At my old uni, around 50% get minor corrections, 20% get major corrections, 30% do not submit.

I got minor corrections, captured them all in a list, agreed the list with internal, made the changes, gave the updated thesis and list to internal, who signed off.

With major corrections, I would do the same thing. Make an list, agree it with examiners, do the corrections, re-submit. You will get through it, it's just a lot of hassle and frustration.

Get it all done quickly, but make sure you answers all their critisisms and make sure your supervisor and internal is happy with it before the external sees it.

A friend of mine lost his mother the day before his viva and got major corrections as he fell apart in the viva, so it could be worse.

Big Hug.

Sorry if this sounds stupid... but I've been reading and following this thread, but I still don't know what "viva" is. Can someone enlighten me?

Hi,
In the UK after you submit your thesis it is typically read by an internal examiner (i.e. someone at your university but not involved with your research) and an external one. Then you have to meet them in the viva voce examination (which is usually referred as "viva") so that they can ask you questions about your work, see how well you defend your thesis... and at the end of this examination that's when you get your result (pass, minor corrections, major corrections, whatever).

In the USA, you'd probably know it as your thesis defence (or defense!).

Don’t worry; you will pass. It is very difficult to fail to get a PhD because to your university passing you is no big deal because if you fail to get academic employment afterwards no one in academia will know and so it won’t look bad on your university for passing you. The main thing they are concerned with is your PhD fee and getting another PhD pass on their scorecard. So don’t worry.

Yeah. I'll pass eventually, I just find myself getting to the end of my working day and then thinking, now I've got to go home and work some more. I was ok with doing that when I was working on the project before, but now I keep thinking, I shouldn't have to be doing this. Anyway, onwards and upwards - I sent my revised thesis plan to my examiners yesterday and I have found a supplementary supervisor in the department who has just emailed me with some suggestions. I have also noticed that there is no book out there on doing major corrections - and I'm going to see that as an opportunity...

Hey there Hums! As far as I'm aware 'major corrections' is still a pass, so you're a doctor... congratulations!!!! Well at least one of my friends had major corrections too, and so was in the same boat (horrible examiner too). Good luck though with the corrections... I know i'm just writing the last wee bits of my thesis so I have this yet to come. But although I'm happy with my analysis, my writing is so atrocious I wouldn't be surprised if they failed me on my writing skills! gahhhh! Can you fail for sending your examiners to sleep with your writing?
By the way peppermint - in the UK PhDs are 3-4 years long but we don't have any classes or modules... just straight into research (which was a bit of a shock for me!).

Hi,

I'm hoping to submit this Thursday, I'm aready really nervous for the viva. I've been doing some prepreation, making crib sheets etc. I get really nervous before big things like this and I'm just praying I don't go to peices. At the moment despite the fact I'm working full time as a lecturer I'd be happy to pass with major corrections. To be honest comming out of the viva without crying or passing out would be kind of acceptable.

Tiggs

Good luck with the viva. Rowena Murray's book 'How to survive your viva' (or something like that) is very good. It didn't do me much good as my external had already reached conclusions and upset me so much I lost all my eloquence (by saying that 4 years was the minimum and by attacking my supervisors and my institution, and butting in and answering the internal examiner's questions before she had even finished asking me) . However, everyone else I know who used it has fared very well. Summarising your hypothesis and your contribution to knowledge is important.

Several of my friends have gone into their vivas and been told 'congratulations on a successful thesis' right at the start and then the viva has been about challenging the arguments so that they are clearer about how to strengthen them for publication. I hope this will be your situation - I'll keep my fingers crossed.

Thanks hums,

I have the book you recomended on order from amazon. I'm hoping it will be here on time. In previous mock vivas with just my supervisor I've found the attacks rather personnel and thats made things more difficult. In my most recent mock viva I went to peices completely under a brutal assault from my second supervisor. I've sort of abandoned hope of getting thought the viva unscathed I'm hoping to limit the damage to major or minor chanages.

Tiggs

How you're getting on Hums. Any news?

In between the f-t and p-t job I hardly get any time on the phd. I think the fact that I enjoy my job and have a supportive family have made this bearable. If I were an overseas student, paying huge fees and away from my family I would have given up. I've booked a week off work in December for pure thesis work, starting the week with a study advice appointment. At the end of that week I'll be able to see how much is left to do. My current workflow has me submitting some time in the autumn next year. On the advice of the University PG expert, I had a brainstorming session with both supervisors and sent a plan to the examiners saying how I planned to address their concerns to check that that is what they intended by what they wrote, but the external replied and said that it was not her place to provide any more detail on what was required and I should just ask my supervisor instead. So I work in the dark (figuratively speaking).

terrible, i want to know how the external is selected, pointed by your department or your supervisor?

Your supervisors recommend someone and the recommendation is usually accepted by the department. I actually suggested my external - her work is the closest parallel to mine in the UK.

Kicking myself now, obviously. Wish I had taken notice of something she did the 1 time I had met her previously - she told myself and another academic what she thought was wrong with the work of one of her PhD students at Manchester - that is very unprofessional and I had totally forgotten about that. My advice is to find the phd students working with a potential external examiner and check the external's maniac rating with them.