Soooooo at the end of February, I had my viva (viva voce exam - essentially where you're questioned on your thesis). The result is... once I get the corrections done, I will get a Ph.D.! It was such a surreal experience really, if I'm honest, as you're aware of The Viva since you start your Ph.D., you build up to it (particularly once you've submitted your thesis), then a long chat later it's all over...!
To be honest, it was hard to know how best to prepare for the viva. And, I also think that all vivas are different, so wouldn't that make it harder to know how to prepare? Then there are questions that you wouldn't have thought of, so really there's no way to "prepare" for them!?
But, having gone through the viva and having got some recommendations from others, I'd say that the most important thing is to remember that you know your Ph.D. project the best! - go through the thesis to refresh your memory (as there will be a gap between the submission and the viva), and think about the limitations of the work. Also, have a look at recent papers, and have a look at your examiners' papers too. Another thing to remember is that this is the only time you'll be sat in a room with people who have thoroughly read your work, so enjoy it as much as you can...! Finally, don't panic! - you know your project, and the examiners aren't there to catch you out.
What was really nice for me was that I managed to relax into it once the viva got going, and in the end I had no idea how much time had passed - if other people hadn't told me, then I wouldn't know! At times it felt like there was too much I didn't know, but I was reassured when I came out that that's ok, after all the examiners are trying to determine how much you know! And, as someone (my supervisor I think) pointed out later, you focus much more on the questions you couldn't answer than those that you answered straight away! Also, there were times when I didn't know the answer straight away, but managed to find it by talking it through with the examiners.
So, overall I'd say that my viva wasn't a bad experience, and it certainly wasn't as bad as I anticipated! If you have a viva coming up, then good luck - I hope you've found this helpful. Like I said, the most important thing going in to the viva in my opinion is to know your work well, and don't panic! - there will be questions you don't know the answer to, and that's fine, be honest about that.
Cheers,
Maho
To be honest, it was hard to know how best to prepare for the viva. And, I also think that all vivas are different, so wouldn't that make it harder to know how to prepare? Then there are questions that you wouldn't have thought of, so really there's no way to "prepare" for them!?
But, having gone through the viva and having got some recommendations from others, I'd say that the most important thing is to remember that you know your Ph.D. project the best! - go through the thesis to refresh your memory (as there will be a gap between the submission and the viva), and think about the limitations of the work. Also, have a look at recent papers, and have a look at your examiners' papers too. Another thing to remember is that this is the only time you'll be sat in a room with people who have thoroughly read your work, so enjoy it as much as you can...! Finally, don't panic! - you know your project, and the examiners aren't there to catch you out.
What was really nice for me was that I managed to relax into it once the viva got going, and in the end I had no idea how much time had passed - if other people hadn't told me, then I wouldn't know! At times it felt like there was too much I didn't know, but I was reassured when I came out that that's ok, after all the examiners are trying to determine how much you know! And, as someone (my supervisor I think) pointed out later, you focus much more on the questions you couldn't answer than those that you answered straight away! Also, there were times when I didn't know the answer straight away, but managed to find it by talking it through with the examiners.
So, overall I'd say that my viva wasn't a bad experience, and it certainly wasn't as bad as I anticipated! If you have a viva coming up, then good luck - I hope you've found this helpful. Like I said, the most important thing going in to the viva in my opinion is to know your work well, and don't panic! - there will be questions you don't know the answer to, and that's fine, be honest about that.
Cheers,