At the start of a doctoral degree, the end can seem like another world or even an impossible destination. In some senses, the entire period spent studying for a doctorate is one long examination, but at the end there’s the bit which feels like the exam… The doctoral examination process fulfills many functions. The primary function is assessment: to establish whether the award of a doctoral degree is merited. There is also an aspect of validation: to establish that the candidate is indeed the person who wrote the manuscript. There’s also a significant role the assessment plays in terms of forming the identity of the candidate as they solidify their academic contributions by navigating the boundaries of knowing and not knowing during examiners’ questioning, drawing on various knowledge sources to justify their research choices, as the defence functions as a transition that integrated their past, present, and future as scholars (Chen, 2012). McCulloch et al. (2025) articulates multiple purposes of the viva beyond summative assessment: gatekeeping, empowerment, scholarly dialogue, and enculturation into research communities as examiners use the viva to elicit mastery of subject matter, support candidate confidence and intellectual engagement, and reinforce disciplinary norms. Wagner, Porto and Tsvetkova (2023) suggest that the defence itself is regarded less as a high-risk assessment and more as a celebratory academic event, particularly when the written thesis has already met the required standard. The idea of a doctoral defence being a celebration can seem a bit alien to those who find the process extremely stressful, or who are from a country whose academic tradition very much sees the viva as the decision point about a candidate’s work rather than a formality. As we will note, doctoral examination processes vary considerably, but they share a common tradition. This Guide is intended to offer general support for those participating in doctoral examinations, and we’ll also think about the growing role of things like openness and AI along the way.