Thesis vs Dissertation

by Samantha Smiles   Google

Thesis and dissertation might be seen by many as the same thing although it’s not true. There are many differences between the two types of work. The article intends to give you the understanding of thesis and dissertation.

Content Matters

When you’re finishing your master’s degree you are supposed to submit a thesis. In case when you’re about to get your PhD, you have to submit a dissertation. The first difference is the content. In order to write a thesis, you have to carry out your own research. Dissertation uses the information that was written by others. This makes it similar with those essays you did not so long ago. Degree is obtained for those who wrote a thesis and dissertation is not always a final work before getting the degree.

Your Own Research in Thesis…

The main topic of your thesis is the research that you have carried out and its results. The hypothesis is also included in such work. You have to provide methods and techniques used during the writing of thesis and conclude why they were used. The hypothesis section was introduced not so long ago. Master’s thesis demonstrates the ability of the writer to collect information, select the most relevant and draw conclusions. Additionally, it aims to contribute to the course knowledge of the author. The master’s thesis doesn’t include topics from human subjects.

…And Summary of Researches in Dissertation

On the other hand, dissertation is based on the conclusions and evaluations of scientific works. In order to write a dissertation you have to be aware about recent achievements in the field of study. Your dissertation is basically the most recent conclusions and evaluations of those that were made before.

Dissertation is Shorter than Thesis

The length of the two works is also different. Students usually consult regarding the number of pages of their works but typically a thesis contains slightly more than 100 pages. Typical dissertation contains over 200 or sometimes over 300 pages in length.


Here is the list of similarities between thesis and dissertations:

  • They both require a designated and approved topic or statement for research.
  • In order to approve chosen topic, a student needs to refer to his or her faculty.
  • The works require large background of literature for providing proof to the topic.
  • The process of writing is supposed to be supervised by the faculty to correct mistakes and to lead the students in the right direction of the research.

So, After All, They Are Not the Same

In conclusion, master’s thesis and dissertation have many things in common and at the same time, there are only little differences. The main differences of these two types of works are those that are assigned by academic programs. It is recommended to get information about requirements from institution beforehand and start working accordingly. The universities usually have their requirements on their websites.