The viva voce

“Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.” ― Abraham Lincoln

Friends and colleagues outside of academia often thought that I would be ‘done’ with my PhD once the manuscript was submitted. On the contrary, the submission of the thesis is only the beginning of a new chapter: the viva voce (or viva). Unlike any other degree, the thesis is not marked and graded. Instead, PhD candidates must defend their work in an oral examination to be awarded their title, called a viva voce (i.e. an oral examination). Although, few students fail their viva, there is always a chance that they may end up with major corrections.

Once submitted to the university, my PhD thesis was sent to my examiners, senior academics from external institutions appointed a few months prior. I knew one of my examiners and was happy with my supervisors’ choices. The thesis was submitted early November, and the viva date set for 14th January 2021.

I ultimately took a week off to prepare for my viva. My revision involved going reading and annotating my thesis for potential trick questions, preparing my answers to list of common questions, and getting up to speed with the latest publications in my field. Additionally, my supervisors decided to organize a mock viva a few days prior to D-Day, which was an absolute blessing in disguise as it helped me frame my ideas and answers better.

To say that I was nervous on D-Day is an understatement. My examiners immediately put me at ease by complementing me on the quality and quantity of the empirical work conducted. Overall, my viva lasted 3 hours; I defended my work like a lioness protecting her cub! Once the examiners were done with their line of questioning, I asked to leave the Teams meeting to let them deliberate.

Welcome back Dr!

... and suddenly, 6 years of work were finally rewarded! I managed to hold it together in front of my examiners, the Chair and my supervisor (who had listened quietly to the viva proceedings for 3 long hours), but I burst in tears (of joy) as soon as hung up. It felt like a mountain had been lifted off my shoulders. I passed my PhD with minor corrections to be completed in a period of 3 months to improve the overall quality of the work.

As I type those words, my corrections have been accepted and I am officially Dr Borel.

My top tips:

• Your PhD thesis won’t be perfect – I was once told this is perhaps the worst piece of work you’ll ever write
• A mock viva is totally worth it - it'll help you understand the examination process better and organize your thoughts/arguments
• Prepare common viva questions in advance and make sure you know your thesis inside out. Even though I was busy writing the paper we’re hoping to publish soon, I had completely forgotten some important details that helped strengthen my argumentation, research design and empirical choices
• The viva is ultimately a defense. Your external examiners are here to pull your research apart, so you have to be prepared to defend the how’s and why’s in your thesis. Do not give answers that may attract further questions from your examiners. Remember that you are the expert in your field
•  Sleep as much as you can before the big day; I would also recommend checking your notes a final time ahead of the viva
• Read this blog