Special Notice
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the University Graduate School has updated its guidelines for conducting thesis and dissertation defenses. Click here for more information.
The thesis or dissertation is the capstone work of your academic career. This is your opportunity as a graduate student to apply everything you have studied during and leading up to graduate school and contribute to the academic community.
A thesis or dissertation can take months or even years to complete, and it is one of the final steps in achieving a graduate degree.
At IU, master’s degree candidates complete theses, while doctoral candidates complete dissertations. Each work comes with its own set of requirements, including formatting and deadlines, and both have multiple options for submission. A doctoral dissertation also comes with the added requirement of a defense.
Resources
Indiana University offers a variety of resources to aid in the completion of your thesis or dissertation requirements.
The Indiana Statistical Consulting Center offers assistance for all stages of research:
- Planning projects (experimental design, sample size calculations, grant preparation, and so on)
- Data analysis
- Interpreting and reporting results
The Dissertation Abstract Database is a searchable database of dissertation abstracts from around the world, which you can use to see what your contemporaries are researching.
Almost finished with your degree? This one-stop checklist helps you keep track of everything you need to do to graduate.
