After guiding you through the structure of the dissertation, we received a lot of requests from students regarding how many words is a dissertation. Students wanted us to be specific regarding the length of their dissertations, so we decided to come up with a detailed guide on how long is a dissertation.
Some of the most repeated queries that we observed were:
- How many words is a dissertation?
- What is the length of the abstract of a dissertation?
- How long is a masters dissertation?
- What could be the length of the core chapters for an undergraduate student?
- How lengthy could my PhD dissertation be?
These are some of the many questions that we received and the result is we are here again. We, with our Online Dissertation Help, always encourage students to come up with their academic-related queries. We will answer them up to our best.
But, before we delve deep into how long should a dissertation be, we first need to understand what basically a dissertation is and why it has a significant role in your academics. By understanding the significance of the dissertation, we will be able to know what makes a dissertation a long project.
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🎓 The Dissertation – A Pillar To Your Academic Degree
Well, you must have heard that a dissertation is a long-form essay which is required for the completion of your academic degree. Be it an undergraduate student, a masters degree seeker or a PhD scholar, everyone needs to submit it to their respective institutes by the completion of their degree.
This is something that everyone knows and is not an actual definition of the dissertation.
Let’s understand a dissertation with respect to research.
A dissertation is basically a research project, where you are required to set up a research question or multiple research questions and then go through a rigorous process to come up with the answers to those research questions.
It is just not an academic task, it is research done for a purpose. A dissertation can actually be divided into four main parts.
- Setting up worthy research questions along with some aims and objectives.
- Review the available literature on your research question.
- Undertake your very own research using various sources and data.
- Come up with the final answers to your very own research question.
In a dissertation, you need to assign questions to yourself and answer them by conducting your own research. In this whole process, you are the question setter, you are the researcher, you are the student, and you are the examiner! But obviously, you will not be the one marking your dissertation.
🎓 Significance Of Dissertation In Your Educational Career
There are many reasons why students are required to write such a long piece of paper during their academic journey. The first reason obviously is its submission requirement towards almost all the university degrees. Apart from submitting it and completing your degree, a dissertation can help you in a lot of ways.
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- Improve Your Research Skills: It provides you with an opportunity to test and improve your independent research skills. You are given a suitable amount of time for the submission of a dissertation so that you can work on your research skills. Take assistance from your supervisors, colleagues, professors and friends. There are various tools and software, like ResearchGate, Google Scholar, and MS Excel which can help you do so.
- Develop Interpersonal Skills: You can see an improvement in your interpersonal skills, like communication, report writing, time management, etc.
- Research Your Interests: A dissertation allows you to go in-depth by choosing a topic that interests you a lot. However, make sure that it is relevant to your field of study.
- Chance Of Employment: Since, a dissertation allows you to showcase your critical analysis, time management, and research skills, it improves your chance of getting employment in the respective industry.
Since these mammoth reasons are responsible that you are being given a dissertation as the final project of your degree, you can assume WHY are these dissertations so long.
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📚 Length Of Dissertation Chapters For Each Academic Level
Dissertations are required mostly for the completion of your graduate, postgraduate and doctoral degrees. For each degree, there are separate sets of requirements when it comes to the length of a dissertation. Let’s have a look at how many words are required for each chapter while writing a dissertation for bachelors, masters, and PhD degree.
Introduction Chapter
This is the first chapter of your dissertation where you are required to come up with your research questions, aims and objectives along with your thesis statement. You also touch upon the procedure of your research and the structure you are going to follow to write your dissertation.
Here is the word count distribution of the introduction chapter in a dissertation.
Undergraduate
The length of the introduction chapter for the undergraduate dissertation is 500 to 2250 words.
Masters
For masters dissertation, the length of the introduction chapter is around 1500 to 7500 words.
PhD
PhD Dissertation requires a lot of research and its introduction chapter can be from 3000 to 15000 words.
🔍 Literature Review Chapter
One of the most descriptive chapters in your dissertation is the literature review section. Here you are required to come up with the highlights of the existing literature in terms of your aligned research question, research aims and the objectives of your dissertation.
Here is the word count distribution of the literature review chapter in a dissertation.
Undergraduate
The length of the literature review chapter for the undergraduate dissertation is 1000 to 3750 words.
Masters
For masters dissertation, the length of the literature review chapter is around 3000 to 12500 words.
PhD
PhD Dissertation requires a lot of research and its literature review chapter can be from 6000 to 25000 words.
🔬 Methodology Chapter
The most crucial part of your dissertation is the methodology chapter. In this chapter, you put the reflection on your chosen research design and highlight why you have chosen the particular research method. This chapter allows you to represent your data collection and justify its need for your research question.
Here is the word count distribution of the methodology chapter in a dissertation.
Undergraduate
The length of the methodology chapter for the undergraduate dissertation is 750 to 3000 words.
Masters
For masters dissertation, the length of the methodology chapter is around 2250 to 10000 words.
PhD
PhD Dissertation requires a lot of research and its methodology chapter can be from 4500 to 20000 words.
Results Chapter
In the fourth chapter of your dissertation, you need to come up with the results you have collected through the collection and analysis of your data in the previous section. You show your results without a lot of discussion of their meaning and the next chapter is in line for this purpose.
Here is the word count distribution of the results chapter in a dissertation.
Undergraduate
The length of the results chapter for the undergraduate dissertation is 500 to 2250 words.
Masters
For masters dissertation, the length of the results chapter is around 1500 to 7500 words.
PhD
PhD Dissertation requires a lot of research and its results chapter can be from 3000 to 15000 words.
Discussion Chapter
One of the most critical chapters in your whole dissertation where you need to justify and explain your results with respect to your research question. This is the chapter that contains a good percentage of words in your dissertation.
Here is the word count distribution of the discussion chapter in a dissertation.
Undergraduate
The length of the discussion chapter for the undergraduate dissertation is 1000 to 3750 words.
Masters
For masters dissertation, the length of the discussion chapter is around 3000 to 12500 words.
PhD
PhD Dissertation requires a lot of research and its discussion chapter can be from 6000 to 25000 words.
Conclusion Chapter
You are required to summarise your dissertation in the final chapter which is known as the Conclusion. You start by highlighting your research question, aims and objectives, a slight reflection of the literature, and so on carrying it to your final words.
Here is the word count distribution of the conclusion chapter in a dissertation.
Undergraduate
The length of the conclusion chapter for the undergraduate dissertation is 500 to 2250 words.
Masters
For masters dissertation, the length of the conclusion chapter is around 1500 to 7500 words.
PhD
PhD Dissertation requires a lot of research and its conclusion chapter can be from 3000 to 15000 words.
Now since we have had a detailed overview of chapter-to-chapter distribution for the length of a dissertation, let’s gather it with respect to academic degree for your ease.
❓ How Long Is An Undergraduate Dissertation?
An undergraduate dissertation is usually 5000 to 15000 words with the following distribution among the chapters.
- Introduction Chapter: 500 to 2250 words
- Literature Review Chapter: 1000 to 3750 words
- Methodology Chapter: 750 to 3000 words
- Results Chapter: 500 to 2250 words
- Discussion Chapter: 1000 to 3750 words
- Conclusion Chapter: 500 to 2250 words
❓ How Many Words Are In A Masters Dissertation?
For students seeking masters degree, the length of the dissertation varies from 15000 to 30000 words. These words are divided into chapters as per the below division.
- Introduction Chapter: 1500 to 7500 words
- Literature Review Chapter: 3000 to 12500 words
- Methodology Chapter: 2250 to 10000
- Results Chapter: 1500 to 7500 words
- Discussion Chapter: 3000 to 12500 words
- Conclusion Chapter: 1500 to 7500 words
❓ What Is The Length Of A PhD Dissertation?
Pursuing a PhD degree dissertation comes along with a lot of research, hard work and effort. You are required to put 30000 to 100000 words for your degree completion which can be further distributed in various chapters of the dissertation as follows.
- Introduction Chapter: 3000 to 15000 words
- Literature Review Chapter: 6000 to 25000 words
- Methodology Chapter: 4500 to 20000
- Results Chapter: 3000 to 15000 words
- Discussion Chapter: 6000 to 25000 words
- Conclusion Chapter: 3000 to 15000 words
💾 Words Required To Write An Abstract
An abstract or executive summary is the overview of your whole dissertation which is written purposefully to attract the readers. With the help of your abstract, you are trying to entice your readers to read more about your research.
The abstract is not included in the length of your dissertation and the abstract is around 150 to 1000 words depending upon your degree.
- For Undergraduate: 150 to 300 words
- For Masters: 200 to 500 words
- For PhDs: 300 to 1000 words
❓ How Long Could Be My Acknowledgement?
An acknowledgement is an optional document that you may or may not attach to your dissertation. However, it is considered a good academic and ethical practice to take this opportunity to appreciate the efforts of the people who have helped you throughout your research.
The length of the acknowledgement depends upon you. However, it is recommended to keep the acknowledgement under 300 words.
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✋ Is There Any Word Limit For The Appendices?
Appendices are the last section of your dissertation. Be clear that the word count of the appendices is not included in your actual dissertation.
Appendices are used to justify, clarify, or explain any of your provided data or argument that you think explaining in the dissertation will not directly impact your research question. So, you can use the appendices section to define and prove such concepts.
There is no limit for words as far as your appendices are concerned.
⭕ Reasons For The Variation In Length
There are several reasons why the length of the dissertation varies from discipline to discipline. Various universities have different sets of requirements and it is highly influenced by the nature of your research and the expectations of your professor or supervisor as well.
However, it is clear that the length of the dissertation increases as you move ahead with the level of education. This is because undergraduates as working on the dissertation first time and are required to go through research as a beginner. For masters degree, students need to dig a bit more and conduct more extensive research. Whereas, PhD scholars have to come up with a really detailed, original and comprehensive research covering all the aspects.
✅ Always Adhere To Department & Committee Guidelines
Different universities have different sets of requirements when it comes to the length of a dissertation. However, you must confirm it with your departmental focal person regarding how long is a dissertation for your discipline.
This could differ from one field to another in the same university because universities want their department to be autonomous and decide on their own about the length of the dissertation. For instance, a dissertation written in the field of social sciences is often longer compared to that of hard sciences.
👍 Quality Always Wins The Game
There is no alternative to quality.
Remember, this is not a word game or a war to elongate your papers. The goal of your dissertation is not to reach the allocated word count anyway. You need to keep in mind that you are writing for a purpose. Your aim is to resolve the research questions focusing on your aims and objectives. You are writing this dissertation to give your field a new aspect of research!
🗑 Summarising On How Long Is A Dissertation UK
Let’s quickly recap the whole blog with the help of this tabular representation.
| Degree Levels/
Chapters |
Undergraduates
(words) |
Masters
(words) |
PhDs
(words) |
| Introduction | 500 to 2250 | 1500 to 7500 | 3000 to 15000 |
| Literature Review | 1000 to 3750 | 3000 to 12500 | 6000 to 25000 |
| Methodology | 750 to 3000 | 2250 to 10000 | 4500 to 20000 |
| Results | 500 to 2250 | 1500 to 7500 | 3000 to 15000 |
| Discussion | 1000 to 3750 | 3000 to 12500 | 6000 to 25000 |
| Conclusion | 500 to 2250 | 1500 to 7500 | 3000 to 15000 |
We hope that this guide has proven to be a clear answer to your queries regarding how long is a dissertation. Wish you all the luck for your dissertation endeavours. If you have got your proposal approved, Congratulations! If not, get to know how to write a dissertation proposal in the UK and get our dissertation proposal writing service.
