I've been reading through much of the discussions and there seem to be quite different lengths for the viva ranging from 50 minutes to 1.5 hours to 3 hours to an unbelievable 8 hours. I'm trying to get an idea of how long I'll be in that room. And, did you have a break during it?
I know- or at least I suspect- that my PhD will be gruelling as it's, well, big enough to be two doctoral theses. I'm not worried about it, though. Nevertheless, it's over three months since I submitted and I still haven't been given a date so if I don't hear from them by the middle of this month I will have to ring the department as the final thesis must be submitted by mid March in order to be conferred in April.
The second question is: how did you prepare? Did you all have mock vivas? If so, who attended? Does everybody have a mock viva? (I haven't been told anything about this). I'm very curious about it.
The third question is: did you all make a presentation before the viva? How long was it for, and was it by Powerpoint? Is it open to anybody? Is there a section where you can invite your girlfriend/boyfriend or father/mother to watch you? If so, do most people exercise the right to have somebody there?
I have loads more questions, but there are the three most important tonight! Thanks!
The rookie.