Thesis length
Research theses have a word limit that you must comply with.
A PhD thesis should not exceed a total of 100,000 words in length (or 70,000 for most professional doctorates). The word limit includes, ‘everything that the examiner needs to read’ including necessary information such as the abstract, reference list or bibliography, footnotes or endnotes and essential appendices.
A doctoral thesis should be concise. Examiners often criticise excessive length, which frequently indicates poor judgement.
When you submit, you will be asked to confirm that your thesis falls within the relevant word limit.
In exceptional circumstances only, the Dean may grant permission for you to submit a longer thesis. Note: a PhD in Creative Writing or in Translation Studies may be approved a limit of up to 120,000 words on application to the Dean.
You will need to submit a Permission to Exceed the Word Limit form in Panoho, well in advance of submission. Your supervisor will need to approve this request, so discuss this with them first.
Doctoral thesis word limits
- Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)—100,000 words
- Doctor of Health (DHlth)—70,000 words
- Doctor of Nursing (DNurs)—70,000 words
- Doctor of Midwifery (DMid)—70,000 words
- Doctor of Education (EdD)—70,000 words
- Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA)—40,000 words
Refer to the Doctoral Regulations 7.4 for more information.