Paying heed to the word count requirement for Master’s and PhD dissertation is crucial for students. Students should write as briefly as possible with adequate exposition and clarity. Word count length for Masters’s and PhD dissertations varies across universities. Each university has a degree committee that prescribes the length and stylistic restrictions. The Postgraduate and Degree Committees adhere to these limits and requirements. So, it is pertinent for Master’s and PhD students to abide by the degree requirements.

In case of any deviation from degree requirements leads to the rejection of the dissertation and causes delays. If the word limit exceeds the prescribed length, students must seek approval from the concerned degree committee to extend their word limitations. This article will discuss the standard word count requirement in Main and PhD dissertations for different disciplines.

Standard Word Count Requirement for PhD Dissertation

A PhD dissertation must not exceed 80,000 words in length. There is no requirement for a minimum word count. The main text, preface material, footnotes, and references contribute towards the word count. But word limit does not include material in the appendices, bibliography, abstract or executive summary. Students may get permission to exceed the word length in exceptional circumstances if they acquire prior approval.

Standard Word Count Requirement for Masters Dissertation

The dissertation must be no longer than 60,000 words. There is no requirement for a minimum word count. The main text, preface material, footnotes, and references contribute towards the word count. But word count does not include material in the appendices, bibliography, abstract or executive summary. Students may get permission to exceed the word length on the supervisor’s recommendation in exceptional circumstances.

Word count for Master and PhD dissertation differs across the disciplines. Each subject has different word count requirements. Let’s look at the word count requirements for some of the subjects of Masters’s and PhD dissertations.

PhD Dissertation in Biology

The PhD dissertation must be no longer than 60,000 (or 80,000 words with special permission). The word count excludes tables, footnotes, bibliography, and appendices.

Masters’s Dissertation in Biology

The Master’s Dissertation in Biological Science must be under 20,000 words. The word count excludes tables, footnotes, bibliography, and appendices.

PhD Dissertation in Physics

The dissertation must not exceed 60,000 words. Word count includes the summary/abstract, tables, footnotes, and appendices. But, it excludes the table of contents, photographs, diagrams, figure captions, list of figures/diagrams, list of abbreviations/acronyms, bibliography, and acknowledgements.

PhD Dissertation of Chemistry

The PhD dissertation in chemistry must be no longer than 60,000 words. If the word limit exceeds the prescribed length, prior approval is necessary from the concerned authority. The word count is inclusive of summary/abstract, tables and footnotes. The following are not part of the word count:

• Table of contents,
• Photographs and diagrams,
• Figure captions, list of figures/diagrams,
• List of abbreviations/acronyms,
• Bibliography, appendices and acknowledgements are not part of the word count.

PhD and Masters Dissertation of Education

The thesis must be no more than 80,000 for PhD degrees and 60,000 for Masters Degrees. The word count excludes appendices, footnotes, reference lists, and bibliography.

PhD and Masters Dissertation in English

The thesis must be no more than 80,000 words for PhD degrees or fall below 60,000 words. For the Master’s degree, the thesis must not exceed 60,000 words or fall below 45,000 words. The word count for PhD and Masters Dissertation includes all notes and appendices. The word limit excludes the bibliography.

PhD and Masters Dissertation in History

The PhD dissertation must be no longer than 80,000 words and not less than 70,000 words. Master’s thesis should not exceed the length of 50,000 words. The word count is inclusive of appendices and the contents page. But, abstracts, acknowledgements, footnotes, references, notes on transliteration, bibliography, abbreviations and glossary are not a part of the word count. The word count also includes a table of statistics, maps and graphs.

PhD Dissertation in Politics, International Studies, Psychology and Sociology

The PhD thesis must be no longer than 80,000 words, including appendices. Footnotes, references and bibliography are not part of the word count. Footnotes should not account for more than 20% of the dissertation. Researchers should avoid discursive footnotes. They must not use footnotes to provide material otherwise present in the main text.

PhD and Masters Dissertation in Archaeology, Anthropology, Architecture, and History of Art

For the PhD degree, the thesis must be no longer than 80,000 words (about 350 pages) and 60,000 words for the Master’s degree. All text, figures, tables, and photos are included within these constraints, but the bibliography, references, and appendices are not.

PhD and Masters Dissertation in Business Studies

The thesis for a PhD degree must be no more than 80,000 words. The word count includes a table of figures, tables of contents, footnotes, and appendices. The word limit does not include the bibliography. Unless the Degree Committee gives permission, the thesis does not typically surpass 40,000 words. For the Master’s degree in business, the dissertation must be no longer than 40,000 words. The word count includes a table of figures, contents, footnotes and appendices and excludes the bibliography.

Word Count Distribution of Dissertation

A dissertation is more than just a passive record of your research; it usually includes a presentation of an argument or opinions. Put another way; it must say something supported by arguments and facts. If you want it to be both fascinating and academically compelling, you’ll need to raise and explore important themes in addition to presenting your findings. For both Master and PhD dissertations stick to the following structure for word distribution:

• Table of Contents
• The abstract should not exceed the length of 300 words
• Introduction (10% of the total word length)
• Literature Review (20% of the total word count)
• Design and Methodology of the Research (10% of the total word count)
• Implementation of the Research in the Dissertation (15% of the total word count)
• Presentation and Analysis of Data (15% of the total word count)
• Discussion (20% of the total word count)
• Conclusion (10% of the total word count)
• References
• Bibliography
• Appendices

Conclusion

Word count is integral to assessment criteria for Masters’s and PhD dissertations. Word count is important irrespective of whether you are writing a 100-word overview, a 1000-word article or an 80,000-word PhD thesis. All that matters is providing the required details within the prescribed limit. Each student has to abide by the prescribed word limit to demonstrate their understanding of the subject to the degree committees. This practice ensures fairness and enhances the writing style of students. Staying within the word limit necessitates a compact writing style, allowing you to get straight to the point.