Thesis and Viva

Also look at the official University guidance for vivas

SUBMISSION OF THESIS
Your thesis submission is in two stages: you submit two soft-bound copies for the viva examination and, once any corrections have been made, you submit two hard-bound copies which are placed in the University Library. Both copies of the thesis should be submitted to Registry and should be submitted with a completed Thesis Submission Form to be signed by your supervisor. The regulations for the format of the thesis (page layout, copyright declaration, etc) should be consulted before preparing the final hard-bound version. The University Library will let you see previous theses if you want to see the format and can advise on good binders. Once your final thesis has been placed in the library anyone with a library card can ask to see the thesis. If there are good reasons for not wanting someone to read your thesis, e.g. commercialisation of part of your research, you can ask for access to be denied for a certain period of time. The Library can advise on this but please not that this is a request not a right.

VIVA
Once you submitted your thesis an examination committee will be finalised. The examination committee consists of:
i. a Convenor who organises the viva (dates, times, equipment, etc). The Convenor's main role is to make sure that the viva runs smoothly, fairly and to liase with the examiners.
ii. an External Examiner who will be a senior academic at another university, usually another UK university. Your supervisor will recommend the external examiner to the Head of Department who will recommend the examiner to Senate who must approve the examiner. This can take some time, so externals may be appointed before you submit your thesis. You will not be notified of who your external is before you submit (but do not panic that you may not have cited them) and you should not contact the external before the viva. The External has the main role in the viva, will ask most of the questions and, in the case of a disagreement between examiners, their opinion will carry most weight. In addition the External sets the format of the exam. Most vivas follow the standard format but External Examiners can ask for demos or presentations. The Convenor has the responsibility for checking this before the viva takes place.
iii. an Internal Examiner who will be appointed by the Head of Department. The Internal Examiner represents the Department and will be a member of the Department's academic staff who has had no formal role in your PhD.

During the viva you will be asked questions relating to your PhD work. The External needs to make a series of decisions regarding the quality of your research. The university regulations give the form that the external must sign and the decisions the External must make (see the appendix). These will include assessments that your research is original, makes a substantial contribution to your research field, is of sufficient literary style, is worthy of publication (in part or in whole) and you have give a satisfactory oral examination. The questions the External will ask will help him or her to determine the originality, robustness, and quality of your research. Different examiners have different styles in questioning but do not panic about questions: the External is not checking that you remember everything in your thesis, what they are trying to establish is whether you are capable of carrying out good research and many questions may be general or simply asking your opinion on your research area. The exam is conducted primarily on the basis of the submitted thesis. Any further material, e.g. papers, may be incorporated only at the request of the external. The Centre for Academic Practice has videos and books about taking part in a viva which you can consult if you want more general advice or want to see a viva in action. Some supervisors also arrange for a mock or practice viva to give you a feel for what a viva is like.

Your supervisor(s) and/or Head of Department may also be present during the viva, but it is important to note that this is not a right, and may be vetoed without question by any of the external, internal, or the student. The convenor will confidentially ask each participant (examiners and students) separately before the viva if they object to the supervisor or Head of Department being present. If present, these people must remain absolutely silent unless explicitly requested by a member of the examination committee to answer a specific question. Neither your supervisors nor Head of Department take part in the decision regarding the outcome of your viva.

STANDARD FORMAT FOR VIVA
The standard format for a viva in this Department is outlined below although the External Examiner has the final decision on the actual format. A standard viva usually lasts for about 2 hours although there is no time limit (minumum or maximum).

- meeting of exam committee alone
- supervisor(s) invited to join
- student invited to join
- student invited to give 15-minute presentation of work
- questioning by External
- questioning by Internal
- student and supervisor(s) leave
- deliberation (supervisor(s) to be available on request)
- supervisor(s) recalled
- student recalled for result

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pass with no changes This means that you are not required to make any changes or corrections to your thesis and you can submit the hard-bound copies. This is very uncommon and most people will be required to make some changes.

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resubmit with minor changes This means that the examination committee recommends you be awarded the degree subject to you making some minor corrections (e.g. spelling mistakes) or improvements (e.g. clarifying text, adding some extra analysis or running an additional test). These corrections must be checked and approved by the Internal Examiner. You will be given a time limit to complete these improvements and give the new version of the thesis to your Internal Examiner, typically 1-3 months. Once the Internal Examiner has agreed the improvements are satisfactory you may submit the final hard-copies of your thesis.

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resubmit with major changes More substantial improvements are required to bring the thesis to the desired standard. Either this means that the writing needs substantial changes or there needs to be additional research carried out. In this case you will be given a longer amount of time to make the required changes, e.g. 6 months, or 1 year, and there may be a requirement for a further viva. The External Examiner will have the final say in whether the improvements are satisfactory.

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accept as is for Master's degree (or after amendments accept as Masters degree) The work is unsufficient to award a degree of PhD but the thesis will be accepted as suitable to obtain a Master's degree.

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fail with no right of resubmission In this case, the research has been judged insufficient to be awarded a PhD even with major changes. In this Department, it is unlikely that a student who is likely to fail will be allowed to submit the thesis although this decision is possible.

COMPLAINTS
In the first instance all complaints (other than appeals) should be directed either to the Postgraduate Monitor, Research Director or Head of Department. If you remain dissatisified you can address a complaint to either the Faculty Dean (for academic matters) or the University Secretary (for complaints regarding alleged discrimination or harrassment).