======= Date Modified 13 Dec 2010 20:01:34 =======
I found out today I'll have my viva in February.

Recently my supervisors informed me that the most likely outcome will be revise and resubmit. They also said that there is a slight possibility of receiving an MPhil. The mention of a possibility of receiving an MPhil was devastating for me! Now I have MPhil/failed PhD running through my head!!! :( Disaster.

Although I know the final result is not set in stone yet and this is supervisors views (who happen to be very experienced PhD examiners).

My dad is really ill at the moment and I may lose both my dad and my PhD in the next few months which is very upsetting indeed! I feel like giving up! :(

Ask if there is the chance of doing more work; or experiments or whatever. You can extend your programme for up to 2 years to get a PhD.

Your supervisor should be able to tell you what the key issue is.

sorry to hear about your dad Pineapple. take each day as it comes and try to think positively.. not just about this but about the viva. it'll help you cope.

forget about your supervisors and concentrate on giving your best shot at the defence. its not your supervisors but the examiners who decide the outcome of the viva.

take time off and work on being positive. its easy to get negative after all the phd stress coupled with the stresses of life.

all the best.

(up)


ps: i was told to settle for am MPhil very early on in my Phd. That did not stop me from believing in myself. I CHOSE to believe in myself. if you don't believe in yourself, no one else will. whatever happens in my viva, at least i will have given myself the best chance i could at a Phd and i can live with that, than panicking and getting a terrible result or quiting because of what someone said. as for whether to settle for MPhil, think about that when you have the result of your viva. right now its a what if. most what ifs never happen!

That is an awful situation, does your supervisor know about your Dad being ill, if not tell them. You need to spend time with your Dad and this to take priority. The comments by your supervisor are insensitive at this time. With regards your thesis what is submitted is done. In prep I would try to focus on the good parts of your thesis first. Then decide what needs to be done to improve the other parts as this gives you a plan of revisions to discuss at viva. Don't give up on the thesis as you have gone too far to just give up. Many people have undertaken major revisions, resubmitted and won! Only your examiners can give the verdict, your supervisor can only express their views. I hope all works out with your Dads illness.

======= Date Modified 13 Dec 2010 20:40:30 =======
Thanks for the responses.

My supervisors are well aware of my dads illness- I informed them last week (last friday). During supervision (today), they said it will be revise and resubmit and the slight chance of leaving with an MPhil :(

The prospect of potentially losing a parent and my PhD is upsetting :(

You need to start being more positive about your PhD. You have every chance in your viva to defend yourself and get a good result, but if you go in expecting to fail then you're ruining your chances.

Hopefully your meeting with your supervisors will help sort things out. And then you can start preparing for your viva. It doesn't take that much time to prepare for a viva (remember I was a ridiculously part-time student, both before submission and after). But you need to think positive. I've posted my viva preparation tips - which take very little time to work through - here before, but if you haven't seen them let me know and I'll repost them here.

My sympathies re your Dad. Spend as much time with him as possible. But you should still be able to prepare for the viva. But start thinking more positive PhD-y. You're doing yourself no favours here.

======= Date Modified 14 Dec 2010 10:10:34 =======
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I can only re-iterate what has been said: think positive about the PhD to give yourself a fighting chance and spend time with your dad.
*big hugs* You have gotten this far with your will to PhD-it, you can push that last stretch!

======= Date Modified 14 Dec 2010 12:40:23 =======
Thanks for the feedback.

My sups said my thesis contains a huge amount of analyses, results and is very original and taps into a very unexplored area of research area that extends and validates the findings of my external examiners work. So all in all, I know there's quite a few positives with my work- I just need to focus on the positives (and somehow erase comments on MPhil possibility out of my head). The thesis was just too long with a very weak discussion chapter which is where the major corrections comes into it. As a result, they think there's virtually no chance of passing with minor corrections.

Whilst my supervisors were really lovely yesterday with loads of tips to prepare for my viva, they said there is a chance of failure at least in obtaining a doctorate. It's completely up to me to swing the balance in the viva. My examiners were told what has happened and that my thesis was not complete and a rushed piece of work. My supervisors said my examiners are very fair examiners and very sensitive to the issues surrounding my thesis area- which I'm also hoping will help my chances.

All I can do is concentrate on the strengths of my work (which my sups think is very extensive for a PhD) and try my best to BELIEVE I can pass with major corrections. I just want one chance to fix it.

Thanks for your feedback on the MPhil issue Jojo- really helpful. Both my supervisors have hinted that I'll receive an MPhil throughout my PhD journey, but I've managed to prove them wrong (with passing the upgrade with flying colours and my internal examiner had the final decision to upgrade me). I just need to find some inner strength to prove them wrong again and most of all, prove to myself that I can do this! I need to somehow find the strength within myself to fight my corner and consider that failure (ie an MPhil) is not an option.

I'm aware I seem to be fixating on the mention of a possibility of an MPhil (which is running through my head constantly), but they were very clear that the most likely outcome will be major corrections. I need to remember my supervisors comments were just their comments and my examiners make the final decision- so thanks for pointing that out!

My dad is going to hospital again this week for a full check on his heart. I personally don't think he's going to make it for the next six months. If he has another stroke then it will probably be fatal. My dad had a total of four minor strokes over the last 4 months (including during the last few weeks of submission). I'm currently spending most of my time making sure my dad is ok and ensuring he's comfortable, but also thinking about my PhD. I don't remember feeling this low and scared before which is where the negative thinking is coming into play. Hopefully the above will work themselves out over the next few months. Thanks for the support everyone :)

======= Date Modified 18 Dec 2010 12:29:16 =======
I'm feeling a little better about my thesis- thanks for everyone's feedback.

Does anyone know of anyone who was told their thesis will be major corrections/revise and resubmit with a possibility of an MPhil/failed PhD and get through ok? By that I mean passing the viva......(either minor or major corrections).

I know I'm going to have to do everything I can to stay positive and implement one hell of a strong defence to get through this. I'm trying desperately hard to block out 'possibility of an MPhil' out of my head. I know it was only my supervisors views and they said it's more likely to be revise and resubmit but it's really difficult to block out the views of a failed PhD/MPhil from experienced PhD examiners!  I really don't want to go through the humiliation of failing the viva if that's what's ahead of me

I'm really sorry to 'bump' this post on this forum!

Congratulations Sheena and others with recent PhD success stories! x

It depends, but if your last chapter is so weak to the degree that it fails to provide a clear summary of your work/your area of research, then it might give examiners a wrong impression, and they may doubt if your thesis is indeed your own work.

And a very very poor viva performance may reinforce their wrong impressions, and I would expect only in such cases, a mphil become possible

So IMO, for you, the best strategy for your viva is: making sure you know your thesis very well, e.g. you should be able to give logical explainations to any key decisions you made in your thesis and you should be well prepared to answer their questions regarding some famous related works in your area.

As long as you show them your thesis is indeed your own work, there is 0% chance that you fail your viva.

I think the most likely outcome for you is redo your last chapter, which may mean either a major correction without viva or even minor corrections, depend on your performance in your viva.

But I will definitely rule out the possiblity that you end up with a MPhil, judging by the feedbacks from your sups/examiners.

Just be very familiar with your thesis, be prepared to answer some very elemental questions in your area of research, they may ask you some of such questions to test your knowledge, and of cause, don't forget to bring your confidence with you, good luck.