A present at the viva
B allowed to be the internal examiner at the viva
C typically used as internal examiner at the viva
D not allowed to be internal examiner at the viva
E don't know

Vote now!

can I phone a friend?

thanks Freddy, and Sylvester yes you can phone as many friends as you like!

you forgot F- All of the above

My 5th (external) supervisor acts like my 1st supervisor. The others don't act like supervisors at all.

Okay, not so much concentration on the "2nd" people, I'll rephrase the question: "is my nth supervisor..." (i.e. are any of my supervisors allowed to be internal examiner, and don't get me started on the fact that I only have ONE supervisor. I'm looking for a second at the minute, hence the question. Anyone want to be my second supervisor? First task is to sign a form for me...today)

404, I just searched google to see how to respond to your joke (my supervisor acts like a), looking for a better way to say 'boom boom'...and I found the Basil Brush website! Well, that's just made my day!

I need to choose a second supervisor, but don't want to pick someone I WANT to examine me in the viva if being second supervisor means they can't examine me...

Definitely D, you cannot have someone who has had any involvement in your project as an examiner.

So, even if you don't pick Prof A as a supervisor, Prof A cannot be an examiner if they have contributed to your project in anyway i.e. offered advice, assisted with experiments, proof-read your thesis chapters et cetera.

Dear Sue, I am typing the following text from "The Research Student Guide to Success" by Pat Cryer (viva section). It is an Open University publication, so it can be trusted: "Many students prefer not to have their supervisors with them at the oral examination because it can be inhibiting to explain their works in front of someone who knows it so throughly already. Supervisors can, however, be present in certain circumstances, depending on institutional regulations. So you should think about whether there are good reasons for this to happen in your case, and then discuss possibilities wih your supervisor."

You might be right lamb. I have no idea. I know that at my institution, only the 1st supervisor attends the viva. But I don't know if they get to have a say in the outcome, as examiners. The book was handy, so I typed that paragraph thinking it would be helpful for sue.

Supervisors can usually attend the viva (IF the student wants them there and it's not normally a whole gang of them either, usually just one) but they are not allowed to comment. They are there as observers only and must withdraw with the student when the examiners are making their decision.

Thanks everyone, it makes sense that someone who was involved in your work wouldn't be allowed to examine it, and in my department I think it's typical that the prinicpal supervisor isn't even present at the viva.
It seems that this should also extend to a second supervisor, even if (as in my case) they had little involvement in the project (don't have one yet so any involvement is yet to come!) and if only because they're at the same uni or research division. If the second supervisor is present, I now reckon it's only as an observer.
I'll worry about the internal examiner later...