THE PH.D. VIVA – AN ORAL EXAMINATION
How do you prepare for any exam?
PREPARATION AND PRACTICE
What



is the purpose of an oral exam?
Ascertain that it is your own work
Make sure you understand what you did
Contribution to knowledge – worthy of a PhD
PREPARATION
Revision and Summaries
 Re-read critically
 Review each chapter and summarise in bullet points
 Focus on what you did, why you did it, what you found and the
implications
 Remember it is a defence of your research - so use vocabulary of
research design
 Make sure you’re very familiar with the literature and your
theoretical framework, your methodology, and the justification
for doing it
It’s also an open book exam – highlight text, use post-it markers,
notes, maps, etc.
Don’t forget emotional preparation!
 Take time to relax and build up your confidence
 Plan and practise stress management strategies
PRACTICE
Physical practice
 Anticipate questions and sample answers
 Practise with peers and other academics
 Mock viva with your supervisor
 Use viva strategies - e.g Define-and-illustrate; Being specific;
Elaborating; Saying ‘I’; see Murray (2003, pp. 90-97)
Mental practice - Rehearsal strategies
 Ask yourself questions and try to mentally (or verbally) answer
them, first referencing your notes and then try to do it without
notes.
Student Learning Development
Student Counselling Service, TCD
March 2010

Look up pictures of your examiners! Imagine the room the viva
will take place in. In your mind’s eye see yourself expertly and
confidently answering the questions.
Your viva will probably start with general questions and then move to
more specific. Possible questions include:
Why did you choose this topic?
Why was it important to research this area?
Would you summarise your thesis?
What is your justification for your research approach/methodology?
What is the contribution of your research?
What is the theoretical framework for your study?
What are the implications of your findings?
What are the limitations of your research?
What possible future research?
What publications have you considered?
Resources
Murray, R. (2003). How to survive your viva: Defending a thesis in an
oral examination. Maidenhead: Open University Press.
Phillips, E.M. & Pugh, D. S. (2000). How to get a PhD: A handbook for
students and their supervisors, 3rd ed. Buckingham: Open
University.
Twigg, D. (1997). Preparing for the PhD Viva. Retrieved from
http://www.sussex.ac.uk/Users/dt31/phdviva.html on 21 April 2008.
www.tcd.ie/Graduate_Studies
http://www.cs.cf.ac.uk/Bncod16/grimson.ppt
http://port.igrs.sas.ac.uk
Student Learning Development
Student Counselling Service, TCD
March 2010