Postgraduate Studies

The PhD viva, commonly referred to as the PhD defense in the USA, is an oral examination whereby a PhD candidate "defends their thesis".  A bit of background info: viva is short for viva voce, which is a Latin word that means “by live voice”.

The PhD viva is often considered one of the most daunting aspects of the doctoral journey. This final hurdle can induce anxiety and apprehension, even among the most confident candidates. The prospect of defending years of research in front of expert exa…

The acknowledgement section of your dissertation is a special section to write. It tends to evoke many emotions of gratefulness toward one’s ecosystem, the support network that carried us through the dissertation. It is often done with a bit of moisture in the eyes.

While one would think that the words for the acknowledgement section will flow naturally onto the paper, this is not always the case. After writing a dissertation of 315 pages, being subdued to brutal peer review and subjected to …

As the postgraduate coordinator in the Physiotherapy Department at the University of the Witwatersrand, one question I often get from prospective postgraduate students is, “how do I decide on a topic for my master’s or doctoral dissertation or thesis?”

This blog post will highlight a few things to consider when it comes to deciding on a topic for your dissertation or thesis (if you prefer the video above text, scroll down). I’m using examples within my own experience and scope, and I hope you…

You are doing a postgraduate degree because you know it is what your career needs. You thought long and hard about whether to enrol; you weighed the pros and cons, calculated the hours required to make it work, and made an informed decision using the information at your disposal… now you are knee-deep immersed in it. You feel pulled apart between what your postgraduate degree requires and life out there; your kids need you, or you are working part-time, or you are planning your wedding, or you a…