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The PhD Viva
gillian.gray@ed.ac.uk PI in the Centre for Cardiovascular Science, QMRI, BQ
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The PhD Viva
GAG Pop-up IAD, June 2020 1989
The PhD Viva gillian.gray@ed.ac.uk PI in the Centre for - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
The PhD Viva gillian.gray@ed.ac.uk PI in the Centre for - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
The PhD Viva gillian.gray@ed.ac.uk PI in the Centre for Cardiovascular Science, QMRI, BQ GAG Pop-up IAD, June 2020 The PhD Viva gillian.gray@ed.ac.uk 1989 PI in the Centre for Cardiovascular Science, QMRI, BQ experienced my own viva
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The PhD Viva
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The PhD Viva
An opportunity for you to discuss and defend the research that you have worked hard to produce over the previous 3 or so years
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The examiners will want to establish that
- the work in the thesis is largely original and of publishable quality
- you carried out the work and you can defend the choices and
conclusions made
- you have have developed critical analysis skills and can appreciate your
conclusions in the light of others working in the field
- you can understand the limitations of your work and suggest alternative
approaches and future directions
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The PhD Viva=Thesis Defence
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be confident-you are the expert on the work presented in your thesis
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Advance Preparation & On the Day
……..over to post-docs………
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In advance
know your thesis thoroughly, where are the weaknesses, have thought about how to discuss them make sure that you are up to date with relevant literature be able to explain how your thesis fits into the big picture have a mock viva with your supervisor if you think it will help, but not essential do a little research on your examiners, what are they likely to ask ? check out the university guidelines on vivas ( CMVM PGR Wiki) make sure that you understand your stats
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On the day
Take some water, usually supplied, but just in case Bring a soft bound printed copy of your thesis Take some paper and a few pens, incase one runs
- ut, for taking notes or to make drawings that might
help the discussion Dress smartly- it puts you in the right frame of mind for the occasion Check timings and arrange to wait somewhere e.g. supervisors office to be called for your defence
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Spare a thought for your supervisor
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The Viva Format (Edinburgh)
Internal Examiner (plus Non-Examining Chair if internal is new and has no experience) External Examiner ( 2 if you are a university employee, includes clinical fellows)
Some Universities allow the supervisor to sit in but I have not come across this in Edinburgh, in my experience everyone more relaxed without them
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The Viva Format (Edinburgh)
Internal Examiner (plus Non-Examining Chair if internal is new and has no experience) External Examiner ( 2 if you are a university employee, includes clinical fellows) The examiners will have submitted pre-viva reports, usually they will meet for 15 mins or so before viva to discuss reports, any points of focus/contention for viva and how they will work together in discussion.
Some Universities allow the supervisor to sit in but I have not come across this in Edinburgh, in my experience everyone more relaxed without them
They will call for you when ready to start
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introductions, internal or NEC will explain the set-up and process sometimes a short presentation-agreed between examiners and candidate in advance, can be helpful to set the scene, but probably won’t change the questions much
The Viva Format
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Usually some informal chat first- what are you planning after the PhD? etc to make you feel more relaxed Thesis discussion, front to back or free discussion and everything in between
The Viva Format
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Timing can vary, typically around 2-2.5h
The Viva Format
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What can go wrong ?
Thesis is poorly written or presented: not a great way to start with the examiners! Usually because you have not involved your supervisor enough in preparation ( or they have not engaged with corrections). Usually means major changes after the viva. Statistics: incorrectly applied or you can’t defend them You can’t defend the experiments or explain the conclusions adequately, you don’t know the literature: poor preparation Plagiarism: even unintended, check out the rules and make sure you stick to them
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Failure, downgrade to MPhil and requests for new experiments are rare, and usually when there has been a breakdown of communication with the supervisor(s) regarding submission Requirement for substantial changes and rewriting is more common if there are issues
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What can go wrong ?
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you will be asked to leave the room for a short period so that examiners can decide on recommendation to PGR committee, agree on time to be offered for changes, usually 1 mth or 3mths if no additional experiments are required .
The Viva -the end !
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agree on changes and how they will be handled, usually checked by internal
Its all over…
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…. and hope that they remembered to organize some put your supervisor out of their misery
Its all over…
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