Would you pay money to attend a live concert where the artist, say an Elvis impersonator, could not sing? Would you trust a surgeon who was unable to expertly use a scalpel? How about a pilot who could not explain how a plane remains in the air? I suspect the answer is a resounding ‘no’!
This is why many thesis students must undergo a viva voce examination, in addition to submitting a written research document. An increasing number of educational institutions now want to ensure they can ‘certify’ that their students have the skills to apply their knowledge in the real world before they are allowed graduate.
What exactly is a viva voce? Even though it may feel ‘all Greek‘ to you, a viva voce is a Latin phrase, literally meaning ‘with living voice’. In an academic context, it refers to an oral examination where the student ‘gives life’ to their thesis. Traditionally, the format is one in which an examiner poses questions to the student in spoken form. The student is then expected to answer ‘live’ and demonstrate sufficient knowledge and skills of the subject matter to pass the exam. Sometimes, the oral exam is offered as an alternative to a written exam for students with a learning disability, like dysgraphia, developmental coordination disorder, or non-verbal learning disorder.
Having spent weeks, months, or even years, writing-up a thesis, you might be asking what the point is of having an oral exam. You may be thinking that surely the research document is enough? Put simply, a college or university will not want to run the risk of awarding an undergraduate or postgraduate degree to a student who does not reach the overall learning outcomes of the programme. Often, these will include the ability to communicate complex concepts clearly and succinctly, to explain theoretical frameworks in an accessible way, to apply academic theories to real-life practice, and so on. The oral examination format provides a means of assessing how well the candidate has achieved these standards, or failed to reach them. It also helps reduce (although it does not eliminate) the prospect of awarding a degree to a candidate who has had their thesis, or dissertation, ghost-written by a third-party expert.
Many disciplines rely on the viva voce. In scientific research, for example, even if a student attains a high standard in the assessments for individual modules, it is felt that a viva is necessary. It is believed to be the best way to test whether the student has understood the material studied and its relationship with the universe overall. Effectively, it seeks to ascertain if students ‘see the bigger picture’. Medical schools use oral exams for second- and third-year students to test not only knowledge. They also want to gauge the ability of students to ‘think on their feet’ or ‘respond on the spot’. Increasingly, the focus is on ‘making ethical decisions in real-time’ or ‘communicating effectively with a patients’. Pilots are required, as part of the FAA and CAA practical tests, to undergo an interview to evaluate their overall knowledge and their ability to apply what they have learned. This is because flying a plane in theory is very different to flying it in practice. There is an additional expectation that would-be pilots understand not only what they are doing, but why they are doing it. Students of music, for example, are asked to perform several pieces, and are then posed a series of questions by the examiner about their choices, the composer and musical era.
When researching a business and humanities thesis, the viva voce, or oral exam, is a useful way of finding out if a student really understands the research they have conducted (or whether they carried it out themselves). It affords them an opportunity to provide a defence of their thesis by answering questions in a way that demonstrates how their research has contributed to the business or social world.
For all those who want to look like Elvis, swing like Elvis, and sing like Elvis, viva la thesis! Would be Elvis impersonators, and thesis researchers generally, may be interested in our digital resource Preparing for Your Viva and Presentation. This invaluable publication contains easy-to-understand information and straightforward explanations to help you plan, prepare and practice for your viva and presentation. Buy now for immediate use.
