From our research
What this interview looks like
A health-science university viva is usually a two-examiner affair: an internal examiner from the candidate's own college and an external examiner from another college in the same university, sitting for 5 to 15 minutes per candidate at the end of the practical examination, with the practical record book or log book open on the table. Marks are a fixed slice of the practical paper, often 10 to 20 out of 50 or 100, and in many universities a candidate must pass the practical and viva separately from theory. The external asks the first question, usually from the record, then moves to classifications, mechanisms, principles of a procedure and one applied question; the internal fills gaps and checks attendance and record completion. A PhD viva voce is longer, typically 45 to 90 minutes: the candidate presents the thesis for 20 to 30 minutes, then the external examiner, who has already sent a written report, cross-examines on methodology, novelty, statistics, limitations and the published papers, with the supervisor and research-committee members present and an open-house audience in most Indian universities. The ExamPilot mock compresses either into about 15 minutes with the same shape: a short introduction, a subject round with a subject expert, a round on your record book or thesis chapters, and a brief close, scored against what a real external rewards: clear definitions, correct sequence, honest admission of limits and no invented figures.
How it is weighted
The viva is a fixed part of the practical paper, commonly 10 to 20 marks out of 50 or 100, decided jointly by the internal and external examiner. Most universities require a separate pass in the practical paper including the viva. Exact split varies by university; check the scheme in your syllabus book.
Who this is for
Students of PCI-approved B.Pharm (eight semesters) and D.Pharm (two years) programmes appearing for the end-semester or annual university practical examination in pharmaceutics, pharmacology, pharmaceutical chemistry, pharmacognosy or pharmacy practice and clinical pharmacy. The viva is taken by an internal and an external examiner at the end of the practical, with the practical record and the day's experiment in front of them. Also useful before the Pharmacy Council registration viva some state councils hold and before D.Pharm Exit Examination preparation.
The panel focuses on
- Definitions and classifications said cleanly: dosage forms, drug classes by mechanism, excipient categories, crude drugs by chemical constituent
- Principle behind the day's experiment: why that reagent, why that temperature, what the blank or control is for
- Mechanism of action and pharmacokinetic reasoning rather than doses; adverse effects and interactions by class
- Pharmacopoeial standards, Schedule H and H1, labelling, storage and the pharmacist's legal duties
- Reading your own record: a calculation, a graph, a deviation from expected result and how you explain it
- Honesty when you do not know; examiners penalise confident wrong answers more than a careful I would check
Step 1
Pick your subject
The expert on the panel probes these areas at the level of this post. Optional here; you can choose during setup.
Step 2
Choose how you want to be interviewed
1:1 interview
One interviewer runs every round and adapts the focus as you go. Lower pressure; ideal for a first attempt.
Dr. Imtiaz Qureshi
Subject expert
Panel interview · 2 members
Most realisticEach member leads their own round and hands over to the next. They hear each other, so a weak answer will be revisited.
Dr. Imtiaz Qureshi
Subject expert
Prof. Devendra Kulkarni
Subject expert
What to expect
4 rounds · 10 minutes
A ten-minute oral examination of the kind held at the end of a laboratory course or project: school board practicals, engineering lab and project vivas, pharmacy and nursing practicals, dissertation and thesis defences. One external examiner, sometimes seated with the internal teacher, asks the candidate what they did, why it works, what they observed and what could go wrong, then looks at the record file or project and asks one question that tests whether the work is the candidate's own. The examiner escalates when answers are correct, gives one hint when the candidate is stuck, and never teaches during the viva.
- Round 1
Introduction
· 1:00Settle the candidate and establish exactly which experiment, practical, project or thesis the viva will be about, so that the subject questions can be anchored to work the candidate actually did.
Dr. Imtiaz Qureshi1–2 questionsup to 1 follow-up each - Round 2
Viva on concepts and experiments
· 7:00Test whether the candidate understands the principle behind the experiment or project they did, can describe the procedure and observations accurately, knows the precautions and sources of error, and can reason about a change in conditions. Separate genuine understanding from a memorised record file.
Dr. Imtiaz Qureshi4–6 questionsup to 2 follow-ups each - Round 3
Record file or project
· 1:00Check that the record file, activity or project is the candidate's own work and that they understand it: why they chose it, what the data or result was, what went wrong and what they would improve.
Dr. Imtiaz Qureshi1–1 questionsup to 1 follow-up each - Round 4
Closing
· 1:00End the viva courteously and formally, as an external examiner does, without feedback, marks or any hint about the result.
Dr. Imtiaz Qureshi1–1 questions
Sample questions
Health & Research Viva Pharmacy viva interview questions
Questions panels commonly ask in the Health & Research Viva Pharmacy viva interview, with what a strong answer covers. Practise them aloud with the AI panel.
- Pharmaceutics
You prepared calamine lotion in the practical today. What is the role of bentonite in it, and why must the bottle carry a shake well label?
What a strong answer covers
Bentonite acts as a suspending agent that slows settling of the insoluble zinc oxide and calamine particles, and since a suspension separates on standing, shaking ensures a uniform dose each time. Avoid calling it a solution or confusing suspending agents with emulsifiers.
- Pharmacology
Classify beta-blockers by receptor selectivity, and explain why a non-selective one is avoided in a patient with asthma.
What a strong answer covers
Distinguishes non-selective agents acting on beta-1 and beta-2 receptors from cardioselective beta-1 agents, and explains that blocking beta-2 receptors in the airways can provoke bronchospasm. Avoid quoting doses or treating cardioselectivity as absolute.
- Pharmaceutical analysis
In your assay by acid-base titration, why did you run a blank, and how does it change the final calculation?
What a strong answer covers
A blank corrects for reagent and solvent consumption of titrant, so the blank reading is subtracted from the test reading before calculating content. A strong answer shows the formula with the student's own readings. Avoid saying the blank is only a formality.
- Pharmacognosy
Name the chemical class of the active constituents in senna, and the identification test you performed for them.
What a strong answer covers
Senna contains anthraquinone glycosides, identified by Borntrager's test, where an alkaline layer turns pink to red. A strong answer also states the therapeutic use as a stimulant laxative. Avoid confusing it with tests for alkaloids or tannins.
- Pharmacy law
What is the difference between Schedule H and Schedule H1 drugs in practice, for a pharmacist at a retail counter?
What a strong answer covers
Both are prescription-only, but Schedule H1 drugs require the pharmacist to maintain a separate register with prescriber, patient and quantity details for a set period, with a specific warning label. Avoid saying either can be sold without a prescription in urgent cases.
- Pharmacokinetics
Explain first-pass metabolism, and why nitroglycerin is given sublingually rather than swallowed.
What a strong answer covers
Drugs absorbed from the gut pass through the liver before reaching systemic circulation and may be extensively metabolised; sublingual absorption enters venous circulation directly, bypassing the liver for a rapid effect. Avoid giving doses or clinical instructions.
- Tablet technology
Your tablet hardness and friability results in the record are both on the low side. What would you suspect went wrong in granulation or compression?
What a strong answer covers
Considers insufficient binder, low compression force, excess lubricant, poor granule moisture or particle size, and links each to weak tablets that chip or crumble. Avoid blaming the testing instrument without considering the formulation.
- Clinical pharmacy
A patient asks the hospital pharmacist whether he can take his ayurvedic tonic along with warfarin. How should the pharmacist respond?
What a strong answer covers
Recognises the risk of herb-drug interactions affecting bleeding, advises consulting the prescribing doctor, encourages disclosure of all products and monitoring as advised, without giving independent dosing changes. Avoid dismissing the question or approving it casually.
- Viva conduct
The external examiner puts a question to you on a drug class you have not revised. How should you handle it in the viva?
What a strong answer covers
Says honestly that you are not sure, offers what you do know that relates to it, and does not invent facts. Examiners mark careful honesty above confident errors. Avoid guessing a mechanism or value with false confidence.
Reading is not rehearsing. Answer these out loud to an AI Health & Research Viva Pharmacy viva panel that follows up like the real one.
Practise these questionsMeet the panel
Your AI interviewers
Distinct personas, voices and questioning styles, briefed on this post.
Dr. Imtiaz Qureshi
ChairSubject expert
Professor of Pharmaceutics and external examiner, B.Pharm and D.Pharm university practical examinations (Aurangabad)
Methodical, dry, fair; rewards a clean definition and a correctly explained principle over memorised lists.
Male voice · 3 languages
Prof. Devendra Kulkarni
Subject expert
Professor and PhD external examiner, research degree committees across science, engineering and health-science faculties (Pune)
Quiet, rigorous, sceptical of over-claiming; probes methodology and statistics and respects an honest limitation.
Male voice · 4 languages
Languages
Answer in the language you think in
The panel asks in your chosen language. Switch mid-answer if you like.
- English
- हिंदीHindi
- Hinglish (Hindi + English)Hinglish
How scoring works
A report you can act on
Every round is scored on the rubric
Each interviewer scores only the criteria their round covers. Weights add up to your overall score out of 100.
Only what you actually said counts
Feedback quotes your own answers. Rounds you skip show as “Not assessed” rather than a zero.
Communication is always measured
Fluency, clarity, confidence and structure are tracked across the whole interview, in any language.
Pass mark, then a plan
You see the pass mark for this interview, your gaps, and the courses that close them fastest.
Scored on
- Conceptual understanding40%
States the principle, law or formula behind the experiment or project correctly and in their own words; explains why the method works rather than only what the steps are; handles a why or what-if question with reasoning; does not confuse related concepts or recite a definition that does not answer the question.
- Experimental procedure & observation30%
Describes the actual procedure, apparatus or tools, readings or data and how they were processed; knows the units, the expected result and the order of magnitude they obtained; names sources of error and the precautions that address them; for a project, knows the data, method and limitations of their own work.
- Clarity of explanation20%
Answers the question actually asked in short, ordered sentences; uses correct technical terms and units; can explain the same idea more simply when asked; does not ramble or bury the answer in unrelated recall.
- Confidence & honesty10%
Speaks steadily, holds a correct answer when gently challenged, corrects themselves when shown an error, and says I am not sure rather than guessing; recovers after a hint instead of freezing.
Pass mark 50 / 100 · Practical / project viva voce with an external examiner
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