dissertation dedication

Dedication Page for Academic Papers [11 Examples]

The dedication section is where the writer expresses gratitude or others, normally those who have inspired or assisted them in their research and writing. It is usually the shortest page of an academic paper.

The most important thing to remember is that there is NO exact formula for writing a perfect dedication. Dedication is one of the most personal parts of your writing, and you are free to write it however you like.

In this post, we will include examples of dedication for theses, dissertations, research papers and college projects.

How to Write a Dedication for a Thesis or Dissertation?
Is Acknowledgement and Dedication the Same?

Who to include in the dedication section?

You can choose whomever you want. A dedication section is generally short and focuses on a single person (or specific group of people). It is usually a personal matter to have a dedication section, rather than a professional one.

Dedication Examples for Thesis or Dissertation

Most of the dedications in the thesis or dissertation are dedicated to family and friends.

You can express your feelings on why you want to dedicate your writings to these people specifically in this section.

Here are some of the examples which you can use as an example for writing your dedication for your thesis or dissertation.

Dedication for Dissertation/Thesis: Example #1

Dedication for dissertation/thesis: example #2, dedication for dissertation/thesis: example #3, dedication for dissertation/thesis: example #4, dedication for dissertation/thesis: example #5, dedication for dissertation: example #6, dedication examples for research paper.

Here are some examples of dedication written for research papers.

Dedication for Research Paper: Example #1

DEDICATION I dedicate this research paper to my lovely wife Laura, and my two daughters Dana, and Kareem. To all my family, the symbol of love and giving, and my friends who encourage and support me.

Dedication for Research Paper: Example #2

DEDICATION This research paper is dedicated to my dear father, who has been nicely my supporter until my research was fully finished, and my beloved mother who, for months past, has encouraged me attentively with her fullest and truest attention to accomplish my work with truthful self-confidence.

Dedication for Research Paper: Example #3

DEDICATION This research is dedicated to all the members of group 5 class 21/2012 for their sacrifice and cooperation in researching this paper. Our appreciation goes to MRS KANGETHE and MR KARIUKI for their guidance in the preparation of the final document and to our colleagues in the SMC 21/2012 for their support.

Dedication for College Projects

Here are two examples of dedication for college projects:

Dedication for College Project: Example #1

Dedication for college projects: example #2, other popular acknowledgement examples.

For work or business Acknowledgement Receipt of Payment [4 Examples] Acknowledging Receipt of Documents: A Quick Guide with Examples Acknowledgement for Presentation [9 Examples] Acknowledgement for Job Offer [3 Examples] Acknowledgement for Business Plan [4 Examples] Acknowledgement for Work Immersion [5 Examples] Acknowledgement of Receipt of Appraisal [3 Examples] Acknowledegment of Debt [5 Examples] Resignation Acknowledgement for Employers [5 Examples]

Academic Acknowledgement for Research Paper [5 Examples] Acknowledgement for Internship Report [5 Examples] Acknowledgement for Thesis and Dissertation [15 Examples] Acknowledgement for Portfolio [5 Examples] Acknowledgement for Case Study [4 Examples] Acknowledgement for Academic Research Paper [5 Examples] Acknowledgement for College/School Assignment [5 Examples] Acknowledgemet to God in Reports [5 Examples]

Others Acknowledgement to Funeral Attendees [5 Examples] Funeral Acknowledgement Templates (for Newspapers and Websites) Common Website Disclaimers to Protect Your Online Business Notary Acknowledgement [5 Examples]

How-to Guides on Academic Writing and Others

Most popular How to Write an Acknowledgement: The Complete Guide for Students How to Write an Acknowledgement for College Project? How to Write a Dedication Page for a Thesis or Dissertation? More on acknowledgements How to Write Acknowledgment for a Dissertation or a Thesis? Is Acknowledgement and Dedication the Same? Thesis or Dissertation How to Write a Master’s Thesis: The Ultimate Guide How to Write a Thesis Proposal? How to Write an Abstract for a Thesis? How to Write a Preface for a Thesis? Others How to Write an Introduction for a Research Paper? 7 Real Research Paper Examples to Get You Started How to Write Cover Letter for an Internship Program? How to Write an Internship Acceptance Letter? How to Write a Leave Application? For Schools and the Workplace How to Write a Resignation Letter?

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Dedication in Dissertation: 5 Tips for Consistent Progress

A dedication in a dissertation is a personal tribute to someone or a group of people who have inspired or helped the author with their thesis. It is usually a single sentence at the beginning of the dissertation, serving as a meaningful personal touch to acknowledge those who have supported the author throughout their research journey.

The importance of dedications in dissertations cannot be understated. They provide an opportunity for the author to express gratitude and appreciation to those who have played a significant role in their academic pursuits. Dedications can serve as a testament to the author’s personal and professional growth, as well as a way to honor individuals who have made a profound impact on their lives.

In this article, we will explore:

The significance of dedications in dissertations
Guidance on how to write them effectively
Different types of dedications with examples

By understanding these aspects, you will be able to create a powerful dedication that adds value to your dissertation and resonates with your readers.

Types of Dedication in a Dissertation

1. informal dedication.

An informal dedication in a dissertation is a personal and heartfelt expression of gratitude to individuals who have played a significant role in the author’s academic journey. It is characterized by its casual and warm tone, often reflecting the author’s genuine emotions and appreciation. Informal dedications can take various forms, ranging from lighthearted anecdotes to sincere acknowledgments of support.

Examples of informal dedications in dissertations:

“To my parents, whose unwavering encouragement and love have been my guiding light throughout this challenging but rewarding academic pursuit.”
“In loving memory of my dear friend, whose passion for learning continues to inspire me every day.”

These examples illustrate how informal dedications can encompass diverse sentiments, making them deeply personal and meaningful to the author.

2. Formal Dedication

When it comes to dedications in dissertations , there are various types that authors can choose from to express their gratitude and appreciation. In addition to informal dedications, another common type is the formal dedication. Let’s explore what a formal dedication entails and provide some examples of how it can be incorporated into dissertations.

A formal dedication is characterized by its professional tone and structure. It is usually concise and straightforward, focusing on expressing gratitude to specific individuals or groups who have played a significant role in supporting the author throughout their research journey. Unlike informal dedications, which may incorporate personal anecdotes or lighthearted language, formal dedications maintain a more serious and respectful tone.

Here are a few examples of formal dedications found in dissertations:

“To my advisor, Dr. Jane Smith, whose guidance and expertise have been invaluable in shaping this research.”
“In memory of my late grandfather, John Johnson, whose unwavering support and encouragement inspired me to pursue this academic endeavor.”
“To my parents, John and Sarah Davis, for their unwavering belief in my abilities and constant encouragement throughout this challenging process.”

As you can see from these examples, formal dedications focus on acknowledging specific individuals who have made a significant impact on the author’s academic journey. By adopting a more formal tone, these dedications convey a sense of professionalism while still expressing heartfelt gratitude.

3. Anecdotal Dedication

Anecdotal dedication in a dissertation involves sharing a personal story or experience that reflects the author’s gratitude or appreciation. This type of dedication often includes a brief narrative that adds a personal touch to the acknowledgment section. Anecdotal dedications aim to connect with the readers on an emotional level by sharing a specific event or memory that highlights the support or inspiration received during the dissertation process.

Examples of anecdotal dedications in dissertations:

“To my late grandmother, whose unwavering belief in my academic pursuits continues to inspire me every day. Your wisdom and encouragement have been the guiding light throughout this journey.”
“In loving memory of my mentor, Dr. Smith, whose passion for research and dedication to teaching have left an indelible mark on my academic pursuits. Your guidance will forever resonate in my work.”

These examples illustrate how anecdotal dedications can capture personal connections and honor individuals who have made a meaningful impact on the author’s academic endeavors.

4. Memorial Dedication

A memorial dedication in a dissertation is a heartfelt tribute to someone who has passed away and had a significant impact on the author’s academic journey. It serves as a touching remembrance and acknowledges the influence and support provided by the individual, despite their absence during the completion of the dissertation.

Here are some examples of memorial dedications in dissertations:

“In loving memory of my dear mentor, Professor John Smith, whose wisdom and guidance continue to inspire my academic pursuits. Your legacy lives on through this work.”
“Dedicated to the loving memory of my grandmother, whose unwavering belief in education has been the guiding light throughout my scholarly endeavors. Your spirit remains with me always.”

Guidelines for Writing an Impactful Dedication in Your Dissertation

When it comes to writing a dedication in your dissertation, it is essential to choose the right words and create a meaningful connection with your audience. Here are some guidelines to help you write an impactful dedication:

Choose an Appropriate Dedication : Consider who your audience is and select a dedication that resonates with them. Think about the people who have supported you throughout your research journey and consider their interests, values, and contributions. This will ensure that your dedication is relevant and meaningful to those reading your dissertation.
Establish a Personal Connection : The dedication section is an opportunity to express gratitude and appreciation to the individuals or groups who have played a significant role in your academic pursuits. To establish a personal connection, you can use specific names, anecdotes, or shared experiences that demonstrate the impact these individuals have had on your work. This personal touch adds depth and authenticity to the dedication.
Craft an Effective Dedication Sentence : The dedication sentence sets the tone for the entire section. It should be concise yet powerful, capturing the essence of your gratitude in just a few words. Consider using vivid language or poetic elements to make it memorable. For example:

“To my parents, whose unwavering support has been my guiding light through this academic journey.”

Express Gratitude and Appreciation : The dedication is an opportunity to express your heartfelt thanks to those who have contributed to your success. Be genuine and specific in acknowledging their support, guidance, or inspiration. You can highlight specific instances where their assistance was particularly valuable or mention how their encouragement kept you motivated during challenging times.

“I am grateful for Professor Smith’s invaluable guidance and mentorship throughout this research process. Their expertise and unwavering belief in my abilities have shaped me into the researcher I am today.”

“To my partner, who provided endless love, encouragement, and sacrifices during this demanding journey. Your unwavering support kept me going even when I doubted myself.”

Remember, the dedication is a way to honor and recognize those who have been instrumental in your academic success. Take the time to carefully consider your words and ensure that they truly reflect your gratitude and appreciation.

By following these guidelines, you can create an impactful dedication that not only acknowledges the support you received but also adds a personal touch to your dissertation.

Etiquette for Including Dedications in Dissertations

When including dedications in your dissertation, it’s important to follow proper etiquette guidelines and maintain professionalism. Here are some key things to consider:

Relevance : Make sure the dedication relates to the academic context of the dissertation and fits with the overall tone of the work.
Appropriateness : Be careful when choosing who to mention in the dedication, considering their connection to the research and the formal nature of the document.
Respect : Be sensitive to personal matters and privacy, especially when writing memorial dedications or personal stories.
Consistency : Keep the formatting and language consistent throughout the dedication section to present a professional appearance.
Professional Tone : Use language that is appropriate for a formal document, even in informal dedications, to show sincerity while maintaining scholarly standards.

Following these guidelines will ensure that your dissertation’s dedications add value to your work and show gratitude and respect to those who have supported you academically.

The dedication in a dissertation is an important way to honor and thank those who have supported you during your academic journey. It’s a chance to show gratitude to the people who have helped you with your research. By acknowledging their impact, you are adding a meaningful personal touch to your dissertation, creating a lasting record of the connections and relationships that have enriched your academic pursuit.

Whether it’s an informal dedication filled with warmth and personal stories or a formal dedication showing respect and thanks, recognizing those who have played a crucial role in your dissertation is a powerful gesture. It shows not only appreciation but also reveals your character and integrity as a researcher.

The dedication section in your dissertation is more than just a customary part at the beginning; it represents the essence of your academic journey, reflecting the relationships, experiences, and connections that have shaped your scholarly pursuits. In this way, dedications go beyond being formalities; they are evidence of how human connections are vital in the quest for knowledge.

As you prepare to write your dedication, see it as an opportunity to genuinely express gratitude and make a lasting impact on your readers.

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Introduction

Copyright Page

Dedication, acknowledgements, preface (optional), table of contents.

List of Tables, Figures, and Illustrations

List of Abbreviations

List of symbols.

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Sample Pages

I. Order and Components

Please see the sample thesis or dissertation pages throughout and at the end of this document for illustrations. The following order is required for components of your thesis or dissertation:

Dedication, Acknowledgements, and Preface (each optional)
Table of Contents, with page numbers
List of Tables, List of Figures, or List of Illustrations, with titles and page numbers (if applicable)
List of Abbreviations (if applicable)
List of Symbols (if applicable)
Introduction, if any
Main body, with consistent subheadings as appropriate
Appendices (if applicable)
Endnotes (if applicable)
References (see section on References for options)

Many of the components following the title and copyright pages have required headings and formatting guidelines, which are described in the following sections.

Please consult the Sample Pages to compare your document to the requirements. A Checklist is provided to assist you in ensuring your thesis or dissertation meets all formatting guidelines.

The title page of a thesis or dissertation must include the following information:

Title Page with mesaurements described in surrounding text

The title of the thesis or dissertation in all capital letters and centered 2″ below the top of the page.
Your name, centered 1″ below the title. Do not include titles, degrees, or identifiers. The name you use here does not need to exactly match the name on your university records, but we recommend considering how you will want your name to appear in professional publications in the future.

Notes on this statement:

When indicating your degree in the second bracketed space, use the full degree name (i.e., Doctor of Philosophy, not Ph.D. or PHD; Master of Public Health, not M.P.H. or MPH; Master of Social Work, not M.S.W. or MSW).
List your department, school, or curriculum rather than your subject area or specialty discipline in the third bracketed space. You may include your subject area or specialty discipline in parentheses (i.e., Department of Romance Languages (French); School of Pharmacy (Molecular Pharmaceutics); School of Education (School Psychology); or similar official area).
If you wish to include both your department and school names, list the school at the end of the statement (i.e., Department of Pharmacology in the School of Medicine).
A dissertation submitted to the faculty at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Public Policy.
A thesis submitted to the faculty at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in the School of Dentistry (Endodontics).
A thesis submitted to the faculty at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in the Department of Nutrition in the Gillings School of Global Public Health.
A dissertation submitted to the faculty at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the School of Education (Cultural Studies and Literacies).
The words “Chapel Hill” must be centered 1″ below the statement.
One single-spaced line below that, center the year in which your committee approves the completed thesis or dissertation. This need not be the year you graduate.
Approximately 2/3 of the way across the page on the right-hand side of the page, 1″ below the year, include the phrase “Approved by:” (with colon) followed by each faculty member's name on subsequent double-spaced lines. Do not include titles such as Professor, Doctor, Dr., PhD, or any identifiers such as “chair” or “advisor” before or after any names. Line up the first letter of each name on the left under the “A” in the “Approved by:” line. If a name is too long to fit on one line, move this entire section of text slightly to the left so that formatting can be maintained.
No signatures, signature lines, or page numbers should be included on the title page.

Include a copyright page with the following information single-spaced and centered 2″ above the bottom of the page:

Copyright Page with mesaurements described in surrounding text

This page immediately follows the title page. It should be numbered with the lower case Roman numeral ii centered with a 1/2″ margin from the bottom edge.

Inclusion of this page offers you, as the author, additional protection against copyright infringement as it eliminates any question of authorship and copyright ownership. You do not need to file for copyright in order to include this statement in your thesis or dissertation. However, filing for copyright can offer other protections.

See Section IV for more information on copyrighting your thesis or dissertation.

Include an abstract page following these guidelines:

Abstract page with mesaurements described in surrounding text

Include the heading “ABSTRACT” in all capital letters, and center it 2″ below the top of the page.
One double-spaced line below “ABSTRACT”, center your name, followed by a colon and the title of the thesis or dissertation. Use as many lines as necessary. Be sure that your name and the title exactly match the name and title used on the Title page.
One single-spaced line below the title, center the phrase “(Under the direction of [advisor's name])”. Include the phrase in parentheses. Include the first and last name(s) of your advisor or formal co-advisors. Do not include the name of other committee members. Use the advisor's name only; do not include any professional titles such as PhD, Professor, or Dr. or any identifiers such as “chair” or “advisor”.
Skip one double-spaced line and begin the abstract. The text of your abstract must be double-spaced and aligned with the document's left margin with the exception of indenting new paragraphs. Do not center or right-justify the abstract.
Abstracts cannot exceed 150 words for a thesis or 350 words for a dissertation.
Number the abstract page with the lower case Roman numeral iii (and iv, if more than one page) centered with a 1/2″ margin from the bottom edge.

Please write and proofread your abstract carefully. When possible, avoid including symbols or foreign words in your abstract, as they cannot be indexed or searched. Avoid mathematical formulas, diagrams, and other illustrative materials in the abstract. Offer a brief description of your thesis or dissertation and a concise summary of its conclusions. Be sure to describe the subject and focus of your work with clear details and avoid including lengthy explanations or opinions.

Your title and abstract will be used by search engines to help potential audiences locate your work, so clarity will help to draw the attention of your targeted readers.

You have an option to include a dedication, acknowledgements, or preface. If you choose to include any or all of these elements, give each its own page(s).

Dedication page with mesaurements described in surrounding text

A dedication is a message from the author prefixed to a work in tribute to a person, group, or cause. Most dedications are short statements of tribute beginning with “To…” such as “To my family”.

Acknowledgements are the author's statement of gratitude to and recognition of the people and institutions that helped the author's research and writing.

A preface is a statement of the author's reasons for undertaking the work and other personal comments that are not directly germane to the materials presented in other sections of the thesis or dissertation. These reasons tend to be of a personal nature.

Any of the pages must be prepared following these guidelines:

Do not place a heading on the dedication page.
The text of short dedications must be centered and begin 2″ from the top of the page.
Headings are required for the “ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS” and “PREFACE” pages. Headings must be in all capital letters and centered 2″ below the top of the page.
The text of the acknowledgements and preface pages must begin one double-spaced line below the heading, be double-spaced, and be aligned with the document's left margin with the exception of indenting new paragraphs.
Subsequent pages of text return to the 1″ top margin.
The page(s) must be numbered with consecutive lower case Roman numerals (starting with the page number after the abstract) centered with a 1/2″ margin from the bottom edge.

Include a table of contents following these guidelines:

Table of Contents page with mesaurements described in surrounding text

Include the heading “TABLE OF CONTENTS” in all capital letters, and center it 2″ below the top of the page.
Include one double-spaced line between the heading and the first entry.
The table of contents should not contain listings for the pages that precede it, but it must list all parts of the thesis or dissertation that follow it.
If relevant, be sure to list all appendices and a references section in your table of contents. Include page numbers for these items but do not assign separate chapter numbers.
Entries must align with the document's left margin or be indented to the right of the left page margin using consistent tabs.
Major subheadings within chapters must be included in the table of contents. The subheading(s) should be indented to the right of the left page margin using consistent tabs.
If an entry takes up more than one line, break up the entry about three-fourths of the way across the page and place the rest of the text on a second line, single-spacing the two lines.
Include one double-spaced line between each entry.
Page numbers listed in the table of contents must be located just inside the right page margin with leaders (lines of periods) filling out the space between the end of the entry and the page number. The last digit of each number must line up on the right margin.
Information included in the table of contents must match the headings, major subheadings, and numbering used in the body of the thesis or dissertation.
The Table of Contents page(s) must be numbered with consecutive lower case Roman numerals centered with a 1/2″ margin from the bottom edge.

Lists of Tables, Figures, and Illustrations

If applicable, include a list of tables, list of figures, and/or list of illustrations following these guidelines:

Lists of Figures page with mesaurements described in surrounding text

Include the heading(s) in all capital letters, centered 1″ below the top of the page.
Each entry must include a number, title, and page number.
Assign each table, figure, or illustration in your thesis or dissertation an Arabic numeral. You may number consecutively throughout the entire work (e.g., Figure 1, Figure 2, etc.), or you may assign a two-part Arabic numeral with the first number designating the chapter in which it appears, separated by a period, followed by a second number to indicate its consecutive placement in the chapter (e.g., Table 3.2 is the second table in Chapter Three).
Numerals and titles must align with the document's left margin or be indented to the right of the left page margin using consistent tabs.
Page numbers must be located just inside the right page margin with leaders (lines of periods) filling out the space between the end of the entry and the page number. The last digit of each number must line up on the right margin.
Numbers, titles, and page numbers must each match the corresponding numbers, titles, and page numbers appearing in the thesis or dissertation.
All Lists of Tables, Figures, and Illustrations page(s) must be numbered with consecutive lower case Roman numerals centered with a 1/2″ margin from the bottom edge.

If you use abbreviations extensively in your thesis or dissertation, you must include a list of abbreviations and their corresponding definitions following these guidelines:

List of Abbreviations with mesaurements described in surrounding text

Include the heading “LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS” in all capital letters, and center it 1″ below the top of the page.
Arrange your abbreviations alphabetically.
Abbreviations must align with the document's left margin or be indented to the right of the left page margin using consistent tabs.
If an entry takes up more than one line, single-space between the two lines.
The List of Abbreviations page(s) must be numbered with consecutive lower case Roman numerals centered with a 1/2″ margin from the bottom edge.

If you use symbols in your thesis or dissertation, you may combine them with your abbreviations, titling the section “LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND SYMBOLS”, or you may set up a separate list of symbols and their definitions by following the formatting instructions above for abbreviations. The heading you choose must be in all capital letters and centered 1″ below the top of the page.

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Introduction
Copyright Page
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Citations and Bibliography
Page Numbers
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Dedication, acknowledgements, & preface

Dedication, Acknowledgements, and Preface sections are all optional pages. But, what is the difference between these three?

Dedication — A personal tribute to someone or a group of people. Example: "To my parents."

Acknowledgements — A professional tribute to a person or people who helped you with the thesis. Example: "I wish to thank my thesis advisor for the hours of help in the lab making sure the experiments were set up properly and guiding me through the thesis process."

Preface ( sometimes confused with Foreward or Prologue ) — A very rarely included section that details why you are qualified to write about your topic of your thesis or why you became interested in the topic (for example, an anecdote about a childhood incident that led you to become interested in the topic). Do not confuse this with the literature review; this is more of a personal story.

The video below gives more examples of what can be included in these sections. Note: If your dedication is short (like "To my parents"), you may choose not to include the "Dedication" heading at the top of the page. A demonstration of how to format the dedication page this way is shown below.

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Next: Headings and Subheadings >>
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Acknowledgements for PhD Thesis and Dissertations – Explained
Doing a PhD

The Purpose of Acknowledgements

The acknowledgement section of a thesis or dissertation is where you recognise and thank those who supported you during your PhD. This can be but is not limited to individuals, institutions or organisations.

Although your acknowledgements will not be used to evaluate your work, it is still an important section of your thesis. This is because it can have a positive (or negative for that matter) influence the perception of your reader before they even reach the main body of your work.

Who Should I Acknowledge?

Acknowledgements for a PhD thesis will typically fall into one of two categories – professional or personal.

Within these categories, who you thank will ultimately be your decision. However, it’s imperative that you pay special attention to the ‘professional’ group. This is because not thanking someone who has played an important role in your studies, whether it be intentional or accidental, will more often than not be seen as a dismissal of their efforts. Not only would this be unfair if they genuinely helped you, but from a certain political aspect, it could also jeopardise any opportunities for future collaborations .

Professional Acknowledgements

This may include, but is not limited to:

Funding bodies/sponsorship providers
Supervisors
Research group and lab assistants
Research participants
Proofreaders

Personal Acknowledgements

Key family members and friends
Individuals who inspired you or directly influenced your academic journey
Anyone else who has provided personal support that you would like to mention

It should be noted that certain universities have policies which state only those who have directly supported your work, such as supervisors and professors, should be included in your acknowledgements. Therefore, we strongly recommend that you read your university guidelines before writing this section of your thesis.

How to Write Acknowledgements for PhD Thesis

When producing this section, your writing style can be more informal compared to the rest of your thesis. This includes writing in first person and using more emotive language. Although in most cases you will have complete freedom in how you write this section of your thesis, it is still highly advisable to keep it professional. As mentioned earlier, this is largely because it will be one of the first things your assessors will read, and so it will help set the tone for the rest of your work.

In terms of its structure, acknowledgements are expected to be ordered in a manner that first recognises the most formal support before moving onto the less formal support. In most cases, this follows the same order that we have outlined in the ‘Who Should I Thank’ section.

When thanking professionals, always write out their full name and provide their title. This is because although you may be on a first-name basis with them, those who read your thesis will not. By providing full names and titles, not only do you help ensure clarity, but it could also indirectly contribute to the credibility of your thesis should the individual you’re thanking be well known within your field.

If you intend to include a list of people from one institution or organisation, it is best to list their names in alphabetical order. The exception to this is when a particular individual has been of significant assistance; here, it would be advisable to list them.

How Long Should My Acknowledgements Be?

Acknowledgements vary considerably in length. Some are a single paragraph whilst some continue for up to three pages. The length of your acknowledgement page will mostly depend on the number of individuals you want to recognise.

As a general rule, try to keep your acknowledgements section to a single page. Although there are no word limits, creating a lengthy acknowledgements section dilutes the gratitude you’re trying to express, especially to those who have supported you the most.

Where Should My Acknowledgements Go?

In the vast majority of cases, your acknowledgements should appear directly after your abstract and before your table of contents.

However, we highly advise you to check your university guidelines as a few universities set out their own specific order which they will expect you to follow.

Phrases to Help You Get Started

Dissertation acknowledgements example for researchers and PhD students

We appreciate how difficult it can be to truly show how grateful you are to those who have supported you over the years, especially in words.

To help you get started, we’ve provided you with a few examples of sentences that you can complete or draw ideas from.

I am deeply grateful to XXX…
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to XXX…
I would like to offer my special thanks to XXX…
I would like to extend my sincere thanks to XXX…
…for their assistance at every stage of the research project.
…for their insightful comments and suggestions.
…for their contribution to XXX.
…for their unwavering support and belief in me.

Thesis Acknowledgement Examples

Below are three PhD thesis acknowledgment samples from which you can draw inspiration. It should be noted that the following have been extracted from theses which are freely available in the public domain. Irrespective of this, references to any individual, department or university have been removed for the sake of privacy.

First and foremost I am extremely grateful to my supervisors, Prof. XXX and Dr. XXX for their invaluable advice, continuous support, and patience during my PhD study. Their immense knowledge and plentiful experience have encouraged me in all the time of my academic research and daily life. I would also like to thank Dr. XXX and Dr. XXX for their technical support on my study. I would like to thank all the members in the XXX. It is their kind help and support that have made my study and life in the UK a wonderful time. Finally, I would like to express my gratitude to my parents, my wife and my children. Without their tremendous understanding and encouragement in the past few years, it would be impossible for me to complete my study.

I would like to thank my supervisors Dr. XXX and Dr. XXX for all their help and advice with this PhD. I would also like to thank my sisters, whom without this would have not been possible. I also appreciate all the support I received from the rest of my family. Lastly, I would like to thank the XXX for the studentship that allowed me to conduct this thesis.

I would like to thank my esteemed supervisor – Dr. XXX for his invaluable supervision, support and tutelage during the course of my PhD degree. My gratitude extends to the Faculty of XXX for the funding opportunity to undertake my studies at the Department of XXX, University of XXX. Additionally, I would like to express gratitude to Dr. XXX for her treasured support which was really influential in shaping my experiment methods and critiquing my results. I also thank Dr. XXX, Dr. XXX, Dr. XXX for their mentorship. I would like to thank my friends, lab mates, colleagues and research team – XXX, XXX, XXX, XXX for a cherished time spent together in the lab, and in social settings. My appreciation also goes out to my family and friends for their encouragement and support all through my studies.

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The Proper Way To Write And Format A Dissertation Dedication

After spending months conducting in-depth research, creating outlines, and drafting version after version of a dissertation – one might begin to agonize over one more detail: The dedication in dissertation. Fortunately, the dedication is actually pretty simple to write in comparison to all other sections of the dissertation, and can be done in a matter of a few hours. It’s pretty straightforward but there are still a handful of things one should consider. Here’s what you need to know about properly writing and formatting a dedication of dissertation.

What Exactly is the Dedication and What Does it Accomplish?

Most published works have a dedication page which can include a quote from another resource or a direct message to someone who is or has played an important part to the author’s life. The same concept applies to academic works. You can see from various dissertation dedications examples that students will credit or give recognition to someone who has been inspirational or has been of assistance at some point in these students’ lives.

Choosing Someone You’d Like to Dedicate the Work To

The person you choose to dedicate your work to is entirely up to you, but if you review any other dissertation dedication sample you will see that with most academic works a student will usually give credit to his or her advisor as well as to any agency that may have helped in providing resources to conduct the research. Additionally, if a student feels their passion for a discipline is the result to someone else in their lives, you may see a short sentence dedicating the work to that certain someone.

Reviewing Several Samples of a Well-Written Dedication

It’s pretty simple to review several samples because you simply don’t have to do a lot of reading. I myself read about a dozen or so and even borrowed some ideas to come up with different ways to appropriately express my thanks to family members and the dedicated department staff at my university. I recommend you head down to the library and check out a short stack of dissertations and quickly scan through the dedications made in them.

Formatting the Dissertation Dedication Correctly

Finally, the easiest part: formatting the dissertation dedication page. A dedication will only be a few sentences long and sit on a separate page to any other part of the document. Use the same type face and font size as the rest of the document, and be sure to set the dedication about one third down the page. That’s all there is to it.

Including a short dedication to any funding agencies, advisors, and even family members is a great way of expressing one’s gratitude for any assistance in the completion of this capstone project. However, there are some institutions that discourage “run of the mill” comments. In lieu of a personal comment you can consider using dissertation dedicate quotes, which are more general but still express a kind gesture. Either way, always check to see what your graduate department office says about this and stick to any requirements or guidelines and don’t hesitate to review several dissertation dedication examples for more ideas.

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Dissertation Acknowledgements

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Dissertation acknowledgements: examples and writing tips.

One thing that causes unnecessary stress for many doctoral candidates is writing their dissertation acknowledgements (The other stress is finding out how much a doctoral robe costs for graduation.)

The challenge is creating a balance between thanking everyone who made a meaningful contribution to your dissertation and the political aspects of who should be included.

In my case I used a dedication page to acknowledge someone who inspired me beginning when I was five years old, to pursue a doctorate. This allowed me to provide a special honor while including a wider range of individuals in my dissertation acknowledgement. I believe it is especially poignant when you present a printed copy of your dissertation to the person in the dedication section.

Dissertation Acknowledgements: Examples

For the acknowledgements, there are a variety of approaches. Rather than list them I've provided a list of dissertation acknowledgements examples for you to look at. What you write is pretty much up to you but make sure to give yourself time to look it over several times. Once it's printed or posted to your university repository it's difficult to change.

If you want to see more dissertation acknowledgments examples your best bet is to search for your institution's name and the term "dissertation repository" in Google. That way you can see what has been done recently at your institution or even by your advisor's former doctoral candidates.

Finally, if you want to see what a dissertation looks like after it's been written up and published as an article, take a look at my recent article based on my dissertation (free for download).

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Dissertation acknowledgments [with examples]

What are dissertation acknowledgements?

What to consider when writing your dissertation acknowledgments, who to thank in your dissertation acknowledgments, what (and what not) to write in your dissertation acknowledgments, good examples of dissertation acknowledgments, a final word on writing dissertation acknowledgments: have fun, frequently asked questions about dissertation acknowledgments, related articles.

While you may be the sole author of your dissertation, there are lots of people who help you through the process—from your formal dissertation advisors to the friends who may have cooked meals so that you could finish your last chapter . Dissertation acknowledgments are a chance to thank everyone who had a hand in the completion of your project.

Dissertation acknowledgments are a brief statement of your gratitude to advisors, professors, peers, family, and friends for their help and expertise.

In this guide, we’ll cover:

the most important things to consider when you’re writing your dissertation acknowledgments
who to thank in your dissertation acknowledgments
what (and what not) to write in your dissertation acknowledgments
short examples of dissertation acknowledgments

Once you’re at the stage where you’re writing your dissertation acknowledgments, you may be tempted to kick back and relax. After all, the hard part of writing the dissertation itself is over and a list of thanks should be simple to churn out.

However, the acknowledgments are an important part of your overall work and are something that most people who read your dissertation, including prospective employers, will look at.

Tip: The best dissertation acknowledgements are concise, sincere, and memorable.

Approach this part of the process, brief as it may be compared to the long haul of writing the dissertation, with the same high level of care and attention to detail. It’s an explicit and permanent statement of who made a real impact on your work and contributed to your academic success.

Plus, the people you thank are often deeply moved by being included—some even go so far as to frame the acknowledgments. Aim to make yours sincere, memorable and something that people will be touched by.

First things first: who should you include in your dissertation acknowledgments? If you’re not sure who to thank, try the brainstorming technique to generate some ideas. Consider these two approaches:

Make a list of everyone, both professional and personal, who was involved at any point during your work on your dissertation, and then thin down the list from there.
Make a list of the pivotal aspects of your process and think about who was involved and how they helped.

As you select the people and groups to include in your dissertation acknowledgments, keep in mind that it’s essential to acknowledge your supervisor and anyone else with a visible connection to your work.

It’s an unfortunate reality that not every supervisor goes above and beyond to provide feedback and guidance to the students they are supposed to supervise. However, leaving them out, even if you personally felt disappointed by their involvement or lack thereof, could be seen as a snub.

You should end up with a fairly short list of people to thank. While being mindful of professional etiquette and personal feelings, be choosy about who makes the final cut since your acknowledgments should be limited to no more than a page.

Now that you have your list of people and groups to thank, it’s time to start writing. Before your first pen or keystroke, however, check your university’s guidelines as your institution may have specific rules around what can and cannot be included.

The standard practice is to begin with the formal and then progress to the informal, so the first people to mention would be:

supervisors
committee members
other professional contacts

Use their full names and titles and go into brief detail about how they contributed to your work.

Once those are done, you can move on to the personal thanks, which can include friends, family, even pets. If you are so inclined, it is also considered appropriate to thank God or make mention of spiritual support.

You may also choose to inject a little humor at this point, but don’t get carried away and definitely don’t include sarcasm or critical comments of any kind, including self-critical ones. Remember that the acknowledgments precede your dissertation, so you want to be taken seriously.

A couple more basics that are essential when creating your acknowledgments:

Position: Acknowledgments should be placed after the title page and before the abstract.
Perspective: Write from the first-person perspective and speak in your own voice.

A really good way to get a sense of how to write your own dissertation acknowledgments is to read ones written by others. Notice which ones you respond particularly well to and use them as a model upon which to base your own.

Here are some good examples to help you get started:

I couldn’t have reached this goal without the help of many people in my life. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank them for their support.

First, my sincere thanks to my dissertation committee. The value of their guidance cannot be overstated. Dr. Elaine Gooding and Dr. Matthew Hunter provided much wisdom that helped me chart my course. I couldn’t have asked for a better supervisor than Dr. Fiona Moore, whose knowledge and experience guided me every step of the way.

Next, I’d like to thank my partner, Elliott. Your votes of confidence kept me going when my spirits dipped. I couldn’t have done this without you.

Last but not least, I’d like to acknowledge the emotional support provided by my family and friends. We made it to the top of the mountain! I look forward to celebrating with all of you.

This example is shorter, but still contains the key components:

Several people played a decisive role in my success and I would like to take this opportunity to thank them.

My chair, Dr. Ronald Saulk, provided invaluable support and infinite patience and I am truly grateful for all of his wisdom and guidance. I also owe the entire staff of the Wilhelm Library a debt of gratitude. From tracking down books and arranging for interlibrary loans to keeping the coffee maker in the lobby well-stocked and in good working order, they offered the practical help and kind gestures that made all the difference.

I’d also like to thank my family and God, for always being there for me.

One final piece of advice: enjoy this process. Writing a dissertation doesn’t happen every day, and the opportunity to acknowledge the important people in your life in a published format is as rare as it is wonderful.

What’s more, this part of your dissertation is unlike any other. It’s unbounded by the conventions that apply to the formal work. It’s a chance to really flex some creative muscle and let your personality shine through. So make the most of it and have fun!

In your dissertation acknowledgments, you thank everyone who has contributed to your work or supported you along the way. Who you want to thank is a very personal choice, but you should include your supervisors and anyone else with a visible connection to your work. You may also thank friends, family, and partners.

First, you need to come up with a list of people you want to thank in your dissertation acknowledgments. As a next step, begin with the formal and then progress to the informal, so the first people to mention would be supervisors, mentors, committees, and other professional contacts. Then, you can move on to the personal thanks, which can include friends, family, even pets.

Who you acknowledge in your dissertation is ultimately up to you. You should, however, thank your supervisor and anyone else with a visible connection to your work. Leaving them out, even if you personally felt disappointed by their involvement or lack thereof, could be seen as a snub. In addition, you can thank friends, partners or family.

There are many ways so you can acknowledge your dissertation supervisor. Some examples can be found in this article above. If you need more examples, you can find them here .

While acknowledgments are usually more present in academic theses, they can also be a part of research papers. In academic theses, acknowledgments are usually found at the beginning, somewhere between abstract and introduction. In research papers, acknowledgments are usually found at the end of the paper.

How to Write a Dedication

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And the dedication goes to…

When you have finally completed the gruelling yet wonderful process of writing a book, short story , dissertation, etc., you are then faced with the difficult decision of dedicating this source of all your hard work to someone special. Here are some helpful tips to ease your anxiety and assist you in writing a dedication page.

Picking a person

The most difficult part of writing this piece of front matter is choosing who you would like to dedicate your work to. Some writers may find it to be the most difficult part of the whole process. When choosing who to write your dedication for, think about the process you just went through and who helped you get through it. This could include a variety of people, including a parent, sibling, or other family member, a spouse or partner, a friend, a supervisor, a colleague, or even a pet. This is a very personal choice and there is no wrong decision.

Naming names

After you have decided who you will write your dedication for, you must decide how you are going to identify them. This will be based on your own personal preference and what is appropriate, according to your relationship with that person. The identification could vary from formal to informal.

On the formal end of the spectrum, your dedication could be addressed to Dr. So and So, Mr. X, or even Mother and Father. In between formal and informal, there are options like Mom, Dad, My sister, My friend, a person’s first and last name (no title), etc. On the informal side, you could use the first name or nickname of someone you know.

Reason for the dedication

The next component in writing your dedication is explaining why you chose this person. Many authors provide a reason for their dedication selections. As with the whole dedication process, this is an extremely personal and subjective decision. The dedication could simply be: "For my mom"; others may choose to explain their decision: "For my mom; without her I would not be here." You may want to write a funny anecdote about the person, an experience you shared, or even a private joke shared only by the two of you. As seen in our example dedication page, there are many types of dedications, each with it's own style. Your reason is completely dependent on your personality and your relationship with the person to whom you are dedicating your work.

Addressing the dedication

There are many ways you can address your dedication. You could write, "I dedicate this book to …", "This is dedicated to …", "To: …", "For: …", or simply just start writing your dedication without any formal address. It should be on its own page so everyone will get the hint that it is a dedication page, even if there isn't any formal address. Take into consideration the person you have chosen to dedicate your work to, your personality, and the formality of your relationship and the address will follow suit.

Alternative dedications

It has been extremely popular over the years to write a dedication page using alternative formats. Authors have used poems or funny anecdotes to express their gratitude. In the past, many dedications were often written in the style of a formal letter.

The most important things to remember when writing a dedication are to keep it simple, concise, and ensure that it truly reflects your personality and your relationship with the person the dedication is for. Remember to get your finished dedication edited by one of our book editors . You don't want to overlook calling your spouse the pettiest person in the world when you really meant the prettiest person in the world!

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Thesis / dissertation formatting manual (2024).

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The Dedication Page is optional. If you choose to include a Dedication Page, please ensure that:

You are using the same font as in the rest of your manuscript.
No images are included.
Page number ii appears centered at the bottom of the page.

Please note that the Dedication Page is different from the Acknowledgements Page.

Dedication Page Example

Here is an example of a dedication page from the template:

Screenshot of Dedication Page from Template

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Thesis & Dissertation Acknowledgements | Tips & Examples

Thesis & Dissertation Acknowledgements | Tips & Examples

Published on 4 May 2022 by Tegan George . Revised on 4 November 2022.

The acknowledgements section is your opportunity to thank those who have helped and supported you personally and professionally during your thesis or dissertation process.

Thesis or dissertation acknowledgements appear between your title page and abstract and should be no longer than one page.

In your acknowledgements, it’s okay to use a more informal style than is usually permitted in academic writing , as well as first-person pronouns . Acknowledgements are not considered part of the academic work itself, but rather your chance to write something more personal.

To get started, download our step-by-step template in the format of your choice below. We’ve also included sample sentence starters to help you construct your acknowledgments section from scratch.

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Who to thank in your acknowledgements, how to write acknowledgements, acknowledgements section example, acknowledgements dos and don’ts, frequently asked questions.

Generally, there are two main categories of acknowledgements: professional and personal .

A good first step is to check your university’s guidelines, as they may have rules or preferences about the order, phrasing, or layout of acknowledgements. Some institutions prefer that you keep your acknowledgements strictly professional.

Regardless, it’s usually a good idea to place professional acknowledgements first, followed by any personal ones. You can then proceed by ranking who you’d like to thank from most formal to least.

Chairs, supervisors, or defence committees
Funding bodies
Other academics (e.g., colleagues or cohort members)
Editors or proofreaders
Librarians, research/laboratory assistants, or study participants
Family, friends, or pets

Typically, it’s only necessary to mention people who directly supported you during your thesis or dissertation. However, if you feel that someone like a secondary school physics teacher was a great inspiration on the path to your current research, feel free to include them as well.

Professional acknowledgements

It is crucial to avoid overlooking anyone who helped you professionally as you completed your thesis or dissertation. As a rule of thumb, anyone who directly contributed to your research should be mentioned.

A few things to keep in mind include:

Even if you feel your chair didn’t help you very much, you should still thank them first to avoid looking like you’re snubbing them.
Be sure to follow academic conventions, using full names with titles where appropriate.
If several members of a group or organisation assisted you, mention the collective name only.
Remember the ethical considerations around anonymised data. If you wish to protect someone’s privacy, use only their first name or a generic identifier (such as ‘the interviewees’).

Personal acknowledgements

There is no need to mention every member of your family or friend group. However, if someone was particularly inspiring or supportive, you may wish to mention them specifically. Many people choose to thank parents, partners, children, friends, and even pets, but you can mention anyone who offered moral support or encouragement, or helped you in a tangible or intangible way.

Some students may wish to dedicate their dissertation to a deceased influential person in their personal life. In this case, it’s okay to mention them first, before any professional acknowledgements.

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After you’ve compiled a list of who you’d like to thank, you can then sort your list into rank order. Separate everyone you listed into ‘major thanks’, ‘big thanks’, and ‘minor thanks’ categories.

‘Major thanks’ are given to people who your project would be impossible without. These are often predominantly professional acknowledgements, such as your advisor , chair, and committee, as well as any funders.
‘Big thanks’ are an in-between, for those who helped you along the way or helped you grow intellectually, such as classmates, peers, or librarians.
‘Minor thanks’ can be a catch-all for everyone else, especially those who offered moral support or encouragement. This can include personal acknowledgements, such as parents, partners, children, friends, or even pets.

How to phrase your acknowledgements

To avoid acknowledgements that sound repetitive or dull, consider changing up your phrasing. Here are some examples of common sentence starters you can use for each category.

Note that you do not need to write any sort of conclusion or summary at the end. You can simply end the acknowledgements with your last thank-you.

Here’s an example of how you can combine the different sentences to write your acknowledgements.

A simple construction consists of a sentence starter (in purple highlight ), followed by the person or entity mentioned (in green highlight ), followed by what you’re thanking them for (in yellow highlight .)

Acknowledgements

Words cannot express my gratitude to my professor and chair of my committee for her invaluable patience and feedback. I also could not have undertaken this journey without my defense committee, who generously provided knowledge and expertise. Additionally, this endeavor would not have been possible without the generous support from the MacArthur Foundation, who financed my research .

I am also grateful to my classmates and cohort members, especially my office mates, for their editing help, late-night feedback sessions, and moral support. Thanks should also go to the librarians, research assistants, and study participants from the university, who impacted and inspired me.

Lastly, I would be remiss in not mentioning my family, especially my parents, spouse, and children. Their belief in me has kept my spirits and motivation high during this process. I would also like to thank my cat for all the entertainment and emotional support.

Write in first-person, professional language
Thank your professional contacts first
Include full names, titles, and roles of professional acknowledgements
Include personal or intangible supporters, like friends, family, or even pets
Mention funding bodies and what they funded
Appropriately anonymise or group research participants or non-individual acknowledgments

Don’t:

Use informal language or slang
Go over one page in length
Mention people who had only a peripheral or minor impact on your work

You may acknowledge God in your thesis or dissertation acknowledgements , but be sure to follow academic convention by also thanking the relevant members of academia, as well as family, colleagues, and friends who helped you.

Yes, it’s important to thank your supervisor(s) in the acknowledgements section of your thesis or dissertation .

Even if you feel your supervisor did not contribute greatly to the final product, you still should acknowledge them, if only for a very brief thank you. If you do not include your supervisor, it may be seen as a snub.

In the acknowledgements of your thesis or dissertation, you should first thank those who helped you academically or professionally, such as your supervisor, funders, and other academics.

Then you can include personal thanks to friends, family members, or anyone else who supported you during the process.

The acknowledgements are generally included at the very beginning of your thesis or dissertation, directly after the title page and before the abstract .

In a thesis or dissertation, the acknowledgements should usually be no longer than one page. There is no minimum length.

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Dissertation & Thesis Manual

Preparation and Submission Manual Overview

Doctoral dissertations and master’s theses.

Doctoral dissertations and master’s theses submitted to UC San Diego must meet the requirements set by the Graduate Council of the University of California San Diego for the degree candidate to be eligible for a graduate degree. A doctoral dissertation must be the result of original research conducted in the candidate’s specialization and must be approved in its entirety by the student’s doctoral committee. A master’s thesis must be a significant research work that must be approved in its entirety by the master’s committee.

The final version of the dissertation/thesis must conform to the details outlined in the " Preparation and Submission Manual for Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses. " For reference, we have provided some highlights below, but please refer to the full PDF Manual for complete instructions.

We have also made a template available as an inital resource to assist students with proper formatting.

Co-author permission letters are submitted electronically via the Kuali Permission Letter Submission Form . (see section below, "Use of Published Material," for additional information)

Specifications and Formatting

Minimum Margins

The margins of your thesis/dissertation should be from 1" on all sides. (Slightly larger margins are acceptable, but should be a minimum of 1 inch.)

Font and Font Sizes

A font size of at least 10 must be used for the text; students may choose one of the following font sizes: 10pt, 11pt or 12pt. Standard fonts are Arial, Century Gothic, Helvetica, or Times New Roman. A consistent font must be used throughout the entire dissertation or thesis.

Page Numbers

All page numbers are centered at the bottom of the page, 0.5” from the bottom edge.

Except where noted below, each page of the entire dissertation or thesis must be numbered consecutively; pages should be numbered according to the following standards:

Neither the title page nor the blank or copyright page is to be numbered; however, the two pages are counted when numbering the preliminary pages that follow.
The dissertation/thesis approval page is always numbered as page “iii”.
The preliminary pages following the title and blank or copyright pages must be numbered consecutively beginning with lower case Roman numeral “iii” on the dissertation/thesis approval page. All preliminary pages are to be numbered using lower case Roman numerals (following the title and blank or copyright pages, begin with iii, iv, v, vi, etc.). This includes the dissertation/thesis approval page, dedication, epigraph, table of contents, list of abbreviations, list of symbols, list of illustrations, list of figures, list of schemes, list of tables, list of photographs, preface, acknowledgements, vita (required for doctoral dissertations), and the abstract. The page numbers must be placed at the bottom of the page and centered 0.5” from the bottom.
The main body of the text and any back matter must be numbered consecutively with Arabic numerals beginning with “1” (1, 2, 3, etc.), including text, illustrative materials, notes, appendices and bibliography. All pages are numbered at the bottom of the page and centered.

Correct pagination (no missing pages, blank pages, or duplicate numbers or pages) is required for the doctoral dissertation or master’s thesis to be acceptable.

Page Organization

Preliminary Pages

Except for the title page and blank or copyright page, all preliminary pages are numbered with lower case Roman numerals at the center bottom of the page. Pages are numbered in sequence, and page numbers are centered and placed 0.5” from the bottom of the page.

The name of the conferring institution – UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SAN DIEGO – appears in all capital letters at the top of the page.
The title should be specific, unambiguous, and descriptive of the research, with easily identifiable key words that will ensure electronic retrieval.
Scientific titles must use words, not symbols, formulas, superscripts or Greek letters.
Doctoral students should refer to their document as a dissertation. Master’s students should refer to their document as a thesis.
“in” should be all lowercase and on a line alone.
The degree title listed should be the title that UC San Diego will actually confer; if unsure, contact your Graduate Coordinator.
“by” should be all lowercase and on a line alone.
Students may use either their legal or lived name as it is listed on the UC San Diego official record and remain consistent throughout the document
All committee members must be listed, chair first, using the title Professor. If professor is not applicable to all committee members, list all names without any titles. Use double spacing between “Committee in Charge” and the chair’s name. Alphabetize all members after chair and single space all names. Indent all committee members 0.5” from “Committee in Charge”. (This section is the only section of the title page that is not centered.)
Degree year: Students must use the year of the quarter of degree conferral.
The title page is not numbered; it is counted as page “i” in the numbering of the preliminary pages. The title and blank or copyright pages are the only manuscript pages without page numbers.

Dissertation/Thesis Approval Page

This page is always numbered page iii. Page numbers from here forward in the preliminary pages of the document will vary for individual students, depending on which of the optional pages described below students choose to include. The numbers must be internally consistent for the document.

There is no header on the dissertation/thesis approval page. The text at the top of the page is either left justified or fully justified. The text at the bottom of the page is centered. All information should be centered on the page vertically.

Effective November 2020, faculty signatures are not collected on the dissertation/thesis approval page. Faculty committee member approval is captured on the combined Final Report Form (this form is initiated and managed by the department/program graduate coordinator). Students should check with their department/program graduate coordinator to verify that the combined form is being used. The formatted page iii must still be included in the dissertation/thesis and must follow the format described above.

All dissertations or theses are required to have a table of contents. List the page number that each section first appears on. Use proper capitalization and include header and sectional titles exactly as they appear within the dissertation or thesis (for example, if “Chapter” is used in the text headers, it must be used in the Table of Contents).

If illustrations such as figures, tables, graphs, maps, diagrams, photos, etc., are scattered throughout, make a separate “List of Figures,” “List of Tables,” “List of Graphs,” etc. to follow the table of contents.

Acknowledgements

The acknowledgements, along with any other preliminary sections or parts of the dissertation or thesis, must be reviewed and approved by the committee members.

See the section “Using Published Material” (in the full PDF manual, and in the excerpted section below) if any portion of the dissertation or thesis is co-authored, published, submitted for publication, or is being prepared for publication. A paragraph acknowledging all co-authors and publishers is required in the acknowledgements page and as the last paragraph of text at the end of each applicable chapter.

Permission letters from the committee chair and all co-authors must be submitted electronically via the Kuali permission letter submission form prior to or the day of the student’s final document review . See the full manual for sample letters and additional information. Click here for step by step instructions and an overview of the Kuali form.

An abstract should provide a clear impression of the content and major divisions of the dissertation or thesis. Abstracts of doctoral dissertations must not exceed 350 words; master’s theses abstracts must not exceed 250 words.

Figures and Tables

All figures and tables must be accompanied by a caption. Captions for figures go below the figure. Captions for tables go above the table.

All figures and tables must have their captions formatted the same, ie numbering, spacing, bold/italicized text, text alignment (left, centered, justified), font.

Figures/tables and their captions need to fit on one page and within the page margins. If they cannot fit on one page, then format the captions as a facing caption, where the caption goes on the page before the figure/table. For example, page 1 would be the figure caption (no other text), and page 2 would be the figure itself.

If figures/tables go on multiple pages, then the caption must be on each page that the figure/table appears. Table headers must also be on each page.

Appendices and References

Appendices typically contain supporting material such as data sheets, questionnaire samples, illustrations, maps, charts, etc. Appendices may be single-spaced.

References/Biolography/Works Cited

The format of the references and/or bibliography should follow that of the student’s discipline and should be consistent throughout the dissertation/thesis.
All authors must be listed. Do not depersonalize non-primary authors by referring to them in the bibliography as et al.
Bibliographies, references, and works cited are to be single-spaced with a double space between entries, and should be the last entry in each chapter or in the dissertation/thesis.

Use of Published Material and Co-Author Permissions

If students are using material which has been submitted for publication or has been published, students must read the full text that follows and see the manual for additional details.

Students must obtain permission letters from all co-authors, including committee members and UCSD faculty. Students submit the co-author letters to GEPA electronically via the Kuali permission letter submission form for any chapter or portion of a chapter in the dissertation or thesis to which one or more of the following applies:

Students have co-authors (regardless of whether or not students are submitting it for publication);
The chapter or portion thereof is being prepared for publication;
The chapter or portion thereof has been submitted for publication;
The chapter or portion thereof has been published.

If approved by the committee members, reports of research undertaken during graduate study at UC San Diego that have been published or submitted for publication in appropriate media may be accepted in their printed form in full or in part as the dissertation or thesis.

If the material has co-authors other than the committee chair, the student must obtain permission letters from all co-authors giving their approval for the co-authored material to be used. This must be done even if copyright has been retained. Students need to determine if the publisher’s permission is also required. Students collect their signed co-author permission letters and cover letter from their committee chair and submit electronically via the Kuali permission letter submission form prior to or the day of their final document review with GEPA.

Click here for a sample/template of the cover letter from the committee chair and the permission letter(s) from co-author(s).

Click here for step by step instructions and an overview of the Kuali form.

Copyright and Publishing Options

All students receive copyright when creating and publishing their dissertation/thesis.
Proquest offers to file for additional copyright with the US Copyright Office for a fee. Students can file for additional copyright through Proquest or on their own through the US Copyright Office .

Publishing Options

Your dissertation/thesis is published in two different libraries, Proquest and eScholarship.
Traditional = your paper can only be accessed if someone has access to Proquest or pays to access your paper. The default option.
Open access = your paper is available to anyone on the interent for free. You would have to pay a fee for this option.
eScholarship is the University of California's digital library. All papers are open access in eScholarship.

Dissertation and Thesis Release Form (Embargo)

Students, with approval from their committee chair, may choose to immediately publish or put an embargo/delay on publishing their disserrtation/thesis. The default option is immediate publication.

If an embargo is chosen, the options are for a 1 or 2 year delay. (Note: Students in the MFA in Writing program are required to have a 10 year embargo).
If the embargo needs to be extended, a request from the committee chair must be submitted to the Assistant Dean of Academic Affairs via email before the embargo expires . Dissertations/theses cannot be re-embargoed once the embargo expires.

Your embargo choice must match in Proquest and on the dissertation/thesis release form . The release form must be signed by the student and the committee chair and must be uploaded as part of the submission to ProQuest.

Please note: If you delay the release of your work, access to the full text of your work will be delayed for the period that you specify. However, the citation and abstract of your work will be available through ProQuest and through the UC California Digital Library (eScholarship).

Dissertation and Thesis Release Form (Embargo Form)

Embargo options are for a 1 or 2 year delay. (Note: Students in the MFA in Writing program are required to have a 10 year embargo).

Embargo Extension: If the embargo needs to be extended beyond initial embargo period, a request from the committee chair (with endorsement from the department chair / program director) must be submitted to the Assistant Dean of Academic Affairs via email before the embargo expires . The request must specify the reason for the additional time and how long the embargo should continue. Dissertations/theses cannot be re-embargoed once the embargo expires. Please see the Policy on Open Access for Theses and Dissertations: https://policy.ucop.edu/doc/2000688/ .

For further questions about doctoral dissertation or master’s thesis formatting, students may contact the appropriate GEPA Academic Affairs Advisor .

Master’s thesis formatting questions:

Kelsey Darvin, [email protected] : Biological Sciences, Biomedical Sciences, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Structural Engineering, Scripps Institution of Oceanography
Kim McCusker , [email protected]: All Arts & Humanities, Physical Sciences, and Social Sciences, Materials Science, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Karen Villavicencio , [email protected] : Bioengineering, Bioinformatics, Chemical Engineering, NanoEngineering, Computer Science and Engineering, Neurosciences

Doctor of Philosophy dissertation formatting questions:

Kelsey Darvin , [email protected]: Structural Engineering
Eliese Maxwell , [email protected] : all other PhD programs (except those listed)
Karen Villavicencio , [email protected]: Chemical Engineering, NanoEngineering

Doctor of Musical Arts, Doctor of Education, all Rady programs, Biomedical Sciences, Biostatistics, and Neurosciences PhD, all joint PhD programs with SDSU, and Master of Public Health (MPH) formatting questions:

Sara Miceli , [email protected]

After fully formatting your doctoral dissertation or master’s thesis you may schedule your appointments at: https://gradforms.ucsd.edu/calendar/ .

Degree Completion
Dissertation & Thesis Submission
Dissertation & Thesis Template

/images/cornell/logo35pt_cornell_white.svg" alt="dissertation dedication"> Cornell University --> Graduate School

Required sections, guidelines, and suggestions.

Beyond those noted on the Formatting Requirements page , the Graduate School has no additional formatting requirements. The following suggestions are based on best practices and historic requirements for dissertations and theses but are not requirements for submission of the thesis or dissertation. The Graduate School recommends that each dissertation or thesis conform to the standards of leading academic journals in your field.

For both master’s and doctoral students, the same basic rules apply; however, differences exist in some limited areas, particularly in producing the abstract and filing the dissertation or thesis.

Information in this guide that pertains specifically to doctoral candidates and dissertations is clearly marked with the term “ dissertation ” or “ doctoral candidates .”
Information pertaining specifically to master’s candidates and theses is clearly marked with the term “ thesis ” or “ master’s candidates .”
All other information pertains to both.

Examples of formatting suggestions for both the dissertation and thesis are available as downloadable templates .

Required? Yes.

Suggested numbering: Page included in overall document, but number not typed on page.

The following format for your title page is suggested, but not required.

The title should be written using all capital letters, centered within the left and right margins, and spaced about 1.5 inches from the top of the page. (For an example, please see the template .)
Carefully select words for the title of the dissertation or thesis to represent the subject content as accurately as possible. Words in the title are important access points to researchers who may use keyword searches to identify works in various subject areas.
Use word substitutes for formulas, symbols, superscripts, Greek letters, etc.
Below the title, at the vertical and horizontal center of the margins, place the following five lines (all centered):

Line 1: A Dissertation [or Thesis]

Line 2: Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School

Line 3: of Cornell University

Line 4: in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of

Line 5: Doctor of Philosophy [or other appropriate degree]

Center the following three lines within the margins:

Line 2: Primary or Preferred Name [as registered with the University Registrar’s Office and displayed in Student Center]

Line 3: month and year of degree conferral [May, August, December; no comma between month and year]

Copyright Page

Suggested numbering: Page included in overall document, but number not typed on page

The following format for your copyright page is suggested, but not required.

A notice of copyright should appear as the sole item on the page centered vertically and horizontally within the margins: © 20__ [Primary or Preferred Name [as registered with the University Registrar’s Office]. Please note that there is not usually a page heading on the copyright page.
The copyright symbol is a lowercase “c,” which must be circled. (On Macs, the symbol is typed by pressing the “option” and “g” keys simultaneously. If the font does not have the © symbol, type the “c” and circle it by hand. On PCs, in the insert menu, choose “symbol,” and select the © symbol.)
The date, which follows the copyright symbol, is the year of conferral of your degree.
Your name follows the date.

Required? Yes.

Suggested numbering: Page(s) not counted, not numbered

Abstract formats for the doctoral dissertation and master’s thesis differ greatly. The Graduate School recommends that you conform to the standards of leading academic journals in your field.

Doctoral candidates:

TITLE OF DISSERTATION
Student’s Primary or Preferred Name, Ph.D. [as registered with the University Registrar’s Office]
Cornell University 20__ [year of conferral]
Following the heading lines, begin the text of the abstract on the same page.
The abstract states the problem, describes the methods and procedures used, and gives the main results or conclusions of the research.
The abstract usually does not exceed 350 words in length (about one-and-one-half correctly spaced pages—but not more than two pages).

Master’s candidate:

In a thesis, the page heading is simply the word “ABSTRACT” in all capital letters and centered within the margins at the top of the page. (The thesis abstract does not display the thesis title, author’s name, degree, university, or date of degree conferral.)
The abstract should state the problem, describe the methods and procedures used, and give the main results or conclusions.
The abstract usually does not exceed 600 words in length, which is approximately two-and-one-half to three pages of correctly spaced typing.
In M.F.A. theses, an abstract is not required.

Biographical Sketch

Suggested numbering: iii (may be more than one page)

Type number(s) on page(s).

The following content and format are suggested:

The biographical sketch is written in third-person voice and contains your educational background. Sometimes additional biographical facts are included.
As a page heading, use “BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH” in all capital letters, centered on the page.
Number this page as iii.

Required? Optional.

Suggested numbering: iv (may be more than one page)

The dedication page is not required and can contain whatever text that you would like to include. Text on this page does not need to be in English.

Acknowledgements

Suggested numbering: v (may be more than one page)

The following content and format are suggested, not required.

The acknowledgements may be written in first-person voice. If your research has been funded by outside grants, you should check with the principal investigator of the grant regarding proper acknowledgement of the funding source. Most outside funding sources require some statement of acknowledgement of the support; some also require a disclaimer from responsibility for the results.
As a page heading, use “ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS” in all capital letters, centered on the page.

Suggested numbering: vi (may be more than one page)

The following are suggestions.

As a page heading, use “TABLE OF CONTENTS” in all capital letters and centered on the page.
List the sections/chapters of the body of the dissertation or thesis. Also, list preliminary sections starting with the biographical sketch. (Title page, copyright page, and abstract are not listed.)
For theses and dissertations, the conventional format for page numbers is in a column to the right of each section/chapter title. The first page of each chapter/section is stated with a single number. Table of contents usually do not include a range of page numbers, such as 7-22.
The table of contents is often single-spaced.

Two-Volume Theses or Dissertations

If the dissertation or thesis consists of two volumes, it is recommended, but not required, that you list “Volume II” as a section in the table of contents.

List of Figures, Illustrations, and Tables

Suggested numbering: vii (may be more than one page)

If included, type number(s) on page(s).

As described in the formatting requirements above, figures and tables should be consecutively numbered. The Graduate School recommends that you conform to the styles set by the leading academic journals in your field. The items below are formatting suggestions based on best practices or historic precedents.

Table of contents format:

As a page heading, use “LIST OF FIGURES,” “LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS,” or “LIST OF TABLES” in all capital letters, centered on the page.
There should be separate pages for “LIST OF FIGURES,” “LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS,” or “LIST OF TABLES” even if there is only one example of each.
The list should contain enough of the titles or descriptions so readers can locate items using the list. (It may not be necessary to include entire figure/illustration/table captions.)
The list should contain the page number on which each figure, illustration, or table is found, as in a table of contents.
The list of figures/illustrations/tables may be single-spaced.

Page format:

Figures/illustrations/tables should be placed as close as possible to their first mention in the text. They may be placed on a page with no text above or below, or placed directly into the text. If a figure/illustration/table is placed directly into the text, text may appear above or below the figure/illustration/table; no text may wrap around the figure/illustration/table.
If a figure/illustration/table appears on a page without other text, it should be centered vertically within the page margins. Figures/illustrations/tables should not be placed at the end of the chapter or at the end of the dissertation or thesis.
Figure/illustration/table numbering should be either continuous throughout the dissertation or thesis, or by chapter (e.g. 1.1, 1.2; 2.1, 2.2, etc.). The word “Figure,” “Illustration,” or “Table” must be spelled out (not abbreviated), and the first letter must be capitalized.
A caption for a figure/illustration should be placed at the bottom of the figure/illustration. However, a caption for a table must be placed above the table.
If the figure/illustration/table, not including the caption, takes up the entire page, the figure/illustration/table caption should be placed alone on the preceding page and centered vertically and horizontally within the margins. (When the caption is on a separate page, the List of Figures or List of Illustrations or List of Tables can list the page number containing the caption.)
If the figure/illustration/table, not including the caption, takes up more than two pages, it should be preceded by a page consisting of the caption only. The first page of the figure/illustration/table must include the figure/illustration/table (no caption), and the second and subsequent pages must also include, at the top of the figure/illustration/table, words that indicate its continuance—for example, “Figure 5 (Continued)”—and on these pages the caption is omitted.
If figures/illustrations/tables are too large, they may be reduced slightly so as to render a satisfactory product or they must either be split into several pages or be redone. If a figure/illustration/table is reduced, all lettering must be clear, readable, and large enough to be legible. All lettering, including subscripts, must still be readable when reduced 25% beyond the final version. All page margin requirements must be maintained. Page numbers and headings must not be reduced.
While there are no specific rules for the typographic format of figure/illustration/table captions, a consistent format should be used throughout the dissertation or thesis.
The caption of a figure/illustration/table should be single-spaced, but then captions for all figures/illustrations/tables must be single-spaced.
Horizontal figures/illustrations/tables should be positioned correctly—i.e., the top of the figure/illustration/table will be at the left margin of the vertical page of the dissertation or thesis (remember: pages are bound on the left margin). Figure/illustration/table headings/captions are placed with the same orientation as the figure/illustration/table when they are on the same page as the figure/illustration/table. When they are on a separate page, headings and captions are always placed in vertical orientation, regardless of the orientation of the figure/illustration/table. Page numbers are always placed as if the figure/illustration/table was vertical on the page.

Photographs should be treated as illustrations. To be considered archival, photographs must be black-and-white. (If actual color photographs are necessary, they should be accompanied by black-and-white photographs of the same subject.) Color photos obtained digitally do not need to be accompanied by a black-and-white photograph. Make a high-resolution digital version of each photograph and insert it into your electronic document, following the guideline suggestions for positioning and margins.

Optional Elements

List of abbreviations.

As a page heading, use “LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS” in all capital letters, centered on the page.

List of Symbols

As a page heading, use “LIST OF SYMBOLS” in all capital letters, centered on the page.

Suggested numbering: xi (may be more than one page)

As a page heading, use “PREFACE” in all capital letters, centered on the page.

Body of the Dissertation or Thesis: Text

Suggested numbering: Begin page number at 1

Text (required)
Appendix/Appendices (optional)
Bibliography, References, or Works Cited (required)

Please note that smaller font size may be appropriate for footnotes or other material outside of the main text. The following suggestions are based on best practice or historic precedent, but are not required.

Chapter headings may be included that conform to the standard of your academic field.
Textual notes that provide supplementary information, opinions, explanations, or suggestions that are not part of the text must appear at the bottom of the page as footnotes. Lengthy footnotes may be continued on the next page. Placement of footnotes at the bottom of the page ensures they will appear as close as possible to the referenced passage.

Appendix (or Appendices)

An appendix (-ces) is not required for your thesis or dissertation. If you choose to include one, the following suggestions are based on best practice or historic precedent.

As a page heading, use “APPENDIX” in all capital letters, centered on the page.
Place in an appendix any material that is peripheral, but relevant, to the main text of the dissertation or thesis. Examples could include survey instruments, additional data, computer printouts, details of a procedure or analysis, a relevant paper that you wrote, etc.
The appendix may include text that does not meet the general font and spacing requirements of the other sections of the dissertation or thesis.

Bibliography (or References or Works Cited)

A bibliography, references, or works cited is required for your thesis or dissertation. Please conform to the standards of leading academic journals in your field.

As a page heading, use “BIBLIOGRAPHY” (or “REFERENCES” or “WORKS CITED”) in all capital letters, centered on the page. The bibliography should always begin on a new page.
Bibliographies may be single-spaced within each entry but should include 24 points of space between entries.

Suggested numbering: Continue page numbering from body

If you choose to include a glossary, best practices and historic precedent suggest using a page heading, use “GLOSSARY” in all capital letters, centered on the page.

Suggested numbering: Continue page numbering from glossary

If you choose to include one, best practices and historic precedent suggest using a page heading, use “INDEX” in all capital letters, centered on the page.

Font Samples

Sample macintosh fonts.

Palatino 12
Garamond 14
New Century School Book
Helvetica 12 or Helvetica 14
Times New Roman 12
Times 14 (Times 12 is not acceptable)
Symbol 12 is acceptable for symbols

Sample TeX and LaTeX Fonts

CMR 12 font
Any font that meets the above specifications

Sample PC Fonts

Helvetica 12

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Knowledge Base
Dissertation

How to Write a Dissertation or Thesis Proposal

Published on September 21, 2022 by Tegan George . Revised on July 18, 2023.

When starting your thesis or dissertation process, one of the first requirements is a research proposal or a prospectus. It describes what or who you want to examine, delving into why, when, where, and how you will do so, stemming from your research question and a relevant topic .

The proposal or prospectus stage is crucial for the development of your research. It helps you choose a type of research to pursue, as well as whether to pursue qualitative or quantitative methods and what your research design will look like.

You can download our templates in the format of your choice below.

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What should your proposal contain, dissertation question examples, what should your proposal look like, dissertation prospectus examples, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about proposals.

Prior to jumping into the research for your thesis or dissertation, you first need to develop your research proposal and have it approved by your supervisor. It should outline all of the decisions you have taken about your project, from your dissertation topic to your hypotheses and research objectives .

Depending on your department’s requirements, there may be a defense component involved, where you present your research plan in prospectus format to your committee for their approval.

Your proposal should answer the following questions:

Why is your research necessary?
What is already known about your topic?
Where and when will your research be conducted?
Who should be studied?
How can the research best be done?

Ultimately, your proposal should persuade your supervisor or committee that your proposed project is worth pursuing.

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Strong research kicks off with a solid research question , and dissertations are no exception to this.

Dissertation research questions should be:

Focused on a single problem or issue
Researchable using primary and/or secondary sources
Feasible to answer within the timeframe and practical constraints
Specific enough to answer thoroughly
Complex enough to develop the answer over the space of a paper or thesis
Relevant to your field of study and/or society more broadly
What are the main factors enticing people under 30 in suburban areas to engage in the gig economy?
Which techniques prove most effective for 1st-grade teachers at local elementary schools in engaging students with special needs?
Which communication streams are the most effective for getting those aged 18-30 to the polls on Election Day?

An easy rule of thumb is that your proposal will usually resemble a (much) shorter version of your thesis or dissertation. While of course it won’t include the results section , discussion section , or conclusion , it serves as a “mini” version or roadmap for what you eventually seek to write.

Be sure to include:

A succinct introduction to your topic and problem statement
A brief literature review situating your topic within existing research
A basic outline of the research methods you think will best answer your research question
The perceived implications for future research
A reference list in the citation style of your choice

The length of your proposal varies quite a bit depending on your discipline and type of work you’re conducting. While a thesis proposal is often only 3-7 pages long, a prospectus for your dissertation is usually much longer, with more detailed analysis. Dissertation proposals can be up to 25-30 pages in length.

Writing a proposal or prospectus can be a challenge, but we’ve compiled some examples for you to get your started.

Example #1: “Geographic Representations of the Planet Mars, 1867-1907” by Maria Lane
Example #2: “Individuals and the State in Late Bronze Age Greece: Messenian Perspectives on Mycenaean Society” by Dimitri Nakassis
Example #3: “Manhood Up in the Air: A Study of Male Flight Attendants, Queerness, and Corporate Capitalism during the Cold War Era” by Phil Tiemeyer

If you want to know more about AI for academic writing, AI tools, or research bias, make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples or go directly to our tools!

Research bias

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Self-serving bias
Availability heuristic
Halo effect
Hindsight bias
Deep learning
Generative AI
Machine learning
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The research methods you use depend on the type of data you need to answer your research question .

If you want to measure something or test a hypothesis , use quantitative methods . If you want to explore ideas, thoughts and meanings, use qualitative methods .
If you want to analyze a large amount of readily-available data, use secondary data. If you want data specific to your purposes with control over how it is generated, collect primary data.
If you want to establish cause-and-effect relationships between variables , use experimental methods. If you want to understand the characteristics of a research subject, use descriptive methods.

A thesis or dissertation outline is one of the most critical first steps in your writing process. It helps you to lay out and organize your ideas and can provide you with a roadmap for deciding what kind of research you’d like to undertake.

Generally, an outline contains information on the different sections included in your thesis or dissertation , such as:

Your anticipated title
Your abstract
Your chapters (sometimes subdivided into further topics like literature review , research methods , avenues for future research, etc.)

A well-planned research design helps ensure that your methods match your research aims, that you collect high-quality data, and that you use the right kind of analysis to answer your questions, utilizing credible sources . This allows you to draw valid , trustworthy conclusions.

The priorities of a research design can vary depending on the field, but you usually have to specify:

Your research questions and/or hypotheses
Your overall approach (e.g., qualitative or quantitative )
The type of design you’re using (e.g., a survey , experiment , or case study )
Your sampling methods or criteria for selecting subjects
Your data collection methods (e.g., questionnaires , observations)
Your data collection procedures (e.g., operationalization , timing and data management)
Your data analysis methods (e.g., statistical tests or thematic analysis )

A dissertation prospectus or proposal describes what or who you plan to research for your dissertation. It delves into why, when, where, and how you will do your research, as well as helps you choose a type of research to pursue. You should also determine whether you plan to pursue qualitative or quantitative methods and what your research design will look like.

It should outline all of the decisions you have taken about your project, from your dissertation topic to your hypotheses and research objectives , ready to be approved by your supervisor or committee.

Note that some departments require a defense component, where you present your prospectus to your committee orally.

Formulating a main research question can be a difficult task. Overall, your question should contribute to solving the problem that you have defined in your problem statement .

However, it should also fulfill criteria in three main areas:

Researchability
Feasibility and specificity
Relevance and originality

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Thesis & Dissertation Acknowledgements
Learn how to write acknowledgements for your thesis or dissertation, thanking those who have helped you professionally and personally. Find out who to thank, how to phrase your thanks, and what to avoid in this guide from Scribbr. Download a template and see an example of an acknowledgements section.
How to Write a Dedication for a Thesis or Dissertation?
Writing a dedication page for your thesis or dissertation is a great way to honor the people who have supported you throughout the journey of your research and writing. In this guide, we'll show you everything you need to know about writing a dedication page for your thesis or dissertation. From formatting it to what you can include, we'll ...
Dedication in Dissertation: Examples and Guidance
This dissertation is a testament to your enduring influence and the values you instilled in me." Guidance for Writing a Dedication Identify the recipient. When deciding who or what to dedicate your dissertation to, it's crucial to reflect on the individuals or entities that have profoundly impacted your academic journey.
Dedication Page for Academic Papers [11 Examples]
Dedication for Dissertation/Thesis: Example #1. I dedicate my dissertation work to my family and many friends. A special feeling of gratitude to my loving parents, William and Louise Johnson whose words of encouragement and push for tenacity ring in my ears. My sisters Katie, Linda and Rhonda have never left my side and are very special.
Examples of Dedications
Book dedication examples to a friend. This book is dedicated to Tim. Thanks for encouraging me to write it. I dedicate this book to my friend and confidante, Jack Millhouse. He was the first person to encourage me to try. To Melissa R., for being a dedicated reader through all those rounds of revision. This one is for you.
Dedication in Dissertation: 5 Tips for Consistent Progress
An informal dedication in a dissertation is a personal and heartfelt expression of gratitude to individuals who have played a significant role in the author's academic journey. It is characterized by its casual and warm tone, often reflecting the author's genuine emotions and appreciation. Informal dedications can take various forms ...
Order and Components
A dedication is a message from the author prefixed to a work in tribute to a person, group, or cause. Most dedications are short statements of tribute beginning with "To…" such as "To my family". Acknowledgements are the author's statement of gratitude to and recognition of the people and institutions that helped the author's research and writing.
Dedication, Acknowledgements, & Preface
Dedication, Acknowledgements, and Preface sections are all optional pages. But, what is the difference between these three? Dedication — A personal tribute to someone or a group of people. Example: "To my parents." Acknowledgements — A professional tribute to a person or people who helped you with the thesis. Example: "I wish to thank my thesis advisor for the hours of help in the lab ...
Acknowledgements for Thesis and Dissertations with Examples
Example 2. I would like to thank my supervisors Dr. XXX and Dr. XXX for all their help and advice with this PhD. I would also like to thank my sisters, whom without this would have not been possible. I also appreciate all the support I received from the rest of my family. Lastly, I would like to thank the XXX for the studentship that allowed me ...
PDF DEDICATION
DEDICATION I dedicate my dissertation work to my family and many friends. A special feeling of gratitude to my loving parents, William and Louise Johnson whose words of encouragement and push for tenacity ring in my ears. My sisters Katie, Linda and Rhonda have never left my side and are very special.
Everything You Need To Know About A Dissertation Dedication
Formatting the Dissertation Dedication Correctly. Finally, the easiest part: formatting the dissertation dedication page. A dedication will only be a few sentences long and sit on a separate page to any other part of the document. Use the same type face and font size as the rest of the document, and be sure to set the dedication about one third ...
Dissertation Acknowledgements: Examples and Information
Dissertation Dedication. In my case I used a dedication page to acknowledge someone who inspired me beginning when I was five years old, to pursue a doctorate. This allowed me to provide a special honor while including a wider range of individuals in my dissertation acknowledgement. I believe it is especially poignant when you present a printed ...
Dissertation acknowledgments [with examples]
Here are some good examples to help you get started: Example 1. I couldn't have reached this goal without the help of many people in my life. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank them for their support. First, my sincere thanks to my dissertation committee. The value of their guidance cannot be overstated. Dr.
How to Write a Dedication
When you have finally completed the gruelling yet wonderful process of writing a book, short story, dissertation, etc., you are then faced with the difficult decision of dedicating this source of all your hard work to someone special.Here are some helpful tips to ease your anxiety and assist you in writing a dedication page.
Dedication Page
The Dedication Page is optional. If you choose to include a Dedication Page, please ensure that: You are using the same font as in the rest of your manuscript. No images are included. Page number ii appears centered at the bottom of the page. Please note that the Dedication Page is different from the Acknowledgements Page.
Thesis & Dissertation Acknowledgements
The acknowledgements section is your opportunity to thank those who have helped and supported you personally and professionally during your thesis or dissertation process. Thesis or dissertation acknowledgements appear between your title page and abstract and should be no longer than one page. In your acknowledgements, it's okay to use a more ...
Dissertation dedications
Overall, the dedication in dissertation is the writer's combination of skills and gratefulness behind the completion of the thesis paper or the dissertation. There's no need for lengthy rambling 57 Times Writers Took Book Dedications To Another Level. You can choose the format and style that suits you for writing.
What Is a Dissertation?
A dissertation is a long-form piece of academic writing based on original research conducted by you. It is usually submitted as the final step in order to finish a PhD program. Your dissertation is probably the longest piece of writing you've ever completed. It requires solid research, writing, and analysis skills, and it can be intimidating ...
Dedication
For Teresa, Adam, and Matthew; Carolyn, Sarah;Past, present, future doctoral students
Dissertation & Thesis Manual
This includes the dissertation/thesis approval page, dedication, epigraph, table of contents, list of abbreviations, list of symbols, list of illustrations, list of figures, list of schemes, list of tables, list of photographs, preface, acknowledgements, vita (required for doctoral dissertations), and the abstract. The page numbers must be ...
Required Sections, Guidelines, and Suggestions : Graduate School
Line 1: A Dissertation [or Thesis] Line 2: Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School. Line 3: of Cornell University. Line 4: in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of. Line 5: Doctor of Philosophy [or other appropriate degree] Center the following three lines within the margins: Line 1: by.
PDF APA Style Dissertation Guidelines: Formatting Your Dissertation
Dissertation Content When the content of the dissertation starts, the page numbering should restart at page one using Arabic numbering (i.e., 1, 2, 3, etc.) and continue throughout the dissertation until the end. The Arabic page number should be aligned to the upper right margin of the page with a running head aligned to the upper left margin.
How to Write a Dissertation or Thesis Proposal
When starting your thesis or dissertation process, one of the first requirements is a research proposal or a prospectus. It describes what or who you want to examine, delving into why, when, where, and how you will do so, stemming from your research question and a relevant topic. The proposal or prospectus stage is crucial for the development ...

Dedication Page for Academic Papers [11 Examples]

Who to include in the dedication section?

Dedication Examples for Thesis or Dissertation

Dedication for Dissertation/Thesis: Example #1

Dedication for Research Paper: Example #1

Dedication for Research Paper: Example #2

Dedication for Research Paper: Example #3

Dedication for College Projects

Dedication for College Project: Example #1

How-to Guides on Academic Writing and Others

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Dedication in Dissertation: 5 Tips for Consistent Progress

Types of Dedication in a Dissertation

2. Formal Dedication

3. Anecdotal Dedication

4. Memorial Dedication

Guidelines for Writing an Impactful Dedication in Your Dissertation

Etiquette for Including Dedications in Dissertations

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