Charlene Cross

I submitted my thesis in late July 2024. Although I felt excitement and relief at having reached this milestone, my PhD journey was not complete. When well-meaning friends asked me ‘what’s next?’ I had a ready-made answer: my viva!

Rest

As the viva was scheduled for October, I had sufficient time to put a critical distance between myself and my work. Although you may not initially realise it, finishing your PhD can be exhausting. In the first few weeks I gave myself permission to relax. I had guilt free lie-ins with the cats, started a new cross stitch pattern, and dusted off my sewing machine to get a head start on making a Halloween costume.

Don’t read your thesis

Ironically, the best advice I can give to candidates awaiting their viva is to avoid reading their thesis for a month. This preparatory tactic was confirmed to be effective by several people I know who hold a PhD. The reason being, it is impossible to stop thinking about your PhD. By avoiding the physical manuscript you are forced to rely on your memory, synthesising the material in a way that is intuitive to you. This helps you fine tune your arguments, which will translate into viva confidence when asked to elaborate upon the ideas in your text.

Talk it out

Though I believe that not reading my work was very helpful, I also engaged in proactive methods of viva preparation. In September, I had a one-hour mock viva on campus. Aside from recreating the exam format, this experience was valuable in ironing out practical issues. The mock viva gave me the opportunity to try out using my laptop instead of a hard copy of my thesis, and confirmed that I would be more comfortable printing a hard copy for the real thing.

Change the format

I would recommend having a mock viva. If this is not possible, you could create a short presentation for an aspect of your thesis and practice delivering your written ideas as an oral presentation. Over summer my supervisor encouraged me to apply to present at a conference. I used my PhD text like a textbook, flipping to specific sections to prepare an abstract, When my abstract was accepted, preparing to talk to a new audience also aided me in my viva.

Break it down

By the day of the viva, you are going to know your material. I revisited the manuscript two weeks before the viva, following Pat Thomson’s advice and reading it like an examiner. Rather than reading cover to cover, I focused on the priority areas first. I used Word Read aloud to listen to my thesis. Hearing the text helped me to identify overlooked errors, such as typos where a word was spelled correctly but was contextually incorrect (e.g. resit and resist). Changing the medium allowed me to relax by engaging in other activities whilst jogging my memory. The night before my viva I was building a Lego castle whilst listening to my PhD like a podcast.

The big day

For me, the hardest part of the viva was the wait. Until I knew whether the work had passed or needed major corrections, I felt like I was in limbo. One way to manage this uncertainty is to focus on the things that are in your control. As my independent chair reminded me: this is your viva. You can request a hybrid or online viva if that suits you better, but I opted for an in-person examination.

In terms of logistics, the viva lasted two hours with a rest break in the middle. I was examined on the first four chapters of my thesis including my methodology before the break, and the second half focused on my data chapters. My supervisors attended for moral support, and I waited with them whilst the examiners deliberated. I was delighted to hear ‘congratulations Doctor!’ when I returned to the room, and the examiners and supervisors recommended suitable journals to consider for future publications.

Finishing touches

The minor corrections I was asked to make were along the lines of ‘we liked what you said in the viva, but it’s not in the written document. Please add a paragraph’. It is worth mentioning that you should only make the minimum corrections that your examiners require. Though you may have improved as a writer since submitting the thesis, you need to know when to stop and move on- or risk a second viva!

Once the changes are approved, you will submit an e-copy of your thesis for the SHURA repository. Whilst awaiting your viva, you can double check you have permission to publish any third party material in your thesis. After completing this final-final-final step, you are now ready to graduate! In terms of what comes next, my partner gave me a beautiful book, Tim Minchin’s You Don’t Have to Have a Dream. A lot of hard work goes into doing a PhD. Make time to celebrate each milestone, including submitting your manuscript and experiencing a viva, no matter the outcome. Good luck!