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Writing up your PhD and Preparing for the Viva

Writing up and submitting your thesis on time should be your priority in your final year, but you should also make time to prepare for your next steps.

Typical milestones

These are the sorts of actions you will need to consider taking during the end phase of your PhD.

Completing your research :

• draw up a plan to cut writing up into manageable pieces
• chapter by chapter; complete a first draft
• submit thesis and practice for the viva
• viva, corrections and graduation....celebrate!

Communicate your findings :

• present research findings at conferences / seminars.

Plan your career :

• Visit the careers service and work on updating your CV.
• Apply for jobs or funding, or think about entrepreneurial activities, like starting your own business or ‘spinning out’ your research.

Remember to add your own additional actions that relate to your own personal circumstances and project.

Support from your supervisor and School

As you near completion, you will be the expert in your field, your relationship with your supervisor has probably changed dramatically since day one. Now your meetings should focus on critically discussing your work. Let them advise you on the process of submission and learn from their experience.

It is vital at this stage that you revisit the PhD regulations, particularly those on submitting your thesis. Remember that the guidance may have been updated since you first started your PhD.

Codes and regulations for research students

Writing up qualitative research

This independent self study pack is aimed at Postgraduate Researchers working on a qualitative thesis who have completed their data collection and analysis and are at the stage of writing up.

Note: this self-study pack was written in 2013 so is not an expecially up-to-date resource, but it may still contain helpful general information.

The units available for download are:

Writing up: course introduction (PDF - 3 pages)

Unit 1: structure and introduction (PDF - 13 pages)

Unit 2: literature review (PDF - 15 pages)

Unit 3: methodology (PDF - 9 pages)

Unit 4: data chapters (PDF - 17 pages)

Unit 5: the final chapter (PDF - 19 pages)

Unit 6: the first few pages (PDF - 9 pages)

Independent study notes (PDF - 11 pages)

Preparing for the Viva

A Guide for Viva Preparation (PDF)

Preparing for an Online Viva (PDF)

It may be particularly important now that you get advice and support on your next career steps. Read out career management section for some timely advice, and an overview of support you can access from the University’s careers service.

Career management advice for PhD students

Training courses

To help you in the final stages of your research programme, we recommend attending some of the following  IAD  courses:

• 7 Reasons you'll Pass your Viva
• Thesis Workshops - School Specific
• Viva Survivor

Doing a skills audit to help plan your development

Revisit your skills audit and update it, you will have learnt a lot in during your PhD, and the chances are your development needs have now changed. Your focus for future development should now be on the skills you need to move forward into your career. Think about these carefully and if you want to, seek advice from the Careers Service.

Get help from the University Careers Service

If you haven’t done a skills audit before, doing an audit (i.e. an assessment) of your skills is useful; if you can identify what skills are important to your research success, and whether you are strong or weak in these areas. You can then focus your precious time on developing the areas that will help you most.

Other sources of support

Vitae: The Vitae resources on writing up, submitting and defending your thesis are particularly helpful at this stage.

Vitae guidance on completing your doctorate

This article was published on 2024-02-26

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Fourth Year: writing up and completion

The Department of Computer Science and Technology expects that all PhD students will submit during their fourth year. Instructions about what to do when you are ready to submit may be found at Submitting your thesis .

Most PhD students' funding will finish at the end of the third year though some scholarships continue for a further 6 months. Some tenth term funding may be available from Colleges and from the Cambridge Trusts for those supported by the Gates Cambridge Trust, the Cambridge International Scholarship Scheme (CISS) or Cambridge Home and EU Scholarship Scheme (CHESS). Applications should be made directly to the Colleges or Cambridge Trusts.

 Hardship funding may be also available from the College or department. Applications should be made in the first instance to the Postgraduate Education Manager. Applications will be considered on a case-by-case basis and are at the discretion of the department.

Other sources of income include undergraduate supervision, of course, but students should bear in mind visa restrictions, the department's guidance of taking on no more than six hours of supervision per week in term time, and balancing your work load with finishing your thesis

Tuition and College fees are generally exempted after nine terms of a research degree. You may receive an email from the Student Registry explaining that you or your sponsor are no longer required to pay tuition fees as you are in the 'writing-up' period.

You should have submitted your third-year progress statement at the end of your ninth term. This will have given you the chance to reflect upon how much more work needed to be done, a firm outline of the chapters, and a timetable for submission. You may have already passed a draft of your thesis to your supervisor. Some guidelines as to its format are available  here  as a reminder. Your supervisor should be active in providing feedback on your thesis. They may recommend that you have others read your thesis to help pick up typographical and other errors.

Overrunning - beyond four years

If there is any risk that you may not be able to submit your thesis within four years of your admission date (or the date recorded on your CamSIS self service page), you must talk with the Postgraduate Education Manager, (email: phd-admin (at) cst (dot) cam (dot) ac (dot) uk). Failure to submit will lead to being removed from the Register of Postgraduate Students within a few days of the 'end of registration date'. Deregistration will lead to the revocation of student visas, and a loss of College and departmental access.

Once deregistered, the 'clock' does not stop ticking. You may apply to be reinstated to the Register only once you have submitted your thesis to the Degree Committee.

It is possible to apply for an extension to the end of registration date although the Degree Committee will only consider applications in exceptional circumstances.

Secretary of the Degree Committee September 2015, updated February 2020; updated August 2023

Department of Computer Science and Technology University of Cambridge William Gates Building 15 JJ Thomson Avenue Cambridge CB3 0FD

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The Importance of Preparation in Grant Writing for PhDs

Download the complete brief, introduction.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, many doctoral programs have faced a dilemma between investing in extracurricular programming and maintaining sustainable budgets. Recent data show that, relative to other skills and attributes, grant writing is a skill that many PhD alumni across fields wish they had had acquired (Mitic & Okahana, 2021). Opportunities, such as grant writing experience, assist with curricular and co-curricular experiences by providing opportunities for additional fund- ing and increasing competence for the workforce (Nerad, 2015). Training in grant writing is beneficial to the education of the PhD as well. According to Conn et al. (2016), grant writing allows PhDs to enhance research intentionality, project articulation, and overall writing skills. Using survey data from the Council of Graduate Schools’ (CGS) PhD Career Pathway project, this brief provides insight to how PhD graduates view grant writing professional development opportunities.

Key Findings

Usefulness of Grant Writing . Within each broad PhD field of study, most PhD alumni found professional development in grant writing to be useful. Across fields of study and all job sectors, except for industry, the majority of PhDs report- ed that preparation in grant writing was useful ( Figure 1 ) . Figure 1 displays the percentage of participants by job type and discipline who indicated that grant writing skills were or were not useful in their current position.

Timing for Grant Writing Preparation . Survey results show that the percentage of PhDs with Engineering, Math, & Computer Science (41%) and Physical & Earth Science (36%) degree fields preferred grant writing preparation to occur during the latter stages of the program (e.g., dissertation process). The remaining fields indicated that this preparation should occur during the midpoint of their degree field (e.g. candidacy and comprehensive exams). Doctoral fellowships and research grant opportunities are typically available for PhD candidates. This interest in grant writing in the middle and later stages of the PhD coincides with students’ eligibility to apply for grants and fellowships to fund doctoral studies as well as independent and group research. In addition, by midpoint, PhDs have solidified their research topic. Furthermore, securing funding for research enhances a PhD’s opportunity to secure employment in a competitive job market ( Figure 2 ).

Barriers for Participation . Survey participants selected barriers that precluded them from participating in grant writing professional development opportunities during their degree program. Barriers included “Not Offered or Unaware,” “Competing Priorities,” “Timing,” “Monetary Cost” and “Lack of Interest”. Results were similar across all degree fields. “Not Offered or Unaware” had the highest percentage, at 71%, as one of the barriers to pursing grant writing. The remaining percentages include 15% for “Competing Priorities,” 6% for “Timing,” 1% for “Monetary Cost,” and 6% for “Lack of Interest.”

Postdoc Preparation for Communication and Grant Writing . Many PhDs choose to further their knowledge and experience in research and writing through postdoctoral work. Participants who had had postdoc experiences were asked how well their postdoctoral experiences prepared them in selected attributes and knowledge on a 5-point scale (1=Poorly to 5=extremely well). Across all fields of study, previous postdocs indicated that they were less prepared for grant writing through their postdoc experiences than they were in skills such as written and oral communication. Specifically, of the communication skills presented, survey respondents with postdoctoral experiences indicated that they felt more prepared by their experiences for written communication skills and small group/interpersonal communication skills than they did for grant writing ( Figure 3 ).

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