PhD viva - length and content?

Hi all,

Just been thinking, how long do you expect your/a viva voce to last? Also, what content do they ask about? Sure they will ask you about background, your data etc. but... surely there has to be more than this to cover a few hours of time?

Nothing's really been mentioned about it at my Uni (yet) so I am trying to get some more information about what others are expecting!

Reply 1

returnmigrant

21

Most Unis will prepare you for a viva even is its just a lengthy chat with your supervisor - and if you arent offered that then *push* for it.

One good description of the process is at Uni of Leicester : http://www2.le.ac.uk/departments/gradschool/training/resources/viva

Good Luck!

Reply 2

gumball

OP

13

I'm a while away from my viva yet but I was just wondering about some of the details! I'll check out the link, thanks.

This was posted from The Student Room's iPhone/iPad App

Reply 3

ymmf

I remembered my bachelor honours degree viva (in biochemistry in NZ) - it was 2.5 hours long! The two examiners went through the WHOLE thesis page by page. This is worse than a PhD viva!

Reply 4

kka25

18

Original post by ymmf

I remembered my bachelor honours degree viva (in biochemistry in NZ) - it was 2.5 hours long! The two examiners went through the WHOLE thesis page by page. This is worse than a PhD viva!

I don't think you could compare the two together :wink:

But anyway, what kind of questions they asked you? How did you manage to answer all the questions?

Reply 5

flying plum

14

Original post by ymmf

I remembered my bachelor honours degree viva (in biochemistry in NZ) - it was 2.5 hours long! The two examiners went through the WHOLE thesis page by page. This is worse than a PhD viva!

A friend of a friend had a 5 hour viva for her PhD. One of the examiners started by literally opening her thesis at the first page, and going through it page by page.

Passed with no corrections though...

Most people I know who've viva-ed recently have been about 2.5-3 hours, or thereabouts.

Reply 6

kka25

18

Original post by flying plum

A friend of a friend had a 5 hour viva for her PhD. One of the examiners started by literally opening her thesis at the first page, and going through it page by page.

Passed with no corrections though...
.

That's an absolute :cool:

Reply 7

Cora Lindsay

10

Original post by gumball

Hi all,

Just been thinking, how long do you expect your/a viva voce to last? Also, what content do they ask about? Sure they will ask you about background, your data etc. but... surely there has to be more than this to cover a few hours of time?

Nothing's really been mentioned about it at my Uni (yet) so I am trying to get some more information about what others are expecting!

From my perspective in physical sciences-

Less than 90 minutes = poor value for money
Over 150 minutes = excessive

I feel a good viva is a scientific discussion which uses the thesis as a starting point. Techniques are often covered (do you understand the underlying principles, limitations etc) and the wider context (where does this work fit into the rest of the field?)

A bad viva nit-picks through the thesis point by point "Shouldn't this be a comma, not a semicolon?"

A seriously scary viva runs two hours without the examiner opening the thesis, and doing all the questioning from memory!

Reply 8

kka25

18

Original post by Cora Lindsay

From my perspective in physical sciences-

Less than 90 minutes = poor value for money

Why won't the shorter the better :tongue:

A bad viva nit-picks through the thesis point by point "Shouldn't this be a comma, not a semicolon?"

I was asked once on why I didn't use a particular citation format during a presentation I did ; they said that the numerical format I used didn't give them 'a clear description of the references'. The hell? :s-smilie:

A seriously scary viva runs two hours without the examiner opening the thesis, and doing all the questioning from memory!

eek!

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 9

Cora Lindsay

10

Original post by kka25

Why won't the shorter the better?

Because the student has invested 3, 4 or more years of their lives in the thesis and if the examiner flicks through it on the train journey, asks a few superficial questions, talks more than the candidate, and winds it all up in less than an hour (which I have seen), it leaves the student with a real sense of anticlimax.

To my mind, it is actually disrespectful to the student "Four years of your life is only worth a couple of hours of mine"

It is perfectly acceptable to open the viva by telling the candidate that you are very happy with the thesis, you see no reason why they won't pass, and you simply want to use it as the basis of a scientific discussion of the topic. That puts their mind at rest, and makes the whole viva much easier (provided you feel you can say those things)

Reply 10

to_ni

2

Original post by Cora Lindsay

Because the student has invested 3, 4 or more years of their lives in the thesis and if the examiner flicks through it on the train journey, asks a few superficial questions, talks more than the candidate, and winds it all up in less than an hour (which I have seen), it leaves the student with a real sense of anticlimax.

To my mind, it is actually disrespectful to the student "Four years of your life is only worth a couple of hours of mine"

It is perfectly acceptable to open the viva by telling the candidate that you are very happy with the thesis, you see no reason why they won't pass, and you simply want to use it as the basis of a scientific discussion of the topic. That puts their mind at rest, and makes the whole viva much easier (provided you feel you can say those things)