Search results for: viva

An oral defence, or Viva, is common in the UK, Europe, NZ. The viva is less common in Australia.  Most Australian students will do a final presentation before the PhD, but many universities are currently discussing how to introduce a defence as part of the examination process, so we can expect a defence of some …continue reading.

Have you ever wondered what happens after the examiners give you feedback on your dissertation? In the UK and many other countries, this feedback is given in an oral presentation called the Viva. The viva is becoming more common in Australia, but most people will still get a written report from the examiners. It is …continue reading.

The Viva – a live presentation of your thesis to examiners – is not common in Australia. Our thesis examination is a blind peer review process, which has its own fears, but nothing like the anxiety that a viva can provoke. Horror stories tend to circulate, which is why I was happy to be sent …continue reading.

This post is by Fran Hyde, who has always embraced the idea of lifelong learning. Acquiring several professional qualifications as well as an MA in Marketing alongside working full time, Fran also remained actively involved with the marketing teams in several not-for-profit organisations. Fran‘s decision to change careers and start a PhD ‘midlife’ was driven by her wish to study …continue reading.

For the last couple of decades people have been experimenting with different types of PhD programs. The PhD by publication has become popular, especially in the sciences, but how do examiners react them? The academic world is quite conservative and some PhD students have encountered difficulties in the examination process. In this post, Chris Keyworth …continue reading.

There’s a LOT of books out there on how to do a thesis/dissertation (some of them written by me). I’ve managed to plough through a couple of new books on the subject recently and this post is a compilation of my reviews plus one reader review from Jasmine Jenson at the end. There’s still a …continue reading.

Well, that’s all your posts for the year friends – it’s nearly the end of 2017 already! I’ve been a big year for me: three book projects completed and a big research project report released. I exhausted, so I’m off to Tasmania for some much needed R&R. As ever, thanks to the wonderful team I …continue reading.

It’s almost Christmas time, when many of us have a bit of time with our families. It seems an appropriate place to pause and think about the myriad of ways that our families provide support for many of us. This post is by Moira Hansen who is currently in the 3rd year of her Lord …continue reading.

This post is by Dr Matthew Evans who is currently a Teaching Fellow in Law, Politics and Sociology at the University of Sussex, Brighton, UK and Visiting Researcher in Political Studies at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa, where he was previously a Postdoctoral Research Fellow. Prior to this he completed his PhD …continue reading.

While PhD students can start at any time in some universities, in some there is a semester by semester intake. This means that some people will be starting their PhD this month. How should you approach this process to get the most out of it? Judith Krauss, now Director of Studies for Sustainability, is still …continue reading.