Post-thesis twilight zone.........

S

Is it normal to correct at that level of detail?

I'm a bit concerned that I will come out of my viva and not really know the result. My supervisor is away and out of email contact and I don't know if I can expect any clear indication from my examiners. What is the general experience with this?

B

Quote From sarahk5275:

Another Twilight Zoner here ;-) I'm in the minor corrections slump at the moment. I completed the minor corrections and thought I was done. HA! My examiner sent them back with further corrections. Now the examiner is correcting my punctuation - adding commas and semi-colons - and I'm not sure I agree with all of the changes. It is seriously driving me nuts. I know I'm nearly there and I know I'm moaning but I'm losing the will to live :p


Ouch! Poor you. Hope the examiner will be happy with things soon and you're out of the limbo.

S

Hi Smilodon, I received detailed feedback from my examiners about a month after my viva. I'm not sure if this is standard procedure but they told me what I needed to do. In certain areas it was a general 'you need to be more explicit' in others it was more specific 'create a flow chart describing...'. I think that in my case it didn't help that my undergrad degree is maths and my PhD is economics because I don't sound like an economist when I write and they don't like my style of writing. But hey ho, nearly there. :p

Thanks for the thumbs up Bilbo. It helps to have a moan ;-)

R

Smilodon, the examiners told me the result straight after my viva. They had a discussion between themselves after my supervisor (my chosen observer) and myself had left the room, following my oral examination. They called us back in and said I had passed subject to minor corrections, which they outlined verbally for me. I'd have thought you'd also be told the result after your viva, I know others from other unis have followed the same procedure.

The annoying bit for me has been how long the bureacracy surrounding completion takes, though maybe it varies between universities. You know you've passed, but it's not official and wrapped up till all the admin is done. My supervisor said it shouldn't stop me applying for jobs though, as she said academics know about all the admin and the end result is the same, I should just put I have a PhD in blah blah subject, passed in May subject to minor corrections on job/funding applications. You can still get started on publishing work before the official bits are rubber stamped too. Will your supervisor be back or available for email contact by the autumn term? It's a long summer when everyone seems to be on holiday as they can't take time off during term-time.

Sarah, hang on in there, you're nearly done with it! It sounds like they're really making you suffer though...

L

======= Date Modified 27 Jul 2009 13:04:34 =======

Quote From rubyw:

Quote From Lara:


Hey Ruby, nice to hear from you, wow i'm suprised you're stuck in the twilight zone, i thought you would be long gone by now!!:-(


Ooh hell no, you must be joking!!!!!!! :-) :-):-)

I'm still stuck in the endless admin procedures involved in validating the examiner's report and getting the corrections to me. In fact, I still haven't heard anything official from the central research dept about even having passed my viva. Not even an email and my viva was in mid-May! If it wasn't for unofficial news about what's going on, I'd be really fed up with the whole thing. The examiners missed the deadline for their report to go to a committee, then there have been various admin people not around to do their bit, then whether or not another committee would sit before the summer, postal strike, people's holidays etc etc... I'm still hoping to get the official corrections soon, as I only have 2 months to get them done and really want to get them out of the way before the autumn term's teaching gets underway.

I'm glad your revision is still chugging along though!

Smilodon, good luck with your viva! (up)


oh wow Ruby, that does sound like a total nightmare!!! and stressful for you because the longer they take the less time you have to do the corrections!

update from my end. the powers that be, have told me that examiners have been confirmed and now the supervisor and examiners are arranging the date and venue. so just waiting for that email to tell me when it is. yikes a mondo!! but its good. i feel relieved that something is happening. best to just get it over and done with !!! but now i really gotta put my revision and preparation into high gear :-(

R

Hi Lara,

It's good to hear it's moving forward at last. Have they told you who the examiners they've selected will be yet?

Lol, btw nice to hear yikes a mondo again! :-)

L

Quote From rubyw:

Hi Lara,

It's good to hear it's moving forward at last. Have they told you who the examiners they've selected will be yet?

Lol, btw nice to hear yikes a mondo again! :-)


no they havent- i asked him who the examiners are, but no reply yet. i dont know why all the secrecy lol. i will just have to be patient and wait for them to tell me all the details.

and lol @ yikes a mondo LOL
thanks Ruby, nice to hear from you :)

D

======= Date Modified 04 Sep 2009 14:34:50 =======
As from today, I join the people in post-submission limbo. I submitted my thesis this morning and as far as I know the Assessment office has already prepared them to be send out to the examiners. Happy days! Thanks to all who replied in my other threads when I was giving out about writing up etc.... 8-)

L

======= Date Modified 05 Sep 2009 14:07:12 =======

Quote From Danzig:

======= Date Modified 04 Sep 2009 14:34:50 =======
As from today, I join the people in post-submission limbo. I submitted my thesis this morning and as far as I know the Assessment office has already prepared them to be send out to the examiners. Happy days! Thanks to all who replied in my other threads when I was giving out about writing up etc.... 8-)


hey Danzig. i'm joining you! i recieved a letter telling me who my examiners are, and that my thesis has been sent to them! yikes!!! i am sooooooooooo scared :$

D

Quote From Lara:

hey Danzig. i'm joining you! i recieved a letter telling me who my examiners are, and that my thesis has been sent to them! yikes!!! i am sooooooooooo scared :$


Hi Lara,

that's great news! The waiting is almost over. ;) I just hope everything happens before Christmas. I don't mind the conferring ceremony taking place sometime in the next year as long as the viva is out of the way. ;-)

Best,
Danzig

L

thanks Danzig, and a big congratulations to you for submitting your thesis. way to go!!!! that's great!
(up)(up)

L

Quote From Smilodon:

I submitted in April but my viva is not until end July. I've circulated the first draft paper but suspect it will take a LONG time for my co-authors to deal with it. I'm starting on a postdoc grant but have no idea what the realistic timescale is - and don't like to press it since I haven't had my viva yet. But I'm anxious about what childcare to book for Sep and whether I need to fork out to keep our childminder on retainer.

I'm just steadily increasing in anxiety like a frog in boiling water.

Anyone else in the twilight zone?

Smilodon how did your viva go? sorry if you've already posted about this in another thread..

S

Hi Lara - I passed with minor corrections. I still have a ton of work to do to get publications out in order to write a postdoc grant though - so it feel like I have another year to go. It has taken a while to chill about the whole thing but I have slowed down and feel very relieved. How are you doing?

L

Quote From Smilodon:

Hi Lara - I passed with minor corrections. I still have a ton of work to do to get publications out in order to write a postdoc grant though - so it feel like I have another year to go. It has taken a while to chill about the whole thing but I have slowed down and feel very relieved. How are you doing?


That's fantastic! well done you! congratulations :)

i'm okay preparing for my viva:-(

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