The people who were always there for discussions on anything that I was unsure of and who have offered invaluable advice that will benefit me throughout my life.

I’d like to express my gratitude to Dr. XXX, my esteemed advisor, for all the guidance, support, and instruction he provided me throughout my doctoral studies. I would like to thank the Faculty of XXX at University XXX for providing me with the resources to pursue graduate study in the XXX Department.

Thesis & Dissertation Acknowledgements | Tips & Examples

The acknowledgements section is your opportunity to thank those who have helped and supported you personally and professionally during your thesis or dissertation process.

Thesis or dissertation acknowledgements appear between your title page and abstract and should be no longer than one page.

In your acknowledgements, it’s okay to use a more informal style than is usually permitted in academic writing, as well as first-person pronouns. Acknowledgements are not considered part of the academic work itself, but rather your chance to write something more personal.

To get started, download our step-by-step template in the format of your choice below. We’ve also included sample sentence starters to help you construct your acknowledgments section from scratch.

Table of contents

Who to thank in your acknowledgements

Generally, there are two main categories of acknowledgements: professional and personal.

A good first step is to check your university’s guidelines, as they may have rules or preferences about the order, phrasing, or layout of acknowledgements. Some institutions prefer that you keep your acknowledgements strictly professional.

Regardless, it’s usually a good idea to place professional acknowledgements first, followed by any personal ones. You can then proceed by ranking who you’d like to thank from most formal to least.

Acknowledgements dos and don’ts

• Write in first-person, professional language
• Thank your professional contacts first
• Include full names, titles, and roles of professional acknowledgements
• Include personal or intangible supporters, like friends, family, or even pets
• Mention funding bodies and what they funded
• Appropriately anonymize or group research participants or non-individual acknowledgments

Frequently asked questions about the acknowledgements section

In the acknowledgements of your thesis or dissertation, you should first thank those who helped you academically or professionally, such as your supervisor, funders, and other academics.

Then you can include personal thanks to friends, family members, or anyone else who supported you during the process.

Even if you feel your supervisor did not contribute greatly to the final product, you must acknowledge them, if only for a very brief thank you. If you do not include your supervisor, it may be seen as a snub.

The acknowledgements are generally included at the very beginning of your thesis, directly after the title page and before the abstract.

In a thesis or dissertation, the acknowledgements should usually be no longer than one page. There is no minimum length.

You may acknowledge God in your dissertation acknowledgements, but be sure to follow academic convention by also thanking the members of academia, as well as family, colleagues, and friends who helped you.

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Tegan George

Tegan is an American based in Amsterdam, with master’s degrees in political science and education administration. While she is definitely a political scientist at heart, her experience working at universities led to a passion for making social science topics more approachable and exciting to students. A well-designed natural experiment is her favorite type of research, but she also loves qualitative methods of all varieties.

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Thesis & Dissertation Title Page | Free Templates & Examples

Your dissertation or thesis title page should include your name, department, institution, degree program, and submission date.

How to Write an Abstract | Steps & Examples

The abstract is a short summary that appears at the start of your paper. It concisely reports your aims, methods, results, and conclusions.

Table of contents

Generally, there are two main categories of acknowledgements: professional and personal.

A good first step is to check your university’s guidelines, as they may have rules or preferences about the order, phrasing, or layout of acknowledgements. Some institutions prefer that you keep your acknowledgements strictly professional.

Regardless, it’s usually a good idea to place professional acknowledgements first, followed by any personal ones. You can then proceed by ranking who you’d like to thank from most formal to least.

Ph.D. Thesis Acknowledgement

This would be unethical if they did help you, and it could also damage your political standing and prevent you from working with them again in the future. You should thank both formal and friendly, don t use overblown language to note people who supported you and briefly explain their contributions to understand how to write an acknowledgement for a thesis.

The final page of any formal document is designated as the acknowledgment page. Avoid adding in any unwarranted opinions or observations, primarily if the paper deals with a highly technical topic. Alternatively, you can try writing the acknowledgement in a more formal tone. Just make it shorter and more conversational than the rest of your paper.

Resources:

https://prothesiswriter.com/blog/how-to-write-an-acknowledgement-for-a-thesis
https://www.scribbr.com/dissertation/acknowledgements/
https://peachyessay.com/blogs/acknowledgement-for-thesis/
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