Preparing for your viva

Session facilitator: Dr Paul Jeff (Lecturer in Photography)

This workshop is designed for those approaching the end of their PhD and getting ready for the viva voce: the spoken presentation in which you will defend your thesis in front of a panel of examiners. However, PGRs at any stage of their studies are welcome to attend and pick up some valuable advice.

The talk begins with a discussion of the origins of the viva voce process going back to explain the Socratic Method, a cooperative argument in which the defence of one point of view is questioned. We will discuss the constituency of the viva board, as we also consider the practicalities that lead up to it. Now, what are the basic questions of a viva, and what is its practical purpose? We will talk about how to prepare for a viva, identifying your points of strength and weakness. This is in order to be ready for any question that may arise. The need to practice! – very important. At this point it is useful to try and work out what questions your examiners might ask, so there are certain elements that we should rehearse, the hypothesis, the original contribution and more. Beyond specifics, what kind of general questions do examiners sometimes fall back on during their own preparation? What else might they ask? – future directions, the justification for certain elements, or omissions etc. We will consider how to prepare for your particular examiners, they will have been chosen specifically, and finally some tips to remember to aid you through the inevitable nerves, remembering that you are the expert here and they are curious regarding your perspective on a subject they have an interest in.

Learning outcomes at research degrees level include:

the ability to create and interpret new knowledge, through original research or other advanced scholarship, of a quality to satisfy peer review, extend the forefront of the discipline, and merit publication

to demonstrate informed judgements on complex issues in specialist fields, often in the absence of complete data, and be able to communicate their ideas and conclusions clearly and effectively to specialist and non-specialist audiences

to continue to undertake pure and/or applied research and development at an advanced level, contributing substantially to the development of new techniques, ideas or approaches.

 To book your place via Eventbrite, please click here.