dissertation/thesis

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milan2003_07

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Hi,

Consider the sentence below:

Last year I was in New York City where I started my PhD course. I'm defending my dissertation/thesis upon arrival back in St.Petersburg in two years

What is the correct verb to speak about a long piece of academic writing, which is concerned with a particular field (knowledge domain)?

Thanks
 

milan2003_07

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Oxford AE dictionary:

dissertation:
a long essay on a particular subject, especially one written for a university degree or diploma

thesis: a long piece of writing based on your own ideas and research that you do as part of a university degree, especially a higher degree such as a PhD.

To tell the truth I don't see much difference and hence my question. Are they interchangeable or they are sometimes used in different contexts?
 

Rover_KE

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Last year I was in New York City where I started my PhD course. I'm defending my dissertation/thesis upon arrival back in St.Petersburg in two years' time. Why do you need to defend it?

What is the correct verb to speak about a long piece of academic writing, which is concerned with a particular field? Well, it's not a verb, but a noun.

Surely your tutor in NY told you what to call it.

Rover
 

milan2003_07

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Sorry. The intended word was "word", not "verb", of course. "Thesis" and "dissertation" are nouns.

I made up the sentence about New York. No one ever told me anything. That's why I'm asking to find out what this piece of writing is called.

We always need to defend thesis/dissertations in Russia after they've written and checked. We do this before a committee giving a 20-minute oral talk followed by numerous questions.

Your correction about "two years' time" means that just "two years" is a mistake or your suggestion is aimed at improving the sentence?

Thanks a lot

Best
 

Chicken Sandwich

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PhD thesis and dissertation are both possible. It differs from country to country which term is more common.
 

Barb_D

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In the US, it's a dissertation. Someone who as completed all their studies but has not yet published their dissertation is sometimes calls ABD - all but dissertation, though I've also heard that as "all but doctorate" - everything except the degree itself.
 
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