Hi all, here is my own story. I finished my PhD Viva in May 2016 and it ended very strange. The examiners took 45 mins of discussion to come to a conclusion that since I am working full time in the industry now, I needed to be given 6 months worth of corrections. I enjoyed the Viva, I really respect my examiners but somehow the experience and the way it concluded made me think that I am a complete failure. I suffered from depression for two months. Thanks to my external job which kept me sane. Once the list of corrections came (after 1 month from the date of the viva), I had a look at it and it was very very vague. But still, I got down to doing the corrections as I trusted my examiners. I have three journal papers before going for the viva, out of which one is in Royal Society (me as first author). The examiners made fun of my papers and mocked the time I took to write my thesis (I took 1 yr as was working as a post-doc to maintain a family) and don't know what to expect once I submit my corrections (in a weeks time). I conducted new experiments and got brilliant results, analysed these new data and also introduced a new way of analysis (inserted a whole new chapter). Are there still chances of me not having my degree?

Failure at this stage is very unlikely. If you've done what they have asked, you will most likely pass.

It's normal to be given some corrections (even if you already have publications), that doesn't make you a failure. If you do the corrections asked for, there should be no problem being awarded your PhD. And 1 year is the usual time allowed for writing up after funding ends, so clearly that's not an unreasonable time to take (yes some people do finish quicker, but many use the full amount of time, especially with a job and family responsibilities to deal with too).

It sounds like you got minor corrections, but the examiners allowed you 6 months to do them as you work full-time, is that right? But you wouldn't normally be expected to do new experiments as part of your corrections - did they ask you to do that?

Thanks treeoflife and Ephiny. @Ephiny - yes more experiments were part of corrections they asked me to do. I am still nervous about the outcome of my corrections. So please wish me luck..

I completely understand the nervousness - I am in the middle of corrections myself and have similar doubts sometimes. But we can only do our best. Good luck!

Good luck to you @Ephiny..what kind of corrections did you get? And when is the deadline?