university of edinburgh phd thesis word limit

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Dissertations and research projects

General advice and resources to support you throughout your research-based dissertation or project.

This is a general resource to help you with the basics of organising and writing a research-based dissertation or project.  The 'Go further' section at the end includes advice on work-based dissertations and signposts other resources.

You should consult your course or programme information, including online sources, and project supervisor or programme director for subject-specific guidance.

Dissertations and research projects are an opportunity to focus on particular question, and plan and undertake your own research to explore it further.  Many students really enjoy being an independent researcher and becoming the expert on their work.  The format varies depending on the disciplinary context, subject area, your research questions and the project.  You may be reviewing the literature, analysing a novel, developing and testing a new method or doing a work-based project.  However there are some common factors:

• They are an independent piece of work.  You will be working under supervision to some extent and may be collaborating with others, but ultimately you are submitting a piece of independent thought and writing.
• They tend to have a large word count.  This is to allow you to do sufficient in-depth analysis and discussion of the topic.
• They require a large investment of time, thought and energy throughout the process.  As a significant body of academic work, you need to maintain effort whilst reading, researching, thinking, writing and redrafting it.

Choosing your dissertation or project

Whether you are choosing your dissertation from a selection of topics or you are proposing your own, there are a range of factors to consider.  For example:

• What is the starting point for your work, i.e. previous or related research?
• How feasible is your project / proposal?
• Do you have enough time and resources to complete it?
• Will it be of an appropriate academic level?

A key question to ask is “How interested am I in this topic?”  You will be working on your dissertation or project for some time, so having a genuine interest in the topic will help to keep you motivated.  If you have any questions specific to your topic or project, you should ask your supervisor, programme director or another member of staff who teaches you.

Planning your dissertation or research project

A research-based dissertation or project is a large piece of work requiring a high level of critical analysis.  To achieve this you will have to allow time, not just for the researching phase, but also for the writing and editing stages.  You will need to give yourself plenty of time to:

• Read around your topic and undertake background research;
• Digest and think about what you are learning and writing;
• Complete experiments, fieldwork, interviews or project placements;
• Analyse data, findings or results, and interpret them;
• Think about and decide on your conclusions.

Taking a project management approach to your dissertation or research project might be a more effective way to successfully complete it.  The Time management page has tips and tools for organising your time.

Time management webpage and tools

The dissertation and project planner can be used to think about the different stages and help give you an overall view of the process.  There are some general points and questions to act as prompts, spaces you can add your own notes in and some useful tips and resources.

Dissertation and project planner (pdf)                     Dissertation and project planner (rtf)

Writing your dissertation

You should not underestimate the time that should be allocated to writing your dissertation.  Writing will involve planning, background research, drafting, redrafting, and proof-reading and editing.

First draft : Your first draft is about getting words on the page.  For example, it may sketch out your first thoughts, arguments and potential structure.  You can review these and use them to check: are you focussed on the right topics and questions?  Is your structure and line of thought sensible?  This is also a good time to set up your format requirements (e.g. page layouts, references).

Redrafts : Redrafting is where you expand and refine your ideas and argument.  You may also find that as you are writing the direction of your argument changes; for example this could be due to your literature research producing new avenues of thought or your experiments turning up unexpected results.  This is a good time to review the focus of your initial question, and whether your arguments or conclusions are still sensible.

Final draft(s) : Your final draft(s) is where you cast a critical eye over your work and assess how effective it is in communicating your argument and conclusions - does it answer the question?  You should also check that your presentation, spelling and grammar are appropriate and polished, all your references are included, and your are following the appropriate format guidance.

It is a good idea to take a break between writing and reviewing your work.  Try to leave at least a day between writing before you pick it up again, the longer the better.  This allows you to look at your work with an analytical eye, looking for ways to improve.  Imagine you are reading your work as someone who is not so familiar with the topic: would a reader be able to follow and understand your argument?  Do your ideas link?  Have you signposted on from one section to the next?  Remember also to look back at your question/title, does your dissertation address it?  Does it follow a logical structure?

To check the flow of your argument or line of reasoning you can test pieces of your text using set criteria.  To help revise and restructure your text you can make a reverse outline.  Both of these techniques are available on our Editing and proofreading page.

Editing and proofreading

Producing a professional document

Information Services provide information and guidance about how to produce a thesis or dissertation using Microsoft Word.

Producing a thesis or dissertation using Microsoft Word (EASE log in required)

Thesis Hub: Producing your thesis or dissertation in Word

Choosing a reference manager

A referencing management tool can help you to collect and organise and your source material to produce a bibliography or reference list.

Referencing and reference management

Data Mindfulness

As part of your research you will produce and use research data in a variety of forms from quantitative and/or qualitative research.  This may be data you generate yourself or obtained from other researchers, data repositories or public records.  You need to make choices about what you use, handle your data correctly and document all of this process.

The University’s Research Data Service helps staff and students be effective with their research data before, during and after their project.   They have created an introductory handbook on Data Mindfulness for taught students writing a dissertation.  This handbook is accompanied by a set of short videos.  Together these cover topics including what data is, how to store it, file organisation and dealing with your data after your hand-in.  There is advice in the handbook on working with sensitive data and issues such as privacy, confidentiality and disclosure.

Data Mindfulness handbook

Data Mindfulness videos

Work-based dissertations

Many courses and programmes, particularly at Postgraduate level, offer the opportunity to carry out a work-based dissertation.  These opportunities vary between Schools and Programmes but will typically involve students tackling a research question identified by an organisation such as a business, a public sector organisation or a charity.  A work based dissertation project can be invaluable for your employability and for career development.

If you are interested in carrying out a work-based dissertation you may need to start planning earlier than you would for a more traditional academic dissertation.  If your Programme offers this opportunity, you will be given this information at the start of Semester 1.  If you would like to source and set up a dissertation project with an external organisation yourself, you will need to speak with your Programme Director or Course Organiser first.

You can draw on resources developed by the Making the Most of Masters project.

Making the Most of Masters

Work-based projects – advice for students

There are a variety of study guides available on dissertation and project writing.  Books aimed at postgraduate students can also be useful for undergraduates.  Our IAD Resource List has a selection available in University libraries.

Study Skills Guides

This article was published on 2024-02-26

Research proposal guidelines

Your research proposal is an essential part of your application that will be used to assess your suitability for the PhD programme, and link you to an appropriate academic colleague who can support you throughout your studies.

Proposal requirements

When submitting your proposal please make sure it meets the following requirements so we can properly assess your suitability for the programme. It should:

• Have a title
• Explain your particular topic or question you wish to study
• Briefly summarise existing research on the topic, making reference to publications as appropriate
• Give a clear outline of the research you intend to do, with a timeframe where possible

Please ensure your proposal meets our word limit requirements. These are different depending on which PhD programme you are applying for, so please ensure you check this carefully.

For those applying to PhD with Integrated Study in Accounting/Finance/Management or to the MSc by Research in Management, the research proposal must be between 1,000 and 1,500 words (excluding references and appendices).

For those applying to PhD Business Economics/Financial Technology/Management Science and Analytics the research proposal must be between 3,000 and 5,000 words (excluding references and appendices).

If you have any questions about the proposal word limit please contact the PGR Admissions Team at [email protected]

Important points

• If accepted, you are not committed to following your research proposal exactly, although any major changes must be agreed with your supervisory team
• Applications received without a research proposal will not be considered
• A personal statement does not meet the requirements of a research proposal
• Your research proposal may be submitted to the Turnitin plagiarism detection system

Writing an effective proposal

A weak proposal can lead to an application being unsuccessful. To help you stand out from the crowd we have created a detailed guide on how to get started.

How to write a good research proposal

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Open Content

This guide brings together information about Open Access Resources and Open Educational Resources. It aims to make Open Access resources easier to find and use for study, teaching and research.

Finding open Theses and Dissertations

University of edinburgh and uk theses.

Edinburgh Research Archive - Full text electronic copies of most University of Edinburgh PhD theses can be found online in the Edinburgh Research Archive (ERA). The collection comprises 23,500 items and includes MD theses from the 1700s through to PhDs recently awarded in 2020.

EThoS: e-theses online service - This service from the British Library aims to provide a national aggregated record of all doctoral theses awarded by UK Higher Education institutions, and free access to the full text of as many theses as possible for use by researchers.

Google Scholar Search

If you know the details of the thesis you wish to consult then an effective way to find the full text is via  Google Scholar. Search for the full title in quotes, followed by the author last name, and/or date if known. 

International theses

DART-Europe is a searchable database of electronic research theses held in European repositories. It covers around 586 Universities in 29 European countries.

EBSCO Open Dissertations   is a free database with records for more than 1.4 million electronic theses and dissertations from more than 320 universities around the world. 

Global ETD Search  from the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (NDLTD) contains around 6 million records, the majority of which are open, but some may not be publicly available.

Open Access Theses & Dissertations  currently indexes around 5 million open access theses and dissertations from 1100 institutions worldwide.

Making your thesis open access

Theses and dissertations from the University of Edinburgh are published online in the Edinburgh Research Archive  (ERA). In 2020, UoE theses were downloaded 829,804 times from ERA (source IRUS-UK download report).  The University has an expectation that a PhD thesis is a document available for public consultation. As such, unless a legitimate reason for restricting access to the thesis exists, all PhD theses will be made publicly available on the internet. Masters dissertations are not routinely made available online, but exceptional dissertations can be made open access.

PhD and other doctoral theses

Masters dissertations.

Only Masters Dissertations from the School of Philosophy, Psychology & Language Sciences and the School of Geosciences are routinely deposited in the Edinburgh Research Archive (ERA). If you are from a different School you can make your master dissertation open access by depositing in ERA. You can do this by logging in with your EASE credentials, then selecting your Schools Thesis & Dissertation Collection and follow the prompts for submitting a new item to the collection.

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Word limits and requirements of your Degree Committee

Candidates should write as concisely as is possible, with clear and adequate exposition. Each Degree Committee has prescribed the limits of length and stylistic requirements as given below. On submission of the thesis you must include a statement of length confirming that it does not exceed the word limit for your Degree Committee.

These limits and requirements are strictly observed by the Postgraduate Committee and the Degree Committees and, unless approval to exceed the prescribed limit has been obtained beforehand (see: Extending the Word Limit below), a thesis that exceeds the limit may not be examined until its length complies with the prescribed limit.

Extending the Word Limit

Thesis word limits are set by Degree Committees. If candidates need to increase their word limits they will need to apply for permission.

Information on how to apply (via self-service account) is available on the ‘ Applying for a change in your student status’  page. If following your viva, you are required to make corrections to your thesis which will mean you need to increase your word-limit, you need to apply for permission in the same way.

Requirements of the Degree Committees

Archaeology and anthropology, architecture and history of art, asian and middle eastern studies, business and management, clinical medicine and clinical veterinary medicine, computer laboratory, earth sciences and geography, scott polar institute, engineering, history and philosophy of science, land economy, mathematics, modern and medieval languages and linguistics, physics and chemistry, politics and international studies, archaeology and social anthropology.

The thesis is not to exceed 80,000 words (approx. 350 pages) for the PhD degree and 60,000 words for the MSc or MLitt degree. These limits include all text, figures, tables and photographs, but exclude the bibliography, cited references and appendices. More detailed specifications should be obtained from the Division concerned. Permission to exceed these limits will be granted only after a special application to the Degree Committee. The application must explain in detail the reasons why an extension is being sought and the nature of the additional material, and must be supported by a reasoned case from the supervisor containing a recommendation that a candidate should be allowed to exceed the word limit by a specified number of words. Such permission will be granted only under exceptional circumstances. If candidates need to apply for permission to exceed the word limit, they should do so in good time before the date on which a candidate proposes to submit the thesis, by application made to the Graduate Committee.

Biological Anthropology:

Students may choose between two alternative thesis formats for their work:

either in the form of a thesis of not more than 80,000 words in length for the PhD degree and 60,000 words for the MSc or MLitt degree. The limits include all text, in-text citations, figures, tables, captions and footnotes but exclude bibliography and appendices; or

in the form of a collection of at least three research articles for the PhD degree and two research articles for the MSc or MLitt degree, formatted as an integrated piece of research, with a table of contents, one or more chapters that outline the scope and provide an in-depth review of the subject of study, a concluding chapter discussing the findings and contribution to the field, and a consolidated bibliography. The articles may be in preparation, submitted for publication or already published, and the combined work should not exceed 80,000 words in length for the PhD degree and 60,000 words for the MSc or MLitt degree. The word limits include all text, in-text citations, figures, tables, captions, and footnotes but exclude bibliography and appendices containing supplementary information associated with the articles. More information on the inclusion of material published, in press or in preparation in a PhD thesis may be found in the Department’s PhD submission guidelines.

Architecture:

The thesis is not to exceed 80,000 words for the PhD and 60,000 words for the MSc or MLitt degree. Footnotes, references and text within tables are to be counted within the word-limit, but captions, appendices and bibliographies are excluded. Appendices should be confined to such items as catalogues, original texts, translations of texts, transcriptions of interview, or tables.

History of Art:

The thesis is not to exceed 80,000 words for the PhD and 60,000 words for the MLitt degree. To include: footnotes, table of contents and list of illustrations, but excluding acknowledgements and the bibliography. Appendices (of no determined word length) may be permitted subject to the approval of the candidate's Supervisor (in consultation with the Degree Committee); for example, where a catalogue of works or the transcription of extensive primary source material is germane to the work. Permission to include such appendices must be requested from the candidate's Supervisor well in advance of the submission of the final thesis. NB: Permission for extensions to the word limit for most other purposes is likely to be refused.

The thesis for the PhD degree is not to exceed 80,000 words exclusive of footnotes, appendices and bibliography but subject to an overall word limit of 100,000 words exclusive of bibliography. Students may apply to include appendices that are exclusive of the word count. In order to be eligible, appendices must be of a none-discursive nature such as lists of linguistic examples, transcriptions of excerpts from works, interviews, inscriptions, archival documents, and critical editions. Each application is subject to the approval of the Degree Committee. For the MLitt degree not to exceed 60,000 words inclusive of footnotes but exclusive of bibliography and appendices.

The thesis for the PhD is not to exceed 60,000 words in length (80,000 by special permission), exclusive of tables, footnotes, bibliography, and appendices. Double-spaced or one-and-a-half spaced. Single or double-sided printing.

The thesis for the MPhil in Biological Science is not to exceed 20,000 words in length, exclusive of tables, footnotes, bibliography, and appendices. Double-spaced or one-and-a-half spaced. Single or double-sided printing.

For the PhD Degree the thesis is not to exceed 80,000 words, EXCLUDING bibliography, but including tables, tables of contents, footnotes and appendices. It is normally expected to exceed 40,000 words unless prior permission is obtained from the Degree Committee. Each page of statistical tables, charts or diagrams shall be regarded as equivalent to a page of text of the same size. The Degree Committee do not consider applications to extend this word limit.

For the Doctor of Business (BusD) the thesis will be approximately 200 pages (a maximum length of 80,000 words, EXCLUDING bibliography, but including tables, tables of contents, footnotes and appendices).

For the MSc Degree the thesis is not to exceed 40,000 words, EXCLUDING bibliography, but including tables, tables of contents, footnotes and appendices.

The thesis is not to exceed 80,000 words including footnotes, references, and appendices but excluding bibliography; a page of statistics shall be regarded as the equivalent of 150 words. Also excluded are title-page, acknowledgements, table of contents, preface, and abstract/summary of thesis. Only under exceptional circumstances will permission be granted to exceed this limit. Candidates must submit with the thesis a signed statement giving the length of the thesis.

For the PhD degree, not to exceed 60,000 words (or 80,000 by special permission of the Degree Committee), and for the MSc degree, not to exceed 40,000 words. These limits exclude figures, photographs, tables, appendices and bibliography. Lines to be double or one-and-a-half spaced; pages to be double or single sided.

The thesis is not to exceed, without the prior permission of the Degree Committee, 60,000 words including tables, footnotes and equations, but excluding appendices, bibliography, photographs and diagrams. Any thesis which without prior permission of the Degree Committee exceeds the permitted limit will be referred back to the candidate before being forwarded to the examiners.

The thesis is not to exceed 80,000 words for the PhD degree and the MLitt degree, including footnotes, references and appendices but excluding bibliography. Candidates must submit with the thesis a signed statement giving the length of the thesis. Only under exceptional circumstances will permission be granted to exceed this limit for the inclusion of an appendix of a substantial quantity of text which is necessary for the understanding of the thesis (e.g. texts in translation, transcription of extensive primary source material). Permission must be sought at least three months before submission of the thesis and be supported by a letter from the supervisor certifying that such exemption from the prescribed limit of length is absolutely necessary.

The thesis is not to exceed, without the prior permission of the Degree Committee, 80,000 words for the PhD degree and 60,000 words for the MSc or MLitt degree, including the summary/abstract.  The table of contents, photographs, diagrams, figure captions, appendices, bibliography and acknowledgements to not count towards the word limit. Footnotes are not included in the word limit where they are a necessary part of the referencing system used.

Earth Sciences:

The thesis is not to exceed, without the prior permission of the Degree Committee, 275 numbered pages of which not more than 225 pages are text, appendices, illustrations and bibliography. A page of text is A4 one-and-a-half-spaced normal size type. The additional 50 pages may comprise tables of data and/or computer programmes reduced in size.

If a candidate's work falls within the social sciences, candidates are expected to observe the limit described in the Department of Geography above; if, however, a candidate's work falls within the natural sciences, a candidate should observe the limit described in the Department of Earth Sciences.

Applications for the limit of length of the thesis to be exceeded must be early — certainly no later than the time when the application for the appointment of examiners and the approval of the title of the thesis is made. Any thesis which, without the prior permission of the Degree Committee, exceeds the permitted limit of length will be referred back to the candidate before being forwarded to the examiners.

The thesis is not to exceed, without the prior permission of the Degree Committee, 60,000 words including tables, footnotes, bibliography and appendices. The Degree Committee points out that some of the best thesis extend to only half this length. Each page of statistical tables, charts or diagrams shall be regarded as equivalent to a page of text of the same size.

The thesis is not to exceed 80,000 words for the PhD and EdD degrees and 60,000 words for the MSc and MLitt degrees, in all cases excluding appendices, footnotes, reference list or bibliography. Only in the most exceptional circumstances will permission be given to exceed the stated limits. In such cases, you must make an application to the Degree Committee as early as possible -and no later than three months before it is proposed to submit the thesis, having regard to the dates of the Degree Committee meetings. Your application should (a) explain in detail the reasons why you are seeking the extension and (b) be accompanied by a full supporting statement from your supervisor showing that the extension is absolutely necessary in the interests of the total presentation of the subject.

For the PhD degree, not to exceed, without prior permission of the Degree Committee, 65,000 words, including appendices, footnotes, tables and equations not to contain more than 150 figures, but excluding the bibliography. A candidate must submit with their thesis a statement signed by the candidate themself giving the length of the thesis and the number of figures. Any thesis which, without the prior permission of the Degree Committee, exceeds the permitted limit will be referred back to the candidate before being forwarded to the examiners.

The thesis is not to exceed 80,000 words or go below 60,000 words for the PhD degree and not to exceed 60,000 words or go below 45,000 words for the MLitt degree, both including all notes and appendices but excluding the bibliography. A candidate must add to the preface of the thesis the following signed statement: 'The thesis does not exceed the regulation length, including footnotes, references and appendices but excluding the bibliography.'

In exceptional cases (when, for example, a candidate's thesis largely consists of an edition of a text) the Degree Committee may grant permission to exceed these limits but in such instances (a) a candidate must apply to exceed the length at least three months before the date on which a candidate proposes to submit their thesis and (b) the application must be supported by a letter from a candidate's supervisor certifying that such exemption from the prescribed limit of length is absolutely necessary.

It is a requirement of the Degree Committee for the Faculty of English that thesis must conform to either the MHRA Style Book or the MLA Handbook for the Writers of Research papers, available from major bookshops. There is one proviso, however, to the use of these manuals: the Faculty does not normally recommend that students use the author/date form of citation and recommends that footnotes rather than endnotes be used. Bibliographies and references in thesis presented by candidates in ASNaC should conform with either of the above or to the practice specified in Cambridge Studies in Anglo-Saxon England.

Thesis presented by candidates in the Research Centre for English and Applied Linguistics must follow as closely as possible the printed style of the journal Applied Linguistics and referencing and spelling conventions should be consistent.

A signed declaration of the style-sheet used (and the edition, if relevant) must be made in the preliminary pages of the thesis.

PhD theses MUST NOT exceed 80,000 words, and will normally be near that length.

A minimum word length exists for PhD theses: 70,000 words (50,000 for MLitt theses)

The word limit includes appendices and the contents page but excludes the abstract, acknowledgments, footnotes, references, notes on transliteration, bibliography, abbreviations and glossary.  The Contents Page should be included in the word limit. Statistical tables should be counted as 150 words per table. Maps, illustrations and other pictorial images count as 0 words. Graphs, if they are the only representation of the data being presented, are to be counted as 150 words. However, if graphs are used as an illustration of statistical data that is also presented elsewhere within the thesis (as a table for instance), then the graphs count as 0 words.

Only under exceptional circumstances will permission be granted to exceed this limit. Applications for permission are made via CamSIS self-service pages. Applications must be made at least four months before the thesis is bound. Exceptions are granted when a compelling intellectual case is made.

The thesis is not to exceed 80,000 words for the PhD degree and 60,000 words for the MLitt degree, in all cases including footnotes and appendices but excluding bibliography. Permission to submit a thesis falling outside these limits, or to submit an appendix which does not count towards the word limit, must be obtained in advance from the Degree Committee.

The thesis is not to exceed 80,000 for the PhD degree and 60,000 words for the MSc or MLitt degree, both including footnotes, references and appendices but excluding bibliographies. One A4 page consisting largely of statistics, symbols or figures shall be regarded as the equivalent of 250 words. A candidate must add to the preface of their thesis the following signed statement: 'This thesis does not exceed the regulation length, including footnotes, references and appendices.'

For the PhD degree the thesis is not to exceed 80,000 words (exclusive of footnotes, appendices and bibliography) but subject to an overall word limit of 100,000 words (exclusive of bibliography, table of contents and any other preliminary matter). Figures, tables, images etc should be counted as the equivalent of 200 words for each A4 page, or part of an A4 page, that they occupy. For the MLitt degree the thesis is not to exceed 60,000 words inclusive of footnotes but exclusive of bibliography, appendices, table of contents and any other preliminary matter. Figures, tables, images etc should be counted as the equivalent of 200 words for each A4 page, or part of an A4 page, that they occupy.

Criminology:

For the PhD degree submission of a thesis between 55,000 and 80,000 words (exclusive of footnotes, appendices and bibliography) but subject to an overall word limit of 100,000 words (exclusive of bibliography, table of contents and any other preliminary matter). Figures, tables, images etc should be counted as the equivalent of 200 words for each A4 page, or part of an A4 page, that they occupy. For the MLitt degree the thesis is not to exceed 60,000 words inclusive of footnotes but exclusive of bibliography, appendices, table of contents and any other preliminary matter. Figures, tables, images etc should be counted as the equivalent of 200 words for each A4 page, or part of an A4 page, that they occupy.

There is no standard format for the thesis in Mathematics.  Candidates should discuss the format appropriate to their topic with their supervisor.

The thesis is not to exceed 80,000 words for the PhD degree and 60,000 words for the MLitt degree, including footnotes and appendices but excluding the abstract, any acknowledgements, contents page(s), abbreviations, notes on transliteration, figures, tables and bibliography. Brief labels accompanying illustrations, figures and tables are also excluded from the word count. The Degree Committee point out that some very successful doctoral theses have been submitted which extend to no more than three-quarters of the maximum permitted length.

In linguistics, where examples are cited in a language other than Modern English, only the examples themselves will be taken into account for the purposes of the word limit. Any English translations and associated linguistic glosses will be excluded from the word count.

In theses written under the aegis of any of the language sections, all sources in the language(s) of the primary area(s) of research of the thesis will normally be in the original language. An English translation should be provided only where reading the original language is likely to fall outside the expertise of the examiners. Where such an English translation is given it will not be included in the word count. In fields where the normal practice is to quote in English in the main text, candidates should follow that practice. If the original text needs to be supplied, it should be placed in a footnote. These fields include, but are not limited to, general linguistics and film and screen studies.

Since appendices are included in the word limit, in some fields it may be necessary to apply to exceed the limit in order to include primary data or other materials which should be available to the examiners. Only under the most exceptional circumstances will permission be granted to exceed the limit in other cases. In all cases (a) a candidate must apply to exceed the prescribed maximum length at least three months before the date on which a candidate proposes to submit their thesis and (b) the application must be accompanied by a full supporting statement from the candidate's supervisor showing that such exemption from the prescribed limit of length is absolutely necessary.

It is a requirement within all language sections of MMLL, and also for Film, that dissertations must conform with the advice concerning abbreviations, quotations, footnotes, references etc published in the Style Book of the Modern Humanities Research Association (Notes for Authors and Editors). For linguistics, dissertations must conform with one of the widely accepted style formats in their field of research, for example the style format of the Journal of Linguistics (Linguistic Association of Great Britain), or of Language Linguistic Society of America) or the APA format (American Psychology Association). If in doubt, linguistics students should discuss this with their supervisor and the PhD Coordinator.

The thesis is not to exceed 80,000 words for the PhD degree and 60,000 words for the MLitt degree, both excluding notes, appendices, and bibliographies, musical transcriptions and examples, unless a candidate make a special case for greater length to the satisfaction of the Degree Committee. Candidates whose work is practice-based may include as part of the doctoral submission either a portfolio of substantial musical compositions, or one or more recordings of their own musical performance(s).

PhD (MLitt) theses in Philosophy must not be more than 80,000 (60,000) words, including appendices and footnotes but excluding bibliography.

Institute of Astronomy, Department of Materials Science & Metallurgy, Department of Physics:

The thesis is not to exceed, without prior permission of the Degree Committee, 60,000 words, including summary/abstract, tables, footnotes and appendices, but excluding table of contents, photographs, diagrams, figure captions, list of figures/diagrams, list of abbreviations/acronyms, bibliography and acknowledgements.

Department of Chemistry:

The thesis is not to exceed, without prior permission of the Degree Committee, 60,000 words, including summary/abstract, tables, and footnotes, but excluding table of contents, photographs, diagrams, figure captions, list of figures/diagrams, list of abbreviations/acronyms, bibliography, appendices and acknowledgements. Appendices are relevant to the material contained within the thesis but do not form part of the connected argument. Specifically, they may include derivations, code and spectra, as well as experimental information (compound name, structure, method of formation and data) for non-key molecules made during the PhD studies.

Applicable to the PhDs in Politics & International Studies, Latin American Studies, Multi-disciplinary Studies and Development Studies for all submissions from candidates admitted prior to and including October 2017.

A PhD thesis must not exceed 80,000 words, and will normally be near that length. The word limit includes appendices but excludes footnotes, references and bibliography. Footnotes should not exceed 20% of the thesis. Discursive footnotes are generally discouraged, and under no circumstances should footnotes be used to include material that would normally be in the main text, and thus to circumvent the word limits. Statistical tables should be counted as 150 words per table. Only under exceptional circumstances, and after prior application, will the Degree Committee allow a student to exceed these limits. A candidate must submit, with the thesis, a statement signed by her or himself attesting to the length of the thesis. Any thesis that exceeds the limit will be referred back to candidate for revision before being forwarded to the examiners.

Applicable to the PhDs in Politics & International Studies, Latin American Studies, Multi-disciplinary Studies and Development Studies for all submissions from candidates admitted after October 2017.

A PhD thesis must not exceed 80,000 words, including footnotes. The word limit includes appendices but excludes the bibliography. Discursive footnotes are generally discouraged, and under no circumstances should footnotes be used to include material that would normally be in the main text. Statistical tables should be counted as 150 words per table. Only under exceptional circumstances, and after prior application, will the Degree Committee allow a student to exceed these limits. A candidate must submit, with the thesis, a statement signed by her or himself attesting to the length of the thesis. Any thesis that exceeds the limit will be referred back to candidate for revision before being forwarded to the examiners.

Only applicable to students registered for the degree prior to 1 August 2012; all other students should consult the guidance of the Faculty of Biological Sciences.

Applicable to the PhD in Psychology (former SDP students only) for all submissions made before 30 November 2013

A PhD thesis must not exceed 80,000 words, and will normally be near that length. The word limit includes appendices but excludes footnotes, references and bibliography. Footnotes should not exceed 20% of the thesis. Discursive footnotes are generally discouraged, and under no circumstances should footnotes be used to include material that would normally be in the main text, and thus to circumvent the word limits. Statistical tables should be counted as 150 words per table. Only under exceptional circumstances, and after prior application, will the Degree Committee allow a student to exceed these limits. A candidate must submit, with the thesis, a statement signed by her or himself attesting to the length of the thesis. Any thesis that exceeds the limit will be referred back to candidate for revision before being forwarded to the examiners.

Applicable to the PhD in Psychology (former SDP students only) for all submissions from 30 November 2013

A PhD thesis must not exceed 80,000 words, and will normally be near that length. The word limit includes appendices but excludes footnotes, references and bibliography. Footnotes should not exceed 20% of the thesis. Discursive footnotes are generally discouraged, and under no circumstances should footnotes be used to include material that would normally be in the main text, and thus to circumvent the word limits. Statistical tables should be counted as 150 words per table. Only under exceptional circumstances, and after prior application, will the Degree Committee allow a student to exceed these limits. Applications should be made in good time before the date on which a candidate proposes to submit the thesis, made to the Graduate Committee. A candidate must submit, with the thesis, a statement signed by her or himself attesting to the length of the thesis. Any thesis that exceeds the limit will be referred back to candidate for revision before being forwarded to the examiners.

A PhD thesis must not exceed 80,000 words, and will normally be over 60,000 words. This word limit includes footnotes and endnotes, but excludes appendices and reference list / bibliography. Figures, tables, images etc should be counted as the equivalent of 150 words for each page, or part of a page, that they occupy. Other media may form part of the thesis by prior arrangement with the Degree Committee. Students may apply to the Degree Committee for permission to exceed the word limit, but such applications are granted only rarely. Candidates must submit, with the thesis, a signed statement attesting to the length of the thesis.

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• How Long Is a PhD Thesis?
• Doing a PhD

It’s no secret that one of the most challenging aspects of a PhD degree is the volume of work that goes into writing your thesis . So this raises the question, exactly how long is a thesis?

Unfortunately, there’s no one size fits all answer to this question. However, from the analysis of over 100 PhD theses, the average thesis length is between 80,000 and 100,000 words. A further analysis of 1000 PhD thesis shows the average number of pages to be 204 . In reality, the actual word count for each PhD thesis will depend on the specific subject and the university it is being hosted by. This is because universities set their own word length requirements, with most found to be opting for around 100,000.

To find out more about how these word limits differ between universities, how the average word count from STEM thesis differ from non-STEM thesis and a more detailed breakdown from the analysis of over 1000 PhDs, carry on reading the below.

Word Count Differences Between Universities

For any PhD student writing a thesis, they will find that their document will be subject to a word limit set by their university. In nearly all cases, the limit only concerns the maximum number of words and doesn’t place any restrictions on the minimum word limit. The reason for this is that the student will be expected to write their thesis with the aim of clearly explaining their research, and so it is up to the student to determine what he deems appropriate.

Saying this, it is well accepted amongst PhD students and supervisors that the absence of a lower limit doesn’t suggest that a thesis can be ‘light’. Your thesis will focus on several years worth of original research and explore new ideas, theories or concepts. Besides this, your thesis will need to cover a wide range of topics such as your literature review, research methodology, results and conclusion. Therefore, your examiners will expect the length of your thesis to be proportional to convey all this information to a sufficient level.

Selecting a handful of universities at random, they state the following thesis word limits on their website:

• University of Edinburgh: 100,000
• University of Exeter: 100,000
• University of Leister: 80,000
• University of Bath: 80,000
• University of Warwick: 70,000

The above universities set upper word limits that apply across the board, however, some universities, such as the University of Birmingham and the University of Sheffield, set different word limits for different departments. For example, the University of Sheffield adopts these limits:

• Arts & Humanities: 75,000
• Medicine, Dentistry & Health: 75,000
• Science: 80,000
• Social Sciences: 75,000-100,000

Although there’s a range of limit, it’s safe to say that the majority fall within the 80,000 to 100,000 bracket.

Word Count Based on Data from past Theses

A poll of 149 postdocs.

In mid-2019, Dr Eva Lantsoght, a published author, academic blogger and Structural Engineering Professor, conducted a poll which asked postgraduate doctoral students to share the length of their final thesis. 149 PostDoc students responded to the survey, with the majority reporting a length falling within the ‘80,000 – 120,000 words’ bracket as seen below.

Analysis of 1000 PhD Theses

Over a three-year time period, Dr Ian Brailsford, a then Postgraduate Learning Adviser at the University of Auckland, analysed 1000 doctoral thesis submitted to his university’s library. The PhD theses which formed the basis of his analysis were produced between 2008 to 2017 and showed:

• Average number of pages = 204
• Median number of pages = 198
• Average number of chapters = 7.6

We should note that the above metrics only cover the content falling within the main body of the thesis. This includes the introduction, literature review, methods section, results chapter, discussions and conclusions. All other sections, such as the title page, abstract, table of contents, acknowledgements, bibliography and appendices were omitted from the count.

Although it’s impossible to draw the exact word count from the number of pages alone, by using the universities recommended format of 12pt Times New Roman and 1.5 lines spacing, and assuming 10% of the main body are figures and footnotes, this equates to an average main body of 52,000 words.

STEM vs Non-STEM

As part of Dr Ian Brailsford’s analysis, he also compared the length of STEM doctorate theses to non-STEM theses. He found that STEM theses tended to be shorter. In fact, he found STEM theses to have a medium page length of 159 whilst non-STEM theses had a medium of around 223 pages. This is a 40% increase in average length!

Can You Exceed the Word Count?

Whilst most universities will allow you to go over the word count if you need to, it comes with the caveat that you must have a very strong reason for needing to do so. Besides this, your supervisor will also need to support your request. This is to acknowledge that they have reviewed your situation and agree that exceeding the word limit will be absolutely necessary to avoid detriment unnecessary detriment to your work.

This means that whilst it is possible to submit a thesis over 100,000 words or more, it’s unlikely that your research project will need to.

How Does This Compare to a Masters Dissertation?

The average Masters dissertation length is approximately 20,000 words whilst a thesis is 4 to 5 times this length at approximately 80,000 – 100,000.

The key reason for this difference is because of the level of knowledge they convey. A Master’s dissertation focuses on concluding from existing knowledge whilst a PhD thesis focuses on drawing a conclusion from new knowledge. As a result, the thesis is significantly longer as the new knowledge needs to be well documented so it can be verified, disseminated and used to shape future research.

Finding a PhD has never been this easy – search for a PhD by keyword, location or academic area of interest.

Related Reading

Unfortunately, the completion of your thesis doesn’t mark the end of your degree just yet. Once you submit your thesis, it’s time to start preparing for your viva – the all-to-fun thesis defence interview! To help you prepare for this, we’ve produced a helpful guide which you can read here: The Complete Guide to PhD Vivas.

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Is There A Word Limit For Dissertations?

Published by Alvin Nicolas at April 9th, 2024 , Revised On April 9, 2024

Dissertation writing is one of the hardest things to do in academic life. It takes months of hard work and meticulous research. Usually, one of the first questions that students ask about dissertations is, “Is there a word limit for a dissertation?”. Honestly, there is no one-size-fits-all for this. Several factors can impact the word limit of your thesis. This blog intends to answer this query in detail. 

Word Count Variations

While many assume a universal word count for dissertations, the reality is far more complicated. Here’s a breakdown of the key factors that determine the expected word count:

Level Of Study

Undergraduate dissertations typically fall within the range of 8,000-15,000 words, while Master’s dissertations can range from 12,000-50,000 words. PhD theses, on the other hand, are often considered book-length, with expectations hovering around 70,000-100,000 words.

In fields such as STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics), where empirical research and quantitative analysis are predominant, dissertations may tend to be more concise and focused on presenting empirical findings and statistical analyses. 

Conversely, in disciplines like the humanities and social sciences, where theoretical frameworks and qualitative research methods are prevalent, dissertations may be more extensive and encompass a broader range of literature reviews , theoretical discussions, and case studies.

University Guidelines

Every university has its specific regulations regarding dissertation word count. These guidelines are usually outlined in program handbooks, department websites, or student handbooks. It’s crucial to consult these resources as the primary source of information.

with the advent of digital publishing platforms and online repositories, there has been a growing trend towards electronic theses and dissertations (ETDs). ETDs offer several advantages, including broader accessibility, enhanced searchability, and multimedia integration. 

As a result, some academic institutions have revised their dissertation guidelines to accommodate the unique characteristics of ETDs, allowing for more flexibility in formatting and presentation.

Quality Over Quantity

While word count serves as a general framework, it’s essential to remember that quality ultimately trumps quantity. A concise, well-structured, and impactful dissertation with a lower word count can outperform a lengthy, meandering one that fails to address the research question effectively.

Here are some strategies to ensure your dissertation adheres to quality standards:

• Focus on clarity and conciseness: Express your ideas clearly and concisely, avoiding unnecessary jargon or filler words.
• Prioritise strong arguments and evidence: Ensure your dissertation is well-supported by relevant and credible sources , avoiding irrelevant tangents.
• Structure your argument effectively: Organise your dissertation logically, ensuring a clear flow of information and a strong conclusion .

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Pro Tip: Always Ask Your Supervisor

Your supervisor is your primary guide throughout the dissertation journey. They can provide invaluable guidance on the expected word count for your specific program and research topic .

They can also help you refine your arguments, ensure your research is on track, and offer valuable feedback on your writing style and structure.

Schedule regular meetings with your supervisor to discuss your progress, clarify any doubts regarding word count expectations, and seek expert advice on crafting a compelling and impactful dissertation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do dissertations have word limits.

Yes, dissertations typically have word limits set by academic institutions or specific departments. These limits can vary depending on the level of study and the discipline. Adhering to word limits ensures the dissertation remains focused and manageable for both the student and the examiners.

Is it possible to write a 10k-word dissertation in 2 days?

Writing a 10,000-word dissertation in 2 days is theoretically possible but highly challenging and not advisable. It would require intense focus, organisation, and discipline. However, rushing the process may compromise the quality of research and analysis, impacting the overall academic integrity and evaluation of the work.

How long is the longest dissertation?

The length of the longest dissertation varies, but some exceed 1,000 pages. For instance, in 2015, a Norwegian student, Magnus Carlsen, submitted a mathematics dissertation spanning 500 pages, while Shing-Tung Yau’s mathematics dissertation in 1976 reportedly reached over 1,000 pages. However, such extreme lengths are rare and depend on individual requirements and fields.

How long should a dissertation be?

The length of a dissertation varies widely depending on factors such as academic discipline, institution requirements, and research complexity. Typically, they range from 10,000 to 20,000 words for undergraduate dissertations, 15,000 to 50,000 words for master’s level, and 50,000 to 100,000 words or more for doctoral dissertations.

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1. Word limit and structure in a journal-style thesis

1.1 word limit.

The departmental word limit for the equivalent monograph thesis should be viewed as advisory rather than compulsory, given the differing nature of a journal-style thesis. If, however, a journal-style thesis word count is likely to be significantly over or under that set by your school, department or centre then you should notify your Graduate Chair.

1.2 Structure

Although a journal-style thesis must be a coherent and continuous work, there is considerable flexibility in how it can be structured, in order to accommodate differences in approaches to research, and its publication within, and between, disciplines.  

Typically , a journal-style thesis may have the following structure, but you must check if your school, department or centre have set out any specific requirements or guidance on this issue. 

In some theses, it may be appropriate to include the following: 

Alternatively , a single integrative chapter (alongside the substantive research chapters) may be appropriate. If a single integrative chapter is used, it will combine elements of what might otherwise be included in an introductory and a conclusion chapter (see above).

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Thesis word count and format

Three months ago you considered whether you required a restriction to the access of your thesis, and you submitted your ‘Approval of Research Degree Thesis Title’ form. You’ve now finished writing up your thesis and it’s time to submit. We require your thesis to be presented and formatted in a certain way, so it’s important you read through the requirements below, before submitting your thesis. Find out more about thesis submission policy  (.pdf)

The completed thesis should be saved in PDF format. Once saved, please review the file to ensure all pages are displayed correctly.

Page layout

• Double line spacing should be used for everything except quotations, footnotes, captions to plates etc.
• It is desirable to leave 2.5cm margins at the top and bottom of the page.
• The best position for the page number is at the top right 1.3cm below the top edge.
• The fonts of Arial or Times New Roman should be used throughout the main body of the thesis, in the size of no less than 12 and no greater than 14

Illustrations (Graphs, diagrams, plates, computer printout etc.)

Illustrations embedded within the thesis should be formatted, numbered and titled accordingly:

a) Illustration upright - Caption at the bottom, Illustration number immediately above the

Illustration.

b) Illustration sideways - Caption at right-hand side with Illustration number above it.

Numbers for graphs, diagrams and maps are best located in the bottom right hand corner.

For further advice, please consult your supervisor.

Word counts

The following word counts are the maximum permitted for each level of award*:

What's excluded from the word count

*In all cases above, the word count includes quotations but excludes appendices, tables (including tables of contents), figures, abstract, references, acknowledgements, bibliography and footnotes (as long as the latter do not contain substantive argument). Please note these are word limits, not targets.

Specific requirements

For degrees which involve Practice as Research (PaR), no less than 50% of the research output should be the written thesis. The written thesis for PaR degrees may be comprised of a range of written elements including, but not limited to, a critical review, a portfolio, and/or a statement on theoretical discourse or methodology.

**In cases of practice-based PhD’s or MPhil’s these suggested word counts may be different. It is normally expected that the written component would comprise no less than 50% of the overall output.

Each copy of the thesis should contain a summary or abstract not exceeding 300 words.

As an example, see how the  layout of your title page (.pdf) should be.

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In this section

• Senate regulation 9: General (9.1-9.46)
• Senate regulation 9: Registration (9.47-9.78)
• Senate regulation 9: Supervision (9.79-9.108)
• Senate regulation 9: Progress (9.109-9.139)
• Senate regulation 9: Responsibilities (9.140-9.177)
• Senate regulation 9: Thesis format (9.178-9.207)
• Senate regulation 9: Examination (9.208-9.253)
• Senate Regulation 9 (Appendix 1)
• Senate Regulation 9 (Appendix 2)
• Senate Regulation 9 (Appendix 3)
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• Regulations
• Senate regulations

Senate regulation 9: Regulations governing Research Degree Programmes: Thesis format and submission (9.178-9.207)

Thesis submission .

To be awarded the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, the research student must satisfy the examiners by means of a thesis which makes a distinct and original contribution to knowledge in the discipline and contains work which is considered to be worthy of publication. The research student must demonstrate a broad knowledge and understanding of their discipline and its associated research techniques and show that these have been successfully applied. For research students registered for the degree of PhD and who will submit a practice based thesis, both the critical/reflective component and the practice component of the thesis must form a coherent whole which meets the requirements for the award of the degree.

To be awarded the degree of Doctor of Medicine, the research student must satisfy the examiners by means of a thesis in any branch of medicine, surgery, or medical science, which has been specifically composed for the purpose, includes a review of the relevant background literature, contains a critical account of original laboratory-based or clinical research, carried out personally by the research student, that constitutes a significant contribution to knowledge, and contains work which is deemed worthy of publication.

To be awarded the degree of Doctor of Psychology, the research student must satisfy the examiners by means of a thesis which has been specifically composed for the purpose. The thesis must include a critical literature review (the topic normally being relevant to the research question addressed in the research study) and a self-contained research study which conforms to the requirements of a peer-reviewed journal appropriate to the research topic, a reflective critique of the research process, and constituting a contribution to knowledge.

To be awarded the degree of Doctor of Clinical Psychology, Doctor of Education, Doctor of Engineering, or Doctor of Social Science the research student must successfully complete all assessed components excluding the thesis to the appropriate standard described in the relevant programme specification and satisfy the examiners by means of a thesis which makes a distinct and original contribution to knowledge in the discipline and contains work which is considered to be worthy of publication. The research student must demonstrate a broad knowledge and understanding of their discipline and its associated research techniques and show that these have been successfully applied.

To be awarded the degree of Master of Philosophy, the research student must satisfy the examiners by means of a thesis which demonstrates a satisfactory record of research, a broad knowledge and understanding of the field of study and associated research techniques, and shows that these have been successfully applied. The thesis must present evidence of a critical survey of knowledge in the discipline but does not need to make a distinct and original contribution to knowledge of their discipline or to be of publishable quality. For research students registered for the degree of MPhil and who will submit a practice based thesis, both the critical/reflective component and the practice component of the thesis must form a coherent whole which meets the requirements for the award of the degree.

The thesis must not have previously been submitted for examination for a degree of the University or another institution except in the case of theses which had been submitted for a degree of the University and referred for resubmission. In all cases the thesis must be:

• the result of the research student’s own work; where parts of the thesis are the result of work undertaken by or with others, this must be explicitly acknowledged in the thesis text and/or references
• the result of work undertaken by the research student over their period of registration – except where the thesis comprises inter-related published works or clinical case studies.

Thesis format

With the exception of short quotations for which an English translation is provided, the thesis must be written in English unless the Dean of the Doctoral College has given approval prior to submission for examination for all or part of the thesis to be in another language.

The thesis must be presented on A4 size.

Any research degree thesis undertaken at the University of Leicester must, when printed, be printed on one side only. Text must be of good quality with 1.5 line spacing and should normally be in 12 point type.

Any research degree thesis undertaken at the University of Leicester must, when printed, have a margin of at least 3.5 centimetres on the left side of each page. All other margins must be of at least 2.5 centimetres.

The first page of the thesis must be a title page that includes the following information:

• the full title of the thesis
• the research student’s full name
• the name of the research student’s Department
• the month and year in which the thesis was submitted for examination

The title page of the thesis must be followed by the thesis abstract. The abstract must not exceed 300 words and must include in the form of a heading the full title of the thesis and the research student’s full name.

The thesis abstract must be followed in this order by:

• acknowledgements page
• table of contents
• main body of the thesis
• appendices (if needed)

Explanatory notes must be numbered and presented as footnotes at the bottom of the relevant page.

The thesis appendices – or the main body of the thesis if there are no appendices – must be followed by a complete and accurate bibliography. All works referenced in the thesis must be included in the bibliography.

The critical/reflective component of a practice based thesis submitted for the degree of PhD or MPhil must comply with the requirements for thesis format specified in 9.185 to 9.194. The practice component of the thesis must be submitted as a created output appropriate to the area of research and in a form suitable for examination.

Thesis word length

Each College shall have a specified maximum word limit for research degree theses:

• PhD - 50,000 words
• MD - 30,000 words
• MPhil - 30,000 words
• PhD - 80,000 words
• MD - 50,000 words
• MPhil - 50,000 words
• PsyD - 30,000 words
• DClinPsy - 29,000 words
• EngD - 25,000 words
• Except for research students in the Department of Geography registered for the degree of PhD or MPhil and whose thesis is based on social science research, where the length of the thesis must not exceed the limits specified in 9.196(4).
• EdD - 55,000 words
• DSocSci - 50,000 words
• For research students in any College registered for the degree of PhD or MPhil and who will submit a practice based thesis, the length of the critical/reflective component of the thesis – including footnotes, but excluding the table of contents, tabulated data, diagrams, any appendices, and the bibliography – must be no less than 20% and no more than 80% of the relevant maximum word length specified in 9.196(1) to 9.196(3).

The thesis must not exceed the specified maximum word limit unless the Dean of the Doctoral College has given approval for a higher word limit prior to submission of the thesis for examination.

Thesis submission

The research student must on the request of the Doctoral College Office confirm the date by which they expect to submit the thesis for examination.

Research students registered for the degree of PhD or MPhil and who will submit a practice based thesis must on the request of the Doctoral College Office confirm the form in which the practice component of the thesis shall be submitted. The exact form that the practice component of the thesis shall take must be discussed and agreed with the supervisory team before submission and shall be subject to the approval of the internal examiner.

The research student must be registered on the date that they submit the thesis for examination. The research student must submit the thesis for examination by the date at which they complete the specified maximum registration period unless they have been given an extension of registration by the Dean of the Doctoral College or, in the case of research students registered for the degree of MD, by the MD Degree Board of Studies.

The research student shall be responsible for deciding whether to submit the thesis for examination. This decision should take account of the opinion of the supervisory team. The supervisory team’s opinion is advisory only. An opinion that the thesis is ready for submission must not be taken as a guarantee that a degree will be awarded and a decision to award a degree rests wholly with the examining team.

Research students submitting the thesis for examination must submit to the Doctoral College an electronic copy of the thesis.

Research students who following examination have been referred for resubmission must submit to the Doctoral College Office an electronic copy of the revised thesis.

Research students who following examination have been awarded a research degree must submit an electronic copy of the thesis to the University Library; the electronic copy of the thesis shall be deposited in the Leicester Research Archive and made available through the British Library’s Electronic Theses Online Service. Where, owing to security or protection rights it is not possible to provide an electronic copy of the final thesis for public access through the British Library’s Electronic Theses Online Service, research students may be required to submit a hardbound copy of the thesis. The hardbound cover must be standard green (Aberlave Library Buckram No. 563).

Research students who following examination have been awarded the degree of PhD or MPhil on the basis of a practice based thesis must submit to the University Library a permanent record of the practice component of the thesis – such as a physical artefact, photographic record, or audio-visual record.

Restrictions on access to theses

The thesis shall be made available through the University Library, the Leicester Research Archive, and the Electronic Theses Online Service. A request to restrict access to the thesis may be made if there are extenuating reasons for doing so.

If there are extenuating reasons for restricting access to the thesis, the research student and/or the supervisory team may request that the thesis should be placed under an embargo for a period of no more than three years. The request for a thesis embargo must be made to the Doctoral College Office on or before the date at which the thesis is submitted for examination. The application of a thesis embargo shall be subject to approval from the Dean of the Doctoral College. An approved embargo may apply to the electronic copy of the thesis only or to both an electronic and a print copy of the thesis.

Access to the thesis shall be restricted if the research is the subject of a formal confidentiality agreement with a sponsor. In such cases the relevant office holding the sponsor agreement shall notify the Doctoral College Office of the relevant conditions.

Sponsored research students must comply with any conditions for open access to the thesis that are associated with the terms of their sponsorship.

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• You are currently on: Doctoral Thesis Policy and Procedures

Doctoral Thesis Policy and Procedures

Application.

Doctoral theses undertaken by doctoral candidates governed by programme regulations that came into effect in or after 2020.

Note: All other doctoral candidates should consult the relevant programme regulations and associated policies, procedures and guidelines.

To specify the policy and procedures that apply to doctoral theses undertaken by doctoral candidates governed by programme regulations that came into effect in or after 2020.

General requirements

1. Candidates are required to submit a doctoral thesis for examination under the applicable degree regulations and procedures.

2. A doctoral thesis must be a substantial presentation of the outcome of an original and coherent doctoral research project. It must situate the doctoral research in the broader framework of the disciplinary field(s) of study.

3. A doctoral thesis must demonstrate the research achievements of an individual. Where doctoral research involves the contributions of others, those contributions must be clearly identified in accordance with clause 22 of the procedures below.

4. The candidate’s contribution to the research outcome(s) presented in the thesis as the outcome(s) of the doctoral research must be no less than 65% and capable, in extent, of satisfying the regulatory criteria for the award of the degree.

5. The thesis requirement at clause 1 must be satisfied by the submission of a cohesive written document.

6. Subject to the PhD Including Scholarly Creative Work Policy and Procedures , scholarly creative work (written or otherwise) that forms an integrated whole with the written document may be submitted for examination as part of the thesis requirement for the PhD.

7. Subject to clause 14a, and excepting citation of other work, which must be fully and appropriately attributed and referenced, the candidate must have written the text of the thesis.

8. All third party editing and proof-reading must be conducted in accordance with the Third Party Editing and Proofreading of Theses and Dissertations Guidelines .

9. Subject to clause 10, the thesis is to be presented and examined in English unless otherwise approved by the Board of Graduate Studies (or delegate) in accordance with clauses 23-26 of the procedures below.

10. The thesis may be presented and examined in Te Reo Māori where the Pro Vice-Chancellor (Māori) (or nominee) and the Board of Graduate Studies (or delegate) are satisfied that appropriate supervision is available, that suitable examiners, and a suitable Examination Committee and Oral Examination committee , will be available for the examination, and that the thesis topic/disciplinary area(s) do not make presentation and examination in English essential on academic grounds, and subject to clauses 23 and 25 of procedures below.

Thesis length

11. Subject to clause 12, the work submitted for examination in fulfilment of the thesis requirement, including all appendices and references, must not exceed 100,000 words except as permitted pursuant to clause 13 of this policy or by the PhD Including Scholarly Creative Work Policy and Procedures .

12. Where doctoral programme regulations specify a word limit lower than that at clause 11 of this policy, the programme regulations prevail, and the specified word length includes all appendices and references.

13. In exceptional academic circumstances, and subject to clauses 27-29 of the procedures below, the Board of Graduate Studies (or delegate) may give permission for a thesis to exceed the word length specified in the doctoral programme regulations.

Inclusion of published work

14. The written document submitted in fulfilment of the thesis requirement may include one or more publications subject to the following conditions:

a. The candidate must be the sole or lead author of the work. To be lead author , the candidate must have written all or the majority of the text and have their contribution to the publication confirmed by all contributors, in the Statement of Contribution required under clause 22 of the procedures below, as no less than 65%.

b. Except for the MD, all candidate work for the publication/s must be undertaken under supervision during the candidate’s enrolment in the doctoral degree for which the thesis is submitted.

c. All co-authors, and the publisher where work has been published or accepted for publication, must agree to the inclusion of the publication in the thesis prior to submission of the thesis for examination.

d. In addition to satisfying clause 2 of this policy, the thesis must, with regard to the inclusion of introductory, concluding and methodological discussions, and literature review, conform to the disciplinary norm for theses that do not include publications.

e. The thesis must be a coherent whole; publications included in the thesis must be integrated by the effective use of linking passages and/or otherwise amended to facilitate coherence, eliminate unnecessary repetition across the thesis and to ensure appropriate scope of engagement with a topic.

f. The thesis remains subject to clause 20 of this policy and must be presented throughout in a consistent format, citation style and typeface.

15. For the purposes of clause 14, “publication” encompasses any work that has appeared in a journal, book or other forum (digital or print), and any work submitted or accepted for publication but which has not appeared at the time of submission of the thesis.

16. There is no requirement as to the number of publications, or as to the journal ranking or impact factor associated with any journal publication, included in accordance with clause 14.

17. The opportunity to include one or more publications in accordance with clause 14 in no way mitigates the statutory requirements for doctoral candidates to undertake, and present the outcome of, a coherent doctoral research project.

18. Candidates including publications in accordance with clause 14 are not required to include a publication in its entirety and may revise previously published material for the purposes of updating or improving material as well as for the purposes of clause 14e.

19. Where a candidate’s contribution to a publication is less than 65%, or where a candidate did not write all or the majority of the text, the candidate may report on their contribution to the research that informs the publication, with due reference to the publication, but may not include that publication in the thesis.

20. The written document presented in fulfilment of the thesis requirement must be formatted in accordance with clauses 30-45 of the procedures below.

21. The thesis must comply with the Third Party Copyright Guidelines . If scholarly creative work submitted as part of the thesis requirement includes co-produced work, the approval of co-producers is required in the Statement of Contribution required under clause 22 of the procedures below.

Statement of contribution

22. Where the doctoral research presented for examination, including any creative practice research, contains the contributions of others, the nature of those contributions, any necessary permissions, and the nature and extent of the candidate’s contribution must be detailed in a Statement of Contribution completed in accordance with the University template. The statement of contribution must be included within the thesis submission, pre and post examination, as per clause 35 of these procedures.

23. Candidates seeking to submit a thesis in a language other than English must normally apply to do so at the time of application for admission to the doctoral programme.

24. Applications to submit a thesis in a language other than English or Te Reo Māori will only be considered on grounds related to the thesis topic and field of study. The English language capacity of the candidate is not grounds for consideration.

25. Applications to submit a thesis in a language other than English must be accompanied by the recommendation of the proposed main or joint supervisor .

26. The Board of Graduate Studies (or delegate) will give permission for a thesis to be submitted and/or examined in a language other than English or Te Reo Māori only where they are satisfied that:

• appropriate supervision is available
• the field of study and topic of the thesis make this essential
• suitable examiners, and a suitable Examination Committee and Oral Examination committee, will be available for the examination of the thesis

27. Unless permitted by the PhD Including Scholarly Creative Work Policy and Procedures , candidates seeking to exceed the word limit at clause 11 of the above policy must apply to the School of Graduate Studies.

28. Applications to exceed the word limit at clause 11 of the above policy must be made solely on academic grounds and must be accompanied by a statement of support from the main or joint supervisor detailing the exceptional nature of the academic circumstances.

29. The Board of Graduate Studies (or delegate) will determine the outcome of applications made under clauses 27-28 of these procedures.

30. The font used must be black and, in the main text of the thesis, equivalent to either 12 point Times New Roman or 10 point Arial. Footnotes or endnotes may be of a smaller font size but must be easily readable by examiners.

31. Line spacing must be no less than 1.5 line space and no more than double line space, with the exception of longer quotations, footnotes/endnotes and materials in tables/figures, which may be single line spaced.

32. Referencing system, paragraph indentations (or lack thereof), formatting of quotations and use of footnotes/endnotes must adhere to the chosen style manual (e.g. APA, Chicago, MLA, MHRA), the choice of which must be determined in accordance with disciplinary norms.

33. These procedures prevail in any case of conflict between these procedures and the style manual/referencing system selected under clause 32 of these procedures.

34. Page numbers must be located in a consistent position throughout the thesis.

35. The order of material in a thesis must be as follows:

a. Title page (required; not numbered and not counted in pagination).

b. Abstract (required; numbered in Roman numerals).

c. Dedication (optional; not numbered and not counted in pagination).

d. Acknowledgements (optional; numbered in Roman numerals).

e. Table of contents (required; numbered in Roman numerals).

f. Lists of tables, figures, etc. (optional; tables and figures numbered by Arabic numerals; the thesis page/s on which the lists feature are numbered in Roman numerals).

g. Glossary (optional; numbered in Roman numerals).

h. Statement of Contribution (where required under clause 22 of these procedures; numbered in Roman numerals).

i. Main text of thesis (required; numbered in Arabic numerals starting at 1).

j. Appendices (optional; numbering continued from main text in Arabic numerals).

k. Bibliography/List of references (required; numbering continued in Arabic numerals).

36. The thesis title must be centred in the top third of the title page and must describe the content of the thesis accurately.

37. The candidate’s full name must be centred in the middle of the title page.

38. The following text must be completed and placed in the lower third of the title page:

A thesis submitted in [partial] fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of [name of your degree] in [ subject area ], the University of Auckland, [year of completion]. This thesis is for examination purposes only and is confidential to the examination process.

The final sentence must be removed prior to final submission of the thesis post examination.

39. The abstract must be a succinct summary, of no more than 350 words, of the aim, methods, findings and conclusions of the doctoral research.

40. The main text of the thesis must be divided into a logical scheme of chapters and/or sections that is followed consistently throughout the work. Any logical system of subdivision within chapters or sections appropriate to the disciplinary fields may be used.

41. The chapters/sections of a thesis must not be termed “papers”.

42. Brief chapter/section abstracts, and/or keywords, must either be included at the start of all chapters/sections in the thesis (save, at the candidate’s discretion, the introduction and conclusion) or omitted entirely.

43. The thesis must conclude with a bibliography/Reference List, as per clause 35.

44. Where a glossary is included to define or explain specialised terms, symbols and abbreviations, any abbreviations or symbols used must conform to disciplinary norms and must be listed individually, with the abbreviated form starting from the left-hand margin followed by the full form to its right.

45. Where appendices are used for any additional material that does not fit conveniently or appropriately in the body of the text, each appendix must be labelled in sequence, either with capital letters or with numerals.

Definitions

The following definitions apply to this document:

Candidate means a candidate for a doctoral degree at the University.

Doctoral candidates are students who are enrolled in doctoral degrees at the University.

Examination Committee is the committee, distinct from the oral examination committee, that may be formed for the purpose of considering the examiners’ reports. It comprises the academic head, an associate dean or director, and the Academic Head Nominee.

Joint supervisor refers to the joint supervisor with primary responsibility for administrative requirements.

Lead author means the candidate must have written all or the majority of the text and must have their contribution to the work confirmed by all co-authors as no less than 65%.

Main supervisor is the lead supervisor who takes primary responsibility for the supervision of a candidate.

Oral Examination Committee is the committee, distinct from the Examination Committee, formed for the purpose of the oral examination. It comprises the independent chair, oral examiner and the Academic Head Nominee.

Publications include any work that has appeared in a journal, book or other publication, and any work submitted or accepted for publication but which had not appeared at the time of submission of the thesis. Publications include ‘traditional’ hard copy works, such as books and journal articles, and works that only appear in digital form.

Subject area is the official subject area in which the candidate is enrolled.

Thesis is a substantial presentation of the outcome of an original and coherent doctoral research project. It situates the research in the broader framework of the disciplinary field(s), and entails a cohesive written document.

Key relevant documents

Include the following:

• PhD Statute
• PhD Including Scholarly Creative Work Policy and Procedures
• Third Party Copyright Guidelines
• Third Party Editing and Proofreading of Theses and Dissertations Guidelines
• Statement of Contribution

Document management and control

Content manager: School of Graduate Studies Owner: Dean of Graduate Studies Approved by: Board of Graduate Studies, Senate and Council Date approved: October 2021 Review date: October 2026

Ask - /faq/3267/

Phd thesis word limit, what is the word limit for a phd thesis.

You should aim to write a thesis of 80,000 words. The word limit is exclusive of words in tables, maps, bibliographies and appendices. Footnotes are included as part of the word limit.

If you need to exceed 100,000 words, you must submit a request to the Chair of the Higher Degrees Research Comittee via the Graduate Research Examinations Office before you submit your thesis. This must include:

• your justification for the request
• the expected length of your thesis
• support by your supervisor(s) and Head of Department, who must also certify that the proposed examiners do not object to examining a longer thesis

About this answer

Last updated: Dec. 10, 2021, 5:58 p.m.

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What is the maximum word count for my thesis?

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Depending on the field of study you are interested in, you may be able to apply for a pre-defined PhD project, or you may need to develop your own research idea.

Research in the fields of medicine, science and engineering tend to require you to:

• apply for a project that already has specific, pre-defined aims
• compete for a place on a partially or fully funded programme (often with competitive application processes).

Research in the fields of arts, humanities and social sciences tend to require you to:

• develop your own research idea (be prepared to adapt your original idea)
• source your own funding, although some funded projects may be available.

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Doctoral training centres and partnerships, developing your own research idea, professional doctorates.