Daily viva help for PhDs
Information isn’t enough to get rid of doubts about your viva but it’s a necessary start.
If there’s something you don’t know about the viva then look for help. Ask your supervisor. Check the regulations. Talk to others.
You need information to feel better about your viva. Once you have that you need to define what the remaining doubt is and figure out what you do next.
Viva expectations can give a sense of the flow, taking breaks and how people should behave.
Expectations can give real certainty for some aspects like the general process, what examiners do and securing reasonable adjustments.
And expectations can show a measure of uncertainty for things like the questions you’ll receive, what you’ll feel and how long your viva will be.
Expectations aren’t the viva: let’s say that together they create a valuable tension.
You can feel sure of some things, have a sense of others and give yourself an opportunity to get comfortable with what you won’t know until your viva is happening.
There’s a tension between the structure of regulations and expectations versus the unique circumstances of your thesis and situation.
Your viva will be unique but not a total unknown. You can have confidence that the process is set up well and also be aware of what you won’t know until the day.
Uncertainty is the tension you feel. Uncertainty is probably the discomfort you feel.
You can’t get rid of it completely but you can ask questions, check things out, ask for help and get yourself ready.
Don’t let uncertainty drive you to worry. Acknowledge the tension and do anything you can to get certainty for the things you can be certain about. Then prepare for the things that will remain uncertain until viva time.
PS: you, your research, your thesis and your viva are all unique. Your upcoming viva experience is a deeply personal thing in how you feel, how you approach getting ready and how you engage on the day. There’s a lot to think about and if you’re looking for some help then please take a look at the latest issue of my viva help zine, Viva Survivors Select 13, The Personal Issue. I hope it helps.
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!
Good viva expectations follow from considering three sources of information:
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.
“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.
Check the thesis examination regulations for your institution before you submit your thesis.
It’s not that long ago that video vivas would have been exceptionally rare. Who knows what else could have changed in the regulations for your institution?
Perhaps the process for submitting your thesis? It’s probably worth checking that. Also check the expected timescale for your submission period, the time and process for completing corrections and a dozen other things.
Don’t rely on the experience of your supervisor or your friend: regulations change or are updated every few years. Make sure that you’re doing what needs to be done in the way that’s expected.
PS: What do you do when you’ve got the regulations all checked and sorted in your mind? If you’re looking for more pre-viva support then take a look at The Submission Issue, the latest Viva Survivors Select collection – twenty posts from the archive and two original pages of help for £3.
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.
The regulations for your viva shouldn’t be hidden but they might not be obvious. Ahead of your thesis submission find the regulations and take a little time to check:
None of these should be especially difficult to answer if you look through the regulations. One final question which might not be obvious though: who would you contact in case of emergency?
If you feel ill the day before your viva, who do you contact? If one of your examiners cancels their involvement, who do you contact?
An emergency might be unlikely but, as part of checking the regulations, figure out who you can turn to if something goes wrong in the days leading up to your viva.
If you have a viva soon then your university has regulations for it. These are updated every few years so make sure you have read the most recent version. Pay attention to what they say about the viva process – don’t simply rely on advice and information from a well-meaning friend or supervisor.
The regulations will paint a general picture of a typical viva. They might also describe some exceptions and what those processes could be like:
Some of these exceptions are not as exceptional as they once were. For example, video vivas might be uncommon compared to 2020 and 2021 but they are far less rare now than before the pandemic.
You might expect your viva to be different from others for many reasons. Maybe your research is explored and explained differently in your thesis. Maybe your own lived experience is not like other people you know. Maybe one of your examiners is not an academic.
Still the regulations will help. Your viva will still happen. Check the regulations, decide on if and how your viva might be exceptional and ask to get the support that you need.
Every viva is unique – and some are a little more different than others!
PS: I released the latest issue of Viva Survivors Select yesterday! The 2025 Issue collects twenty of my favourite blog posts from last year and adds two new pages of viva help. Please take a look at the zine and some pages here and pick it up if it seems helpful 🙂 And please spread the word if you can!