defended her phd

Defending Your Dissertation: A Guide

Written by Luke Wink-Moran | Photo by insta_photos

Dissertation defenses are daunting, and no wonder; it’s not a “dissertation discussion,” or a “dissertation dialogue.” The name alone implies that the dissertation you’ve spent the last x number of years working on is subject to attack. And if you don’t feel trepidation for semantic reasons, you might be nervous because you don’t know what to expect. Our imaginations are great at making The Unknown scarier than reality. The good news is that you’ll find in this newsletter article experts who can shed light on what dissertations defenses are really like, and what you can do to prepare for them.

The first thing you should know is that your defense has already begun. It started the minute you began working on your dissertation— maybe even in some of the classes you took beforehand that helped you formulate your ideas. This, according to Dr. Celeste Atkins, is why it’s so important to identify a good mentor early in graduate school.

“To me,” noted Dr. Atkins, who wrote her dissertation on how sociology faculty from traditionally marginalized backgrounds teach about privilege and inequality, “the most important part of the doctoral journey was finding an advisor who understood and supported what I wanted from my education and who was willing to challenge me and push me, while not delaying me.  I would encourage future PhDs to really take the time to get to know the faculty before choosing an advisor and to make sure that the members of their committee work well together.”

Your advisor will be the one who helps you refine arguments and strengthen your work so that by the time it reaches your dissertation committee, it’s ready. Next comes the writing process, which many students have said was the hardest part of their PhD. I’ve included this section on the writing process because this is where you’ll create all the material you’ll present during your defense, so it’s important to navigate it successfully. The writing process is intellectually grueling, it eats time and energy, and it’s where many students find themselves paddling frantically to avoid languishing in the “All-But-Dissertation” doldrums. The writing process is also likely to encroach on other parts of your life. For instance, Dr. Cynthia Trejo wrote her dissertation on college preparation for Latin American students while caring for a twelve-year-old, two adult children, and her aging parents—in the middle of a pandemic. When I asked Dr. Trejo how she did this, she replied:

“I don’t take the privilege of education for granted. My son knew I got up at 4:00 a.m. every morning, even on weekends, even on holidays; and it’s a blessing that he’s seen that work ethic and that dedication and the end result.”

Importantly, Dr. Trejo also exercised regularly and joined several online writing groups at UArizona. She mobilized her support network— her partner, parents, and even friends from high school to help care for her son.

The challenges you face during the writing process can vary by discipline. Jessika Iwanski is an MD/PhD student who in 2022 defended her dissertation on genetic mutations in sarcomeric proteins that lead to severe, neonatal dilated cardiomyopathy. She described her writing experience as “an intricate process of balancing many things at once with a deadline (defense day) that seems to be creeping up faster and faster— finishing up experiments, drafting the dissertation, preparing your presentation, filling out all the necessary documents for your defense and also, for MD/PhD students, beginning to reintegrate into the clinical world (reviewing your clinical knowledge and skill sets)!”

But no matter what your unique challenges are, writing a dissertation can take a toll on your mental health. Almost every student I spoke with said they saw a therapist and found their sessions enormously helpful. They also looked to the people in their lives for support. Dr. Betsy Labiner, who wrote her dissertation on Interiority, Truth, and Violence in Early Modern Drama, recommended, “Keep your loved ones close! This is so hard – the dissertation lends itself to isolation, especially in the final stages. Plus, a huge number of your family and friends simply won’t understand what you’re going through. But they love you and want to help and are great for getting you out of your head and into a space where you can enjoy life even when you feel like your dissertation is a flaming heap of trash.”

While you might sometimes feel like your dissertation is a flaming heap of trash, remember: a) no it’s not, you brilliant scholar, and b) the best dissertations aren’t necessarily perfect dissertations. According to Dr. Trejo, “The best dissertation is a done dissertation.” So don’t get hung up on perfecting every detail of your work. Think of your dissertation as a long-form assignment that you need to finish in order to move onto the next stage of your career. Many students continue revising after graduation and submit their work for publication or other professional objectives.

When you do finish writing your dissertation, it’s time to schedule your defense and invite friends and family to the part of the exam that’s open to the public. When that moment comes, how do you prepare to present your work and field questions about it?

“I reread my dissertation in full in one sitting,” said Dr. Labiner. “During all my time writing it, I’d never read more than one complete chapter at a time! It was a huge confidence boost to read my work in full and realize that I had produced a compelling, engaging, original argument.”

There are many other ways to prepare: create presentation slides and practice presenting them to friends or alone; think of questions you might be asked and answer them; think about what you want to wear or where you might want to sit (if you’re presenting on Zoom) that might give you a confidence boost. Iwanksi practiced presenting with her mentor and reviewed current papers to anticipate what questions her committee might ask.  If you want to really get in the zone, you can emulate Dr. Labiner and do a full dress rehearsal on Zoom the day before your defense.

But no matter what you do, you’ll still be nervous:

“I had a sense of the logistics, the timing, and so on, but I didn’t really have clear expectations outside of the structure. It was a sort of nebulous three hours in which I expected to be nauseatingly terrified,” recalled Dr. Labiner.

“I expected it to be terrifying, with lots of difficult questions and constructive criticism/comments given,” agreed Iwanski.

“I expected it to be very scary,” said Dr. Trejo.

“I expected it to be like I was on trial, and I’d have to defend myself and prove I deserved a PhD,” said Dr Atkins.

And, eventually, inexorably, it will be time to present.  

“It was actually very enjoyable” said Iwanski. “It was more of a celebration of years of work put into this project—not only by me but by my mentor, colleagues, lab members and collaborators! I felt very supported by all my committee members and, rather than it being a rapid fire of questions, it was more of a scientific discussion amongst colleagues who are passionate about heart disease and muscle biology.”

“I was anxious right when I logged on to the Zoom call for it,” said Dr. Labiner, “but I was blown away by the number of family and friends that showed up to support me. I had invited a lot of people who I didn’t at all think would come, but every single person I invited was there! Having about 40 guests – many of them joining from different states and several from different countries! – made me feel so loved and celebrated that my nerves were steadied very quickly. It also helped me go into ‘teaching mode’ about my work, so it felt like getting to lead a seminar on my most favorite literature.”

“In reality, my dissertation defense was similar to presenting at an academic conference,” said Dr. Atkins. “I went over my research in a practiced and organized way, and I fielded questions from the audience.

“It was a celebration and an important benchmark for me,” said Dr. Trejo. “It was a pretty happy day. Like the punctuation at the end of your sentence: this sentence is done; this journey is done. You can start the next sentence.”

If you want to learn more about dissertations in your own discipline, don’t hesitate to reach out to graduates from your program and ask them about their experiences. If you’d like to avail yourself of some of the resources that helped students in this article while they wrote and defended their dissertations, check out these links:

The Graduate Writing Lab

https://thinktank.arizona.edu/writing-center/graduate-writing-lab

The Writing Skills Improvement Program

https://wsip.arizona.edu

Campus Health Counseling and Psych Services

https://caps.arizona.edu

https://www.scribbr.com/

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Defending your doctoral thesis: the PhD viva

Format for defending a doctoral thesis.

Every institution will have specific regulations for the thesis defence. In some countries or institutions, the convention is for thesis defences to be public events where you will give a lecture explaining your research, followed by a discussion with a panel of examiners (opponents). Both your examiners and the audience are able to ask questions.

In other countries, including the UK, the oral examination is usually conducted behind closed doors by at least two examiners, usually with at least one being from another institution (external examiner) and an expert in your topic of research. In the UK the supervisor does not participate in the viva, but may be allowed to observe. Sometimes someone from your own institution is appointed as an independent chair. Although it is now becoming more common for the candidate to have an opportunity to give a public lecture in UK institutions, this does not form part of the examination and may or may not be attended by the examiners.

Viva preparation

Take the preparation for your viva seriously and devote a substantial amount of time to it. The viva preparation checklist may be useful to help you prepare.

Your institution may offer courses on viva preparation and there may be opportunities to organise a practice viva. Take advantage of these opportunities: they can be extremely valuable experiences.

Things you may wish to take with you

• your thesis – mildly annotated if you wish
• a list of questions that you might be asked and your planned responses
• any questions that you want to ask your examiners
• additional notes which you have made during your revision
• list of minor corrections that you have come across during your revision.

During the viva

Your study will have strengths and weaknesses: it is essential that you are prepared to discuss both. You could think of any weaknesses as an opportunity to demonstrate your skill at critical appraisal. Examiners will seek to find and discuss weaknesses in all theses. Do not interpret criticism as indication of a possible negative outcome.

Examiners have different personalities, styles and levels of experience. Sometimes a candidate may feel that a challenge is made in a confrontational way. Experienced, effective examiners will not be inappropriately confrontational, but some will. Do not take offence. A relaxed, thoughtful, and non-confrontational response from you will help re-balance the discussion. Having an independent chair can help maintain a constructive environment.

Useful tips for during your viva:

• Ask for clarification of ambiguous questions or ask for the question to be repeated if necessary
• Take time to think before answering
• Be prepared to ask questions and enter into a dialogue with your examiners
• Be prepared to discuss your research in context of other work done in your field
• Be ready to admit if you don't know the answer to a question
• Be prepared to express opinions of your own

You are not expected to have perfect recall of your thesis and everything that you have read and done. If you get flustered, or need to refer to notes your examiners will understand. They have been in your situation themselves!

After your viva

There are several possible outcomes   of a thesis defence. Most commonly, your examiners will recommend to your institution that you are awarded your degree subject to minor corrections, although in some instances they might ask for more substantial work.

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Inside the new world of online dissertation defenses

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Call it another MIT innovation. When PhD student Jesse Tordoff passed her dissertation defense this month, she learned about the outcome in a new way: Her professors sent a thumbs-up emoji on the Zoom screen they were all sharing.

Welcome to the new world of the online dissertation defense, one of many changes academia is making during the Covid-19 pandemic. For generations, dissertation defenses have been crowning moments for PhD candidates, something they spend years visualizing. At a defense, a student presents work and fields questions; the professors on the dissertation committee then confer privately, and render their verdict to the student.

Which, in Tordoff’s case, was delivered in good humor, via a familiar little symbol.

“That was my most 2020 moment, learning I passed my defense by Zoom emoji,” says Tordoff, a biological engineer specializing in self-assembling structures.

With the pandemic limiting activity on the MIT campus from mid-March onward, moving dissertation defenses to Zoom has been a necessary adjustment. MIT students who defended dissertations this spring say they have had a variety of reactions to the change: They appreciated that family members could suddenly watch their defenses online, and some felt more relaxed in the format. But students also felt it was more challenging to engage with their audiences on Zoom.

And, inevitably, social distancing meant students could not gather in person with advisors, friends, and family to rejoice, as per the usual MIT tradition.

“That feeling of celebration — it is not something you generate by yourself,” says André Snoeck, who in late March defended his dissertation on last-mile issues in supply chains, for MIT’s Center for Transportation and Logistics.

That moment when you learn you have passed your doctoral dissertation defense. Congratulations to @MITSloan 's Dr. Maarten Meeuwis! @MIT @MITGradStudents @MIT_alumni @MITSloanAlumni pic.twitter.com/U7wNdmBPx7 — MIT Sloan PhD (@MITSloanPhD) April 21, 2020

On Zoom, grandparents in the room

Dissertation defenses are typically quasipublic events, where an audience can attend the student’s presentation but then leaves before faculty tell a student if the defense was successful. Many MIT departments stage parties afterward.

A defense on Zoom means the circle of attendees is no longer restricted by geography — something students appreciated. 

“My mom logged on in South Africa from her retirement village and watched online,”  says Ian Ollis, from the Department of Urban Studies and Planning, who in May defended his dissertation about public perceptions of mass transit in the Boston area. “She wouldn’t have been able to do that if it was done in person.”

Julia Zhao, a Department of Chemistry PhD student, says the defense was a unique opportunity for family and friends to watch her in a professional setting.

“It was nice to see all my friends, and my family could attend too,” Zhao says, whose research focuses on polymers that have both metal and organic components. “They were going to fly in for graduation but not attend my defense, so they got to sit in on that and listen to me talk about what I’ve been doing the last five years. So that was really cool.”

Tordoff also felt that on Zoom, she could focus more easily on her remarks.

“I was less nervous than if I had been standing up there in front of a group of people,” Tordoff says. “I was sitting on my couch.” One reason for that good feeling, Tordoff adds, is that when she logged on to Zoom before the defense, the only other people already there were her grandparents, watching from England.

“I was so happy,” Tordoff says. “That never would have happened in person.”

And in Snoeck’s case, his advisors did orchestrate a virtual toast after the defense, so they could celebrate simultaneously, if not in the same room.

Congratulations Dr. Julia Zhao ( @jouleszhao )!!! Today was her defense through zoom!!! We are so proud of how you finished your PhD through a pandemic in such an impressive fashion!!! @ChemistryMIT #PhDone #AcademicChatter pic.twitter.com/En5gCtDZjQ — The ~Remote~ Jeremiah Johnson Group (@johnsonchem) May 1, 2020

Kudos from strangers

At the same time, MIT students note, being on Zoom limited their interaction with the audience, compared with the nature of an in-person talk. 

“You can’t read the room,” Ollis says, adding: “It’s different. You don’t have a complete perspective on the audience — you see squares of people’s faces, whereas if you do it live, you get a sense of who you’re talking to by seeing faces you recognize.”

The slightly mysterious nature of Ollis’ audience became apparent to him almost immediately after he wrapped up his online defense.

“There were quite a few people watching, who, well, I didn’t know who they were,” Ollis says. “I’ve been staying in the Ashdown grad dorm, and I was walking to the elevator after doing the defense, and somebody walked past who I didn’t recognize, and said, ‘Hey! Good job! I enjoyed that!’ I had no idea who the person was.”

Overall, Ollis says, “I thought it was a good experience. I got good feedback from people.” Even so, he adds, “I prefer being in a room with people.”

For his part, Snoeck, who has accepted a job with Amazon, felt his defense was somewhat “more like a series of Q&As, rather than a conversation” — simply due to the dynamics of the format, like the segmented nature of Zoom and its slight delays in audio transmission.

“It is weird to have a conversation with some lag in it,” notes Zhao, who will soon begin a job with a Boston-area startup, developing hydrophobic coatings. “But I made an effort to say, ‘If I interrupted, please continue.’ It is a little awkward.”

I am very happy, honored and thankful to announce I successfully defended my PhD at MIT last Monday! Special thanks to all mentors and colleagues for your guidance and support during the last five years. pic.twitter.com/bsn4RA2nbk — Felipe-Oviedo (@felipeoviedop) May 14, 2020

The blended defense

That said, for years now, academic faculty have sometimes been participating in dissertation defenses via Skype, Zoom, and other platforms. That typically happens when dissertation committee members are located at multiple universities, or when a professor is traveling for research or a conference. In Snoeck’s case, one of his committee members was already going to join remotely from the Netherlands anyway.

Zhao noticed a student in her department webcasting their defense last year, which seemed “a little out of the ordinary” in 2019, she recalls. But from 2020 onward, it may become standard.

“It’s kind of nice to have an extra component of people who aren’t in town but want to participate in the closing of your degree,” Zhao says. “It will definitely be more normalized, I think.”

Not all MIT PhD students defend dissertations. In MIT’s Department of Economics, the thesis consists of three papers that must be approved, and there is no formal defense, although finishing students do give fall-term presentations. Still, even for economics students, this year seems different.

“The biggest challenge has been a feeling of a lack of closure,” says Ryan Hill, a graduating MIT PhD in economics, who studies the dynamics of scientific research. “It’s been a long road.” In that vein, Hill adds, “I was really looking forward to commencement, and the doctoral hooding ceremony.” Those events will take place on May 29, online, with an in-person ceremony to be held at a later date.

To be sure, Hill is keeping matters in perspective. “In the grand scheme, it’s not bad,” says Hill, who will spend a year as a Northwestern University postdoc, and has accepted a tenure-track job at Brigham Young University.

For any new PhD, crossing that academic finish line is a huge achievement — and relief. Zhao, for instance, had to scramble to complete her lab research before MIT shuttered, and then finish writing the thesis, before the dissertation defense could occur.

“It’s been a pretty crazy two months,” Zhao reflects. “I’m just happy to be done with it.”

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Eva Lantsoght

November 30th, 2021, defending a phd thesis is an emotional moment candidates and supervisors should be prepared for.

4 comments | 55 shares

Estimated reading time: 6 minutes

The PhD defence, or viva, is significant academic rite of passage, which as well as marking the culmination of years of study, can also be a highly charged emotional moment.   Drawing on years of collecting accounts of PhD defences on her blog and her recent book (Planning and Passing Your PhD Defence, co-authored with Olga Degtyareva),  Eva Lantsoght , discusses how both PhD students and supervisors can benefit from a more engaged understanding of the emotions underlying the PhD defence. 

In the days leading up to my doctoral defence, I had a recurring nightmare about my supervisor forgetting to show up for my defence. I was well-prepared, and since I was defending in the Netherlands, my thesis was already printed and approved. Failing was virtually impossible. Why then, was I nervous about my doctoral defence to the point of having recurring nightmares?

After eventually passing my doctoral defence, I decided to collect stories about the doctoral defence (or viva, depending on the country) around the world for my blog. I was originally fascinated by the differences between defence formats (such as the sword newly minted doctors receive in Finland and the medal in Chile ). Over time, however, I started to see that below the superficial differences, all types of defence show similarities. One is that there is always an emotional dimension to the defence. My worries before my defence were hardly an isolated case. Many doctoral candidates report strong emotions around thesis submission, in the weeks leading up to the defence, during the event, and even afterwards, when the post-defence blues may kick in.

Typically, discussions on the doctoral defence centre around the scholarly dimension. A defence is often viewed solely as an academic event marking and evaluating the end of a research project

Typically, discussions on the doctoral defence centre around the scholarly dimension. A defence is often viewed solely as an academic event marking and evaluating the end of a research project. However, in our recent book Planning and Passing Your PhD Defence , which I co-wrote with Olga Degtyareva, we have paid special attention to the emotional dimension of the defence (of course, in addition to the scholarly dimension preparing for answering questions, and other traditional aspects related to the doctoral defence). This was in part because, we strongly felt that we shouldn’t consider the defence as a regular examination, where a standard set of criteria are used to assess a student. Besides its function as an examination, the defence is also a rite of passage, a confirmation, a celebration, and the culmination of years of independent research work. Emotions are murky and difficult to factor in for assessment. The emotions involved in the doctoral defence make it a unique event: for the candidate, the examiners (or committee members), and for the supervisor. Being aware of these emotions, and bringing them to light, is important to understanding the defence better and the role it plays in a research career.

In my work on the doctoral defence, I found (to my surprise) that the major differences between defence formats did not influence the candidates’ perception much . On the other hand, I did find important differences in the emotions felt by candidates related to the defence, as a function of socio-demographic aspects, notably gender. Women doctoral candidates experience more negative feelings before the defence, and if they had a negative experience during the defence, the negative impact on their perception as a researcher could often be long-lasting. Being aware of how different groups experience the emotions related to the defence differently is important, especially for supervisors and examiners, and can be empowering for candidates. Besides simply being aware of the emotional dimension, it can also enable the small changes that can help settle things when emotions run high: taking a short break, offering water, getting up to open a window, or moving to another topic of the thesis.

While each PhD candidate, each research study, and each PhD trajectory are unique, there are some common emotions that deserve to be mentioned. First of all, in the weeks or days leading up to thesis submission, candidates often feel that the work is not enough, worthless, or otherwise insufficient, and these feelings can contribute to perfectionism. Other candidates may be so tired of the thesis that every small action may feel like a terrible chore. Some feel relieved upon submission, and others worry about how it will be received.

Many candidates also worry about how they will perform. For candidates in the United Kingdom, where the viva takes place before final submission of the thesis and may determine the level of corrections required for the thesis, candidates worry about what the outcome of the thesis and viva will be. Major revisions could potentially add months to the doctoral journey. Because the viva is behind closed doors, candidates also may not know very well what to expect. In the Netherlands, where candidates are sure they will pass, other causes lead to worry and anxiety. As the defence is public, candidates feel the pressure to perform well in front of the committee, friends, colleagues, and family.

it is also important for supervisors and examiners to be aware of this emotional dimension, and to know how different groups of candidates experience these emotions

The first step in dealing with this anxiety, is to name and acknowledge it, and to know that these feelings are normal. Candidates who passed without corrections worry about passing their defence as much as those who had more work on their thesis after the defence. Breathing techniques, meditation, and relaxation exercises can help. University counselling services should be there to support as well. Being well-prepared for the day of the defence itself may also help candidates to feel more in control over the day and their feelings. A positive action, such as stopping by colleagues and expressing gratitude to them before the defence, can improve defence-day-anxiety. Many candidates feel more nervous right before and at the beginning of their defence. Taking notes, repeating the question, or asking for clarification of the question, are all valid options to start answering in a calm and controlled manner. At the end of the defence, candidates can be nervous to hear the outcome, and the minutes while the committee is in deliberation may feel like hours. Then, after hearing the verdict, often the final flood of emotions (relief, happiness, pride, or perhaps disappointment, anger, or worry about the thesis revision) comes.

Emotions play an important role leading up to and during the doctoral defence. Understanding the role of these emotions is important for candidates, so that they know that what they are feeling is normal, and does not mean that they are not worthy of a doctorate. At the same time, it is also important for supervisors and examiners to be aware of this emotional dimension, and to know how different groups of candidates experience these emotions. Being aware of and holding space for these emotions allows all those who are involved in the defence to experience the defence, not simply as a test of knowledge, but as the important moment it is, in the formation and affirmation of a new scholar.

Note: This article gives the views of the author, and not the position of the LSE Impact Blog, nor of the London School of Economics. Please review our  comments policy  if you have any concerns on posting a comment below.

Image Credit: Ralph Leue via Unsplash. 

About the author

Dr. Eva Lantsoght is a Full Professor in Civil Engineering at Universidad San Francisco de Quito in Ecuador and tenured assistant professor at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands. Her blog and co-hosted podcast PhD Talk addresses the mechanics of doing research, PhD life, and general academic matters. Find her @evalantsoght or at evalantsoght.com.

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In Australia there is no defence process and typically no discussion between the examiners…lots of secrecy and anonymity for some reason.

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Experiences of a London PhD student and beyond

How to Defend a Thesis: An Introduction to the PhD Viva

The prospect of defending your PhD work can be more than a little daunting. It represents the climax of many years of hard work, you’ll have to defend a thesis in front of experts in your field and the whole PhD viva process can seem cloaked in mystery.

Maybe you’ve seen a labmate go for their PhD viva to then emerge several hours later, relieved but perhaps slightly dazed. Often it’ll be the case that they’ll have forgotten the specifics by the time they’ve left the room. On top of that, horror stories of bad PhD viva experiences pass through many research groups which are enough to make even the most confident and positive PhD students shake in their boots.

Having had my own PhD viva earlier this year, in addition to discussing experiences with many other PhD graduates, I now want to help you through the process.

Before we begin, I want to offer some reassurance. For most people the PhD viva is not at all the horrible experience we occasionally hear about. Even so, it’s still useful to know what to expect. I’ve therefore put together a series to help others understand the PhD viva process and how to defend a thesis.

Defend a Thesis: Overview of the PhD Viva Series

This first post will be an introduction to the PhD viva process and how to defend a thesis. Upcoming posts will cover:

• Viva Preparation: Common PhD Viva Questions
• What is a PhD Viva Like? Sharing Graduates’ Experiences
• How to Choose Your Examiners

If there is anything specific you’d like covered, please let me know! I’ll be sure to include it. If you’d like to subscribe to get notified of upcoming posts as they’re released you can do so here:

How is a PhD Assessed?

Typically the main output expected at the end of your PhD project is a thesis. You’ve put years of work into your PhD and the thesis details your contributions to your chosen research field. But how is the thesis “marked”? Who will decide if what you’ve written is actually any good?

This is where the PhD viva comes in!

The PhD viva involves you discussing and defending your work with experts in your field. The experts act as examiners to determine whether or not the university should award you a PhD based on your thesis and viva performance. The thesis is the written report submitted for a PhD, and the viva is a means of quality control to ensure that only suitable candidates are awarded a PhD by the university.

Although part of the purpose of a PhD viva is to ensure that the work is of a high quality, just as importantly it’s to check that you were the one who carried it out and that you understand what you were doing!

The PhD viva is therefore essentially an exam during which you’ll have to defend a thesis.

Here is the official “mark scheme” for a PhD at Imperial:

I recommend looking at the presentation which this screenshot came from: sadly I only came across it after my own PhD viva whilst putting together this post!

Steps to Completing a PhD

• Submit your thesis for the examiners to read ahead of the viva.
• Have the viva , where you’ll defend a thesis and discuss your research. The examiners will decide from a list of possible outcomes as detailed later in this post.
• Make amendments to the thesis as necessary.
• Optional celebration.
• Have the thesis amendments approved by the examiners and/or your supervisor and confirmation sent to the university.
• Upload the final copy of your thesis to the university.
• Eagerly await notification that you’ve been awarded a PhD by the university!
• Celebrate, Dr!

All celebrations except for the one after making changes to your thesis are mandatory!

PhD Viva vs PhD Defence

The words viva and defence are sometimes used interchangeably, but often are used to reference the different ways that the a PhD is concluded around the world.

A PhD viva (technically a viva voce ) is a formal examination of a PhD. It’s typical in the UK (amongst other countries) and it is a closed-event between yourself and some examiners.

Across much of Europe it is common instead to have a PhD defence . This still involves expert questioning but can be more of a ceremony and may even be open to the public. You can read about Siddartha’s experience , who completed his PhD in the Netherlands.

I went through a PhD viva and that’ll be the focus of this series. Nevertheless, there is overlap and you may still have difficult questions in a PhD defence, so the content in this series should still be useful no matter where you’re based.

In both a PhD viva and a PhD defence you’ll be expected to defend a thesis which represents the culmination of your work during the PhD.

Who is Present During the PhD Viva?

In the UK it is typical for the PhD viva to include:

• One or more experts from your university ( internal examiner ).
• One or more experts in your field from another institution to your own ( external examiner ).
• And sometimes your supervisor, though in my experience this is quite rare unless you actively ask them to be there.

The main role of the internal examiner is to act as a moderator and ensure that the university’s protocols are upheld. They’ll usually still have some questions for you, but on top of that they’ll make sure that the external examiner(s) are reasonable. They will also take charge of documenting the viva.

Often the external examiner will be more specialised to your field than the internal examiner, so expect them to potentially ask more tricky and technical questions.

As mentioned in the previous section, for PhD defences in other countries the event may be less of an exam (viva) and more of a celebration of your work. These can be a lot more open, with access granted to your friends, family or anyone else who is interested in the topic. I quite like this idea, especially when the research has been publicly funded!

How the PhD Viva is Structured

The structure of the viva will vary but a typical format is shown below. The times in brackets are how long the sections for my own viva were, thankfully not all vivas are over five hours long!

• Introductions (2 minutes) – greeting the examiners and they’ll usually quickly give an overview for how they want the viva to go.
• Presentation (10 minutes) – Not all examiners will want you to give a presentation, it’s best to ask them in advance. I believe many examiners like asking for presentations: both to ease into the exam and also to see how you do at distilling years of work into a short presentation.
• Discussion (Over 5 hours, yes, really!) – the long and potentially scary bit.
• A short break (~10 minutes) . You’ll leave the room (or video call!) and the examiners will come to a decision for your PhD outcome.
• Decision and final comments (10 minutes) – where the examiners will tell you what the outcome is of the viva – we’ll cover this in more depth in the next section.

The discussion in the middle of course is the main guts of the PhD viva, and the potentially scary bit. This is where you’ll get questioned about your work and thesis. What you get asked could vary considerably depending on your thesis and examiners.

I’ll save an in-depth discussion of my own viva for another post. In short, I received very few questions relating to the work or any fundamental underlying science. There were practically no questions to quiz my knowledge.

Rather than checking my understanding of the work, the viva was much more of a discussion of how best to present the work in the thesis. We spent roughly an hour going page by page through each chapter. This included suggestions for improvements to figures, changes in terminology and the like.

Possible PhD Viva Outcomes

At the end of the viva the examiners will give you feedback. This will include feedback on your performance in the viva. But as long as they’re satisfied that you carried out the work and that you knew what you’re doing, the bulk of the feedback will in fact revolve around your PhD thesis.

Technically there are lots of potential outcomes, as detailed here:

In reality here are the four main possible outcomes from the viva:

• Pass with no amendments . The examiners didn’t want to make a single alteration to your thesis. Well done you just have to submit the finalised thesis to the university and you’ve finished your PhD! I know a few people who’ve had no revisions but it’s rare.
• Pass with minor amendments Minor amendments include things such as correcting typos, rewording sentences and small alterations to data analysis and presentation. This is by far the most common outcome.
• Referral for resubmission ( major amendments). More substantial changes to the thesis are required or further experimental work is required to fulfil the requirements of a PhD. The examiners will decide whether or not this means having another viva too.
• Fail . Unless there are glaring issues or you didn’t actually do any of the research in your thesis yourself, you should be relieved to hear that practically no one ever fails. If you have failed, it usually points to systematic issues revolving around your supervisor: you shouldn’t have been allowed to get to this point. Usually the examiners would recommend that you be awarded a lower degree, such as a masters in research (MRes).

Slightly up the page is a screenshot from my own examiners’ report. You’ll see that I, like most people, passed with minor amendments.

2022 Update: Starting to prepare for your PhD viva? A set of viva preparation worksheets are now available in the resource library. Click the image below for free access!

Making Changes to Your PhD Thesis

Shortly after the viva you should receive the examiner’s report which includes a list of revisions for you to make.

If you’ve got through the viva with a pass, you can breathe a sigh of relief because the hard work is over! In a separate post I’ll be covering how the process to make my own minor amendments went.

No matter the outcome, it is possible that you’d like to make your own changes to the thesis since it’ll have been many weeks (or months) since submitting the draft copy for your viva. On reflection there may be things you’re not happy with. You are welcome to make changes to the document yourself.

If you’re interested in reading more about how to make the corrections to your thesis, read the article dedicated to it here: Minor Corrections: How To Make Them and Succeed With Your PhD Thesis.

After you’ve made changes, the final stage in getting awarded the PhD is submitting your finalised version of the thesis to the university. Shortly afterwards you’ll get the long-awaited notification that you’ve got your PhD!

Should You Strive For No Amendments?

In my opinion it’s not worth the effort of trying to get no amendments.

I’d personally rather spend slightly less time up front, knowing that more than likely I would have to made some amendments. You can never put in enough work to ensure there will be nothing your examiners want changed!

You could spent hundreds of extra hours endlessly going through your thesis meticulously before submission but your examiners can always find something they want you to change. In comparison, my own minor amendments only took two days of work.

Sometimes you’ll see someone mention on their CV that they passed with no revisions but it doesn’t really have any bearing on your PhD. Unlike most other qualifications, there aren’t really grades for PhDs: you either have one or you don’t.

During an early PhD assessment my assessor made a poignant joke about medical degrees: “What do you call the person who graduates bottom of their class in medical school? A doctor!” And it’s essentially the same with PhDs!

If you’d like personalised help with preparing for your PhD viva I am now starting to offer a small number of one-to-one sessions. Please contact me to find out more or click here to book a call.

I hope this introduction to PhD vivas and how to defend a thesis has been useful. Let me know if you have any specific questions or concerns you’d like to see addressed in the following posts.

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• Writing Tips

How to Prepare for Your Dissertation Defense

4-minute read

• 1st August 2023

After years of research and study, you’ve finally reached the grand finale of your PhD years: your dissertation defense. Since defending your dissertation is the culmination of all your hard work, it’s essential to do everything you can to prepare for it.

In this post, we’ll take you through how to ready yourself for your dissertation defense so you can focus on your accomplishments and excel during this crucial professional moment.

What is a Dissertation Defense? 

The dissertation defense is the crowning moment of years of research – the final examination before a PhD student is awarded their doctoral degree.

During a dissertation defense, the student presents their research, methodology, findings, and conclusions to a committee of faculty members and experts in their field. The committee then engages in a question-and-answer session to assess the student’s understanding of the subject matter, the quality of their research, and their ability to defend their work under scrutiny.

Many PhD students consider it to be the defining moment of their academic career and their chance to prove their expertise in their chosen research field.

If all this sounds overwhelming – don’t worry. If you’re a PhD student, you’ll have plenty of time and opportunity to adequately prepare for your dissertation defense. Below are some strategies to help you get ready for this significant occasion in your career.

1.   Know the Requirements

Familiarize yourself with your institution’s guidelines and requirements for the defense process. Understanding the format, time limit, and expectations for the presentation will help you to prepare your material and anticipate any issues.

2.   Review Your Dissertation

Even if you think you know it inside and out, review your dissertation from beginning to end. It may have been some time since you’ve last read and considered certain portions of your research and findings. Consider what your committee might ask about your research questions , data analysis, and conclusions.

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3.   Work on Starting Strong

To begin your defense on a strong note, work on creating a clear and engaging introduction. You can start by briefly outlining the purpose of your study, research questions, and methodology . Try to stay on topic and don’t veer off track by discussing unrelated or unnecessary information.

4.   Practice Presenting

Practice your presentation skills by rehearsing your defense multiple times. Focus on clarity and pacing and try to stay within the allotted time limit. It also helps to record yourself so that you can see yourself from your audience’s point of view.

5.   Practice Q&A Sessions

To build your confidence, enlist friends and colleagues to conduct mock question-and-answer sessions. When practicing, remember to pause before answering questions you’re unsure of. It’s better to take your time delivering a response than it is to give an inaccurate or incorrect answer.

6.   Seek Feedback

Find out if your institution offers mock defense sessions where peers or mentors play the role of the committee, ask you questions, and give feedback . You can also have colleagues, mentors, or advisors review your presentation and offer practical feedback.

7.   Create Visual Aids

Think about any visual aids , such as slides, you may want to use to illustrate your defense and prepare them in advance. Be sure to check that your university allows visuals or images and that they enhance, rather than overwhelm, your presentation.

8.   Stay Calm and Confident

It’s natural to feel nervous but try to stay calm and composed during your defense. Take deep breaths and remind yourself of the expertise you’ve gained through the experience of writing your dissertation.

Expert Proofreading Services

The best way to prepare for your dissertation defense is to have your dissertation professionally proofread. Our editing experts have extensive experience with a wide variety of academic subjects and topics and can help ensure your dissertation is ready for presentation. Send in a free sample of 500 words or less and get started today.

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