Viva Panel
We are delighted that you have agreed to act as an External Examiner for one of our PhD Researchers here at Ulster University.
This guidance will hopefully provide you with some useful information to make your experience as smooth as possible.
The panel for our viva voce examinations consists of an External Examiner (two, if the PhD Researcher is a member of staff), an Internal Examiner and a Chairperson.
The Chair (who is not an examiner) should be satisfied that suitable arrangements have been made for the meeting of the Board of Examiners, that preliminary reports from the examiners and the supervisor have been received via PhD Manager, that any case for exceptional waiver of the oral examination has been addressed, and that the candidate is otherwise available to attend.
The Chair must ensure that the examination is conducted properly and fairly and act as a mediator should there be points of disagreement between the examiners. Examiners must, nonetheless, be made aware that they may submit separate reports for consideration by the Board of the Faculty if agreement cannot be reached.
The Chair should ensure that any communication to the candidate is detailed and explicit in its contents, and that it is submitted promptly via PhD Manager for transmission to the candidate.
In the event of the candidate being required to resubmit the thesis, the Chair will decide whether or not a further oral examination is required on the basis of the preliminary reports. If so, the Chair will ask the Doctoral College to set up the oral examination. If not, the Chair will submit the report in PhD Manager in order that the examiners' decision may be communicated to the candidate.
The supervisor is not a member of the Board of Examiners and shall only attend those elements of the Board at which the researcher is also present (e.g. the oral examination and the final briefing at which the Board of Examiners outline their decision to the candidate and provide feedback including any requirement for revision to the thesis); the supervisor’s attendance is at the consent of the candidate.
The supervisor may not contribute unless specifically asked to do so by the Chair and the researcher may not ask the supervisor to speak. Only one supervisor may be present and the choice of supervisor should be made by the researcher.
The supervisor should only attend lunch with the Board of Examiners where this follows the oral examination.
Subsequent to the oral examination the supervisor may provide information relevant to the completion of the examiners' report.
The supervisor should, where the candidate has to amend, correct, revise or resubmit the thesis, be clear about the extent and nature of the work required.
Viva arrangements
The supervisors will get in touch with you to arrange a time and schedule for the examination that suits the panel.
At present, a viva voce examination may take place either remotely, in-person or in a hybrid style where one or more member attends remotely and the remaining members are on campus.
A coordinator, normally the Chair or a supervisor, will get in touch with you to confirm the date, time and suitable online platform (plus backup platform) for the viva.
You will be asked for email confirmation of your agreement to the arrangements plus contact details (including a telephone number in case it is needed).
The Chair will have considered the procedures on the day and how these can best be managed to ensure adequate time for the pre-meeting of examiners and discussion of the decision in the absence of the candidate.
If prevailing public health guidance permits, and with agreement of all panel members, the viva may be held in person. We always try to arrange a viva around the External Examiner’s travel schedule to facilitate same-day travel.
The below are example schedules only and can be tailored as needed:
Morning viva
- 10:00 Preliminary meeting
- 10:30 Viva start
- 12:30 Lunch (where applicable)
Afternoon viva
- 12:30 Lunch (where applicable)
- 13:30 Preliminary meeting
- 14:00 Viva start
PhD Manager
Ulster University uses PhD Manager as our administration for PhD researchers. When you are appointed you will be sent a link to create your own PhD Manager account for the purposes of this examination.
On PhD Manager you will be able to view the submitted material, submit your own preliminary report and confirm the outcome of the examination.
Fees, Travel and Claims
The fee for examining at PhD level at Ulster is £200 and £150 for an examination at MPhil level. This is paid through our Salaries and Wages Department so is subject to normal taxation etc. Our HR Department will require evidence of ‘Right-to-Work’ in the UK, usually by way of passport and/or visa. Please remember to bring these with you on the day of the examination. For those attending remotely, verification of documentation will be digitally confirmed on the day of the examination.
Examiners who are not from the UK or Ireland and/or do not have the 'Right-to-Work' in the UK can find out if they need a visa to work in the UK.
Where a viva is to be held in person, we would ask that examiners make their own travel arrangements and claim back expenses following the viva. Please retain original receipts and tickets for claims. Car mileage rate is 25p per mile. The Doctoral College will pay up to a maximum of £300 for return flights (except by prior arrangement). Where necessary, External Examiners should endeavour to arrange return flights on the same day, but if this is not possible, we can, exceptionally, arrange accommodation for one night. We can also pay for your travel to/from the airport/hotel where required. Travel should be undertaken by public transport if possible; taxi fares will only be reimbursed where public transport was not available within the schedule.
Our public transport system is Translink and you can plan your journey by bus or train through their Journey Planner. Please keep all tickets/receipts for claiming back expenses. You might also find useful information on getting to each of our campuses on our Global webpages.
Claiming expenses and fees
We will reimburse your travel costs when you submit an expenses claim.
View our guide on claiming expenses and fees and access links to the Digital Claimant Portal.
Regulations and Procedures
The University has developed a Handbook for Examiners, containing guidance on the nomination criteria for the Board of Examiners, procedures surrounding the examination process, the roles of various individuals involved in the examination, assessment criteria and the recommendations available to the Board of Examiners following examination.
Examiners are advised to review this Handbook alongside the relevant regulations for the research degree programme.