Survive-a-Viva

Doctorates vary in the way they are assessed from country to country. In almost all however, there is a concluding examination. The extent to which this is real, that is, that there is a significant prospect that the work might fail, or represents the formalisation of a prior determination that the thesis meets an acceptable standard, differs. In many continental European countries, theses are awarded a grade based on a final examination, which is important for academic careers. In most, but not all countries, the US is an exception, the final examination involves independent academics from other universities. The centrepiece  of the process is universally an oral exam or viva, short for viva voce, in which the candidate is asked to 'defend' their thesis.

The viva was until relatively recently a common way of testing knowledge and students could be expected to be familiar with it. It has now become marginalised and largely replaced within the educational process by written tests. The consequence is that the oral examination associated with the major staging posts of a thesis might be the first that a student encounters and hence unduly intimidating. Furthermore, because the process takes place, in many cases, behind closed doors it is difficult to get a real sense of what is entailed. The purpose of this short discussion is to dispose of some myths and to give some simple pointers on how to 'Survive-a-Viva'. Though I have examined in many countries my advice, obviously, has particular relevance for the UK.

Before we start it is important to observe that the selection of examiners plays a critical role in the success or otherwise of a thesis examination. Your supervisor might reasonably be expected to discuss this with you. You should, in general, follow their guidance. They will know the people in the field and will have seen them in programme committees and editorial boards and hence, have a good sense of their orientation and temperament. You may have come across some experts less known to your supervisor, you should feel free to suggest these names. Do not under any circumstances consider somebody who is not really smart, better somebody with less immediate expertise but who is clever. The problem with less-clever examiners is that, though they might not spot a problem, they may equally be convinced they have found one where none exists. They can also ask 'random' questions which are much more difficult to answer than questions that are sharp but to the point. Experienced examiners are also a boon. I recall my father advising me when I was first invited to be an examiner: "remember it is about showing how clever the student is, not about showing how clever you are". Sometimes inexperienced examiners forget such advice, if they ever received it.

Preparation for your viva is important. 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. Ask your supervisor or somebody else who might be attending to keep note of all the questions you are asked. Read the exam regulations and take a look at the form examiners are asked to complete and sign. Above all ensure a date is set sufficiently in advance. To get a group of busy academics in a room, having read your thesis, may take 3 months so it can be wise to have a date pencilled in before you submit. You will probably not need much rereading of your thesis. At this point you will have large chunks almost by heart. A quick trawl through the pieces that have not been looked at recently and a look at any tricky pieces of analysis are all that is necessary. Focus your effort on an opening statement and the few 'obvious' set piece questions. We will come to these below. Remember, above all, that it is difficult to fail a good thesis because of a poor viva and that a poor thesis can be rescued by a good viva. Ultimately you can only win.

Now to the viva itself. You should treat this as an intelligent conversation among interested colleagues. It should not be an interrogation and in the rare cases it becomes one it will likely be due to mishandling by student and examiners together. Assume knowledge and good will on the part of the examiner even when questioning appears hostile. Answer patiently, politely and responsively. Listen very carefully to questions. If they are long and multi-part you can keep a note. If you do not understand a question, ask for it to be repeated. If you still do not understand, attempt your own rephrasing prior to answering. Give full and informative answers but do not give lengthy speeches. Use a whiteboard, can be very helpful in conveying complex points. Do not interrupt but feel free to direct a discussion with a helpful explanation, thus: "It may help if I ...". Read the body language of your examiner and be conscious of your own, if you find your posture conveys anxiety or, worse, defensiveness, adjust it. Do not look at your supervisor when answering difficult questions.

If your examiner identifies typos or minor technical errors, acknowledge them and immediately undertake to correct them in a 'published' version of the thesis. Express thanks for the assistance. If your examiner identifies, and cannot be persuaded from, a more major problem you should adopt one of following approaches: (a) acknowledge the limitation but relate it to a framing assumption; (b) indicate it as future work beyond the scope of the thesis; (c) beg to differ and seek politely to persuade the examiner of your case. Under no circumstances should you enter into an argument about possible corrections. This is a matter for subsequent discussion.

A common problem in vivas is that students are irresistibly drawn to discussing the weakest points of their own thesis. Frequently the most innocuous question is misinterpreted as the feared uncovering of the fatal flaw. In preparation I suggest listing down the most difficult questions that an examiner could possibly ask and then sketching answers to each. Now, having drawn the sting, you can be assured that it is most unlikely that these questions will be asked, but you are in any case prepared. Engaging in this process should hopefully inoculate you against the temptation to answer challenges that have not been put to you! This does not mean you should not be self-critical. Do not puff your own work, it does not need it.

The lengths of vivas vary. In some countries this is exactly specified, in others such as the UK, it may be from 90 minutes to several hours. This depends on the character and mood of the examiners. The length of the viva is very much independent of the outcome. A long viva may be equally accounted for by examiners who want to give the student every chance to supplement a weak thesis as by examiners who are very interested in the content and want to understand more. You can ask for a break at any time and usually a hot drink if the viva goes on for a continued period.

Questions are difficult to predict exactly. Some examiners work systematically through the thesis picking up points as they occurred to them in reading, others have  a few 'big' questions that they will launch into. Most examiners will open with a few 'easy' introductory questions such as 'what are your key findings / contributions'. Some may want you to set the thesis 'in the context of the larger discipline', a variant of the key contributions question, or ask you to address the motivation for your work. I always recommend my students to have a few words prepared (though not to obviously speak from notes). A longer opening statement, but not in excess of 8 minutes, is usually welcomed. At the conclusion of the viva you may well be asked to give a closing statement or to pick up any points that you missed or might want to clarify. I suggest a quick revisit of the contribution and a strong positive statement about the motivation for and importance of the work. Close on an upbeat positive note.

In a UK setting it is common for even the strongest theses to require minor corrections which may take several weeks. Warn friends and family that this is a likely outcome. You and your supervisor will need to work with the examiners to ensure that any changes are well specified and limited in scope. The examiner may not be aware of which changes can be easily executed and which others require large amounts of work, new experiments and so on, this would be the time to -politely- draw it to their attention. The worst case, in the UK, is either a 'referral' with the option to accept an MPhil (a lesser degree) or an outright failure. These are rare outcomes and it would be unusual in the extreme if this had not been signalled as a possibility in advance by supervisor or independent readers. Some of the best theses I have read have emerged from prematurely submitted work that has been through the referral process. What may at the time appear a setback can have positive outcomes. In the final analysis all that the 'world' sees is the final thesis and award.

Think of it like this. There are not many times when somebody will say "tell me all about your thesis" and mean it and listen to the answer. Too good an opportunity to miss really.