My main supervisor attended my viva. I would recommend that students do have a supervisor present, although I understand people feeling nervous at the prospect. However, the supervisor can;
1) Make notes for you, very helpful if there are corrections to be done.
2) Provide emotional support, it's good to know that at least one person in the room is rooting for you!
3) Act as a witness in case of any 'problems'. A friend of mine had a terrible viva in which the examiners acted in a less than professional manner. However, she had no supervisor present to back up her report. Probably if a supervisor had been there, the situation might never have arisen. I am very much in favour of some kind of independent chairperson for this reason.

Joyce, probably best to ask your prospective supervisor (or postgrad office at the Uni) how much detail they would like you to provide.

Ohhh marvellous re cake!! Sorry, been away at a conference in Wales. I would think that the reason for the non-stickiness may be:
1) Too long in oven?
2) Not stored in air-tight container?
3) Perhaps need a bit more syrup/treacle?

Hard to say for certain, recipes do need tweaking in response to the variable nature of the ingredients e.g. size of eggs. Best to make it a few more times and experiment a bit. I have to say that my cake rarely gets a chance to get sticky as it's usually scoffed in a day or two!

I've been away at a conference. Took the laptop but couldn't connect, bah!

Kiwi fruits - full of vitamin C. Drink plenty of fluids, take paracetamol to ease the aches and pains (don't bother with expensive paracetamol containing vile gritty drinks, just take the tablets!), don't exercise or exhert yourself too much. Eat well and put vaseline on your nose at night to prevent that horrible redness from constant snuffling. Bit of Olbas oil (or similar) on your pillow at night too will help you sleep if you are feeling congested. Just ensure you don't sprinkle the oil anyway where you might place your eye during the night, owww!!

Get well soon!

BTW, I wore a trouser suit to mine but I'm a suit kind of person. I did my PhD in a hospital department where jeans were banned, so having worn 'office type' clothes for the whole of the studentship, trousers and smart didn't feel sufficiently smart enough! I think it all depends on your point of reference. Plenty of people just nice tops with shirts or trousers and that's fine.

Hehe, just read Abily's post re underwear - very important if you are likely to have a 'wardrobe malfunction'!

Good luck Wickid, I know you'll be great. Re clothes, be smart but be yourself. Just make sure that you look in the mirror before you go in. One of my pals (female) accidentally had her blouse unbuttoned slightly too much at the top. Hence, she discovered after her viva that she had been exposing her bra to her male examining team. She passed though... The problem is that if you notice something like that halfway though, it could really unnerve you!! You probably won't need to bring the Moet as you'll find that your colleagues will have bottles ready for you (I still have one bottle left over from my viva back in spring 05) or if not, will be very pleased to accompany you to the pub. Just make sure you log in to share the good news with us first. xx

If you are coming to the UK then as part of you visa application (if you need a visa), you will have to show that you have sufficient funds to complete your course WITHOUT working. Usually, once you have a visa, it will allow you to work up to 20 hours per week but remember that if you are spending this much time working, you are unlikely to be able to complete a fulltime PhD in a timely manner.

You might find this site helpful
http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk/servlet/Front?pagename=OpenMarket/Xcelerate/ShowPage&c=Page&cid=1018721067373

I don't think they are renowned for their efficiency

1) What type of dollar?
2) Are you already part way through or would you be starting from the beginning?
3) Are you planning to be based in the UK?
4) Will you have to pay fees from this sum AND support yourself? International (non-EU) student fees for a full-time PhD can be £9000-£12000 GBP per year.

http://www.postgraduateforum.com/showmessage.asp?thread=3457

They are not usually included BUT be careful because there are often other 'size-restricting' guidelines to be adhered to e.g. the thesis should not be more than n cm thick!

The appendices saved my thesis, managed to keep the bulk of it within 60K words but my appendices were about as long, opps!

I'm hungry, don't really fancy anything though

School!!