Are you thinking about starting a PhD, or have just started your PhD – but wonder what the PhD Viva is like? A recently graduated Psychology PhD researcher, Katie, talks us through her experience of the PhD viva and advice for preparation.
“I am Katie (or Dr Katie Saunders as of May 2025). I recently completed my PhD in cyberpsychology at BCU. I spent three and a half years exploring the effects of mental health content on social media. The project began in September 2021, with a small idea that grew, where I ended up also exploring online self-diagnosis, motivations for sharing mental health and ADHD content. I was also one of the first researchers in the UK that gained access to TikTok’s researcher applications programmer interface.
The Viva (or Viva Voce) is an oral examination of your work and defence of your thesis, where you are questioned on your research. As terrifying as that sounds, it was actually one of my favourite moments in my PhD. My examiners were friendly experts in the field, and it honestly felt like a chat with like-minded people with a few questions that were centred around my methodological and theoretical choices. It took an hour and half for the Viva and the entire thing was finished in just over two hours. It was 12 weeks from submission to Viva in my case.
Preparing for the Viva and supervisory support
When I first got my Viva date, I hit panic mode and started prepping, I watched YouTube videos and researched what I could be asked. But the best piece of advice I got was that this was my thesis, I made every choice myself and I already knew all the answers. Your preparations should be more about building confidence and refining my thoughts.
Although AI can be problematic in research, one great tip my supervisors did tell me was to upload the title of my thesis to Chat GPT and get it to ask you Viva questions. As my thesis was so niche, it really helped to find questions that were specific to my work.
My supervisors also set up a mock `viva for me. This was really helpful; I was struggling with imposter syndrome whilst waiting for my viva but the positive feedback and experience of sitting a viva in advance was such a confidence boost and really helped me to be ready for the real thing.
What advice would you give to future PhD students about the Viva?
Don’t over think it, it’s easy to get into your head and play worst case scenario. You are the expert in your work, and although its normal to be nervous, remember that most people get corrections, so it’s not a failure. Remind yourself that the examiners want you to pass, and they are usually really friendly people.
What was the most rewarding aspect of completing your viva?
I have two, the first was getting to discuss my work with people that were genuinely interested. It is not often you get to talk for a few hours about your work, and the comments were all so positive. The second was walking back into the room after examiner deliberations and being told I passed with minor corrections. It was honestly one of the best moments of my life!”
