Defending a PhD thesis is an emotional moment candidates and supervisors should be prepared for

The PhD defence, or viva, is significant academic rite of passage, which as well as marking the culmination of years of study, can also be a highly charged emotional moment. Drawing on years of collecting accounts of PhD defences on her blog and her recent book (Planning and Passing Your PhD Defence, co-authored with Olga Degtyareva), Eva Lantsoght, discusses how both PhD students and supervisors can benefit from a more engaged understanding of the emotions underlying the PhD defence.