After fours years of hard work and after having experienced various ups and downs and sleepless night, I am almost through with my Ph.D.

I have passed my viva voce with minor corrections or modifications to my thesis. My hard work is soon to be paid off and the memoirs of a Saudi Ph.D. student are coming to an end.

I cannot describe my feelings in words. Despite the fact that I had worked really hard, I was nervous before the viva voce. Working on the thesis was an uphill task. Circumstances were not in my favor. Even before the final submission of the thesis, I found myself adding bits and pieces here and there to my thesis. The entire exercise helped me develop a deep understanding of my work but before the verbal examination I was literally shivering in my boots.

I wanted my thesis to be perfect. I know that producing a perfect thesis is impossible, as the definition of perfection varies from person to person and I also believe that there is always a room for improvement. Still, a person should try to do his best.

For example, I wrote the discussion chapter, which throws light on the findings from the study against the existing body of knowledge and identify the study’s contributions, in less than a month. This chapter is one of the most important parts of a thesis and researchers sometimes take up to six months to produce this chapter. I did mine in less than a month and I wanted it to be perfect, talk about wishful thinking.

My supervisor and I were aware of the strong and weak parts of the thesis and we tried to prepare a defense to justify those loose ends (without denying their weaknesses) and stress on the strong parts. We went through a very tough mock viva voce a day prior to the actual exam. The mock test proved to be very stressful. I began doubting everything, I felt that passing my viva was not possible and that examiners were going to bury me alive and I would find myself dumbstruck with terror in front of the examiners. I could not sleep the night before the exam.

I tried to keep negative thoughts away from my mind. Basically I am a very positive person. I was surprised over my negative frame of mind the night before the exam. It really was a long night.

Fortunately, all my worries evaporated into thin air as soon as the viva voce started. It turned out to be a very positive experience. The examiners were very positive and professional in communicating all their concerns regarding my work. In a very positive manner, they pointed out my mistakes. Their overall tone made all the difference. They praised the strong parts and gave me a chance to respond to all their constructive criticism. I walked out of the room filled with confidence.