Possible Questions In Defending Thesis

At my viva, I gave a presentation (using slides) about some experiments I did after I submitted my thesis.But it's unusual for the candidate to give a presentation, and your supervisor should advise you if it is appropriate to do this.

At my viva, I gave a presentation (using slides) about some experiments I did after I submitted my thesis.But it's unusual for the candidate to give a presentation, and your supervisor should advise you if it is appropriate to do this.

A good supervisor will point out the contentious statements and grill you over them. The conclusion chapter is a major one to focus on in anticipating viva questions - especially where you criticise your work!

Obviously, it's essential to know your own thesis thoroughly.

However, the main preparation for the viva is reading.

These are the things to prioritise: It might be an idea to publish a paper or two between submitting your thesis and the viva - I wish I had done so. The time between submitting the thesis and the viva varies greatly.

The shortest time I've heard of between submission and viva is three weeks (different subject, different university).

They have to give you at least two weeks' notice before the viva. My internal examiner suggested a couple of dates, I chose 18th September and asked for in IT406, and this was officially confirmed a few days later.I also updated this document in the light of Alex Gray's keynote speech, "Surviving the Ph D Viva: An External Examiners Perspective" at the 2002 Research Students' Symposium.If you can think of any viva-style questions that are not covered by the above, please do not hesitate to tell me, and I will consider them for inclusion on this page.I have tried to cluster related questions together here - they are not necessarily in order of importance, nor in the order that they are likely to be asked at the viva.Most of the viva will probably consist of questions about specific sections of your thesis, and the examiner should give a page-reference for each question.If you said anything without understanding it 100%, or anything you have doubts about having justified properly, add it to your viva file.You can go into university after you've submitted your thesis and your registration has expired - doing some more practical work may (or may not) help to keep the subject alive in your head (you could do experiments and take printouts of the results to the viva).They could ask you to explain/justify any statement in the thesis, so beware of baring nasty branches for clarification at the viva!Identify the contentious statements in the thesis, which you anticipate having to defend in the viva.A Ph D candidate needs to anticipate the questions that are likely to be asked in the viva - the "horrible ordeal where you have to defend your thesis in person before they rip you to shreds." Actually, it's not nearly as bad as it sounds, provided that you enter it having prepared to your utmost.There are three reasons why Ph D candidates have to have a viva: it is so the examiners can see: It's crucial to get the philosophy of your thesis (as set out in your Chapter 1) absolutely correct, and clear in your mind by the time of the viva, because if the examiners find holes, they'll run rings round you.