Pre PhD Viva Presentation: How to Prepare Your Pre-Submission Seminar

In this guide, a pre PhD viva presentation means the talk you give at your pre-submission seminar, before you are allowed to submit your thesis. At the Indian universities below, it is presented to a doctoral committee, and it covers the whole thesis: objectives, gaps, method, results and contribution. The committee’s comments go back into the thesis before submission.

This guide shows what three universities’ own rules say about the seminar, a slide plan built from one of them, the questions a committee is likely to raise, and a checklist for the weeks before. The rules differ between universities, so your own PhD regulations always decide your case.

What the pre-submission seminar is for

The seminar is the last check your department makes before the thesis goes to external examiners. You present finished work, the committee comments, and you fold those comments into the thesis.

Names vary. The Central University of Tamil Nadu (CUTN) calls it the “pre-thesis submission seminar” in its PhD regulations. BITS Pilani and Aliah University call it the pre-submission seminar. This guide calls the talk a pre PhD viva presentation, but it is not the viva itself. The viva comes after the examiners have read your thesis, as our explainer on what a viva is sets out.

The same milestone exists outside India. The University of Canberra describes its pre-submission seminar as a “non-assessable presentation and the final milestone before you submit your thesis for examination” (University of Canberra).

What three universities’ rules say

The rules agree on the shape and differ on the details. Read the table, then find the matching clauses in your own regulations.

Sources: BITS Pilani PhD checklist, CUTN PhD Regulations 2022, sections 19 and 20, Aliah University e-guidelines for the pre-submission seminar.

A few details matter for planning. CUTN’s notice of the seminar is issued by the chairperson of the RAC after approval from the Dean of Academics. Its thesis submission checklist asks for minutes of the pre-submission seminar signed by all the members.

At these universities, publication rules also decide when you can present. Aliah’s guidelines ask for at least one paper in a UGC CARE, Scopus-indexed or Web of Science-indexed journal and two conference presentations, or two such papers and one presentation, before the seminar. CUTN asks for two papers in Scopus or Web of Science listed journals and two conference presentations before the thesis is submitted (section 23.0.1).

What to put in the presentation

Build the talk around the thesis, not the history of your PhD. BITS Pilani’s checklist gives a clear list of what the presentation must cover, and it is a sensible backbone for any university.

1. Objectives and scope of the study.
2. Literature review, kept brief: BITS says two to three slides only.
3. The research gaps identified from that review.
4. Problem formulation.
5. Research methodology.
6. Experimentation, data collection and analysis.
7. Results and discussion.
8. General conclusions.
9. Specific conclusions and contributions of the research.
10. Further scope of research.

Source: BITS Pilani PhD checklist, item 5 of the pre-submission seminar checklist.

A timed slide plan for a 30-minute talk

Here is one way to split a 30-minute slot across that list. The minutes are our suggestion, not a university rule, so adjust them to your own time limit.

The heaviest block is results, because that is where your contribution has to be visible. For slide-by-slide advice on structure, our guide to structuring a PhD viva presentation applies here too.

Make every slide point to a page

Each results slide should carry the chapter and page of the thesis where that result sits. If committee members have the thesis or synopsis with them, a page reference lets them check your claim in seconds. It also shows that the slides and the thesis tell the same story.

The questions a committee is likely to raise

The questions below are our wording, written to show the kind of question you could hear at a pre-submission seminar. Your committee will word them around your own thesis.

• Which objective does each results chapter answer, and is any objective left unanswered?
• What exactly is your contribution, and where in the thesis do you state it?
• Why did you choose this method over the obvious alternative?
• Which of your findings depends most on one assumption, and what happens if that assumption is wrong?
• Do your conclusions claim more than your sample or data can support?
• Is your literature review up to date, and have you included the most recent studies in your area?
• Which of your publications come from this thesis, and where does each sit in it?
• What would you change if you started again?

Before the seminar, write a two-sentence answer to each and note the page that supports it. Start with the first question. If an objective has no matching result, fix that before the seminar rather than after it.

To practise the one-line version of your contribution, use the template in summarise your thesis in one sentence.

After the seminar: comments, minutes and the synopsis

The seminar produces a list of changes, and your rules decide how you show they were made. BITS Pilani’s checklist includes noting the corrections and suggestions raised for necessary action. Aliah’s guidelines say the feedback may be suitably incorporated into the thesis in consultation with the DSC.

Keep a three-column table: the comment, the change you made, and the page where it now sits. Send it to your supervisor with the revised chapters. It will save time when the minutes or the report are signed.

At CUTN, the synopsis follows the seminar. Its regulations say the supervisor forwards three copies of the synopsis, with the attendance certificate of the pre-thesis submission seminar, to the Controller of Examinations (CoE) through the Head of Department. They list what the synopsis should contain: the title, objectives, literature reviewed, methodology, analysis, results or findings, and discussions.

On Aliah’s application form, the candidate declares that the thesis will be submitted within six months from the date of the pre-submission seminar. Check whether your university sets a similar window, because it decides how much revision time you really have.

What happens if the committee is not satisfied

Aliah University allows a second seminar, with strict limits. Its guidelines name three grounds: the quality of the work, the preparation for the seminar, and the publication and presentation requirements. If the DSC is not satisfied on these, the candidate must appear again within a maximum of one year. If the candidate fails to satisfy the DSC at the second attempt, the registration is cancelled automatically.

Rules like these are why the seminar deserves the same preparation as the viva. Read your own regulations for the attempt limit before you book a date.

A four-week checklist before your seminar

The timings below are our suggestion. Fit them around your own university’s notice period.

1. Four weeks out: confirm eligibility with your supervisor, including minimum period, publications, conference presentations and fee dues.
2. Four weeks out: ask the department office how the notice is issued and how far in advance.
3. Three weeks out: send the thesis or synopsis to the committee, in the number of copies your rules ask for.
4. Three weeks out: check every reference resolves and matches its source, using the steps in how to verify references.
5. Two weeks out: build the slides from the plan above, with a page reference on every results slide.
6. Two weeks out: write two-sentence answers to the likely questions.
7. One week out: rehearse the full talk to time, in front of a labmate who asks questions.
8. The day before: print your list of publications, the approved title and a copy of the thesis to bring.
9. After the seminar: write up every comment in the three-column table within two days.

What Thesisroom does with this

Thesisroom’s Defense Practice room reads your full thesis and asks the kind of questions an examiner or committee could ask, each tied to a passage in your own text. You answer in writing or out loud, in Practice, Rapid round or Mock panel style. It does not write your answers or hand you a script, so the replies you give the committee stay your own.

FAQ

What is a pre PhD viva presentation?

In this guide, it means the presentation at a pre-submission seminar, given to your doctoral committee before you submit the thesis. It covers objectives, gaps, method, results and contribution. It is not the viva, which follows examination of the thesis.

How long is a pre-submission seminar presentation?

It depends on your university. BITS Pilani’s checklist asks for a PowerPoint presentation of approximately 30 to 35 minutes. Check your own department’s notice for the slot and the time allowed for questions.

How many slides should a pre-submission seminar have?

No rule we found sets a number. For a 30-minute talk, the plan above uses about 15 to 20 slides, with the most on results. BITS Pilani limits the literature review to two to three slides.

Is the pre-submission seminar open to everyone?

It varies. CUTN’s regulations say it is presented before the department’s faculty and members of the research advisory committee. Ask your department whether other research scholars may attend and ask questions.

Can you fail a pre-submission seminar?

Yes, at some universities. Aliah University’s guidelines require a second seminar within one year if the committee is not satisfied, and cancel registration after a second unsatisfactory attempt. Your own regulations set the limits.

When should I give my pre-submission seminar?

After your university’s minimum period and once your thesis is complete or nearly so. CUTN sets at least three years from provisional admission and within six months before the deadline. Aliah sets at least three years from enrolment.

Sources

• BITS Pilani, checklist for PhD thesis submission and pre-submission seminar
• Central University of Tamil Nadu, Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Regulations 2022
• Aliah University, e-guidelines for the online pre-submission seminar
• University of Canberra, pre-submission seminar

How this guide was made: Thesisroom drafted this guide with the help of AI writing tools. Every fact, figure and source in this post was checked against its original source before publishing.