Why did you choose X over Y?

It could be explicit or quiet, it could be a why you have thought about for years or a why you are finding for the first time.

As you get ready for your viva, consider all the whys you know in your preparations. Consider what happens as you rehearse and offer whys in your mock viva and other spoken preparations.

What can you do to help yourself be more ready to talk about the whys?

Nathan

On Opinions

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There’s a good chance, whatever your research area, that you can be asked a question at your viva for which you have no answer. There’s a chance even that you could be asked a question for which no-one has an answer – there are simply opinions.

When you have an opinion – or are called to think and explore your opinion in the moment – it helps to pause and think a little. There’s plenty of time to do that in your viva.

  • You can check something in your thesis if you need to.
  • You can make a note or write down a few thoughts.
  • You can ask for information.

None of this is evading the question: it’s all geared towards you offering the most considered opinion you can depending on the situation.

In fact, to engage well at the viva, whatever the question, pause and think before you respond. Even if you have an answer ready, something you’ve considered and refined for years. Pause and think just in case there is a subtlety in the question that you’re rushing past in your desire to show what you know.

When you’re called on for your opinion at the viva give yourself a little time to respond well.

Nathan

Who Knows?

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If you and your examiners all know about something then you can talk with the same reference points.

If you know something and your examiners don’t then you might have to explain something to them so that you can have a fruitful discussion.

If your examiners know something and you don’t then you will benefit from being ready to ask questions so that you know more and can respond to their questions.

Neither you nor your examiners can know everything! There might be topics or questions where no-one knows the truth and none of you have given much thought to it previously. That doesn’t mean you can’t take the opportunity of the viva to use what you do know to consider and discuss.

Whatever you or your examiners know or don’t know, because the viva is a conversation you have space to think, ask questions, offer ideas and make the most of the opportunity.

 

Inspired by thinking about the Johari Window model!

Nathan

No Tricks, No Traps

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That’s what you can expect most of all from your examiners. They’re not there to ask awkward or difficult questions to catch you out. Their questions are always asked with real purpose. They want to hear what you think, what you know, what you understand and what you can do.

They don’t want to catch you out. They don’t want to haze you or break you. They don’t want to find the edges of your capability and test you that way. Every question they ask is an opportunity for you to demonstrate what you can do. Every question is one more chance for you to keep going and keep showing what your research is all about.

No tricks, no traps – just opportunities to shine.

Nathan

Every Viva Has A Start

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The start of your viva can be prepared for even if you don’t know exactly how it will begin.

There are many questions people suggest are typical for the start of the viva:

  • Can you tell us why you wanted to do a PhD?
  • What attracted you to this area?
  • How would you summarise your main project?
  • Can you start by giving us an overview of your thesis?

Assuming these questions and similar are typical you don’t need to prepare scripted responses. They are the kinds of questions that connect with topics you’ve talked about many times before. They’re asked to be a good opening, something to ease you past any initial nervousness and into the main discussion.

Some examiners ask candidates to prepare presentations to start the viva for the same purpose. They always do this with plenty of advance notice and clear expectations in terms of length, purpose and logistics.

There are lots of possible starting points to a viva. You can be prepared even if you don’t know which question will start yours. More importantly, you can decide how you want to start your viva and take steps to be ready.

 

PS: got questions of what to expect from the viva and yourself? You’ll find a lot of answers and ideas in  Viva Survivors Select Volume 1, which released this week! Volume 1 is my complete collection of helpful viva zines from last year: eight issues, 165 posts from the archives and lots of new resources – and available at an introductory offer price until 31st January 2026!

Nathan

Fair

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What’s fair or unfair at your viva?

  • Is it fair to be asked questions at your viva that you’re not expecting?
  • Is it fair if your external examiner does something different to you?
  • Is it fair if your internal examiner was the only person available?
  • And is it fair if either of them expresses a different perspective to some part of your research?

What’s fair or unfair at your viva? And is “fairness” a useful thing to focus on?

Worrying about what questions might come up or whether your examiner is the best choice is at best a distraction. Instead, bring your focus on to what you can do and what you did.

Is it fair that your examiners have to examine you after a short amount of preparation compared to your years of work?

Nathan

How You’d Start Over

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If you were to start your PhD over again what would you do differently?

If you were to start again what would you do the same?

I don’t know how often examiners ask these questions. I’ve seen them suggested as good general discussion questions but haven’t verified if they’re widespread.

That said, they might be helpful questions to reflect on during viva prep.

 

What would you do differently? Write down three things you would change. Be specific. Say why. Consider the impact of these changes. What else might change as a result? Could you have done any of these at the time or do you only know this with the benefit of hindsight?

What would you do the same? Write down three things you would not change about your approach. Be specific and say why. What was the impact of these actions and why would it be important for you to do it the same again? Were you sure of their impact the first time around?

 

Your examiners need to unpick your process at the viva. It helps if you take time to do that during your prep.

Nathan

Your Research, Your Questions

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Your examiners don’t ask random questions.

They might have some common questions. If examiners typically ask about the methods you used then there will be common formulations of questions that could explore that topic.

When it comes to the deep discussion in your viva the questions will become targeted. They’ll ask about the particular sentence on page 47. They’ll ask you to say more about the summary on page 78. They’ll ask you about the choices you made in Chapter 4.

 

All of which is to say that you and your work lead to the questions you’ll get in your viva. Common, generic questions exist – but they will still be asked about your work. And these questions are small by comparison to the specific and relevant questions that will be directly inspired by your work.

If you want to be ready for the discussion at your viva you could take a glance at questions you’ll find on the internet or be prompted by an AI – but then get to work with reviewing your thesis, take time to create summaries and invest a few hours in rehearsal with others.

Your research leads to your questions at the viva.

Nathan

Tried & Failed

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There was a two-month period in my maths PhD where I tried and tried to make something work. Here’s my layperson’s description of the problem:

  • Imagine you’re looking at two knotted balls of wool;
  • Your task is to compare them and try to figure out if they’re knotted the same way or differently.
  • Now imagine that while you’re comparing them they start to grow.
  • And they also have lengthening algebraic expressions pinned to them.
  • And every time you stop to take stock you realise your notes have increased dramatically…

I tried a lot of different things. I found some results in the process but I didn’t reach an answer.

I tried and I failed.

 

I thought for a split-second-that-felt-like-forever at my viva that this was going to be a problem.

In Chapter 7 you detail your failure at a problem. That’s interesting.

I can still remember the way my internal examiner said it seventeen years later!

It was an odd way to express a point. It knocked me for a few seconds but really he just wanted to explore the situation:

  • What had I tried and why had it not worked?
  • What did I try next and how far did I get?
  • Why did I stop and what did it all really mean?

These were all good questions. I had a lot to say because there was a lot to talk about.

If any of this seems resonant – although hopefully not the knotted balls of wool! – then prepare for your viva with your problems in mind. If you tried and failed at something then be sure you know why. Be sure you can explain why.

And be sure you realise that while it might have been a problem while you were doing your research it doesn’t have to be a problem at your viva.

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