The Viva

The oral examination known as the viva voce or more commonly "viva"  is the culmination of your research degree examination process. 

Literally, "viva voce" means by or with the living voice - i.e., by word of mouth as opposed to writing. So the viva is where you will give a verbal defense of your thesis.

The following sections are highlights from the COP.  You are encouraged to look at the relevant sections (especially Annexes B8 and B9) ahead of your viva.

When will the viva be?

The viva is normally scheduled to take place between 8 and 10 weeks after submission of your thesis. However, vivas are occasionally held sooner and occasionally later.

Delays can often happen because of difficulties in finding a date that both examiners can meet with sufficient time for them to read your work in depth.

Who will be present?

Usually at Keele, there is one External Examiner, one Internal Examiner and an Independent Chair.  Both examiners will have read your submission in depth before they meet with you.

If you are a member of staff or if no appropriate internal examiner can be found, a second external examiner will take the place of the internal examiner. 

The Independent Chair will be responsible for the conduct of the viva and the timely submission of all reports.

Why have a viva?

The purpose of the viva at Keele is to:

1.  evaluate whether you have met the standards for the award.  (These standards are set out in Annex A1of the COP.)

2.  Within the examination process, the viva has the following objectives:

  • to confirm or revise the examiner’s initial views about the standard of your research, based on the thesis
  • to identify and discuss any amendments to the thesis which may be required to meet the standard for the award
  • to determine as far as possible whether the Part 1 Declaration made by the student on submission of the thesis is true.

3.  These objectives will be achieved through the examiners discussing the research and the thesis with the student, to gain clarification, probe background knowledge, and assure themselves of the student’s full understanding of the relevant issues. 

Preparing for the viva

Just like any other examination, it is important to be thoroughly prepared. 

You should make yourself thoroughly familiar with the contents of your thesis and prepare yourself to answeranswers in the following areas:

  • explanation of the structure of the thesis
  • justification for the inclusion or exclusion of material
  • explanation for and justification of the use of particular research methods and techniques
  • defence of the originality of the thesis, and how it relates to the work of others
  • clarification of any points of ambiguity within the thesis
  • justification for the conceptual approach taken in the thesis
  • the depth of knowledge of the contextual background to the subject of the thesis.

It can be a useful exercise to try summarising your thesis in just two minutes, speaking aloud to a friend or colleague.

On the day of the viva

A viva typically lasts at least one hour but rarely more than two hours. 

A long viva does not necessarily mean that you are struggling to demonstrate the quality of your research – it could just mean that your examiners are thoroughly interested in what you have to say!

Will I be told the outcome of the viva?

At the end of the viva, the independent Chair will ask you to leave the room while the examiners reach a decision.

On completion of the viva, examiners should indicate to the student what amendments and corrections to the thesis are required, if any.

The outcome is subject to approval by Senate.  You will be notified of the outcome after the Senate Meeting.

Submitting revisions after your viva

At the viva, you may be given a document listing the revisions. If this is the case, you may start your revisions straight away but you can not have then signed off until you receive the official outcome letter from the University (see next paragraph for reason why). 

If you are not supplied with a document at the viva, you may contact Ian Britton to request a copy of the revisions.  If the revisions are listed separate from the Part II or final report, the document will be supplied as soon as it becomes available.

After the viva, the Examiner's write a second report known as the Part II report.  Once all the Examiner's reports are available, they will be considered at Research Degrees Committee (RDC).  After consideration by RDC, you will receive an official outcome letter.  It will detail the outcome (or Recommendation on our 1-7 scale, see Code of Practice Annex A2 for detailed explanation) and what you need to do next.

If you receive a Recommendation 2 or 3 the time you have to complete the revisions does not start until the reports are considered by RDC.

Once you have completed any revisions requested by the Examiners after your viva and you wish to submit the revised work so the examiners can verify the revisions, please contact Catherine Greaves in the Tawney Building by telephoning  (01782) 734573 / internal extension 34573 or by emailing Catherine Greaves

If you wish to submit revisions in an electronic format, you must tell Catherine who will seek agreement from the examiners.  If they agree, you are required to submit the revised thesis as a single pdf file along with a second pdf file detailing the revisions.

Once the Examiner(s) sign off the revisions, you will receive a letter telling you that you are eligible to lodge with the library.