Dissertation Length: Frequently Asked Questions and Answers

Dissertation length is what frightens students above all. How long should a dissertation be? Is small dissertation length better than big? Let’s consider these and other questions about dissertation length.

Dissertation Length: How Much to Write?

We must admit, it is impossible to give a universal answer for this question. Dissertation length varies from 8,000 words to 50,000 words. It depends on:

• Field of study. As a rule, dissertation length for humanities and social studies is bigger than dissertation length for sciences.
• Level of a dissertation. Doctoral dissertations are longer than master dissertations. 
• Requirements of different universities.

Thus, it is very important to learn dissertation length required by your dissertation guide in advance. You know how narrow your topic should be.

What is better: a short dissertation, or a long one? Short dissertations are great: you will have less to write. Long dissertations are also great: you will be able to choose a broad topic and to find more information. We are sure that you will cope with any dissertation length.

Dissertation Length: Is It Small or Big?

Students are often afraid of dissertation length that seems so huge for them. Indeed, dissertation length is much bigger than essay length or research paper length. It seems for many students that they will simply not find what to write in their dissertations. However, mind that dissertation length includes all following elements:

• Title Page
• Abstract
• Acknowledgements
• Table of Contents
• List of Figures
• List of Tables
• Introduction
• Literature Review
• Methodology
• Findings
• Discussion
• Conclusions and Recommendations
• Bibliography
• Appendices

Indeed, not so little. That is why we recommend to plan in advance how many pages each section should take in order not to do unnecessary extra work and then not to shorten your dissertation text.