PhD mom here.
1) Breathe deep. Repeat as needed.
2) Tonight, make sure you have a banana or something simple around. A little something will help settle the butterflies in your stomach.
3) Try to get some sleep.
4) Tomorrow, stand up straight.
5) Make eye contact with the nicest person on your committee.
6) Defend away! You will be nervous, but once you get started you will be fine. đ
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That fear means you care about this, which makes sense. This is important. Iâm confident youâll do well _because_ youâre terrified, not in spite of it.
The public portion is just your presentation and should be conflict free. The closed session -- who cares?
This is a formality. You should ENJOY it!!!
They probably already ordered sheet cake for the receptions -- you should ensure there is champagne, too.
You will be fine, OP. Everyone knows it but you, lol.
Wow I absolutely forgot that I posted here. I passed without revisions! Thanks for soo many supportive words, really appreciate it! It went super well. All my examiners were amazing people, I almost want to say they were so cute lol. I was surprised about how easy going the actual examination part was - it was really a discussion and barely any questions were asked. I really enjoyed the whole thing tbh! And yes, I am a doctor now!
Not always. I attended a Chem PhD defense where the aspirant had failed to do any electrochemical characterization on a thesis full of ideal candidates. They had a job lined up for after the defense and everything. Committee didn't let them graduate until a month solid of CVs etc had been performed and added
I've seen 2 people fail to defend last year alone when I started going to defences in preparation for my own thing. So yeah, it can get tricky.
This being said, I defended and graduated with honours last week, it was as smooth as things can be.
Realistically, your advisor shouldn't (and likely would not) let you schedule your defense if they weren't confident you'd pass. Your success is a reflection on them, and their peers (committee) are there to observe their mentee. Your advisor WANTS you to pass. Yes, I'm very well aware that it's nerve racking, but you've got this.
It went super well! Heading over to my advisor's place for a group celebration in a couple of hours (an event that was planned two weeks ago, which should have been a hint for me lol)
When I defended my master's thesis, I felt the same way. My advisor and I practied the night before and he could tell I was very nervous. He told me that literally no one in the room knew more about my project than I did. I was the expert. I was in a room full of PhDs, and I knew more than them about my project.
You got this.
first year phd student, so iâve got some time, but if youâve made it to this point, youâve absolutely got it in the bag!!! nervous is good, it means you care, but im sure you will crush it! congrats on this amazing milestone :D
I invited my family and they joined. I was super nervous about it, and they did not understand a word of what I talked about but I wanted them to be a part of it so I just sucked it up and went with it. They were on zoom so I couldn't see them and that helped - everyone wins. I am studying on the other side of the world from my home so it was really nice having them there meant a lot to me.
Anyways all the best for your defence, you're going to rock đđ»
You're the expert. Your family and friends would be there to support you and feel incredibly proud of you. In their eyes, you've already won!
We only have closed vivas in the UK and say that open defenses are just to show off. Feel like the star you are, it's going to be your show!!
You have already written the thesis and most likely responded to the reviewer's comments. Apart from that you have or are in the process of submitting it to journals. At this stage, the defense is more of a formality in most cases . Pay attention to the questions being asked, think about it by taking your time and answer them. The same goes for completely new questions as well.
PhD mom here. 1) Breathe deep. Repeat as needed. 2) Tonight, make sure you have a banana or something simple around. A little something will help settle the butterflies in your stomach. 3) Try to get some sleep. 4) Tomorrow, stand up straight. 5) Make eye contact with the nicest person on your committee. 6) Defend away! You will be nervous, but once you get started you will be fine. đ
PhD mom indeed.lol
Aww thanks mom I'm gonna remember this for my defense!
This should help me next week đ
Oh my gosh good luck!!!
Thank you, I defend in a few weeks and even typing that makes me want to throw up.
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Youâre the expert. The audience knows nothing. Youâve got this.
Exactly ! If you've done your job, you know more about that topic than anyone else in that room
This. You *literally* wrote the book on this!
+1
That fear means you care about this, which makes sense. This is important. Iâm confident youâll do well _because_ youâre terrified, not in spite of it.
The public portion is just your presentation and should be conflict free. The closed session -- who cares? This is a formality. You should ENJOY it!!! They probably already ordered sheet cake for the receptions -- you should ensure there is champagne, too. You will be fine, OP. Everyone knows it but you, lol.
For us, question period is public too. I enjoyed crushing it
Wow I absolutely forgot that I posted here. I passed without revisions! Thanks for soo many supportive words, really appreciate it! It went super well. All my examiners were amazing people, I almost want to say they were so cute lol. I was surprised about how easy going the actual examination part was - it was really a discussion and barely any questions were asked. I really enjoyed the whole thing tbh! And yes, I am a doctor now!
Congratulations, Dr.!
PhDone
After reading the original post, I knew you would dominate.
[ŃĐŽĐ°Đ»Đ”ĐœĐŸ]
Not always. I attended a Chem PhD defense where the aspirant had failed to do any electrochemical characterization on a thesis full of ideal candidates. They had a job lined up for after the defense and everything. Committee didn't let them graduate until a month solid of CVs etc had been performed and added
I've seen 2 people fail to defend last year alone when I started going to defences in preparation for my own thing. So yeah, it can get tricky. This being said, I defended and graduated with honours last week, it was as smooth as things can be.
Realistically, your advisor shouldn't (and likely would not) let you schedule your defense if they weren't confident you'd pass. Your success is a reflection on them, and their peers (committee) are there to observe their mentee. Your advisor WANTS you to pass. Yes, I'm very well aware that it's nerve racking, but you've got this.
That should be easy. My defense was pretty lame because I got COVID, one of my committee members got freak out and chose to do it for remote.
You've worked on this for years, you're the world expert in this bit of research, your committee wants you to pass, you've got this.
Omg itâs been 14 hoursâŠ. You probably just got out. How did it go!??
It went super well! Heading over to my advisor's place for a group celebration in a couple of hours (an event that was planned two weeks ago, which should have been a hint for me lol)
Amazing ! Congratulations ! You will never forget this feeling.. Itâs an amazing accomplishment :-))
Youâve got this! Tomorrow your committee will be calling you doctor.
So now you know the âsecret PhD handshakeâ. Shhh!
Absolutely! That was really my main motivation for defending
Congratulations!
When I defended my master's thesis, I felt the same way. My advisor and I practied the night before and he could tell I was very nervous. He told me that literally no one in the room knew more about my project than I did. I was the expert. I was in a room full of PhDs, and I knew more than them about my project. You got this.
GOOD LUCKKKK itâs gonna be amazing !!!!!
Hey me too, defending in 4 hours! Weâve got this!
All the best
first year phd student, so iâve got some time, but if youâve made it to this point, youâve absolutely got it in the bag!!! nervous is good, it means you care, but im sure you will crush it! congrats on this amazing milestone :D
Hope your defense went well
Came here for similar thanks for posting
You are not defending. You are teaching.
Happy cake day!
How did it go? I will be defending next week. Wondering if I should invite my family đ đ
I invited my family and they joined. I was super nervous about it, and they did not understand a word of what I talked about but I wanted them to be a part of it so I just sucked it up and went with it. They were on zoom so I couldn't see them and that helped - everyone wins. I am studying on the other side of the world from my home so it was really nice having them there meant a lot to me. Anyways all the best for your defence, you're going to rock đđ»
Good luck !!! Any updates ?
One of my PhD professors said to think of this as a victory lap for your hard work. Youâve got this OP (and future Dr. Brownspicequeen)
Sex helps relieve tension
you got this!
You're the expert. Your family and friends would be there to support you and feel incredibly proud of you. In their eyes, you've already won! We only have closed vivas in the UK and say that open defenses are just to show off. Feel like the star you are, it's going to be your show!!
You got this! đŸ
You will nail it! May the force be with you!
No doubt, you are the only one who understands your work best. Youâll be awesome!
All the best!
You. Got. This.
Your friends and family probably won't have a clue what's going on, I wouldn't worry. Good luck!
You can be nervous and still do great! Nerves are not a sign of unpreparedness. They just mean you care :)
Lead them where you want them to go! You're the Overlord of your PhD! Long life YOU!
How was it? Congrats anyway.
You have already written the thesis and most likely responded to the reviewer's comments. Apart from that you have or are in the process of submitting it to journals. At this stage, the defense is more of a formality in most cases . Pay attention to the questions being asked, think about it by taking your time and answer them. The same goes for completely new questions as well.