Tag Archives: viva

An almost doctor (Rousse)

Posted on February 3, 2023 by Dreamaticus

My sister S revealed that she too had undertaken doctoral studies, so why did she not use the title ‘Doctor’? She confessed that she had submitted her work and passed her viva examination, but couldn’t be bothered to deal with … Continue reading →

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Vauxhall Viva daffodil destroyer (Rousse)

Posted on June 22, 2019 by Dreamaticus

I was driving a white Vauxhall Viva in a rather erratic manner when my mobile phone rang. I knew that it was not advisable to answer it when at the wheel, so I turned into a side road to find … Continue reading →

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PhD in Middle Eastern history: the mock viva experience (Rousse)

Posted on March 16, 2018 by Dreamaticus

I was completely unqualified to serve as an examiner at this mock PhD viva. What on earth did I know about Middle Eastern history? I had been persuaded to participate on the grounds that I could ask all the standard … Continue reading →

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A paper on the informational content of food – rejected (Rousse)

Posted on July 30, 2017 by Dreamaticus

SM agreed to leave the house and type an email to the conference organiser at Sunderland University. ‘If you ask for a start time of 4pm, I can attend after conducting a PhD viva’, I suggested. When SM learnt that … Continue reading →

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An undeserved PhD (Rousse)

Posted on July 21, 2017 by Dreamaticus

In a meeting chaired by ED I heard that JM had submitted his PhD thesis five months early, yet I had not seen a draft of the tome. Another academic at the meeting, who had nothing to do with this … Continue reading →

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Lucinda Legerwood awarded PhD (Rousse)

Posted on October 9, 2015 by Dreamaticus

BB hosted the viva in his office, HR chaired it, and the candidate – Lucinda Legerwood of BBC Apprentice fame – engaged in conversation with the female external examiner in Wolverhampton by Skype. I was on the beach when I … Continue reading →

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Cheese throwing with Billy Connolly (Rousse)

Posted on October 25, 2014 by Dreamaticus

Although the purpose of the exercise was unclear, I enjoyed an afternoon of ‘cheese chucking’ with Billy Connolly and BP. The concept was simple. All you had to do was throw lumps of cheese up onto a high shelf. I … Continue reading →

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A poor choice of PhD examiner (Rousse)

Posted on June 11, 2014 by Dreamaticus

The second external examiner was a tall, blonde, bitchy New Zealander who arrived very late and immediately laid into the bewildered candidate. This was not going to be an easy PhD viva.

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Icing sugar icons and a PhD viva re-run (Rousse)

Posted on April 12, 2014 by Dreamaticus

While JA was making pastel button-sized icons out of icing sugar, PL ran some sophisticated programs on his laptop. To begin with they worked silently side by side. Then PL started interrogating JA about his PhD. This raised so many … Continue reading →

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Condensed milk cures homesickness amongst British ex-pats (Rousse)

Posted on February 20, 2013 by Dreamaticus

Whoever thought that I was qualified to examine a PhD in Latin on the French Enlightenment needed their head examining. Four of us gathered for the viva around a table in an over-heated room at the end of a long … Continue reading →

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