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Tag: viva regulations

Nathan

Not A PhD

Daily Post

For over a decade Viva Survivors has been geared towards the PhD viva and helping people get ready, but PhD candidates aren’t the only postgraduate researchers who have a viva.

What if you’re doing an EngD or an EdD? Or an MPhil? Or an MScR? Or you’re researching towards another collection of letters?

How do the hundreds of thousands of words on Viva Survivors (and the resources, and the podcast archive) apply when you’re not doing a PhD viva? What changes? What stays the same?

I don’t know – or at least, I don’t know everything.

 

The basic principles of viva prep hold. The ideas of getting ready and building confidence based on your success and development hold.

But the regulations will differ, at least a little. Viva expectations might differ because the general experience of an MScR viva, for example, might not be quite the same as a PhD viva.

But still there is help out there and on Viva Survivors.

Whatever your research degree, read the regulations for your institution. Whatever you’re working towards, talk to people who have gone on the journey before you and ask them questions about what their viva was like. Take time to think about what you need to do to prepare, plan your prep and then get it done.

Whatever you do, ask for help. Whatever you do, take time to get ready. Whatever you do, share what’s helped with others when you’re done.

Then go on and do something even better, because your research degree is only one step in the journey.

Nathan

Considering Outcomes

Daily Post

A few loose thoughts…

 

Viva regulations are impersonal.

They give structure. Section 2, paragraph 3, check appendix 2A.

Regulations say yes and no. They specify and describe: this is a pass, this is a fail.

 

But viva outcomes are not a binary. Most people pass, but they pass in different ways. Most people pass with minor corrections, but all corrections are unique, in the same way that all candidates and their theses are unique.

Universities offer multiple outcomes that are passes – no corrections, minor corrections, major corrections and more. Typically there’s only one real category of failure, something that the vast majority of candidates don’t experience.

 

When considering viva outcomes, the point that stands out to me most is that every candidate has to find the meaning and the value in their success. Rules and regulations don’t care: you do.

What does your PhD mean to you?

What’s going to keep you going while you finish and have your viva?

And how will you celebrate your success when you find it?

Nathan

Expectations Matter

Daily Post

Every viva is unique, but expectations show that yours will not be a total unknown.

Expectations provide an outline.

“Vivas are generally like this and not like that.”

Viva expectations shape preparation and build confidence.

The set of expectations you build up are a structure based on regulations and stories.

They build certainty but provide no guarantees.

Expectations matter because they are far better than wondering “What if…?”

And expectations typically show that vivas are nowhere near as terrible or challenging as the vague worries and unverified rumours about what happens.

Read the regulations. Listen to the stories. Ask around.

Find a set of expectations that will help you work towards being ready for your viva.

Nathan

“Not Like I Thought”

Daily Post

It’s one of the most common things people say about the viva.

I believed my examiners would grill me but instead we just talked about what I had done…

I thought I would go blank but it was just good to be discussing my research…

I expected that I would be there for hours and hours, but it was all done by 1pm…

In my experience there is a massive mis-match between what PhD candidates generally expect from their viva and what happens when they meet their examiners. Typically, this is because the candidate expects it is going to be far more dire an experience than it actually is!

It’s good that vivas tend to work out well, but it would be better if people went to them knowing more of what to expect and thus get ready in a more positive frame of mind.

So what can you do? Don’t just listen to the person on the internet. Talk to your friends. Talk to your colleagues. Talk to your supervisors. Read the regulations. Read blog posts and articles describing real experiences. Through all of this try to arrive at a good, positive idea of the viva that is ahead of you.

Nathan

Timing

Daily Post

If you check the viva regulations and talk with friends who have been through the process then you can start to appreciate the possible timing of your viva. Ask how long people had to wait for a viva date and how much time they were given to complete corrections.

Details help because at some point it will be your turn, your time – and like everyone your time is filled up already.

You have work and family and friends. You have responsibilities, obligations and the things you actually want to do. You have enough stuff already in your life and with your viva there will be new things to do.

  • You need to arrange a date that works for you.
  • You need to do the work to get ready.
  • You’ll probably have to do work afterwards to make a final version of your thesis.

Check the regulations and ask your friends to get a sense of when and how you’ll need to do things for your viva. Use the information to plan for how this will impact your life.

Nathan

Patchwork

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Every viva is different because every thesis and candidate are unique. Your thesis and experiences will to some extent ensure that your viva is different from every other viva before or after yours.

Every viva follows patterns because of university regulations, general expectations and departmental norms. There’s a patchwork of rules and ideas for what a viva is supposed to be like that gives every viva some structure. Taken together, each of these elements tells a candidate roughly what to expect: how long it might be, what kind of questions could come up and what the experience might feel like.

The more you stick pieces together, the better informed you can be and the more ready you can make yourself – while understanding that you won’t really know what will happen until you get there. The patchwork of regulations, expectations and norms helps you be ready for whatever happens.

Nathan

Paint A Picture

Daily Post

Every viva is different but knowing what to expect can help you to paint a picture for yourself.

Read the regulations, listen to stories and find out about norms in your department or discipline.

Your viva will be different from every other viva there has ever been – but not so different that you can’t recognise what to do to prepare and what to do on the day.

Nathan

Discipline Differences

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Reading viva regulations and googling about what to expect for your viva can only tell you so much. There are a lot of general viva expectations worth paying attention to – related to the format, the questions and examiners – but you also have to think about your particular discipline, field or area.

Two to three hours could be a useful general expectation for viva length. Your discipline might have a different expectation though, longer or shorter. That’s never a guarantee but it’s information that could help.

In general, PhD candidates don’t tend to give presentations to start their viva, at least not in the UK. But in some fields it is very common, an idea that has become a piece of “good practice”.

Your discipline may have particular questions or a focus on methods that isn’t common in other disciplines. You might not know that until you ask.

Pay attention to general viva advice and regulations, but also take time to ask your supervisors, friends and colleagues about their experiences and what they know about vivas in your discipline. Get as full a picture of what to expect as possible so that you can prepare accordingly.

Nathan

The Wild West Viva

Daily Post

Stereotypes of 1800s western towns are often invoked when it seems like “anything could happen” but that’s really not the case for your viva.

  • Regulations have to be kept to, and can be known well in advance by everyone involved.
  • General expectations for the viva are created by past experiences and the stories people share.
  • You can’t know questions in advance but you can anticipate what might be discussed.
  • You don’t know the outcome until it’s over, but you can have a reasonable belief in success.

Examiners can’t do what they want. Vivas aren’t random or subject to the whims of fate. Read the regulations for your university and ask your friends and colleagues about their experiences. All of this is far more helpful than focussing on the unknown aspects of your viva – or worrying that your examiners might strike you down at high noon!

Nathan

The Chair

Daily Post

It’s not good or bad to have an independent chair at your viva.

Independent chairs are not examiners. They’re often a senior member of staff from your institution who is mostly acting as an observer. In your experience of the viva, it will be like having a teeny-tiny audience making notes. They won’t ask you any questions about your work.

They might ask examiners to move on from a topic if they think enough time has been spent. They might ask if anyone wants to take a break. But really their job is to observe and ensure that your viva is a fair process.

Not every viva has an independent chair. They’re sometimes used if an examiner has less experience. They’re sometimes used as a kind of quality control, checking that vivas are held in a fair way. Some departments or universities always use independent chairs because that’s what their regulations say. An internal examiner can take on some of these responsibilities, which is why independent chairs are not a universal part of the viva experience in the UK.

The best thing any candidate can do is find out in advance what the situation might be for their viva. It’s not good or bad for you: it’s just something to be aware of and something to consider as you prepare for your viva.

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