Well I finally have a date for my viva to panic about. It's not till January, but I have to travel to London for it as that's where my external is based and it turned out he couldn't possibly travel by train 1 hour for it :p

Is this normal? I'm not best pleased about it. Usually at my institution your supervisor has a bottle of bubbly chilling and everyone gathers in the coffee room afterwoods. I'll miss out on that :-(

it's not normal in my uni. The most I have heard about is a viva done via videolink but even in that case the student is in their home uni with the external on the laptop on the table!

I got my viva date yesterday (it's also in Jan) and my external will have to fly to me. I presuming he will...

Not normal I think but I would much prefer this. I have that horrible thing of everyone gawking out of their offices (which are glass) as you do 'the walk of shame' back/to the viva so everyone knows exactly what is going on and rumours go like wildfire around the building about how its gone so far, etc etc.

So I'd much rather do it where all the nosy people in the department don't know!

I'm also a bit of an introvert, so I'd hate the bubbly thing - would rather go home and collapse in front of an x factor repeat with a nice mug of tea as I know I'll be exhausted and won't fancy putting on a 'face' for hours in the pub afterwards!

Well done Catalinbond and Ady on getting your dates! Travelling for the viva isn't normal in my uni either but I'm not sure it'd bother me that much as it'd help with the distraction and the nerves. Good luck!

That's great news Catalinbond and Ady as it gives you something to work towards.

my external had to fly in from elsewhere, and I haven't heard of anyone having to travel for their viva. I just wanted to collapse at home after mine too, although I was promised an outing down the pub with everyone, I politely asked whether anyone would mind if I simply went home (it was all I wanted to do).

ooh I got mine today. Eeek! I haven't even submitted yet!

The best ways Sneaks, in my opinion, as you may not have long to wait between submission and viva.

Totally agree with Delta! Waiting isn't fun... good news Sneaks! I hope you manage to submit soon.

I don't think it is normal to travel to the external examiner unless extenuating circumstances. That said I would rather get it done than wait for another examiner to be appointed or a later viva date. I moved away from my uni during the write-up phase so had to travel back. My drive was over three hours so I made the most of it by booking a nice spa hotel nearby for the afternoon/evening prior to my viva. Have to say it was very relaxing and worthwhile  :p

Would you be going into uni the following day for bubbly? In some ways it may be nicer to go in the day after for a celebratory drink/lunch rather than a rushed glass of bubbly afterwards. I have to say I was exhausted post viva so once I had driven home I collapsed on the sofa with my hubby, the telephone, laptop and a glass of wine! In fact I felt pretty numb for about a week :$

Excellent news of viva dates for Ady, Sneaks and Catalinbond. This is the start of your final PhD journey so good luck with your prep (up)

Hey guys, that's exciting news. Sounds like Jan will be a busy month on the forum! Best, KB

Dear Catalinbond,

Don't worry too much about being away from uni. The uni and everything there can actually be a distraction. I don't know about others but right before my viva, the environment at the department started to look very strange (as in creepy!). (or maybe it was just me!) However, if you do have to travel there, if possible go and get a comfortable place a couple of days early on in London and relax a bit so you are not in tension during the viva.

Wishing you and everybody who is having a viva soon best of luck! (up) I shall be coming back and forth to check on you folks!

Cheers

Thanks for all the responses, and good luck to the other January viva-ees!

I guess it won't be that bad having to travel. I'm only about 1 hour away and it will give me something else to think about on the day rather than sitting at Uni panicking. It will just be weird after, especially if me and my internal both have to travel on the same route, I don't think I'll want to travel with him, but also won't want to try and avoid him but keep bumping into him! Sure I'll sort something though. I have a couple of friends who commute so may see if either fancy meetign me for a train party on the way back!

Am glad to finally get a date, they struggled as my external could only do Friday afternoon and my internal taught then this term, so they started looking at other days but in London. Not 100% sure why it ended up still being in London now it's after Christmas. Think it's the danger of having a clinician as an examiner as they all seem ridiculously busy (my Sup is a Clinician and is very hard to pin down!)

Re not wanting to do much after. I think I am going to plan a meal and celebration for after. Although I'll probably be knackered, I think it will be a big anti-climax to finish my viva and just go home. The only worry is if it goes hidiously wrong.....

:p

Pity you have to travel to your external, Catlinbond. It's also a pity that Ladbrokes aren't doing odds on you passing because I'd put a month's wages on it, and I'm not a gambling man. You're a veteran of this forum, so you know everything there is to know about how to prepare for a viva and pass it. It's weird when you have a viva date, because it's kind of like a definitive end point. Good luck!