My viva is in two weeks. What should I do each day?

By Dr. Rafiq Muhammad, MD, PhD · Updated November 2026

Two weeks is enough. You already know the thesis better than anyone in the room. The work now is to re-find it quickly, rehearse saying it out loud, and walk in with your weak spots already answered.

Days 14–10: re-read and summarise

Read the thesis start to finish, once, with a pen. On a single page per chapter write: what the chapter does, its key decision, and one weakness. Keep a running list of typos and errors. This becomes your corrections list; examiners like to see that you found them first.

Days 9–6: predict the questions

Most vivas circle the same few themes: what your contribution is, in one or two sentences; why you chose this method over the obvious alternative; the limitations, and what you would do differently; how your work connects to the key names in your field; and what comes next. Write a short spoken answer to each, plus one question per chapter that you hope nobody asks. Then answer that one as well.

Days 5–3: say it out loud

Run at least one mock viva with a supervisor, a postdoc or a peer, for 60–90 minutes. Ask them to interrupt and push back. Record it if you can and listen for answers that ramble. If your format includes a presentation, as in many US defenses, rehearse it to time twice.

Days 2–1: logistics and rest

Confirm the time, the room or link, and who is examining. Pack a clean, tabbed copy of the thesis, your corrections list and water. Stop preparing the evening before; tiredness costs you more than one last re-read gains.

In the room

Pause before you answer. It is fine to say "Let me find that page" or "That is a fair limitation, and here is how I handled it." Agreeing with a fair criticism, then explaining your reasoning, reads as confidence, not weakness.