As part of a ‘Questions to Ask’ series, the EDE project has developed a Key Consideration Guide with ‘questions to ask’ when you are developing, implementing, reviewing or improving a viva.
A viva voce (commonly referred to as a viva) is the final oral examination for a doctoral degree. During the viva, the doctoral candidate discusses and defends their thesis before a panel of experts, who assess the quality of the research, the candidate’s understanding of the topic, and whether the work meets the standards for the award of a doctorate. The format of a viva varies considerably across countries, institutions and disciplines.
The Key Consideration Guide lists the benefits and challenges of the viva identified in the literature and offers a series of reflective questions to assist in maximising the benefits and mitigating the challenges. Additional support materials, such as short videos, can be found at www.postgradenvironments.com
The ‘Questions to ask’ series draws from literature and experience worldwide to offer a set of questions to be posed when implementing or evaluating a practice. In this edition, the focus is on the doctoral viva.
Please note: context matters. There is no single model of best practice that applies across all countries, universities, and disciplines. Rather than prescribing one approach, this guide is intended to assist curriculum developers, doctoral schools, supervisors, and policymakers identify and implement practices that are most appropriate for their own context.
