After the PhD Viva

                                   

On reflection, the time after the viva was a strange time.  What I mean is it was a time when I felt in-limbo, a time when I had completed so must and when some would congratulate me, but a time when I had not really crossed the finish line.  What I’m talking about are the amendments which I had to complete before my internal examiner said she was satisfied with what I had done.  Next it was the waiting for the email (and letter) from the exam board for their official approval before graduating. 

Doing the Amendments

When I had received my amendments it took a while to make sense of exactly what I needed to do.  After reading my examiners requirements several times and discussing the amendments with my supervisor, I started making the changes.  Although there were very few changes to make, I still had a feeling of protection over my work questioning in my mind if it was really necessary to make the changes.  Upon completion of the amendments it was only then I appreciated what my examiner had required me to do.  During the process of making the amendments, I found two things very useful.  One, once I had made sense of the requested tasks, I made a phone call to my examiner to discuss and confirm her request.  This helped and gave me confidence to make the changes.  Secondly, at the request of my internal examiner I kept a log of what I had changed against the required comments and noted page numbers and my thoughts.  The examiner found this very useful and also saved her time.

Amendments accepted

Once I had submitted my amended thesis to my internal examiner, I had to wait around two weeks before receiving her decision.  I remember the day I received her email, seeing the email and the anticipation of opening the electronic letter.  Finally when I did open the email I was ecstatic with a mixture of feelings of joy, happiness and emotion all at the same time.  It was a great moment but officially I still had to wait for the examination board to approve my examiners decision. 

Dr. Martin Partridge at his graduation

I had made a note of when the exam board were meeting and all that day I was anticipating an email.  I had arranged to meet a fellow PhD student who was also waiting to hear about her result.  It was late in the day, about 5pm when the email arrived on my mobile and the relief that I had finally achieved my PhD was tremendous.  That evening we celebrated with a couple of drinks but even then it seemed strange.

Disengagement

The mile stones that I have achieved throughout my PhD have certainly been met with relief and at times celebration.  However, once I had heard officially from the exam board, to until I graduated a sense of loss at times overwhelmed me.  After such a long process from engaging with my research to meeting my supervisor and meeting fellow students to suddenly not having this around me was very foreign to me.  I have had to learn to let go and re-establish ‘my’ life.  I have now graduated and since then I have started to get into a new routine.  I am now in the process of writing peer reviewed journal articles from my thesis and thinking about the next research project.  The disengagement from my PhD has now allowed me to start a new journey in my life but one that is informed by new learning and new skills I have acquired from doing my doctorate.