Preparing for Viva While Working Full Time: A Realistic Weekly Plan

Preparing for viva while working full time works best as small, fixed sessions rather than long weekends of rereading. Aim for just under four hours a week over six weeks, plus a spare hour: two short weekday evenings, two ten-minute recall slots in the working day, and one longer weekend block. Book the viva day and the afternoon before as leave as soon as the date is set.

These hours are our suggestion, not a rule from any university. They come from one idea: protect a little time every week rather than hoping for a free fortnight that never arrives. For a plan that is not built around a job, the viva preparation timeline week by week gives an eight-week version.

A realistic week when preparing for viva while working full time

One week has five slots, and each slot has one job. Put them in your work calendar as if they were meetings, so each one has a fixed time.

That adds up to 3 hours 50 minutes of planned work. The spare hour is a buffer for any week when a slot is lost to overtime.

Choose evenings that follow your lightest workdays, not your heaviest. If Monday is your long meeting day, keep Monday evening free and use Tuesday instead.

The six-week plan

Each week below uses the same five slots, with a different job for the weekend block. Week 6 is the first week after you hear your date, and Week 1 is the week of the viva.

The question cards in slots B and D grow from the summary sheets. The viva preparation questions guide has the five questions to ask of each part and a sheet template, so this post does not repeat them.

If you have fewer than six weeks, merge Weeks 5 to 3 into two weeks and keep the mock viva. If you have longer, add rest at the start rather than more rereading.

When your viva could be, and how that affects leave

The gap between submission and viva differs by university, so read your own rules before planning leave. The University of York says the viva will take place within three months of submitting. The University of Cambridge says there is no set duration, but a viva “will normally last between 90 minutes and three hours”.

That length is why a full day of leave makes sense for the viva itself. Add the afternoon before, so the night before your viva is calm rather than squeezed after a working day.

Some universities let you ask for an online viva. Cambridge says the default is in person, but you can ask for a video or hybrid viva when you tell your Degree Committee you intend to submit. York says you can request an online viva, and the Graduate Chair in your department submits the request. An online viva can save travel time, though you still need a quiet room and a full day free.

If you need disability-related access arrangements, Cambridge recommends asking “at least four weeks before your expected date of examination”. Put that date in your calendar beside your leave request.

What UK employment rules say about study time

GOV.UK gives employees two routes to ask for time, and neither guarantees it. Annual leave is the simplest; a statutory request for training time is narrower than it sounds.

Annual leave and how much notice to give

On its holiday entitlement page, GOV.UK says most workers on a 5-day week “must receive at least 28 days’ paid annual leave a year”. On booking time off, the general rule is notice “at least twice as long as the amount of leave”, plus one day. GOV.UK’s own example is 3 days’ notice for 1 day’s leave.

The same page says an employer can refuse or cancel leave with notice as long as the leave requested, plus one day. If your contract sets different notice rules, the contract applies. So ask early, and check your contract before you assume the general rule.

The right to request time off for training

GOV.UK’s page on training and study at work sets out who can ask. You must be an employee, have worked for your employer for at least 26 weeks, and work where at least 250 people are employed. The training “must help staff do their job better”.

That last condition may not fit viva preparation, so read it before you rely on this route. GOV.UK also says “Time off is usually unpaid unless the employer agrees to pay it”, and its page on asking for time off says “Employees can only make 1 request a year”. Your employer then has 28 days to accept the request or hold a meeting, according to the page on the employer’s decision.

Flexible working

GOV.UK says employees can request flexible working from their first day in a job, such as different start and finish times or working from home. On applying, it says the employer must decide “within 2 months”, and you can make 2 applications in any 12-month period.

Two months may be longer than your whole viva gap. For a short change, you can also simply ask your manager informally first. These pages cover the UK only; rules elsewhere differ.

A script for asking your manager

Ask once, early, with dates and a plan to cover your work. Copy and adapt this message:

I have submitted my PhD thesis and my viva (oral exam) is booked for [date]. I would like to take [date] as annual leave, plus the afternoon of [date before]. I can hand over [task] to [colleague] for those days. Could we also agree that I finish at [time] on Tuesdays and Thursdays until then? I will make up the time on [day].

Send it the same week you hear your date. The earlier your request, the easier it is to meet the notice rules above.

What to cut when work gets busy

A busy week at work will come, so decide now what goes first. Drop tasks in this order and keep the ones lower down.

1. Rereading strong parts of the thesis. You know them already.
2. The second evening slot (C). Fold its task into the weekend block.
3. The weekend block in a non-mock week. Move it to the next weekend.
4. The recall slots (B and D). Keep these even in your busiest week; ten minutes is easy to protect.
5. The mock viva. Move it rather than cancel it.

If you face a dissertation defense while working

The same weekly slots work for a US dissertation defense, but the deadlines and format come from your graduate school. At Ohio State, for example, the Graduate School Handbook says each committee member must approve your Application for Final Examination at least two weeks before the defense date. It recommends a public presentation of “about one-half hour”, and the exam can be held by video conference if you and the committee all agree.

So use one weekend block to build the talk and another to rehearse it with a timer. In Canada the word is “defence”. McGill’s Doctoral Oral Defence page says the earliest date is 6 weeks from when the notification is received, tentative until examiner reports arrive. That gives you a known run-up for leave.

What Thesisroom does with this

Slots B and D need question cards, and writing them takes time a full-time worker does not have. Thesisroom’s Defense Practice writes questions an examiner or committee could ask, each tied to a specific passage of your thesis, in three styles: Practice, Rapid round and Mock panel.

You answer in writing or out loud, which suits a ten-minute slot on a lunch break. Defense Practice does not write your answers or hand you a script, so the recall work stays yours.

Frequently asked questions

How many hours a week should I spend preparing for my viva if I work full time?

There is no official figure. Our plan uses 3 hours 50 minutes a week over six weeks, plus a spare hour: two 45-minute evenings, two ten-minute recall slots and one two-hour weekend block. Adjust it to your rules and your date.

Should I take annual leave for my viva?

Yes, book the viva day and ideally the afternoon before. Cambridge says a viva normally lasts between 90 minutes and three hours. GOV.UK’s general rule is notice at least twice as long as the leave, plus one day, unless your contract says otherwise.

Can I get study leave from my employer for a viva?

Not as an automatic right. GOV.UK lets eligible employees request time off for training if it helps them do their job better, at organisations with at least 250 people. It is usually unpaid unless the employer agrees, and you can make one request a year.

Is six weeks enough to prepare for a viva while working?

It can be, if every week has protected slots and a mock viva comes before the last week. If your date is closer, merge the rereading weeks and keep the mock. Your university’s own rules set how long the gap can be.

Can I do my viva online to save a day of travel?

Some universities allow it on request. Cambridge lets you ask for a video or hybrid viva when you notify your Degree Committee that you intend to submit. At York you can request one, and your department’s Graduate Chair submits the request. Check your own regulations.

What should I drop first when work gets busy?

Drop rereading the strongest parts of your thesis first, then the second evening slot. Keep the short recall slots and the mock viva, moving the mock rather than cancelling it.

Sources

• University of York: Viva, York Graduate Research School
• University of Cambridge: The oral examination (viva)
• GOV.UK: Holiday entitlement
• GOV.UK: Holiday entitlement, booking time off
• GOV.UK: Training and study at work, your rights
• GOV.UK: Training and study at work, asking for time off
• GOV.UK: Training and study at work, employer’s decision and responsibilities
• GOV.UK: Flexible working
• GOV.UK: Flexible working, applying for flexible working
• The Ohio State University: Graduate School Handbook, Section 7, Doctoral Degrees
• McGill University: Doctoral Oral Defence

How this guide was made: Thesisroom drafted this guide with the help of AI writing tools, then checked every fact, figure and source by hand against the references linked above.