PhD Viva

Preparing for the Viva

Resources that might help

Viva Survivor - this is a course run at the University by Nathan Ryder. You should be informed when the next sessions are, and priority is given to those students in their final year. Nathan also has an active blog with lots of useful tips, as well as two ebooks, Fail your Viva - Twelve Steps to Failing your PhD (and Fifty-Eight Tips for Passing), and The Viva: Who? What? How?

What happens at a Viva? - Vitae

Vitae's Viva Checklist

Tips for passing your viva - Prospects.ac.uk

How to survive a viva - The Guardian

During the Viva

Essential Practice

All PGR students should be provided with general information about what to expect during the viva in order to prepare them (i.e. an overview of the process, who will be there, how long it might last, what the format is likely to be, etc.). This could be provided by individual supervisors or via an organised session at departmental or Faculty level (e.g. via the DDP).

Departments' arrangements for preparing PGR students for the final viva examination commonly involve some or all of the following:

• Tailored support from supervisors (e.g. discussions about what to expect & which questions may come up, practising answering key questions, signposting students to useful information)
• Offer of a formal mock viva
• Practice of defence of research at Confirmation Review or progression milestones (e.g. interviews or presentations)
• Practice in presenting research and answering questions at conferences or seminars
• Seminars/training sessions addressing topics such as how to prepare for the viva
• Offer of support from the supervisor on the day of the viva, including attending whole viva or just the feedback session with the examiners

Conduct of the oral examination

The oral examination is a regulatory requirement for all students undertaking a higher degree by research. The purposes of the oral examination are as follows:

1. To enable the examiners to assure themselves that the thesis and the research it reports are the candidate's own work.
2. To give the candidate an opportunity to demonstrate that they can defend the thesis verbally, clarify any issues that the examiners have identified and discuss the subject of the thesis in its wider disciplinary context.
3. To enable the candidate to demonstrate a firm understanding of the field of research and thus give the examiners an opportunity to assess the candidate's broader knowledge of the field or discipline within which the thesis falls.
4. To ensure that the candidate's knowledge and understanding of the subject are of the standard expected for the award of the degree.

The examination will normally be conducted under the chairmanship of the external examiner. The oral examination should normally be conducted in English, except in cases where there are pedagogic reasons for it to be held in another language, or where there is a formal agreement that requires the viva to be conducted in another language. Oral examinations should not be recorded by students.

On completion of the oral examination, the Examiners will normally advise the candidate of their intended recommendation to the Faculty.

Attendance at the oral examination

The oral examination is an integral part of the examination process and attendance is compulsory. Failure to attend a pre-arranged oral examination without prior notification to the supervisor and/or internal examiner and/or without good reason or justification for non-attendance, may result in the student failing the oral examination and ultimately failing their degree.

After the Viva

Outcomes of the viva examination

After the viva, the examiners complete a report that is sent to Research Services. This report indicates the examiner's recommendation concerning the award or non-award of the degree. The recommendations are as follows:

• that the degree be awarded without the need for any corrections to the thesis
• that the degree be awarded once specified minor corrections have been completed to the satisfaction of the examiners
• that the degree be awarded once specified major corrections have been completed to the satisfaction of the examiners
• that the degree be not now awarded, but that the candidate be allowed to undergo a further oral examination without modification of the form or content of the thesis
• that the degree be not now awarded but that the candidate be allowed to submit a revised thesis after such modification of form or content as the examiners may prescribe, with/without oral re-examination
• that the degree be not awarded

In addition, examiners for the degree of PhD may also make either of the following recommendations:

• that the degree of PhD be not awarded, but that the degree of Master of Philosophy (MPhil) be awarded (subject only to the necessary changes to the cover and title page of the thesis)
• that the degree of PhD be not awarded, but that the candidate be allowed to submit a revised thesis for the degree of MPhil after such modification of form or content as the examiners may prescribe, with/without oral re-examination.