PhD Update 19: The Reckoning

The inevitability of all PhDs. At first it seems distant and ephemeral, but it is also the inescapable and unavoidable destination for all on the epic journey of the PhD.

Sit down and listen as I tell my own tale of the event I speak of.

• PhD Update 1: Directions
• PhD Update 2: The experiment, the data, and the supercomputers
• PhD Update 3: Simulating simulations with some success
• PhD Update 4: Ginormous Data
• PhD Update 5: Hyper optimisation and frustration
• PhD Update 6: The road ahead
• PhD Update 7: Just out of reach
• PhD Update 8: Eggs in Baskets
• PhD Update 9: Results?
• PhD Update 10: Sharing with the world
• PhD Update 11: Answers to our questions
• PhD Update 12: Is it enough?
• PhD Update 13: A half complete
• PhD Update 14: An old enemy
• PhD Update 15: Finding what works when
• PhD Update 16: Realising the possibilities of the past
• PhD Update 17: Light at the end of the tunnel
• PhD Update 18: The end and the beginning

I am, of course, talking about the PhD Viva. It differs from country to country, but here in the UK the viva is an "exam" that happens a few months after you have submitted your thesis (PhD Update 18: The end and the beginning). Unlike across the pond in the US, in the UK vivas are a much more private affair, with only you, the chair, and your internal and external examiners normally attending.

In my case, that was 2 externals (as I am also staff, ref Achievement get: Experimental Officer Position!), an internal, and of course the chair. I won't name them as I'm unsure of policy there, but they were experts in the field and very kind people.

I write this a few weeks removed from the actual event (see also my post on Fediscience at the time), and I thought that my viva itself deserved a special entry in this series dedicated to it.

My purpose in this post is to talk about my experience as honestly and candidly as I can, and offer some helpful advice from someone who has now been through the process.

The Structure

The viva itself took about 4 hours. It's actually a pretty complicated affair: all your examiners (both internal and external) have to read your thesis and come up with a list of questions (hidden from you of course). Then, on the day but before you enter the room they have to debate who is going to ask what to avoid duplication.

In practice this usually means that the examiners will meet in the morning to discuss, before having lunch and then convening for the actual viva bit where they ask the questions. In my case, I entered the room to meet the examiners and say hi, before leaving again for them to sort out who was going to ask what.

Then, the main part of the viva simply consists of you answering all the questions that they have for you. Once all the questions are answered, then the viva is done.

You are usually allowed a copy of your thesis in one form or another to assist you while answering their questions. The exact form this will take varies from institution to institution, so I recommended always checking this with someone in charge (e.g. the Doctoral College in my case) well in advance - you don't want to be hit with paperwork and confusion minutes before your viva is scheduled to start!

After the questions, you leave the room again for the examiners to deliberate over what the outcome will be, before calling you back into the room to give you the news.

Once they have done this: the whole thing is over and you can go sleep (trust me, you will not want to do anything else).

My experience

As I alluded to in the aforementioned post on fediscience (a node in the fediverse), I found the viva a significantly intense experience - and one I'm not keen on repeating any time soon. I strongly recommend having someone nearby as emotional support for after the viva and during those periods when you have to step out of the room. I am not ashamed to admit that there were tears after the exam had ended.

More of the questions than I expected focused on the 'big picture' kinda stuff, like how my research questions linked in with the rest of the thesis, and how the thesis flowed. I was prepared for technical questions -- and there were some technical questions -- but the 'fluffy stuff' kinda questions caught me a little off guard. For example, there were some questions about my introduction and how while I introduced the subject matter well, the jump into the technical stuff with the research questions was quite jarring, with concepts mentioned that weren't introduced beforehand.

To this end, I can recommend looking over the 'big picture' stuff beforehand so that you are prepared for questions that quiz you on your motivations for doing your research in the first place and question different aspects research questions.

It can also feel quite demoralising, being questioned for hours on what has been your entire life for multiple years. It can feel like all you have done is pointless, and you need to start over. While it is sure that you could improve upon your methods if you started from scratch, remember that you have worked hard to get to this point! You have discovered things that were not known to the world before your research began, and that is a significant accomplishment!

Try not to think too hard about the corrections you will need to make once the viva is done. Institutions differ, but in my case it is the job of the chair to compile the list of corrections and then send them to you (in one form or another). The list of corrections - even if they are explained to you verbally when you go back in to receive the result - may surprise you.

Outcome

As I am sure that most of you reading this are wondering, what was my result?! Before I tell you, I will preface the answer to your burning question with a list of the possible outcomes:

• Pass with no corrections (extremely rare)
• Pass with X months corrections (common, where X is a multiple of 3)
• Fail (also extremely rare)

In my case, I passed with corrections!

It is complicated by the fact that while the panel decided that I had 6 months of corrections to do, I am not able to spend 100% of my time doing them. To this end, it is currently undefined how long I will have to do them - paperwork is still being sorted out.

The reasons for this are many, but chief among them is that I will be doing some teaching in September - more to come on my experience doing that in a separate post (series?) just as soon as I have clarified what I can talk about and what I can't.

I have yet to recieve a list of the corrections themselves (although I have not checked my email recently as I'm on holiday now as I write this), but it is likely that the corrections will include re-running some experiments - a process I have begun already.

Looking ahead

So here we are. I have passed my viva with corrections! This is not the end of this series - I will keep everyone updated in future posts as I work through the corrections.

I also intend to write a post or two about my experience learning to teach - a (side)quest that I am currently persuing in my capacity as Experimental Officer (research is still my focus - don't worry!)

Hopefully this post has provided some helpful insight into the process of the PhD viva - and my experience in mine.

The viva is not a destination: only a waypoint on a longer journey.

If you have any questions, I am happy to anwser them in the comments, and chat on the fediverse and via other related channels.