PhD Viva – How to choose a good external examiner

Choosing a good external examiner for your PhD Viva is a crucial process within your doctoral journey.

Whilst your thesis advisors and supervisors will do a lot of the heavy lifting, it's still vitally important that you're involved in the process.

You should never be in a situation where you simply "find out" who your external examiner is. This is your PhD, and you deserve to be part of these conversations.

Things you need to take into consideration when choosing a PhD examiner are:

Subject specialism
Experience of conducting PhD viva examinations
Impartiality
Logistical considerations
Are they a decent person, a nice human being?

It's also important that you develop a shortlist of two or three, so that you have options if your external pulls out.

Discuss the criteria with your supervisory team or your thesis advisor and make sure that the external examiner is a topic that's regularly on the agenda in your meetings with them. It is never too early to start thinking about externals!

Chapters
0:00 - 1:29 Introduction and overview
1:30 - 3:44 Your role in choosing an external
3:45 - 18:58 Key criteria to consider
18:59 - 20:08 The importance of having a plan B
20:09 - 20:46 Conclusion

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