how to prepare for your phd viva

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How to survive a PhD viva: 17 top tips

Just handed in your PhD thesis? Now it’s time to plan for the next hurdle: a viva. Academics offer their advice on how to best prepare

Finishing your PhD thesis: tips from those in the know
The key to a successful PhD thesis? Write in your own voice
PhD: so what does it really stand for?

H anding in your PhD thesis is a massive achievement – but it’s not the end of the journey for doctoral students. Once you’ve submitted, you’ll need to prepare for the next intellectually-gruelling hurdle: a viva.

This oral examination is a chance for students to discuss their work with experts. Its formal purpose is to ensure that there’s no plagiarism involved, and that the student understands and can explain their thesis. It involves lots of penetrating questions, conceptually complex debates and is infamously terrifying.

How can PhD students best prepare? We asked a number of academics and recent survivors for their tips.

Preparing for the viva

1) Check your institution’s policies and practices

Institutional policies and practices vary. Find out who will attend your viva (eg will a supervisor attend, will there be an independent chair?) and what their roles are. Penny Tinkler and Carolyn Jackson, authors of The Doctoral Examination process: A Handbook for Students, Examiners and Supervisors

2) Re-read your thesis – and keep up-to-date with research

Don’t underestimate the amount of time the examiners will have spent reading and thinking about your thesis – however, you should remember that you are still likely to be the “expert in the room” on this particular topic. Check to see if any relevant recent papers have emerged since submitting the thesis and, if so, read these. Dianne Berry, dean of postgraduate research studies, University of Reading

3) As an examiner, you tend to stick to things you’re an expert in when driving the questioning

Your viva panel will consist of an external expertise in your subject area and an internal which may be in a subject field associated or directly related to yours. The external examiner is the one who mainly calls and fires all the shots and so it’s pretty important to have a knowledge of their published contributions, especially those that are related to your thesis in any way. Dr Bhavik Anil Patel, senior lecturer in physical and analytical chemistry

4) Think about what you will or won’t defend

Consider carefully what you will defend to the hilt in the viva, and what you are prepared to concede. It’s important to defend your claims about the originality of the thesis and its contribution to knowledge. However, no research is perfect, and showing that you have considered what could have been done differently, or even better, is not a bad thing. Penny Tinkler and Carolyn Jackson, authors of The Doctoral Examination process: A Handbook for Students, Examiners and Supervisors

5) Draw up lists of possible questions – especially ones you dread

I collected questions from a bunch of different places ( listed here ) which I then tailored to my PhD. Somebody I worked with also recommended that I put together my 10 nightmare questions. I found this really useful, by writing down and thinking about my dreaded questions, they were no longer so bad – it was almost as if I’d faced the beast.

Generally speaking, I was able to predict the questions that I was asked. There were a couple that were unexpected but they were either conceptual points or based on literature that I just didn’t know. Richard Budd, research assistant, University of Bristol who sat his viva in summer 2014 and has blogged about the experience

6) It’s not like sitting at a laptop where you can edit a sentence as you go along

By the time you finish your PhD you’ll know your thesis inside out. One of the things you won’t be as practised at is talking about it. When I was preparing for my viva, I practised vocalising answers. It’s not a case of needing to learn to answers verbatim – this would only work as a technique if you could guarantee the exact way your examiner will ask a question – but it is about thinking about how you will articulate certain things. A viva isn’t like sitting at a laptop where you can edit a sentence as you go along. Richard Budd, research assistant, University of Bristol who sat his viva in summer 2014 and has blogged about the experience

7) Bring a printed copy that is exactly the same as that of your examiners

Ensure you and your supervisor have a printed copy that is exactly the same as that of your examiners (specifically the same pagination). Mark with tabs the key sections and highlight for reference important quotes and points you might want to refer to. If you have some key diagrams it may help to have these printed larger on A4 sheets that can be used in a discussion.

There is a chance, albeit slim, that an examiner will wish to see some piece of experimental data, software, or other supporting evidence. Have this all neatly archived and accessible. You can do this after submission. Anthony Finkelstein, dean of the UCL faculty of engineering sciences who has blogged about surviving vivas

During the viva

8) Get off to a good start

Give a few detailed answers in the opening 15 minutes, demonstrating knowledge, describing your thinking and working - then the examiners are likely to relax into the viva. If the first few answers are short and non-specific, not demonstrating knowledge, this can begin to raise concerns, and that can set the tone for the whole viva. This is avoidable. Rowena Murray, author of How to Survive Your Viva: Defending a Thesis in an Oral Examination

9) Prepare for the icebreaker

Every viva opens with that dreaded icebreaker that is supposed to break you in gently but often seems to be the thing that gets students into a pickle. It’s so basic, students almost forget about it. Most often this would be to give a five to 10 minute introduction to your work and your key findings. This is such a common question that not preparing for it would be silly. Dr Bhavik Anil Patel, senior lecturer in physical and analytical chemistry

10) Silence doesn’t mean bad news

Don’t assume that you will be given any indication of the outcome at the start of the viva. The examiners may or may not offer comments on the thesis at this stage and candidates should not interpret a lack of comments at this point as a negative sign. In some cases institutional policy prohibits it. Penny Tinkler and Carolyn Jackson, authors of The Doctoral Examination process: A Handbook for Students, Examiners and Supervisors

11) Don’t point out your own weaknesses

Avoid shooting yourself in the foot by highlighting the weaknesses in the thesis by being overly humble (eg “I didn’t think this would be an acceptable piece of research given the way I handled x or y”) or by saying what you “failed to achieve” or “did not manage to carry out in a robust manner” etc. Leave that to the examiners to pick up in their reading, they don’t need help. Dr Mariana Bogdanova, lecturer in management, Queen’s University Belfast

12) Don’t talk like a politician There’s a danger of trying to over-prepare. Don’t learn answers off by heart – it removes the spontaneity and is obvious to examiners. If a student has pre-prepared answers they become a bit like politicians, answering questions they weren’t asked rather than the ones they were. I have come across mixed views on mock vivas. Some people really like them – and they can settle nerves – but other times it can remove spontaneity and steal your thunder. Jerry Wellington, head of research degrees at University of Sheffield and author of Succeeding with Your Doctorate

13) You may need to move from friendly questions to complex debates

Vivas can appear friendly and then suddenly go very conceptually complex. The language used is an alternation between accessible normal language and really specialised arguments. The student needs to be able to move orally between the two. Gina Wisker, professor of higher education and contemporary literature at Brighton University

14) If things get on top of you, use the excuse of having a look at the thesis

Make sure that before the viva you get plenty of sleep, eat properly and de-stress. If things get too much when you’re in there, use the excuse of having to look something up in your thesis. You could also pause and say “Can I write that down for a moment?” Stall for time until you get yourself back together again. Gina Wisker, professor of higher education and contemporary literature at Brighton University

15) Focus on your contribution

One of the most important things that the examiners will be looking for in your thesis, is the “contribution to knowledge”. It is the contribution which makes your work doctoral level. Be sure that you understand exactly what your contribution is, and that you are able to express and explain it clearly and concisely.

Write it down in a paragraph. Discuss it with you supervisor and fellow students. Make sure that you can relate your contribution to other work in your field and that you are able to explain how your work is different. Peter Smith, author of The PhD Viva

16) Expect your viva to last between one and three hours

Students frequently ask how long the viva is likely to be. Obviously they vary. Discipline differences are important. Our research suggests that most natural and applied sciences vivas were completed in one to three hours, whereas arts, humanities and social science vivas were typically less than two hours long. In the natural and applied sciences 43% of vivas lasted two hours or less, compared to 83% in arts, humanities and social sciences. Penny Tinkler and Carolyn Jackson, authors of The Doctoral Examination Process: A Handbook for S tudents, Examiners and Supervisors

17) Enjoy it

The best advice I ever got was “Try to enjoy it”. It seemed ludicrous at the time, but I actually found myself really getting into the discussion as the viva went on. It’s one of the earliest chances you get to talk to someone who not only informed your research (ideally) but is also conversant with your own. It’s a great chance to explore the contours of your research – treat it as such, and it doesn’t seem quite so daunting. Michael James Heron, school of computing science and digital media, Robert Gordon University

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Defending your doctoral thesis: the PhD viva

Format for defending a doctoral thesis.

Every institution will have specific regulations for the thesis defence. In some countries or institutions, the convention is for thesis defences to be public events where you will give a lecture explaining your research, followed by a discussion with a panel of examiners (opponents). Both your examiners and the audience are able to ask questions.

In other countries, including the UK, the oral examination is usually conducted behind closed doors by at least two examiners, usually with at least one being from another institution (external examiner) and an expert in your topic of research. In the UK the supervisor does not participate in the viva, but may be allowed to observe. Sometimes someone from your own institution is appointed as an independent chair. Although it is now becoming more common for the candidate to have an opportunity to give a public lecture in UK institutions, this does not form part of the examination and may or may not be attended by the examiners.

Viva preparation

Take the preparation for your viva seriously and devote a substantial amount of time to it. The viva preparation checklist may be useful to help you prepare.

Your institution may offer courses on viva preparation and there may be opportunities to organise a practice viva. Take advantage of these opportunities: they can be extremely valuable experiences.

Things you may wish to take with you

your thesis – mildly annotated if you wish
a list of questions that you might be asked and your planned responses
any questions that you want to ask your examiners
additional notes which you have made during your revision
list of minor corrections that you have come across during your revision.

During the viva

Your study will have strengths and weaknesses: it is essential that you are prepared to discuss both. You could think of any weaknesses as an opportunity to demonstrate your skill at critical appraisal. Examiners will seek to find and discuss weaknesses in all theses. Do not interpret criticism as indication of a possible negative outcome.

Examiners have different personalities, styles and levels of experience. Sometimes a candidate may feel that a challenge is made in a confrontational way. Experienced, effective examiners will not be inappropriately confrontational, but some will. Do not take offence. A relaxed, thoughtful, and non-confrontational response from you will help re-balance the discussion. Having an independent chair can help maintain a constructive environment.

Useful tips for during your viva:

Ask for clarification of ambiguous questions or ask for the question to be repeated if necessary
Take time to think before answering
Be prepared to ask questions and enter into a dialogue with your examiners
Be prepared to discuss your research in context of other work done in your field
Be ready to admit if you don't know the answer to a question
Be prepared to express opinions of your own

You are not expected to have perfect recall of your thesis and everything that you have read and done. If you get flustered, or need to refer to notes your examiners will understand. They have been in your situation themselves!

After your viva

There are several possible outcomes of a thesis defence. Most commonly, your examiners will recommend to your institution that you are awarded your degree subject to minor corrections, although in some instances they might ask for more substantial work.

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5 Tips for Preparing for Your PhD Viva

By Zebastian D.
December 13, 2019

You’ve just passed a massive milestone: writing and submitting your PhD thesis. This has been the culmination of at least three years of work and is definitely a cause for celebration. But the journey’s not fully over just yet – you still have the viva to pass. In the UK the viva usually lasts a few hours and involves a detailed discussion of your thesis with two expert examiners; your primary supervisor may or may not sit in this. Expect the viva to be tough – you’ll need to be able to defend your PhD thesis and respond to questions designed to probe your understanding of your subject. But if you prepare for it well, you’re likely to come out of it having had an enjoyable experience discussing your work with people genuinely interested in your project.

Here are some tips to help you prepare for the day.

1. Know Your Thesis

You should expect your examiners to have spent a considerable about of time going through your PhD thesis and the content of it will be fresh in their mind; make sure it’s fresh in yours too. Yes, you’re the one that’s written it but, if you’ve planned well , you may have written some of your chapter content quite a while ago. Equally, I would definitely recommend checking to see if any new papers in your field have been published since writing your chapters and submitting your thesis.

2. Know Your Examiners

Your examiners will be experts in their fields, and at least one (if not both) will be experts in the same field of your research. Make sure you look up papers they’ve published and think about how they fit in with your work. It’s likely that some of their line of questioning in the viva will be based around their contributions to the research area.

3. Think of Possible Questions

It’s a good idea to spend time with your supervisor to think of possible questions the examiners may ask you. In particular, can you predict the tough questions that might come your way and how you might best answer them? Are there any areas within your work that you would consider as limitations for your studies and that you should be prepared to acknowledge? Some preparation here and even a mock interview will go a long way in making the actual thing feel easier.

4. Bring a Copy of Your Thesis

Make sure you have your own printed copy of your PhD thesis that you bring along with you to the viva. Make notes and highlight pages and sections within it that you especially want to bring attention to. You might also find it useful to print separate larger copies of key results (e.g. graphs or figures) that you think would be useful to discuss. Some props that help explain concepts (if relevant) can also be a brilliant way to guide the discussions to areas you’re most comfortable with.

5. Focus on Your Strengths

Try to view the viva as an opportunity to showcase the new knowledge you have added to your field of research. Focus on the positives that have come out of your work; all projects will have some areas of weakness but there’s no need to highlight these to your examiners unless directly asked about them. Coming into your viva with one or two papers published (if possible) is a great positive – it’ll give you confidence that your work has already stood up to peer-review and is a very good way to present your contributions to research.

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5 tips for passing your PhD viva

Every Doctoral researcher is expected to defend their thesis through an oral test - so discover how to prepare for your PhD viva and ensure you make a good impression on the examiners

What is a PhD viva?

A viva voce is an oral test, which literally translated means 'with the living voice'. It's a focused discussion giving you the opportunity to present your PhD thesis and then defend it in front of a panel of academic experts.

1. Understand what's expected of you

Traditionally, your thesis would always be discussed in person, with the interview style viva exam overseen by at least two (internal and external) examiners. Afterwards, they would provide you with a joint written report detailing any corrections that need to be made.

However, following the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the online PhD viva has become more commonplace with this examination more likely to take place via Microsoft Teams, Skype or Zoom.

The virtual experience will still typically follow the same format, but you'll be briefed in advance about the arrangements and any technical aspects to bear in mind. You can prepare for an online PhD viva by reading our video interview tips .

The chair of the viva is usually the internal examiner, although it can be an independent person. If you and the examiners agree, your PhD supervisor can also be present.

The examiners' main objective is to ascertain that you've written your own thesis, so if you have and are ready to talk through how you completed it, there's no need to panic. You may even enjoy the viva voce test.

In addition to assessing your thesis, the examiners are also there to assist you in deciding how and where this research might be published.

There are various results between a 'pass' and 'fail' but it's very rare to slip up at this point of a PhD. Most Doctorate awards will be made upon the condition that a number of minor corrections are made, with re-submission requests far less common.

However, while the pass rate is high, the viva exam itself can still be intellectually demanding. This is because you'll be debating issues that are conceptually complex, so preparation is crucial to your success.

At the end of it, whatever the outcome, be prepared to take on board any advice, as the examiners are there to help you improve your argument or the presentation of your thesis.

2. Know your thesis inside out

While you can be sure this isn't a memory test - as you're fine bringing notes and a copy of your thesis with you to the PhD viva - it's still important to gain a good understanding of what you've written and be knowledge about your field of study.

You'll need to think carefully about where this original piece of work would be placed in the context of the wider body of research carried out in this field. Questions will surely be asked about this, as well as whether the project could possibly be developed further through any future research.

As you'll be explaining parts of the document to the examiners (who'll also have a digital or physical copy), make sure the pagination is the same in your version as the one they're looking at to avoid any issues regarding everybody being on the same page.

If you get stuck at any point during the viva exam, you can use looking at the thesis as an excuse to re-focus and gather your thoughts.

3. Anticipate the viva questions

The examiners will have prepared a series of questions for you to answer at the viva voce, but this is nothing to get too concerned about. The questions will all be based on your thesis - what it's about, what you did and what you found out - and why this matters, in relation to your field of study.

So when getting ready for the viva, consider the types of questions you're likely to be asked, including:

What original contribution has your thesis made to this field of study?
Explain the main research questions you were hoping to address.
What are the strengths and weaknesses of your thesis?
If you had to start the thesis again, what would you do differently?
If funding was no object, describe how you'd follow on from this project.
What are your plans for the future?

It can be helpful to practise your answers beforehand, ideally vocalising them by arranging a mock mini viva - although, as you aren't restricted in terms of referring to notes in the exam, you can leave room for spontaneity, and you don't need to learn it all off by heart. If your viva is being held online, you can ensure any technical issues are identified before the day by having a run through with your supervisor or a friend.

While it may sound simple, stick to answering the questions posed. It's really easy to go off on a tangent and this can open up other lines of enquiry from the examiners - possibly in areas you hadn't expected to be quizzed about.

On the other hand, it's completely fine to bring personality to your reasoning and use stories as a means of describing the learning process you've gone through and the techniques mastered over the last three or four years that have brought you to this point.

4. Learn about your examiners' own work

The senior and well-respected academics who'll be reading your thesis will have their own ideas on conducting PhD standard research. Therefore, it's worth taking a look online at their academic profiles to discover if there's any correlation with the research they've had published and your own work.

From this, you should be able to gain a better idea of their motivations, their possible views on your thesis and the kinds of questions they might wish to discuss after having read through it.

You should research up-to-date theories, read any recent papers on the subject and speak to others who've recently had their own viva exam. Think about how your work differentiates from the research carried out by others in your chosen field.

Prepare to provide any supporting evidence asked of you by the examiners - for example, they may request to see experimental data you mention once the exam is over.

It's also necessary to check the policies and practices in place at your university and be sure of what the roles of the examiners are and how the viva panel will be structured. In many cases, Doctoral students can choose the examiners conducting the PhD viva.

5. Plan towards the viva exam

From the moment you know the date of your viva voce, work backwards and plan the steps you'll need to take before the day itself. Allow enough time to assess and review your work so that as the day approaches, you can focus on the practicalities.

This encompasses everything from making sure you relax, eat and sleep well the day before to arranging transport so you get to the viva on time - if you're attending in person.

An online PhD viva will present its own challenges, so ensure your working space is presentable and you still make an effort in terms of what you'll be wearing.

It's always advisable to adhere to interview etiquette and go with something that's both smart and comfortable. By looking the part, this should get you in the right frame of mind to communicate in a professional manner.

In the build-up, avoid any situations that might make you feel stressed and instead try to adopt a positive attitude, one that results in a genuine eagerness to engage in a debate about the work you've been toiling over for a substantial period of time.

If you're travelling to the examination, be sure to check that you have everything you wish to take with you, including the thesis, plus any notes or other materials that will help support your claims.

The PhD viva can last between one and four hours - usually two - so it's necessary to pace yourself to get off to the best possible start.

Remember, the examiners aren't trying to trip you up - they want you to pass and are primarily there to hear you talk about your project. So, after the polite introductions they'll typically start with an icebreaker to put you at ease and help calm the nerves.

It's meant to be an open and honest conversation about your work, so feel free to politely disagree with the examiners, especially on areas you feel strongly about. Don't forget to use examples from your thesis to back up what you're saying, remembering to be clear and concise.

If you know your way around your thesis and can explain your thinking and way of working, this test shouldn't be a problem. And if you don't know the answer to a specific question - admit it, as it's better to concede your limitations in an area than ramble on and hope they don't notice you're struggling to come up with an explanation. No research is perfect, so it's important to appreciate this during the discussion - but don't be too overcritical about your work either, as that's not your job.

Finally, as the PhD viva can quickly move from a series of friendly questions to those that are more in-depth, take some time to think before answering. Don't worry about any periods of silence from the examiners, as this certainly isn't an indication that you're doing badly.

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How to Excel in Your Doctoral Viva

© 2022
Stacey Bedwell 0 ,
Isabelle Butcher 1

Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK

You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK

Explains what the viva is, how the process works, and what the purpose of the viva is
Explores the course of preparing for a viva examination, focusing on organisation through to dealing with viva concerns
Features contributions from over 25 academics for a unique insight into the experiences of PhD candidates and examiners

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Table of contents (11 chapters)

Front matter, introduction.

Stacey Bedwell, Isabelle Butcher

What Is the Viva?

Isabelle Butcher

Urban Myths about the PhD Viva

Stacey Bedwell

Real Viva Experiences

Making the most of and enjoying your viva, after the viva, practice questions, being confident in your thesis, the viva preparation timeline, participating in a mock viva, viva concerns, back matter.

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About this book

— Sarah Lloyd , final year PhD candidate

— Gemini Katwa , PhD candidate

Authors and Affiliations

About the authors.

Dr. Isabelle Butcher was awarded her PhD in Psychology in 2021 from the University of Manchester, UK, for her work on the negative symptoms of schizophrenia and traumatic life events. Isabelle’s current research interests are in the area of adolescent mental health and the impact of traumatic life events. Isabelle also has a keen interest in the ethics of research and is currently chair of an NHS ethics research committee.

Bibliographic Information

Book Title : How to Excel in Your Doctoral Viva

Authors : Stacey Bedwell, Isabelle Butcher

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-10172-4

Publisher : Palgrave Macmillan Cham

eBook Packages : Education , Education (R0)

Copyright Information : The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022

Softcover ISBN : 978-3-031-10171-7 Published: 16 September 2022

eBook ISBN : 978-3-031-10172-4 Published: 15 September 2022

Edition Number : 1

Number of Pages : XIII, 183

Number of Illustrations : 69 b/w illustrations

Topics : Science Education , Higher Education , Psychology, general

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Experiences of a London PhD student and beyond

How to Defend a Thesis: An Introduction to the PhD Viva

The prospect of defending your PhD work can be more than a little daunting. It represents the climax of many years of hard work, you’ll have to defend a thesis in front of experts in your field and the whole PhD viva process can seem cloaked in mystery.

Maybe you’ve seen a labmate go for their PhD viva to then emerge several hours later, relieved but perhaps slightly dazed. Often it’ll be the case that they’ll have forgotten the specifics by the time they’ve left the room. On top of that, horror stories of bad PhD viva experiences pass through many research groups which are enough to make even the most confident and positive PhD students shake in their boots.

Having had my own PhD viva earlier this year, in addition to discussing experiences with many other PhD graduates, I now want to help you through the process.

Before we begin, I want to offer some reassurance. For most people the PhD viva is not at all the horrible experience we occasionally hear about. Even so, it’s still useful to know what to expect. I’ve therefore put together a series to help others understand the PhD viva process and how to defend a thesis.

Defend a Thesis: Overview of the PhD Viva Series

This first post will be an introduction to the PhD viva process and how to defend a thesis. Upcoming posts will cover:

Viva Preparation: Common PhD Viva Questions
What is a PhD Viva Like? Sharing Graduates’ Experiences
How to Choose Your Examiners

If there is anything specific you’d like covered, please let me know! I’ll be sure to include it. If you’d like to subscribe to get notified of upcoming posts as they’re released you can do so here:

How is a PhD Assessed?

Typically the main output expected at the end of your PhD project is a thesis. You’ve put years of work into your PhD and the thesis details your contributions to your chosen research field. But how is the thesis “marked”? Who will decide if what you’ve written is actually any good?

This is where the PhD viva comes in!

The PhD viva involves you discussing and defending your work with experts in your field. The experts act as examiners to determine whether or not the university should award you a PhD based on your thesis and viva performance. The thesis is the written report submitted for a PhD, and the viva is a means of quality control to ensure that only suitable candidates are awarded a PhD by the university.

Although part of the purpose of a PhD viva is to ensure that the work is of a high quality, just as importantly it’s to check that you were the one who carried it out and that you understand what you were doing!

The PhD viva is therefore essentially an exam during which you’ll have to defend a thesis.

Here is the official “mark scheme” for a PhD at Imperial:

I recommend looking at the presentation which this screenshot came from: sadly I only came across it after my own PhD viva whilst putting together this post!

Steps to Completing a PhD

Submit your thesis for the examiners to read ahead of the viva.
Have the viva , where you’ll defend a thesis and discuss your research. The examiners will decide from a list of possible outcomes as detailed later in this post.
Make amendments to the thesis as necessary.
Optional celebration.
Have the thesis amendments approved by the examiners and/or your supervisor and confirmation sent to the university.
Upload the final copy of your thesis to the university.
Eagerly await notification that you’ve been awarded a PhD by the university!
Celebrate, Dr!

All celebrations except for the one after making changes to your thesis are mandatory!

PhD Viva vs PhD Defence

The words viva and defence are sometimes used interchangeably, but often are used to reference the different ways that the a PhD is concluded around the world.

A PhD viva (technically a viva voce ) is a formal examination of a PhD. It’s typical in the UK (amongst other countries) and it is a closed-event between yourself and some examiners.

Across much of Europe it is common instead to have a PhD defence . This still involves expert questioning but can be more of a ceremony and may even be open to the public. You can read about Siddartha’s experience , who completed his PhD in the Netherlands.

I went through a PhD viva and that’ll be the focus of this series. Nevertheless, there is overlap and you may still have difficult questions in a PhD defence, so the content in this series should still be useful no matter where you’re based.

In both a PhD viva and a PhD defence you’ll be expected to defend a thesis which represents the culmination of your work during the PhD.

Who is Present During the PhD Viva?

In the UK it is typical for the PhD viva to include:

One or more experts from your university ( internal examiner ).
One or more experts in your field from another institution to your own ( external examiner ).
And sometimes your supervisor, though in my experience this is quite rare unless you actively ask them to be there.

The main role of the internal examiner is to act as a moderator and ensure that the university’s protocols are upheld. They’ll usually still have some questions for you, but on top of that they’ll make sure that the external examiner(s) are reasonable. They will also take charge of documenting the viva.

Often the external examiner will be more specialised to your field than the internal examiner, so expect them to potentially ask more tricky and technical questions.

As mentioned in the previous section, for PhD defences in other countries the event may be less of an exam (viva) and more of a celebration of your work. These can be a lot more open, with access granted to your friends, family or anyone else who is interested in the topic. I quite like this idea, especially when the research has been publicly funded!

How the PhD Viva is Structured

The structure of the viva will vary but a typical format is shown below. The times in brackets are how long the sections for my own viva were, thankfully not all vivas are over five hours long!

Introductions (2 minutes) – greeting the examiners and they’ll usually quickly give an overview for how they want the viva to go.
Presentation (10 minutes) – Not all examiners will want you to give a presentation, it’s best to ask them in advance. I believe many examiners like asking for presentations: both to ease into the exam and also to see how you do at distilling years of work into a short presentation.
Discussion (Over 5 hours, yes, really!) – the long and potentially scary bit.
A short break (~10 minutes) . You’ll leave the room (or video call!) and the examiners will come to a decision for your PhD outcome.
Decision and final comments (10 minutes) – where the examiners will tell you what the outcome is of the viva – we’ll cover this in more depth in the next section.

The discussion in the middle of course is the main guts of the PhD viva, and the potentially scary bit. This is where you’ll get questioned about your work and thesis. What you get asked could vary considerably depending on your thesis and examiners.

I’ll save an in-depth discussion of my own viva for another post. In short, I received very few questions relating to the work or any fundamental underlying science. There were practically no questions to quiz my knowledge.

Rather than checking my understanding of the work, the viva was much more of a discussion of how best to present the work in the thesis. We spent roughly an hour going page by page through each chapter. This included suggestions for improvements to figures, changes in terminology and the like.

Possible PhD Viva Outcomes

At the end of the viva the examiners will give you feedback. This will include feedback on your performance in the viva. But as long as they’re satisfied that you carried out the work and that you knew what you’re doing, the bulk of the feedback will in fact revolve around your PhD thesis.

Technically there are lots of potential outcomes, as detailed here:

List of potential PhD outcomes from my own examiners' report. Satisfying these will allow you to successfully defend a thesis.

In reality here are the four main possible outcomes from the viva:

Pass with no amendments . The examiners didn’t want to make a single alteration to your thesis. Well done you just have to submit the finalised thesis to the university and you’ve finished your PhD! I know a few people who’ve had no revisions but it’s rare.
Pass with minor amendments Minor amendments include things such as correcting typos, rewording sentences and small alterations to data analysis and presentation. This is by far the most common outcome.
Referral for resubmission ( major amendments). More substantial changes to the thesis are required or further experimental work is required to fulfil the requirements of a PhD. The examiners will decide whether or not this means having another viva too.
Fail . Unless there are glaring issues or you didn’t actually do any of the research in your thesis yourself, you should be relieved to hear that practically no one ever fails. If you have failed, it usually points to systematic issues revolving around your supervisor: you shouldn’t have been allowed to get to this point. Usually the examiners would recommend that you be awarded a lower degree, such as a masters in research (MRes).

Slightly up the page is a screenshot from my own examiners’ report. You’ll see that I, like most people, passed with minor amendments.

2022 Update: Starting to prepare for your PhD viva? A set of viva preparation worksheets are now available in the resource library. Click the image below for free access!

Making Changes to Your PhD Thesis

Shortly after the viva you should receive the examiner’s report which includes a list of revisions for you to make.

If you’ve got through the viva with a pass, you can breathe a sigh of relief because the hard work is over! In a separate post I’ll be covering how the process to make my own minor amendments went.

No matter the outcome, it is possible that you’d like to make your own changes to the thesis since it’ll have been many weeks (or months) since submitting the draft copy for your viva. On reflection there may be things you’re not happy with. You are welcome to make changes to the document yourself.

After you’ve made changes, the final stage in getting awarded the PhD is submitting your finalised version of the thesis to the university. Shortly afterwards you’ll get the long-awaited notification that you’ve got your PhD!

Should You Strive For No Amendments?

In my opinion it’s not worth the effort of trying to get no amendments.

I’d personally rather spend slightly less time up front, knowing that more than likely I would have to made some amendments. You can never put in enough work to ensure there will be nothing your examiners want changed!

You could spent hundreds of extra hours endlessly going through your thesis meticulously before submission but your examiners can always find something they want you to change. In comparison, my own minor amendments only took two days of work.

Sometimes you’ll see someone mention on their CV that they passed with no revisions but it doesn’t really have any bearing on your PhD. Unlike most other qualifications, there aren’t really grades for PhDs: you either have one or you don’t.

During an early PhD assessment my assessor made a poignant joke about medical degrees: “What do you call the person who graduates bottom of their class in medical school? A doctor!” And it’s essentially the same with PhDs!

If you’d like personalised help with preparing for your PhD viva I am now starting to offer a small number of one-to-one sessions. Please contact me to find out more or click here to book a call.

I hope this introduction to PhD vivas and how to defend a thesis has been useful. Let me know if you have any specific questions or concerns you’d like to see addressed in the following posts.

As always you can stay up to date with content by subscribing here:

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Completing your DPhil

Preparing for the Viva Exam

Introduction.

The Viva exam is an integral part of completing your DPhil. See the links at the bottom of this section for information and guidance on the formal University processes and what you need to do. This section also includes advice and hints and tips on how to prepare.

Don’t expect to do your Viva without preparing for it - take the preparation as seriously as writing your thesis. Take and plan the time to do the preparation – have a look at the Time Management section for help with this. You won’t be able to do everything that is suggested in this section, so think about the areas where you feel less confident, and prioritise those.

This content draws on the presentation made by Professor David Gavaghan on the Completing your DPhil course, and on material from Dr Melanie Ghoul , who delivers the Viva Preparation and Practice course for the Division.

The aim of the Viva is

To check that the research in your thesis is of the required standard for a DPhil*
To check that the work in your thesis is your own
To check that you have a general knowledge of the research area covered by your thesis commensurate with holding a DPhil in that area

*The standard is 'that the student present a significant and substantial piece of research, of a kind which might reasonably be expected of a capable and diligent student after three or at most four years of full-time study in the case of a full time student, or eight years in the case of a part-time student.'

How to prepare

There is a lot you can do to prepare for your Viva and make it an effective and also – dare we say it – enjoyable experience! Yes, people do find it enjoyable to talk about their work and discuss it with their examiners – who are also after all, knowledgeable in your field. Remember that however many experts there are in your field, you are the only person who has done your specific piece of research, so you are the expert in your DPhil, and your examiners will be interested to hear about it.

Dr Melanie Ghoul delivers the Viva Preparation and Practice Course for the Division. Her slides for the Viva Preparation course provide comprehensive information and advice on the kind of things you can do to prepare in different areas. Working through them will help you get ready for the exam. These are some suggestions to help you replicate the face to face activities referred to in the slides:

Listing concerns

You are encouraged to think about and note your concerns, and discuss them with friends / colleagues / supervisor / others in your field. If that’s not possible, think about and note what you can do to address each concern.

What strategies can you formulate?
Who can you ask to help you?
Where can you find information?

The examiner’s perspective

Talk to your supervisor and other academics in your field who have acted as examiners. What is their perspective?

What are they looking for the candidate to demonstrate during the viva?
What is their advice?
What is the purpose of the viva, in their opinion?
What makes a strong viva performance?
What makes a weak performance?
Advice on how to prepare beforehand
Advice on how to cope during the viva.

The University’s Memorandum for Examiners will also give you a perspective on what they are looking for.

The Student's Perspective

Find someone – in your field or another – who has recently completed their Viva. Ask them how it was.

What did they do to prepare?
What do they wish they had done differently?
What kind of questions did the examiners ask?
What advice do they have for appointing examiners?
What other advice do they have for you?

Practice Session

The face to face Viva preparation course offers an opportunity for a ‘live’ short practice session with other students. You could organise the same kind of session with fellow students or colleagues. There are some ideas for questions in this Vitae resource .

Other resources and ideas

Vitae pages on The Viva . These contain useful information, including book recommendations and a Viva preparation checklist.

Book: How to Survive your Viva, R Murray

Formal bits

The Division's pages on Examination and Graduation , which include a section on the Viva.

The University page on Research Examinations .

Imperial College London Imperial College London

Preparing for your Viva

Before your Viva takes places there are some steps you can take in preparing yourself for the examination:

Anticipate questions that will be asked

Test yourself by doing some practice questions. Ask your supervisor to provide you with a list of questions that they would anticipate may be asked. Identify areas that you are uncertain about and discuss further with your supervisor if you have concerns about what you could be questioned on.

You may find your supervisor or department will automatically organise a mock viva. If not, ask your supervisor if they will conduct a mock viva with you, perhaps including another member of the research team who is familiar with your research work and could ask you relevant questions.

Review your material

Review your knowledge as you go along. Make sure you have not missed anything along the way. If there is anything you are unsure of, make time to focus on that area again. Mark up key parts of your thesis. Remember you are allowed to take a copy of your thesis into the examination. You can refer to it if needed, such as when discussing key figures and tables in relation to the data that you have generated.

Some time may have passed since you submitted your thesis, so make sure you are up to date with relevant publications published after your thesis submission. If you don't you may find that your examiners are more up to date on relevant published research findings than you.

Keep calm, relax, sleep well and eat well

When re-reading your thesis and revising for your viva do not let yourself get too stressed. Allow yourself plenty of time to prepare for the examination. Do not leave things until the last minute - especially not the night before the viva.

Allow yourself time to relax, eat properly, and sleep. You will function better in your viva if you are not tired, hungry and grumpy - and you'll make a better impression on your examiners.

You can review the useful videos and resources put together by a group of UK universities demystifying and giving advice to students who are preparing for their viva.

You may also consider attending some workshops to further develop your communicating research skills .

During your Viva

Just as when delivering any other presentation, remember to breathe, pause between sentences and engage with your examiners. Regular eye contact is key.

If you do not understand the question, ask the examiner to repeat it. If you do not know the answer to a question, just be honest and say so.

When answering questions, take a moment to think before you speak. That way you will ensure you give a detailed but concise answer and will avoid waffling in an unfocused manner.

Types of PhD Viva Questions

Generally, examiners prepare a series of questions for you to answer at the PhD viva voce examination. These questions are primarily based on your thesis. However, the questions asked in PhD viva examinations can be broadly grouped under four basic headings:

General Questions
Research Context and Methods
Analysis and Findings
Discussions and Conclusion/Implications

Therefore, while preparing for your PhD viva and defending your thesis , you must consider the types of questions you’re likely to be asked. This helps in practicing your answers in advance and not being baffled during the viva. Practicing how you would answer questions based on these four basic categories will take you a long way in your preparations.

Commonly Asked PhD Viva Questions and How to Answer Them

While sticking to answering the most commonly asked questions might sound simple, it is equally important to be prepared for counter questions. Furthermore, it’s easy to go off on a tangent due to nervousness. This leads to opening up other lines of enquiry from the examiners in areas you hadn’t probably expected to be questioned about.

Ideally, you aren’t expected to dictate your thesis as it is. Examiners are interested in knowing your understanding of the research, its methods, analysis and findings, conclusion and implications, etc.

Despite the differences in every PhD viva, you must be prepared to answer these common questions logically. Below are some popular PhD viva questions to prepare:

1. Tell me about yourself.

Introduce yourself and talk about your areas of interest related to research. More importantly, focus on the areas you are extremely positive about. Briefly speak about your past achievements without overwhelming the examiners and sounding boastful. Keep the introduction professional.

2. What is the reason for selecting this research question?

The response to this question is often generalized by saying that you are interested in the topic. However, examiners want to hear the specifications of your interest in the topic. You must plan your answer stating the most interesting aspect of your research and why did you choose the research question over another topic from the same or allied domain. Furthermore, cite certain instances that helped you in selecting the research topic and the particular field for your project.

3. What is the key focus of your research?

Remember that the answer to this question is not about summarizing your research. It involves talking about the area of primary focus of research. Most importantly, in order to demonstrate the viability of your research, it is essential to identify some of the key questions it addresses.

4. Did the research process go as per your plan or were there any unexpected circumstances that you had to deal with?

The purpose of this question is not only to see whether you can work as per your structured plan, but also to understand your readiness with backup plans in case of unforeseen situations. An ideal way to answer this is by clearly stating if the project went as per your predefined plan. Furthermore, be honest in mentioning if you were assisted by others in dealing with it, as it may lead to a new set of questioning from the examiners.

5. After completion of your research, which part of the process did you enjoy the most and why?

Remember that the examiners know about a PhD student’s stressful journey . Therefore, do not elaborate on the hardships that you went through during your research, unless asked otherwise. Emphasize on the aspects of the research project that you enjoyed and looked forward to every time you stepped in your laboratory. Describe how you developed interest in newer approaches to conduct research.

6. As a researcher, what change has this research brought in you?

This question demands a strong, progressive, and positive response. Remember your first day in the research laboratory and compare it to today. Identify the differences in your traits as a researcher. Mention how following, reading, and analyzing other researchers’ works have brought a positive change in you. Furthermore, address how you overcame your shortcomings as a researcher and upskilled yourself.

7. Summarize your thesis.

Be well versed with the entire project. Start by explaining why you selected the topic of your thesis and close your explanation by providing an optimum solution to the problem. You must prepare for 3 types of answers for this question. Prepare a 1-minute, 3-5 minutes, and 10-minute summary and use the correct one based on your audience at the viva.

8. What developments have you witnessed in this field since you began your doctorate? How did these developments change your research context?

Familiarize yourself with the advances in your field throughout your PhD. Mention works of researchers you have referred to while working on your project. Additionally, elaborate on how other researchers’ work influenced your research and directed you to finding results.

9. What original contribution has your thesis made to this field of study?

Answer this question by keeping in mind what was known before in published literature and what you have added as part of being awarded your PhD. Firstly, you must present a major piece of new information during your research project. Secondly, elaborate on how your research expands the existing literature. Thirdly, mention how your work is different from other researchers’ works that you referred. Finally, discuss how you developed a new product or improved an existing one.

10. How well did the study design work?

While answering this question, you must focus on how your planned methods and methodologies were executed. Furthermore, mention how you tackled difficulties in study design and concluded your research.

11. Elaborate on your main findings and how do they relate to literature in your field?

While answering this question, elaborate on how you evaluated the key findings in your research. Mention the key factors involved and the reason for choosing a particular process of evaluation. Furthermore, explain how your findings are related with the literature review of your project. Mention its significant contributions in your field of research. In addition, discuss how your research findings connect with your hypothesis as well as the conclusion of your research.

12. What is the strength and weakness of your research?

While you may want to impress the examiner by emphasizing on the strengths of your research, being aware of the weaknesses and planning a directional move to overcome them is also equally important. Hence, mention the strengths first and elaborate on how they connect with the key findings. Additionally, underline the limitations and the factors that could be transformed into strengths in future research.

How nervous were you while preparing for your PhD viva voce? Did you follow any specific tips to ace your PhD viva voce ? How important is it to prepare for these common PhD viva questions beforehand? Let us know how you prepared for your PhD viva voce in the comments section below! You can also visit our Q&A forum for frequently asked questions related to different aspects of research writing and publishing answered by our team that comprises subject-matter experts, eminent researchers, and publication experts.

Really useful in helping me put a plan / script together for my forthcoming viva. Some interesting questions that I hadn’t thought about before reading this article – the proof of the pudding will be how well the viva goes of course, but at least I now have a head start! Many thanks

Thank you, this is super helpful. I have my viva voce in a month and I’ll be using these questions as a guide

Well framed questions

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Your PhD Viva and How to Prepare

At the end of the long road of your PhD research, lies the viva examination . Just as every PhD is different, then every viva is different. But there are some things that all PhD candidates can do ahead of time to prepare academically, mentally and physically for the viva examination. Handing in your thesis at the first submission as it gets passed to the examiners feels like a huge weight has been lifted. However, it can be some weeks, even months between that hand in date and the viva. What this time gives you is distance and a chance to prepare.

Re-read your thesis

No matter the length of time between submission and the day of the viva, good preparation is key. In the first instance, as the viva date approaches giving yourself plenty of time, read your thesis, from cover to cover. This seems obvious, but that distance between submission and viva date allows you to step back from your research and allows you to read over it again with a more critical eye. In the midst of the final weeks of research and writing, ensuring all referencing is correct, all figures are identified, and getting copies printed and bound, PhD candidates are so close to their work that it is difficult to see the full picture of the thesis. Re-reading with some distance from submission will help to familiarise yourself with your work again, and to see it as a whole cohesive piece of research.

So what to keep in mind when you are re-reading? In addition to taking in the whole thesis, during the re-read go over your methodology again, in good detail. Make sure that you know your research design and the reasons for that methodology inside and out. A common viva question, regardless of discipline, will be centred on your methodological design. Why did you design it in the way that you did? What were the benefits of your methodology, and were there any problems along the way?

When you have read your thesis, have a think about and form succinct answers to these questions.

What is your contribution to your field? Why is your study important?
What was the inspiration for the study and what is it about? It can be a useful exercise to write a one page summary of each chapter.
What did you do – be able to explain your methodology and how you went about doing it.
What did you find, what were your outcomes?

Think about and prepare answers to these questions, write them down and importantly, practice saying them out loud. This is a preparation point that everyone should do. In much the same way that you might practice giving a speech or a conference paper, practice – with these questions as a guideline – talking about your thesis out loud. This will help you to avoid getting tongue-tied, and you will be able to answer your examiners’ questions smoothly. You can take these notes into the viva with you.

Know about developments in your field

Another thing to be up to date on is other developments in your field that occurred during the process of your own PhD research. And crucially, where would you position yourself and your work in your field? This is essential to the viva examination, as knowing your position in your particular academic field shows that you understand the past and current academic frameworks and contexts around your own thesis subject. It is also helpful to think about where your research will take you next. Does your thesis open doors for more research ? Development into a publication ?

Practicalities

Make sure that you know in advance where the viva will take place, where the building is and what room number. Have your journey planned, taking into account public transport access, parking or avoiding busy rush hours. Nothing will add to pre-viva stress than being late. Get a good nights sleep the night before, and make sure that you eat before you begin your viva.

What to take with you

Take a bottle of water in with you. It is also useful to take in with you a notebook and pen. Write down the questions as your examiners ask you, or make notes as you discuss your work. This way you can refer to what they have asked and what is being discussed with confidence.

It is perfectly acceptable to ask for clarification on anything that your examiners ask you, and you can and should take time to think before you answer. Even write down your points before you start to answer. It is good practice to take a printed copy of your thesis into the viva with you. The examiners will have their copies, your own copy to refer to will be helpful. You can also prepare some questions that you might like to ask of your examiners.

Feel positive

The viva can seem incredibly daunting and makes all PhD candidates nervous. But your viva can actually be a hugely enjoyable and rewarding experience. Your examiners have been chosen as the ideal professionals in the field to read and feedback on your research. They want to see you do well, they are not there to make problems or to try and trip you up. Remember, your PhD examiners are on your side and they are interested in your work and they want to hear you talk about it.

Research your examiners

Take some time to do a little background research on your examiners. What are their interests, and what are they working on. A relaxed and fulfilling viva often becomes more of a mutual discussion between yourself and the examiners, rather than them only firing questions at you. Of course, there can be no guarantee what questions the examiners might ask you and what they might not. As long as you are very familiar with your own research, your methods, your outcomes and results, and your contribution to the knowledge of your field, the viva will go smoothly. You might even enjoy it.

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Stella Gaynor

Dr Stella Gaynor is an Associate Lecturer at the University of Salford in the Broadcast Media Department, with eight years teaching experience in Higher Education. She completed her PhD thesis on the horror genre and the US television industry and is developing this into a monograph. She has written a chapter in the forthcoming edited collection Global TV Horror, an article for the Revenant journal, and regularly blogs for Critical Studies in Television. She is also a freelance copywriter.

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Impressing the Examiners: How to Prepare for Your PhD Viva

May 27, 2020

So you’ve come to the end of your PhD studies and have submitted your thesis.

Now it is time to prepare for your PhD viva.

You might feel like everything you’ve worked for is riding on it, and in some ways, it is. But as long as you’re prepared, you should have no problem on the day.

In this blog post, we’ll discuss how to prepare for your PhD viva, as well as some PhD viva tips for how to handle it on the day.

Read on for more information.

Framing the Way You Think About Your PhD Viva

There aren’t many people with PhDs. While the number is certainly growing , you’ll be entering into an elite group.

You may think that your PhD viva is an exam where internal and external experts in your field will be waiting to trip you up and look for ways to sabotage you. That couldn’t be further from the truth.

Everyone there is rooting for you to succeed. They want to add another expert to their ranks, especially one who has something important and interesting to add to that field’s conversation.

Very rarely will you have someone on your panel who is trying to make you deliberately fail.

Think of it as a chance to talk about your work with fellow experts in your field. Often, they’re excited for the conversation they’ll be having with you about your work.

You can also think of it as an opportunity to show off what you’ve done to people who are where you might aspire to be.

Preparing for a Viva

After you’ve written and submitted your thesis , it’s a good idea to take a break from it for a while. Focus on a hobby, read a few books not related to your thesis, or start a new project.

This clears your mind and allows you to look at your thesis with fresh eyes when you prepare for your viva.

Re-read your thesis before you go to your viva. It may sound silly, but you’ve been working on it for several years. Some of the arguments you’ve made may now seem a bit fuzzy to you, as you’ve been working on the minutiae of the chapters.

You need to make sure you remember the overarching theme of your thesis, as well as the arguments you’ve made in each chapter. Most examiners will allow you to bring in notes, and there will be a copy of your thesis for your referral. Don’t be afraid to make notes for yourself.

If you want to book a mock-viva with a real thesis examiner then get in touch. We run regular mock-vivas.

Overall: familiarise yourself with the major themes in both the thesis as a whole but also in individual chapters.

Practise, Practise, Practise

Practise summing up the main points of your thesis. You’ll be asked about your major argument, as well as some of the minor arguments you’ve made within the thesis.

By now, you’ve likely already presented your thesis (or parts of it) at conferences, or discussed it at length with your advisor. If you’re worried about how well you’ll be able to do this, remember that you have done this previously.

You may even want to hold a practice viva where some of your friends or family members ask you about your research. You should be able to explain it in a way that is understandable to them, on some level. Obviously, they’re not experts in your field, but they should be able to have some grasp of what your thesis is about after explaining it to them.

Your PhD Thesis. On one page.

Anticipate the questions.

Speak to your advisor before you have your viva. Discuss with him or her some of the questions that may be asked beforehand. Or, you can ask your department, who may have a guide for PhD or MA students defending their theses. Or, you can look at the guide we’ve published .

If you can anticipate the questions beforehand, you won’t feel as nervous when they’re asked. While they may ask you a few questions you won’t anticipate to ensure you’ve written the thesis yourself, you will still likely be able to rehearse the answers to the majority of their questions.

On the Day of the Viva

On the day of the viva, arrive early with plenty of time to spare. You may consider spending the night nearby if you live far away. Make sure you know where to go, and are properly fed and hydrated. You may wish to bring water with you to the viva itself. Re-read your notes and try to focus on relaxing. Don’t overthink it.

Manage Your Expectations

Don’t expect to pass with zero corrections. This does happen but is usually very rare. You may hear of your colleagues doing this, and feel disappointed if you don’t.

Most people pass with minor or major corrections. Some people will be required to resubmit following very major revisions. This may seem like a huge blow, but remember that most people go on to resubmit their thesis successfully.

Very rarely do people not pass, or are awarded a lower degree because their thesis was not “good enough.” Your advisor has likely done a great job of helping shape your PhD, and you should expect that you will pass if you’re prepared, but likely with some form of corrections.

How to Prepare for Your PhD Viva

We hope this article answered your question of how to prepare for a PhD viva. Preparing for a viva can be nerve wracking, as it may feel as though the culmination of the past few years are all riding on this one moment. Remember, everyone is rooting for you to pass, even your examiners.

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13 steps I took to prepare for my PhD viva

Published May 29, 2017 by Salma Patel

I submitted my thesis in Dec 2016. It took much longer than I had anticipated for the examiners and the chair to be approved due to administrative delays. Two months later (in late Feb) I received confirmation that my exam would be at the end of April.

In terms of the arrangements of the day of the viva, I must say the graduate office in my department were great and said they would organise the day, and I should only worry about preparing for the exam. I booked advance tickets so I could get to the University early and not have to pay a peak time train fare. I have a written about my viva experience here .

From Jan-March I was working with the public health team at Hackney City Council. I also had Open University marking to do in March. So I started preparing for my thesis approximately a month before my viva, and this is how:

Step 1: The first thing I did was read this really useful three part blogpost by Fiona Noble. I decided I was going to tackle the preparation in a similar fashion.

Step 2: I knew I had to read the thesis cover to cover , but I was dreading it. I was overcome by fear that I may open the first page and spot mistakes. Or I may start reading it and realise it is a complete rubbish. So I procrastinated for two days, looking for any excuse not to open the thesis, which is so unlike me. On the third day, I was forced to work in a cafe and lo and behold, I managed to read almost half the thesis. Whilst reading the thesis, I placed post it notes where I thought I may be asked a question, where I thought something may not be clear and also the references that were not fresh in my head. Because it had been three months since I had last read the thesis, it really felt like a fresh read, and when I completed reading it, thankfully I said to myself ‘it isn’t bad at all’ (which means it is good!).

Step 3: I then sat at my desk with my computer, and started to go through all the post it notes . Where it was in relation to a reference, I re-read the abstract of the paper, just to refresh my memory, and placed a short summary of the paper or the paper title on a larger post it note and stuck it inside the thesis, next to where it was mentioned. I also went through all the other post it notes, answered the questions, and left small post it notes inside the thesis, in case I would be questioned in my viva and I’d forget the answer.

Step 4: I prepared questions that could come up in the thesis in a Q&A document . I looked online, and found many questions, and I had also bought PhD viva cards a year or so ago. I also went through the archive of the PhD Viva website which I had set up in 2012 (but very sadly hacked and and deleted). So I sat with about 5 different long lists of questions and the cards in an attempt to amalgamate them, so that I would end up with a very thorough list of questions. I did that, and towards the the end I realised that the list of questions from this list published online was actually very comprehensive, and pretty much covered everything that was on other lists (I have copied the list of questions from that resource at the end of this post in case the online resource goes haywire). I sat and typed up the answers to these questions in note form in a Word document. I realised quickly that the answer to most of these questions was narrated in my thesis, so there was much copy pasting too. Rowen Murray’s book ‘How to Survive Your Viva’ is a book I dipped into regularly, during this stage and other stages too. It isn’t an essential read, but it is really detailed, and if you are not feeling confident about answering the questions, it suggests really good ways to approach the answers.

(NB: After I completed this step I found this resource: list of 40 viva questions , which is shorter but looks almost as good too (and in hindsight post-viva, I think it is a better set of questions).

Step 5: I then received an email from my main supervisor asking me to prepare a 10 min presentation for the mock viva, an answer to the question ‘Tell me about your research’ , as this is always the first question. She suggested that I should structure it as follows:

about you – what disciplinary perspective are you approaching this from? Your motivation for doing the research topic.
research problem, aims, research questions
methodology
conclusions and contributions

I was a bit taken aback to be honest at this point as I wasn’t expecting this type of open-ended question, and I hadn’t really come across it in the notes or books I had read, but once I had a think about it, it made sense that the first question is likely to be quite open-ended, and as she advised, it made sense to prepare for the first question thoroughly, as it gives you a good strong start. So I created a Powerpoint using a similar structure to the above (motivations for research, originality of the research, research question, findings, key contributions to knowledge, and key contributions to practice). I had already prepared this in note format in Step 4 so it didn’t take long to put this presentation together. However, I did spend some time vocalizing the presentation and practicing it in front of my husband. At this stage I was not sure whether I would use the Powerpoint in the viva, or just use the slides as a way to guide the answer to this question. My supervisor suggested I should go with whichever I prefer, and I left that decision for closer to the time.

Step 6: I placed bookmarks using post it notes in my thesis , across the top went Chapter numbers and across the side were key areas of my thesis, that I was pretty certain I may need to look at during my thesis (pages that had limitations of study for example, or why I had chosen one mode of survey over another for example).

Step 7: I had been compiling a list of new papers published since I had submitted that I thought I may be asked to comment about. I printed off the abstracts and read through them. I also went back to the document prepared in Step 4, and read through it again critically and added more notes to it, and made some of the notes briefer. I also added a few notes to the thesis itself.

Step 8: I re-read the entire thesis for the second time before the mock viva (I suspect this probably wouldn’t be required if you do not have such a huge gap between submission and viva). I also practiced the presentation and took all my notes along to the mock viva

Step 9: The mock viva ended up being more of a chat than a mock viva. I received some good feedback on the presentation for the viva, and we discussed a few questions that may come up. One of the questions I hadn’t thought of was: Would your findings have implications on any other fields outside of healthcare? My supervisor also advised me that if both examiners asked me to make a change, or argued a point strongly, I should accept their advice and say “I’d be happy to make that change” rather than arguing with them.

Step 10: I updated the PPT based on feedback from my supervisor, and I went through the Q&A document, and highlighted the key questions that I needed to take as notes in the interview. I copied those questions and placed them on to 2 pages. I also placed some of the question and answers inside the thesis, and referenced it with page numbers on this 1 page (double page) notes document that I decided I would take into the thesis (parts of this double page notes document can be seen in the image at the top of this post).

Step 11: I re-read the entire thesis (for the third time) two weeks before the viva and typed up any typos/errors I found. I also updated the Double page notes document during this time.

Step 12 : In the final week, I practiced the presentation , practiced answering viva questions using the viva cards by myself and got my husband to ask me the questions too. I also read the thesis again (but this time missing some chapters). I printed off the PPT two days before and got all the things ready for the viva using my last-minute checklist (see below). The day before I went through the Thesis Defence Checklist and ensured it was all ticked off.

Step 13: On the day of the viva I got myself to the venue, had the viva and I passed with very few small minor corrections (8 to be precise). I have written about my viva experience in detail here .

Reflection post-viva:

In hindsight, I probably over prepared slightly, and the majority of the questions I had prepared for never came up. But the preparation gave me a huge amount of confidence, and it meant that I knew my thesis inside out, so during the viva I easily navigated to certain pages. If I had to go back I would probably use the 40 questions listed below to prep rather than the longer list of questions. I would definitely not skip the two mock vivas, and the PPT presentation I prepared, because presenting the PPT at very start of the viva meant that I started off very strong and was very well prepared for their initial few questions. (BTW I used printouts of the PPT to talk over the slides (I gave the examiners a copy too), rather than formally presenting the PPT visually using a digital screen).

———————————————————————————————–

Possible viva questions, a long list compiled by ddubdrahcir

Summarise your thesis in a sentence.
Does the title represent the content?
Describe your thesis in brief.
How did you decide to order your thesis?
What is your overall argument?
Summarise the context.
Why did you choose this topic?
Why is this topic important, and to whom is it relevant?
What are the key findings?
What is original here; what are your contributions to knowledge?
What justifies this thesis as a doctorate?
Where did you draw the line on what you included in your literature review?
Where did you draw the line on what you included in the theoretical literature?
How did the literature inform your choice of topic and the thesis overall?
What three publications would you say have been most influential in your work?
Where does your work fit into the literature?
Who are the key names in this area?
Who are the project’s key influences?
How does your work differ from theirs?
Do the findings confirm, extend, or challenge any of the literature?
How does your work connect to that of your reviewers?

Research Design and Methodology

Summarise your research design.
Did you think about applying a different design?
What are the limitations of this kind of study?
Is there anything novel in your method?
What problems did you have?
How did you develop your research questions?
Did the research questions change over the course of the project?
How did you translate the research questions into a data collection method?
What are the philosophical assumptions in your work?
Where are YOU in this study?
Describe your sample.
How did you recruit your sample?
What boundaries did you set on your sample?
What are the weaknesses of your sample?
What boundaries did you set on your data collection?
What are the strengths and weaknesses of your data?
What other data would you like (or have liked) to collect?
What is the theoretical framework in this study?
Why did you choose this conceptual framework?
Did you think about using any other theories, and if so, why did you reject them?
What ethical procedures did you follow?
What ethical issues arose in the course of your study and how did you address them?
Describe your frame of analysis.
How did you construct this framework?
What didn’t you include in the framework?
What problems did you have in the analysis?
Did you combine induction and deduction in your analysis? Can you share some examples?
Describe the findings in more detail.
Briefly summarise the findings as they relate to each of the research questions.
How do you think the theoretical framing was helpful? Can you share some examples?
What other data could you have included, and what might it have contributed?
Could the findings have been interpreted differently?
What are the strengths and weakness of your study?
What sense do you have of research being a somewhat untidy, or iterative and constantly shifting process?
How confident are you in your findings and conclusions?
What the implications of your findings?
How has the context changed since you conducted your research?
Where do your findings sit in the field in general?
How do you see this area developing over the next 5-10 years?
Where does your work fit within this?
To whom is your work relevant?
What haven’t you looked at, and why not?
What, if any, of your findings are generalisable?
How would you like to follow this project up with further research?
What would you publish from this research, and in which journals?
How did the project change as you went through?
How has your view of the area changed as you have progressed through your research?
How did your thinking change over the course of the project?
How have you changed as a result of undertaking this project?
What did you enjoy about your project?
What are you proudest of in the thesis?
What were the most difficult areas?
What surprised you the most?
If you started this study again, what would you do differently?

40 viva questions (a shorter list), compiled by Rebecca at OU Blog

1. Can you start by summarising your thesis? 2. Now, can you summarise it in one sentence? 3. What is the idea that binds your thesis together? 4. What motivated and inspired you to carry out this research? 5. What are the main issues and debates in this subject area? 6. Which of these does your research address? 7. Why is the problem you have tackled worth tackling? 8. Who has had the strongest influence in the development of your subject area in theory and practice? 9. Which are the three most important papers that relate to your thesis? 10. What published work is closest to yours? How is your work different? 11. What do you know about the history of [insert something relevant]? 12. How does your work relate to [insert something relevant]? 13. What are the most recent major developments in your area? 14. How did your research questions emerge? 15. What were the crucial research decisions you made? 16. Why did you use this research methodology? What did you gain from it? 17. What were the alternatives to this methodology? 18. What would you have gained by using another approach? 19. How did you deal with the ethical implications of your work? 20. How has your view of your research topic changed? 21. How have you evaluated your work? 22. How do you know that your findings are correct? 23. What are the strongest/weakest parts of your work? 24. What would have improved your work? 25. To what extent do your contributions generalise? 26. Who will be most interested in your work? 27. What is the relevance of your work to other researchers? 28. What is the relevance of your work to practitioners? 29. Which aspects of your work do you intend to publish – and where? 30. Summarise your key findings. 31. Which of these findings are the most interesting to you? Why? 32. How do your findings relate to literature in your field? 33. What are the contributions to knowledge of your thesis? 34. How long-term are these contributions? 35. What are the main achievements of your research? 36. What have you learned from the process of doing your PhD? 37. What advice would you give to a research student entering this area? 38. You propose future research. How would you start this? 39. What would be the difficulties? 40. And, finally… What have you done that merits a PhD?

Last minute checklist for the viva day:

Place on table:

Blank paper and working Pen
Presentation slides printed
List of corrections
Double sided notes
Detailed Question notes (just incase?)

Keep in bag:

List of recent papers published
All my published papers
Spare pen and notebook
Tissue pack
Chewing gum
Phone/charger?

Last minute generic advice:

Can you rephrase the question?/Is that what you are asking?
I am aware …. However …
That’s an interesting point, but the way I was thinking about it was …
Is that answering your question?
I am happy to correct that.

My PhD Viva experience
Planning and keeping track of thesis write up:…
My Academic Diary
10 tips towards PhD thesis submission
Holidays for PhD students – how does it work?

Published in Featured PhD Life Research Research Methods

[…] preparing for the viva. I have written about the 13 steps I took to prepare for the viva in detail here, so I will not go into that […]

Thank you very much for this post. I am preparing for my viva voce which will be on 20 Jan. When i re-read my thesis i felt overwhelmed by some parts of my thesis. But i will do my best and be prepared, so thank you for sharing this

it was useful

Thank you Salma for sharing your experiences in Viva Land. Much appreciated

Dear Dr.salma

Thank you for sharing your valuable viva experience , I will use your post as reference for preparing for my Viva next month , i have one question do think the 40 questions list is enough for viva preparation ( general questions)? Thank you !

Hi Munannad,

Personally I think the 40 questions as preparation is most likely sufficient as it covers most areas, and there’s only so much you can prepare anyways, as some questions will come that you did not anticipate. Do have a mock viva if you can. But don’t worry, you know your thesis inside out and can look into it too to find references or read passages.

All the best with your viva!

Best wishes, Salma

Thank you Dr Salma,

Reading through your viva experience has given so much confidence and structure. I will be having my viva voce PhD assessment in Mach 2020 and I am vigorously preparing for it with all my might. I have also just published an article based on my thesis. So, I thank you very much for sharing you experience, especially the 40 questions Best Wishes

Thank you. This is very useful post. Very thoughtful of you to have penned this so others find it helpful

Navigating the Assessment Period: Top tips from peer mentors

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Manage stress, keep healthy and ace your assessments with these tips from fellow students!

With the assessment period approaching, peer mentors from RMIT share their top tips on how to effectively navigate this challenging period.

Start early and stay organised

Supriya Bajaj, who is studying Masters of Analytics, says that for students approaching assessments, her advice would be to start early, stay organised, and reach out for help if needed.

“Break down your tasks into manageable chunks, prioritize effectively, and utilize resources such as peer mentors, academic support services, and study groups.”

“Remember to take breaks and practice self-care to maintain balance and reduce stress.”

Focus on small portions

When writing an assignment, Law student Meg Whittaker says breaking up everything into small portions helps her from becoming overwhelmed.

“If I have a 1000-word assignment with 1 section worth 30% and one section worth 70%, I write myself a note that the first section should only be 300 words and the second part should be around 700 words,” she said.

“For exams – try to do something similar with your timing. Break down the weight of 1 mark into how many minutes to spend on that section.”

Look after your basic needs

When it comes to planning for assessments, self-care should be a top priority according to Bachelor of Social Sciences student Alex Ashton.

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“Have ingredients in the house for easy meals, drink some water and schedule time for walks.”

Alex says that simplifying tasks can help students feel a sense of reward in the build up to their assessments.

“When things become really overwhelming, I find it helpful to plan for the week, just writing down one or two tasks to achieve each day.”

“It gives me a sense of achievement when I do get the things done.”

Use library resources

Bachelor of Business student Ananya Sadana has a simple message for students thinking about their assessments.

“Start timely and don’t leave things for the last minute.”

“Use the various resources that RMIT provides to help with assignments."

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IMAGES

The PhD Viva: How to Prepare for Your Oral Examination: Bloomsbury
How to Prepare for PhD Viva / PhD Viva / PhD Virtual Viva
How to Prepare PhD Viva Presentation
How to... prepare for your PhD viva
How To Prepare For The PhD Viva In Just 10 Days
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VIDEO

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Preparing For Your Dissertation Defense (Viva Voce): 9 Questions You MUST Be Ready For (+ Examples)
How to pass your PhD viva
How I prepared for my PhD Viva
Tips for PhD Viva Voce presentation #profdrrajasekaran #research

COMMENTS

What is the PhD Viva?
The viva voce is the final assessment for a PhD. It is an oral examination where the student defends their research to two academic examiners. This involves answering questions about your work, typically related to the literature, methodology, your findings and the significance of your conclusions. In some countries (like the USA) the viva is ...
PDF A Guide for Viva Preparation
The viva voce, shortened to viva, is an oral examination where you are expected to 'defend' your thesis, and the quality of your research will be assessed. The viva will take place usually within 3 months of submitting your thesis; it is a required examination in order to achieve a postgraduate research degree.
How to survive a PhD viva: 17 top tips
12) Don't talk like a politician. There's a danger of trying to over-prepare. Don't learn answers off by heart - it removes the spontaneity and is obvious to examiners. If a student has ...
PhD Viva Voces
A viva voce, more commonly referred to as 'viva', is an oral examination conducted at the end of your PhD and is essentially the final hurdle on the path to a doctorate. It is the period in which a student's knowledge and work are evaluated by independent examiners. In order to assess the student and their work around their research ...
Defending your doctoral thesis: the PhD viva
Once you have submitted your thesis you will be invited to defend your doctorate at a 'viva voce' (Latin for 'by live voice') or oral examination. The thesis defence can be a daunting prospect, but many people really enjoy this experience of discussing their PhD research with genuinely interested experts. It can also be a useful networking ...
5 Tips for Preparing for Your PhD Viva
Here are some tips to help you prepare for the day. 1. Know Your Thesis. You should expect your examiners to have spent a considerable about of time going through your PhD thesis and the content of it will be fresh in their mind; make sure it's fresh in yours too. Yes, you're the one that's written it but, if you've planned well, you ...
5 tips for passing your PhD viva
It's a focused discussion giving you the opportunity to present your PhD thesis and then defend it in front of a panel of academic experts. 1. Understand what's expected of you. Traditionally, your thesis would always be discussed in person, with the interview style viva exam overseen by at least two (internal and external) examiners.
How to Excel in Your Doctoral Viva
How to excel in your doctoral viva offers an accessible guide to approaching and preparing for a PhD viva examination. The book explains what the viva is, how the process works, and what the purpose of the viva is. It guides the reader through the course of preparing for their viva examination, with chapters focusing on organisation to dealing with viva concerns.
PDF PhD Viva Guide
This guide aims to support PhD students in preparing for their oral examination, the viva voce. The motivation for developing such a resource is borne out of the recognition that PhD candidates' understanding of the viva process may be uneven. Although they are directed to sources about the PhD process, candidates
How to Defend a Thesis: An Introduction to the PhD Viva
Steps to Completing a PhD. Submit your thesis for the examiners to read ahead of the viva. Celebrate! Have the viva, where you'll defend a thesis and discuss your research. The examiners will decide from a list of possible outcomes as detailed later in this post. Celebrate!
Preparing for the Viva Exam
Dr Melanie Ghoul delivers the Viva Preparation and Practice Course for the Division. Her slides for the Viva Preparation course provide comprehensive information and advice on the kind of things you can do to prepare in different areas. Working through them will help you get ready for the exam. These are some suggestions to help you replicate ...
How To Prepare For The PhD Viva in 10 Days
Find the 10-Day Schedule Here https://www.thepagedoctor.com/post/preparing-for-the-phd-viva00:00 Introduction01:05 What is the purpose of a viva?02:17 The 10...
The Viva
The Graduate School has put together a complete online resource Passing your Viva, including information on the processes involved, and videos on both a student perspective and an examiner's perspective. If you want to request a remote Viva, you should read the Guidance for Students on the Modality of Final Thesis Research Degree Vivas .
Top 12 Potential PhD Viva Questions and How to Answer Them
Examiners are interested in knowing your understanding of the research, its methods, analysis and findings, conclusion and implications, etc. Despite the differences in every PhD viva, you must be prepared to answer these common questions logically. Below are some popular PhD viva questions to prepare: 1. Tell me about yourself.
How to... prepare for your PhD viva
Years of hard work have gone into your #PhD but how do you get through the final hurdle: your #PhDviva (also called PhD defense). In this #research #scicomm ...
Your PhD Viva and How to Prepare
At the end of the long road of your PhD research, lies the viva examination. Just as every PhD is different, then every viva is different. But there are some things that all PhD candidates can do ahead of time to prepare academically, mentally and physically for the viva examination. Handing in your thesis at the first submission as it gets ...
The PhD Viva: How to Prepare for Your Oral Examination: Bloomsbury
1. Introduction 2. The PhD Viva 3. The Examination Panel 4. Preparing for Your Viva 5. Typical Questions and How to Answer them 6. The Viva Itself 7. The Outcome 8. Case Studies 9. Summary and the Future References, Further Reading and Web Based Resources.
PhD Viva: What it is and How to Prepare
The official name for a PhD Viva is Viva Voce, which is Latin for living voice. It is an oral examination, comprising 20% towards the evaluation of a doctoral degree. The other 80% of the doctoral degree is allocated to the research work. Both are compulsory components of any Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) programme.
How to prepare for PhD viva? Get advice from researchers around the
To prepare for PhD viva, first read carefully the thesis from the start to the end. Do it at least once before the viva. It should be a deep reading and try to stop and challenge your self about what you have written. Ask yourself if you were the examiner how could you ask about this point. Do not leave anything vague.
A guide to answering PhD viva questions (with examples)
Asking this question is a way for the viva examiners to check your ability to critically evaluate your own work. First, review the literature and determine whether there are alternative explanations for what you found in your research. If so, explain them. If not, explain why they don't exist/aren't relevant to your findings.
Impressing the Examiners: How to Prepare for Your PhD Viva
On the day of the viva, arrive early with plenty of time to spare. You may consider spending the night nearby if you live far away. Make sure you know where to go, and are properly fed and hydrated. You may wish to bring water with you to the viva itself. Re-read your notes and try to focus on relaxing.
13 steps I took to prepare for my PhD viva
So I started preparing for my thesis approximately a month before my viva, and this is how: Step 1: The first thing I did was read this really useful three part blogpost by Fiona Noble. I decided I was going to tackle the preparation in a similar fashion. Step 2: I knew I had to read the thesis cover to cover, but I was dreading it.
Navigating the Assessment Period: Top tips from peer mentors
Supriya Bajaj, who is studying Masters of Analytics, says that for students approaching assessments, her advice would be to start early, stay organised, and reach out for help if needed. "Break down your tasks into manageable chunks, prioritize effectively, and utilize resources such as peer mentors, academic support services, and study ...

How to survive a PhD viva: 17 top tips

Preparing for the viva

During the viva

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Defending your doctoral thesis: the PhD viva

Viva preparation

Things you may wish to take with you

During the viva

After your viva

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5 Tips for Preparing for Your PhD Viva

1. Know Your Thesis

2. Know Your Examiners

3. Think of Possible Questions

4. Bring a Copy of Your Thesis

5. Focus on Your Strengths

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5 tips for passing your PhD viva

What is a PhD viva?

1. Understand what's expected of you

2. Know your thesis inside out

3. Anticipate the viva questions

4. Learn about your examiners' own work

5. Plan towards the viva exam

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How to Excel in Your Doctoral Viva

Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK

Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK

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Table of contents (11 chapters)

What Is the Viva?

Urban Myths about the PhD Viva

Real Viva Experiences

About this book

Authors and Affiliations

Bibliographic Information

How to Defend a Thesis: An Introduction to the PhD Viva

Defend a Thesis: Overview of the PhD Viva Series

How is a PhD Assessed?

Steps to Completing a PhD

PhD Viva vs PhD Defence

Who is Present During the PhD Viva?

How the PhD Viva is Structured

Possible PhD Viva Outcomes

Making Changes to Your PhD Thesis

Should You Strive For No Amendments?

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Preparing for the Viva Exam

How to prepare

Listing concerns

The examiner’s perspective

The Student's Perspective

Practice Session

Other resources and ideas

Formal bits

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Preparing for your Viva

Anticipate questions that will be asked

Review your material

Keep calm, relax, sleep well and eat well

During your Viva

Top 12 Potential PhD Viva Questions and How to Answer Them

Types of PhD Viva Questions

Commonly Asked PhD Viva Questions and How to Answer Them

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