I already submitted PhD thesis yesterday. I heard from the department that I will have to wait for at least 7 weeks before viva voce. I also heard from my seniors that sometimes they had to wait for more than a semester before they could undergo viva examination. Based on your previous experiences, how long did you have to wait for viva exam? What did you do in between?

My supervisor already had examiners to examine my thesis but I just don't know for how long I have to wait.

I think it varies a lot. I heard about mine a few days after submitting, and I had only 4 weeks to prepare, so I spent all the time getting ready for the viva.

About 2 months wait for mine. I already had a full-time job by then (not academia) so was pretty busy.

It's going to depend how busy the examiners are with other commitments, they need time to read the thesis fully, prepare their initial reports, and agree a date/time convenient for everyone involved. Right now many academics may be away at conferences or on holiday.

It was about 6 weeks from submission to viva for me, with about a month's notice from what I can remember. I was already doing a postdoc. If I wasn't, I would have been writing papers whilst looking for a postdoc. Or take a holiday if I was in a financial situation to do so, which I wasn't after an unfunded 4th year.

I waited for two months. In fact, when I was submitting, I had already been told the viva exam date by my supervisor. I submitted in November and defended in January. I packed my thesis and went out to enjoy my Christmas. I only touched my thesis 3 weeks before the viva. It was as if it was written by someone else. It was much easier to spot the mistakes.

It must vary from institution to institution but the one I'm at requires a date to be set during the nomination of examiners. For me it was agreed upon shortly after confirming my examiners and is about 6 weeks after submission.