The Viva Voce and Examiners' decision
The Viva Voce (Oral Examination) - arrangements
It is the responsibility of the Internal Examiner to make arrangements for the Viva Voce (Viva for short, but also known as Oral Examination) and to confirm the arrangements directly with the student (for staff candidates, the Internal Chair will make and confirm the arrangements). The External Examiner/s should also be fully consulted and informed of the arrangements. In terms of the presence of the supervisor, please refer to the additional information provided online: http://www.bradford.ac.uk/hub/ResearchStudents/supervisoratviva/
Please note, the Hub-Student Administration and Support/SAS (Research) team are generally not informed of Viva arrangements prior to examination, so students should contact their Departmental contacts (outside of your Supervisor or appointed Internal Examiner/Chair this will include the relevant PGR Administrator) in the first instance.
The Viva should take place within eight weeks of submission of the thesis to the Hub-SAS (Research). In exceptional circumstances the period specified may be extended by the Research Degrees Committee/RDC*. In terms of timeliness of examination, supervisors and students should refer to the Appointment of Examiners' process, which emphasises that is essential that examiners are approved in advance to formal thesis submission.
The Viva is normally held on University premises although it may be held away from the University if particular circumstances make such an arrangement more convenient for those concerned. Please note, all parties involved with the Viva must agree to this taking place off site and permission must also be sought by the Internal Examiner (or Internal Chair in the case of staff candidates) in advance from RDC*. The RDC request should include confirmation that all parties agree, indicate a suitable venue and confirm that examintation conditions can still be met.
In exceptional circumstances, arrangements can be made for the Viva to be undertaken by videoconference. Full details of the Guidelines and Protocol applicable in such circumstances can be found in the Guidance for Internal and External Examiners of Candidates for Research Degrees (follow Quick Links - Ordinances and Regulations - see Guidance, Appendix 1). As with an off site Viva, it is essential that all parties involved must agree to the examination by Video Conference and permission must be sought by the Internal Examiner (or Internal Chair in the case of staff candidates) in advance from RDC.*
*The Chair of RDC should be contacted via the Hub-SAS (Research) team.
At the Viva, the External Examiner will act as the principal examiner. The Internal Examiner will assist the External Examiner and exercise a major function in ensuring that the Viva is conducted in a supportive atmosphere with due regard to relevant Univeristy procedures, policies and regulations. The latter functions are met for Staff Candidates by the Internal Chair.
The length of the Viva is at the discretion of the examiners. Typically it may last from 1.5 to 3 hours.
Viva Outcomes
After the assessment has been completed students will be told informally by the Examiners the outcome of the examination. A joint report will be prepared by the Examiners and students will receive a copy of this when finalised.
More information of possible outcomes is given in Section 15 of the Research Regulations - please refer to the Regulations by following the relevant Quick Link on the right hand side of this page (Section 17 further details information about the Appeals process for Research Students). The Exam Forms further detail the specific outcomes of all research examinations and can be viewed online: http://www.bradford.ac.uk/hub/ResearchStudents/Forms/
Lastly, the most common pass outcomes - minor amendments and re-submit revised thesis - together with follow-up processes are futher summarised online: http://www.bradford.ac.uk/hub/ResearchStudents/amendments/
