7 Points To Remember For A PhD Defense Preparation or Oral Examination

In this blog, we are going to discuss 7 important things you must consider to complete a master’s thesis in the U.K. And the good news is that experts from Tutors India offer viva voce support services to help you complete your PhD Dissertation in the U.K (Ruger, 2016). Succeed in your defense preparation (public viva-voce) with the following tips. A PhD or masters level student is expected to write a dissertation and attend a viva voce exam and how do they go about it successfully? Here’s the answer.

PhD Defense Preparation or Oral Examination

The viva voce is a verbal/oral examination of the master’s candidate on their thesis; In the EU, Australia, Malaysia, and Singapore, it is normally conducted by 2 invigilators, one of which is a participant of the university where the thesis was done (inside examiner) and one of which is normally a specialist from a different university (outside invigilators). With the PhD candidate that makes a minimum of three participants. In certain universities no one else is expected to involve; a few universities allow one but not more than 1 of the invigilators to attend as an observer, who is not allowed from active involvement. And a few universities require that the examiners create a strict examination board that is overseen by another invigilator bringing the total count to a max of 5.

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Various Stages Of The Exam

This type of exam has 3 portions: the 1^st portion part takes place weeks before the oral exam, during which the examiners review exam copies of the submitted thesis independently and show their perspective of the presented research in initial, independently written papers. “How to organize the interview with the PhD candidate” is the topic of discussion and reports are shared before the oral examination. This can take the shape of a set of detailed factual queries on the thesis in page order or more as detailed queries around a set of themes. Or both of the areas. The oral exam is the latter part of the exam. The discussions between the interviewer and the candidate prove that the thesis depicts the candidate’s own work and the student can elaborate on his or her work with ease. For example, by elaborating or defending the decisions of the research.

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Train Well For Your Exam

Are you worried about how to face your PhD viva-voce in front of your supervisor & doctoral committee? Are you not sure of how to overcome the viva-voce fear? Then you’ve certainly reached the right place. Tutors India offers world-class professional viva-voce training for your success and perfection. Just contact Tutors India or place an order here.

The Interview Stage

The interviewers of your oral review may have had a different initial opinion about the thesis, and the discussion is an tool for them to hone in on a joint opinion in which they establish whether or not the presented work is sufficient in novelty, quality and scale, and that the data, the experiments and the analysis support the drawn conclusions. The 3^rd part of the examination is a discussion of the examiners after the viva without the candidate and without their supervisors that agrees on a recommendation to the degree awarding committee of the university: possible recommendations span from awarding the Ph.D. degree without changes to the thesis via awarding the Ph.D. subject to specific changes within a certain time to not awarding the Ph.D. without the option of resubmission.

Follow Your University Process

The institution that awards your degree essentially follows the commendation of the invigilators unless there are lapses in the reports or other irregularities. In rare scenarios, when the examiners cannot consent on a mutual recommendation, the university’s degree regulations will have a process (see our process) of how to resolve this issue. Or talk to help guides/experts in your university.

Showcase Uniqueness

Always be yourself and mention the unique aspects of your research. The oral examiners must question you regarding your research alone. A PhD dissertation or master’s level viva voce is a great occasion and you must celebrate it. You get a chance to talk in detail about your research to specialists in your discipline.  Remember that you will have to negotiate on the changes and edits to your document. Always ponder the points that you want to retain and the ones that you can change. Do not fight about frivolous aspects of your research because it won’t cost you much and you do not want to come across as pugnacious.

Negotiation Skills

Good negotiation shows your analytical thinking, independent thinking, and communication skills. Again, good decision making is key: invigilators are not happy with PhD candidates who defend apparent deficiencies, hence it helpful to throw in the towel and admit mistakes. However, you can bargain if a deficiency can be seen as external to the scope of the thesis or has to be changed. Do not come across as being defensive during your examination. This is a balancing act that involves sound judgment on which battles to choose from. The alterations of most of the oral examinations in the UK do end in a recommendation to award a PhD but this is subject to changes within a certain timeframe.

Resubmission Of Your Work

Therefore, you must plan to rework and resubmit the dissertation and ascertain the process of making changes. Is the guide going to be in charge and will you be having an internal examiner or both of them? Are they ready to review the version of your modifications before official submission? Do not postpone and miss the final deadline if you have just accepted a job at a place where you want to perform well in your first months. As difficult as it seems, you will be wasting 5 years of effort by missing the submission deadline. The university regulations set the time for resubmission (maximum time and resubmission time). You can submit early without using the entire time.  You must make the changes soon and review it again because it is your research work.

After submission, you will get a certificate and then folks will address you as a Doctor.