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I haven't posted on here that often, but have read this forum a lot over the past few months to get invaluable advice. The least I can do, therefore, is to share my viva experience in the hope that it may calm some nerves.

I had my viva yesterday, and passed with minor typos. I was confident I knew my stuff and could argue my points well, but was worried because academia can be so subjective (especially in arts and humanities): what if my examiners were to reject my methodologies / outlook?

In the end, the viva was little more than a very genial chat and the time flew by. It was more like a high-level conversation amongst experts, and I think the most encouraging thing about my experience was that all three of us (me, and my 2 examiners) disagreed with each other on various points of my thesis, but this did not result in major revisions being forced upon me. Their verdict was that though they each had points of disagreement with me, the thesis itself was fundamentally a sound piece of work that warranted a PhD. Instead of making me revise the arguments in the thesis itself, they gave me a list of issues I should consider before future publications emerge from my findings.

Basically, all the cliches I was told before but refused to believe were true: a thesis is "an answer" not "the answer", the viva is not an interrogation but the formal point of entry into the community of professional scholars, nor did the viva call for me to prove that I was right and they were wrong.

So, if you have faith in your thesis and your external examiner is well selected (mine was a very eminent, bordering on "celebrity", prof whose academic obsessions are very close to mine) then you really shouldn't worry too much. Having said that, if I'd read this from someone a week ago I would not have believed a word of it.

More successful viva experiences!!!!!
Congratulations!!!!!!!!!!(up)(up)(up)
I really hope that I will be in your place in some years!!!!

''Their verdict was that though they each had points of disagreement with me, the thesis itself was fundamentally a sound piece of work that warranted a PhD.'' I'm so hoping this is how it goes for me. My external is on a very similar wavelength but my internal I expect will diagree with some of my thesis.

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