As per the title, I'm waiting for my PhD result after receiving an R&R verdict a year ago. To summarise how I'm currently feeling, I think the words impatient, anxious and borderline insane aptly sum my mood up.

As I'm sure everyone in this forum knows, embarking on a PhD is one hell of a journey. I've been looking back at my old posts from years ago where I was sat in the good old university library starting out on this turbulent journey. I've endured the stress of writing, re-writing and then re-writing some more. I've endured stress concerning the ineptness of both my supervisors. I've endured stress over my viva being a shambles. I've endured the stress of my university losing my viva report. I've endured the stress of a years worth of corrections to my thesis. I've endured the stress of editing, re-editing and resubmitting. But this stress of waiting for my (perhaps) final result....I CAN NO LONGER TAKE IT PEOPLE!!

I resubmitted my thesis 9 weeks ago (November 2015). My supervisor expected a two week turn around...I think not. I got told that my result would probably be with me this week. Well, tomorrow's Friday and I've heard absolutely nothing.

My result could be anything from a pass, to minor corrections, to a re-viva...even a downgrade to an MPhil. I've got a temporary lecturing contract coming to an end soon and I desperately need this PhD. I've worked so hard and dedicated five long years of my life to it. I'm terrified that after all this hard work...it still won't be mine. The possibility of actually receiving an email tomorrow saying "congratulations, we recommend to the board that you be awarded your doctorate"...I just don't see it happening. My journey just ain't been like that.

So that's it. Just needed to rant. Is anyone else with me in the struggle?!

Hi Ephiny,

Reading your story was like reading my own! I was given an R&R just over a year ago and had the same problem with my supervisor who told me he wouldn't be reading any of my work. Considering my examiners asked me to write two new chapters I was very concerned that having no supervisor feedback would put me in a comprising position.

In the end, I didn't make a formal complaint as such. I ended up writing to the admin office and asking what the official guidelines were on PhD supervision after viva. My enquiry concerned them as it was obvious I was receiving no supervision. They ended up forwarding my e-mail to the head of school even though I never asked for this to be done! Anyway, a week later my supervisor got back in touch with me and told me that he "didn't remember" saying he wouldn't read my work (a convenient memory lapse there!). Yes, my supervisor is a dirty liar but at least he made contact with me again and offered to read my new chapters which, at the end of the day, was all I wanted and was entitled to.

I hope my story helps in some way. I wish you all the best, good luck! :)

Thank you so much JStanley - your support throughout this process has really helped! I don't blame you for choosing a non-academic career. I'm still in academia part-time but not sure I could commit to it full-time...there are parts of it I love (such as teaching/inspiring) but other parts (such as this ridiculous bureaucratic system) that I hate. Fortunately I don't have any mental health issues (no more than the average person anyway!) but the stress of this PhD has certainly made me feel, at times, depressed, angry and isolated. Like you say, for people who have been diagnosed with mental health problems situations like this would be an immense struggle for them.

I will of course let you know how I get on as soon as I hear anything. I've decided to check my relevant email box twice a day (once in the morning and once late-afternoon) so as to structure my agitated mind!! If not I'll be checking it every hour and probably for the sake of nothing! Thank you again for all your help & advice - keep enjoying life outside the insanity that is academia! :)

Congratulations!! It sounds like you really deserved this - proof that hard work and perseverance pays off! Enjoy your celebrations :)

Thanks Hugh. Unfortunately I may well have to endure another viva...it is a possible outcome. I could get a pass, minor corrections, second viva, downgrade to MPhil or straight out fail. I've done everything my examiners asked me to do...the wait, however, is making me panic. I'll let you know of the outcome! :)

I submitted my revised thesis 2 weeks ago now but the wait feels more like 2 years. I'm really hoping to get my result back before Christmas but perhaps I'm being a little optimistic.

I wrote to the school today to ask what the official turnaround time for my result is. I was expecting it to be anything up to 3 months but instead got told the following from the postgraduate office:

"I can’t give you a definitive answer on this I’m afraid. It all depends on the examiners current workload and how long it takes them to read, analyse and make comments on your thesis."

Now I'm panicking that I might have to wait six months for my result...bearing in mind I originally submitted my thesis over a year ago. Is it just me or has the PhD system in the UK got some major flaws in it? No one in the process seems to care about the mental health of the student (at least not at my university) and the whole process seems so open-ended and torturous. Anyway, rant over...I think I need to practice the art of patience! To say mine is wearing thin after five years would be an understatement...

Thanks Eds! Yes of course, my discipline is Sociology. When I initially submitted a year ago there was no official word count to adhere to (strange but true). Although the school has now implemented a word count of 80,000, I've been told it doesn't apply to me as I submitted before this was in place. My viva report didn't tell me to take anything out of my thesis or cut back in any way - my examiners wanted me to add more chapters. Fellow academics have been shocked by this but it is what it is...I just hope all my hard work pays off now. Will let you know! :)

Good luck! I hope it is a rewarding experience for you and that you manage to enjoy it amidst the stress! Let us know how you get on :)

As per the title, I am finally resubmitting my very long thesis (153,000 words!) after a tedious year of corrections. I thought I would write a post for anyone who has been given major corrections or an R&R verdict in the hopes that it will give them some encouragement.

I was absolutely devastated to be given major corrections after my viva. The amount of work on my corrections list seemed impossible, to the extent that I didn't even know where to start. There were also some serious issues with both my school and my supervisor and I was let down on many levels quite spectacularly.

In light of all this, I am handing in my revised thesis tomorrow (yippee!) and wanted to share what I have learnt from this soul destroying experience:

1. I really want this PhD. I thought I wanted it a year ago but my determination to get a doctorate has definitely reached another level through this correction period. If I do get my PhD, I know I will appreciate it much more than if I had passed or been given minor corrections.

2. My examiners, to some extent, were right. My new chapters have made my thesis so much stronger. Although I still feel quite hard done by, my corrections have made me a more rounded academic.

3. Stress is inevitable but you should never let it take its toll on your health. I fainted (completely blacked out) whilst at the peak of my PhD stress and also felt very run down and short tempered. It didn't do me any favours. Be sure to make time for the things outside academia that make you happy.

Good luck to anyone working on their corrections - don't lose hope! I have to endure the long wait for my result now...which could be minor corrections, another viva, a pass or a fail. I'll keep you all updated! Thank you to the many fellow PhD'ers who took the time to write to me over the past year, it helped me enormously.

Hi Charliebrown, just wondering if you have any update on your situation? I got exactly the same result as you last December and am due to resubmit in the next couple of weeks. Would love to hear how you got on if you've resubmitted?

Hi ariahar, I'm so sorry to hear how upset you are. I was given major corrections last December and felt exactly the same way as you. I was absolutely devastated and it took me a good couple of months to even look at my thesis again. My viva was awful and I went away feeling uninspired and lost. My supervisor has also been rubbish since that day and has given me limited supervision and very little support. However, fast forward 10 months later and here I am now *almost* ready to resubmit (hoping to do it in the next two weeks!) It has been such a difficult year...but, what I will say, is that it's made me a much stronger person and a much more rounded academic. PhD's mean something completely different to those who are given major corrections or an R&R verdict. Give yourself a bit of a break and then just jump back into it. Find the passion you once had for your topic and work from that basis. I wish you all the luck in the world - keep pushing forward!

That's a really tricky one - and it sucks that you aren't able to change to part time. I think you have to ask yourself what your PhD means to you. Why are you doing your PhD? You will eventually get to the job you want after you've finished - it's not all as bleak as people say it is. If you love your research and fear that having a break from it will throw you off track then I'd stick to the PhD and see it through. However, if you feel you need a break from it then maybe it will benefit you in the long-term - both professionally and academically. Good luck! :)

I had my viva 9 months ago and was given major corrections (see my previous posts for full info). I spent a good 3 months struggling to do the corrections and found them very heavy and lacking in detail. Anyway, come the beginning of the summer I dedicated all my time to getting the corrections done and 'found my flow' again as such. I worked incredibly hard and followed my viva report as closely as possible. Six months later and I am on track to meet my deadline of submitting my thesis 3 months ahead of schedule.

This celebration has, however, been somewhat short lived. I've recently been told by my supervisor that my writing isn't up to academic standard and that he would fail me if he was my examiner. This comes after he gave the go ahead for me to submit my thesis in the first place last year and after a long summer of him giving me very little guidance. He's told me to get in touch with the university's writing support service which, at this stage, feels beyond humiliating. However, I've swallowed my pride and done it, whilst also getting some feedback from paid-for online editing services. Now my head is in a complete spin as everyone - the support service, 2 editing services & my supervisor - are all giving me completely different feedback.

And, to top it all off, the biggest praise I got from my examiners was that my thesis was - and I quote - "very well written". My supervisor, however, is now saying it never was and still is not. He has also assumed my 'quick' turn around of corrections (I don't deem 6 months as being that quick) is a rushed job. This is not the case at all and I am absolutely determined to get this right.

I can feel that my health is deteriorating (again) and I am sinking into PhDepression at a stage where I thought I was almost ready to resubmit. Has anyone else been given this kind of shitty advice so late?

I'm hoping for some advice regarding my viva report. I've recently finished my corrections (was given major corrections/R&R - officially I was told major corrections in my viva but the school has treated it as an R&R since then). I have added in everything my examiners have asked of me and followed my viva report very carefully. I'm now in editing mode and my supervisor has made a lot of changes to my introduction. Although I've had to make minor changes to this (by including an overview of the 2 new chapters I was asked to write), my viva report did not say to change anything about my introduction. My supervisor is almost suggesting to re-write it but I'm dubious about doing this as this is not something my examiners asked of me? It has already changed quite a lot through both my own additions and my supervisors recommendations - would rewriting it be risky at this stage?

I want to make sure my thesis is written for my examiners and not for my supervisor as this (I think) has contributed in part to my result of major corrections. Any advice?!

I had my viva six months ago and was given major corrections (although I still fail to see much difference between major corrections and R&R). After a very demotivating viva experience and a lot of drama beyond this (the chair lost my viva report & I had a 3 months wait to get my hands on it), I have finally finished my corrections.

On the one hand I am really pleased as I genuinely believed that I would never get my corrections done as they were so overwhelming. So it's an amazing feeling to have, in essence, done the impossible! However, I am currently editing my new chapters & corrections in accordance with my supervisor's critique and now feel incredibly stressed and nervous again. I appreciate that embarking on a PhD is an isolating experience and you are always in a world of 'not knowing' what the hell is going to happen next (which doesn't bode well for an organised 'needing to know what's round the corner' person such as myself). However, I'm starting to seriously lose sleep over resubmitting my thesis and fear that I will either get called for viva again (the first one was one of the worst experiences of my life so I don't really fancy a second), or my thesis will be failed completely. I have worked so hard over the past 5 years and seriously disagreed with some of the recommendations of my viva report...but I've done everything that's been asked. This process has just been so tedious and unpredictable, (with little support from my supervisor), I fear the system is just going to chew me up & spit me out for the last time.

Has anyone got any advice so I can stop losing my much needed sleep?!