Those who wish to achieve the highest possible academic degree cannot avoid writing a dissertation as part of a doctoral process. Without this written research work, a doctorate is simply not possible!
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General Definition of the Dissertation
The dissertation – colloquially also called a doctoral thesis – is a scientific treatise with which doctoral candidates must demonstrate that they possess all the specialized knowledge necessary for independent research. The topic of a dissertation can be researched theoretically, empirically, or practically, whereby the approach must be methodologically sound.
In the end, an essential contribution to research or basic research in the chosen academic discipline should emerge. In addition to new findings on the subject investigated, a dissertation must be embedded in the scientific context while taking into account all relevant specialist literature in the field.
In contrast to a bachelor's or master's thesis (more on this in the article on the topic of Thesis), there is no set scope or timeframe for a dissertation. Dissertations often have a page count between 100 and 250 pages – but that is not a rule!
A doctoral dissertation should not be confused with the work submitted earlier in a degree. At US universities the master's piece is usually called a thesis and only the doctoral submission a dissertation, although MIT and some other institutions use thesis at every level. Our guide to what a thesis is sets out which word applies at which level and who sets the length.