The self-help section is that way, Payal -------------> (just out the door, and keep walking).

Many congratulations Ruby!!!! (up)

...now you can RELAX!

Slightly different timeframes last time I looked at my rules:
Minors: two weeks/one month (many people get minor corrections done in the few hours after the exams). Minors normally means polishing up the work eg. grammar/spelling problems, referencing problems, clarifications, or adding a few paragraphs here and there. Normally, minors mean you can pencil in the corrections and do not need to get your thesis re-bound. I think when it gets to the point of adding new sections etc. it would then fall into major corrections.
Majors:3 mths or 18 mths (candidate has the choice which to opt for), this can mean full re-writes or adding new chapters.

Are you in the UK, Triplesteve? If so, it might worth spending some days at the British Library (Boston Spa), they have most journals up there. If not, find a student friend who will let you have access to their athens account, many uni's seem to have moved to a generic username/password system (or not linked to email access), so it shouldn't be too hard getting access.

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To be a law bore...anonymity does not preclude these type of accounts from legal action, and ultimately getting fired. The only way to safeuard against this is to not only to change names, but also change most of the circumstances...which then leaves it a rather fruitless exercise. A PhD student would probably get away with it (should the university find out), but an employee wouldn't.

BHC's account reminds of 'Bullied Blogger' on the THE. which is so remarkably misguided, I can only conclude it's fictitious... worth a read though!

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I've told exactly the same as PhDbug - say 'yes', because your supervisor can presents grounds for appeal or change an examiner if things go wrong. If they aren't in the room, it's your word against the examiners.

Ok....it was your first PhD interview, you messed up, it's not a big deal, move on and try better in the next one. You get better via experience and practice. Virtually no one ends up getting a place or job from their first interview, unless as you said it's via an internship or you already have a foot in the door. Get back on the horse, and start looking for other opportunities.

I'm a little perplexed to know why do you think 30 a PhD will not be viable or useful? If you have this attitude now, you'll never survive 3/4 yrs of a PhD because the stall in your career will bother you too much. You do a PhD because it is USEFUL to your career, if it's not useful, don't do it.

I'm planning to dress formally as I know at least one of the examiners always dresses formally.

A few old school type examiners may get very offended if a male student doesn't bother with a tie, or a female student doesn't bother with a jacket... of course, if the atmosphere is less stuffy the tie or jacket can always be taken off.

I'll probably be opting for a standard black or navy trouser suit depending on which fits!

You can have a supervisor at another UL college, and stay at your original college. If you want to move over to another college, I think (though not entirely sure) you have to have permission from your own college, and the new college, and the research council.

I do agree that the US PhD system is better, and a US PhD does seems to travel better compared to a UK PhD (unless from Oxbridge), but I'd never agree that the US HE system is 'the best' per se.

From the few US PhD theses I've read, many lacked that unique contribution element that is so crucial in a UK PhD, but the US PhD structure offers a more rounded education which ultimately more beneficial in terms of gaining employment.

There is a general opinion that UK PhDs are not up to scratch with US PhDs, the THE often has articles on this issue. A recent one was from a US historian who works in London, but I can't find the link!

I've actually been told the opposite of Ju-Ju (which just goes to show how cloak and dagger the viva experience is).

I was told that in the vast majority of cases, when you walk into the viva room you've already pass or failed, and unless you do something catastrophically bad, e.g. give them the impression you didn't write the thesis or insult the examiners, then the result will stand. In a minority of cases, the examiners will be undecided about their decision, and you then have to fight your corner.

Thus, it's of little use getting all worked up about the viva, as the outcome is already decided before you walk in, but equally it's important to defend to the best of your ability in case you're an undecided borderline case.

Yep Bonzo, there is a risk that a referee can be sued for defamation of character, other implications under the law of negligence, discrimination law, the data protection act can also arise. Uni's and big companies now have reference policies in place, so generic templates will be used that offer very little opinion on the candidate. This is a bit of double-edge sword as info. on the candidate is then often gleamed from an unofficial phone call to the reference contacts.

A bad academic reference will be one comprising of very little information.

I was about to suggest the same as Smilodon, if you want to get onto a PhD programme at a top university, you should apply get on one of their masters programmes. Although, I do know a handful of people at Oxbridge who got DPhil places with the equivalent of 2.1s from low ranked US universities. As long as you have decent grades with your previous degrees, and get a distinction in the masters, you should have a good chance of getting into Oxbridge (assuming your research matches their interests).

But, I would also say do the PhD in the country where you intend to teach. US uni's tend to favour US PhDs.

Where an earth did this silly rumour come from? I've only ever read it on this forum, and I always refute it. Quite simply we should chose the uni's that best suit our needs, and if this means staying at the same university for all degrees, then there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.

As for the old chesnut regarding uni status versus supervisor, the supervisor (and speciality of the dept) should always come first, because without a decent supervisor you won't get your PhD! University status does have to be borne in mind, but it shouldn't be the deciding factor for your PhD university.

That said, the university brand does influence your employment. Eg. it's highly unlikely that a PhD from an ex-poly/new university (or even a red-brick) will get you into an Oxbridge faculty (no doubt I'll be accused of being a snob again for saying this (I'm not at Oxbridge btw)...but it's a reality); and I'm quite sure the same is applicable in the US (eg. a Tier 4 education is unlikely to open doors into Tier 1 academe).