I recognise that this blog update is long overdue, but I've been a bit busy. I have spent the last three months locked in mortal combat with my PhD thesis (also known as The Six-headed Thesis Dragon of Academic Dread). I am pleased to report (although exhausted and a bit bruised) that the Dragon has at last been slain.
I handed the carcass over to the University authorities on 20 August -- which also happened to be the 500th Anniversary of the founding of St Leonard's, my college within the University of St Andrews -- and haven't been able to look at (let alone type on) a computer since. Not even to answer emails. (I'm still struggling, which is why this update will be uncharacteristically short!)
But before anyone gets too excited, the Quest is far from over.
The Thesis has now been handed to my internal and external examiners (each an eminent scholar in my field: one from St Andrews and the other from another prestigious British university). They will read it and pick it to bits. Currently, I am waiting for them to schedule my Viva (thesis defence), where the examiners will spend anywhere between 45 minutes and 3 hours grilling me about my research. Then they determine my fate: pass or fail.
After my Viva, I will have to make corrections. This could take anywhere from a few days to a few months to accomplish. Only after my corrections have been approved and the thesis re-submitted will I be permitted to graduate.
But for now, I'm taking a well-earned break -- hanging out with my friend Claire in London this week and Edinburgh next week. Then, after a week with my Scottish family in Glasgow (the Plenderleiths), I'll head back to St Andrews to prepare for the Final Showdown with The Thesis Dragon.
