Have a language expert improve your writing
Run a free plagiarism check in 10 minutes, generate accurate citations for free.
- Knowledge Base
- Dissertation
- Thesis & Dissertation Acknowledgements | Tips & Examples
Thesis & Dissertation Acknowledgements | Tips & Examples
Published on May 3, 2022 by Tegan George . Revised on November 11, 2022.
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.
Download Word doc Download Google doc
Table of contents
Who to thank in your acknowledgements, how to write acknowledgements, acknowledgements section example, acknowledgements dos and don’ts, frequently asked questions about the acknowledgements section.
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.
- Chairs, supervisors, or defense committees
- Funding bodies
- Other academics (e.g., colleagues or cohort members)
- Editors or proofreaders
- Librarians, research/laboratory assistants, or study participants
- Family, friends, or pets
Typically, it’s only necessary to mention people who directly supported you during your thesis or dissertation. However, if you feel that someone like a high school physics teacher was a great inspiration on the path to your current research, feel free to include them as well.
Professional acknowledgements
It is crucial to avoid overlooking anyone who helped you professionally as you completed your thesis or dissertation. As a rule of thumb, anyone who directly contributed to your research process, from figuring out your dissertation topic to your final proofread, should be mentioned.
A few things to keep in mind include:
- Even if you feel your chair didn’t help you very much, you should still thank them first to avoid looking like you’re snubbing them.
- Be sure to follow academic conventions, using full names with titles where appropriate.
- If several members of a group or organization assisted you, mention the collective name only.
- Remember the ethical considerations around anonymized data. If you wish to protect someone’s privacy, use only their first name or a generic identifier (such as “the interviewees”)/
Personal acknowledgements
There is no need to mention every member of your family or friend group. However, if someone was particularly inspiring or supportive, you may wish to mention them specifically. Many people choose to thank parents, partners, children, friends, and even pets, but you can mention anyone who offered moral support or encouragement, or helped you in a tangible or intangible way.
Some students may wish to dedicate their dissertation to a deceased influential person in their personal life. In this case, it’s okay to mention them first, before any professional acknowledgements.
After you’ve compiled a list of who you’d like to thank, you can then sort your list into rank order. Separate everyone you listed into “major thanks,” “big thanks,” and “minor thanks” categories.
- “Major thanks” are given to people who your project would be impossible without. These are often predominantly professional acknowledgements, such as your advisor, chair, and committee, as well as any funders.
- “Big thanks” are an in-between, for those who helped you along the way or helped you grow intellectually, such as classmates, peers, or librarians.
- “Minor thanks” can be a catch-all for everyone else, especially those who offered moral support or encouragement. This can include personal acknowledgements, such as parents, partners, children, friends, or even pets.
How to phrase your acknowledgements
To avoid acknowledgements that sound repetitive or dull, consider changing up your phrasing. Here are some examples of common sentence starters you can use for each category.
Note that you do not need to write any sort of conclusion or summary at the end. You can simply end the acknowledgements with your last thank you.
Here's why students love Scribbr's proofreading services
Discover proofreading & editing
Here’s an example of how you can combine the different sentences to write your acknowledgements.
A simple construction consists of a sentence starter (in purple highlight ), followed by the person or entity mentioned (in green highlight ), followed by what you’re thanking them for (in yellow highlight .)
Acknowledgements
Words cannot express my gratitude to my professor and chair of my committee for her invaluable patience and feedback. I also could not have undertaken this journey without my defense committee, who generously provided knowledge and expertise. Additionally, this endeavor would not have been possible without the generous support from the MacArthur Foundation, who financed my research .
I am also grateful to my classmates and cohort members, especially my office mates, for their editing help, late-night feedback sessions, and moral support. Thanks should also go to the librarians, research assistants, and study participants from the university, who impacted and inspired me.
Lastly, I would be remiss in not mentioning my family, especially my parents, spouse, and children. Their belief in me has kept my spirits and motivation high during this process. I would also like to thank my cat for all the entertainment and emotional support.
- 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
Don’t:
- Use informal language or slang
- Go over one page in length
- Mention people who had only a peripheral or minor impact on your work
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.
Yes, it’s important to thank your supervisor(s) in the acknowledgements section of your thesis or dissertation .
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.
Cite this Scribbr article
If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.
George, T. (2022, November 11). Thesis & Dissertation Acknowledgements | Tips & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved February 22, 2023, from https://www.scribbr.com/dissertation/acknowledgements/
Is this article helpful?
Tegan George
Other students also liked, dissertation layout and formatting, thesis & dissertation title page | free templates & examples, how to write an abstract | steps & examples, what is your plagiarism score.
- What we check
- Proofreading jobs
- Terms & Conditions
- Privacy Policy
- Academic Proofreading
- Essay Proofreading
- Thesis Proofreading
- Dissertation Proofreading
- 3 Hour Proofreading Service
- 24 hour proofreading service
- 48 hour proofreading service
- PhD proofreading
- Personal statement proofreading
- Document formatting
- Proofreading Website
- Blog Proofreading
- Report Proofreading
- Novel editing services
- Book proofreading service
- Journal Article Editing
14 Dissertation Acknowledgements Examples
Dissertation acknowledgements examples.
Here are 14 dissertation acknowledgements examples to inspire you. They cover a range of academic subjects and are all from UK students. Note how they vary in length, style and substance.
Note – all samples have been taken from documents available in the public realm.
Remember to always keep your acknowledgements to a maximum of a page .
So let’s dive right in!
Thank you to my supervisor, Dr Andrew R., for providing guidance and feedback throughout this project. Thanks also to my wife Anna, for putting up with me being sat in the office for hours on end, and for providing guidance and a sounding board when required.
I would like to thank the following people for helping with this research project: Representatives from Historic England, Historic Scotland, the Society for the Protection of Scottish Buildings and the Sustainable Buildings Alliance for their willingness to impart their knowledge. All the conservation officers and heritage team members who took the time to complete my questionnaire and who contributed so thoroughly through their further comments and emails. I would particularly like to thank those conservation officers who agreed to be interviewed. Brenda P., my tutor, who guided me so positively and who always made me feel confident in my abilities after coming off the phone to her. Jan W. for his help with statistics. My husband and children for their patience and encouragement.
I would like to thank the following people, without whom I would not have been able to complete this research, and without whom I would not have made it through my masters degree! The XYZ team at Johnson University, especially to my supervisor Dr Paul C., whose insight and knowledge into the subject matter steered me through this research. And special thanks to Linda T., whose support as part of her PhD allowed my studies to go the extra mile (sorry for all the extra work Linda!). The residents of Dundee, who took the time to return surveys and allowed me into your homes for follow up surveys, and without whom I would have no content for my thesis. My colleagues at the Old Building Trust and Old Building Foundation, who have supported me and had to put up with my stresses and moans for the past three years of study! And my biggest thanks to my family for all the support you have shown me through this research, the culmination of three years of distance learning. For my kids, sorry for being even grumpier than normal whilst I wrote this thesis! And for my wife Jenny, thanks for all your support, without which I would have stopped these studies a long time ago,. You have been amazing, and I will now clear all the papers off the kitchen table as I promised!
I would like to thank the following people who have helped me undertake this research: My supervisor Dr. Peter B., for his enthusiasm for the project, for his support, encouragement and patience; The Institute of Energy and Sustainable Development, Johnson University, for input throughout this MSc programme. For their contributions to data collection: David K at Tech David K, VS Limited Steven M Conal M., Engineer, County Council The good people of Brighton who were so generous with their time in completing the questionnaire surveys. My partner Billy – I simply couldn’t have done this without you, special thanks. Dear friends and family and Hattie. And to my parents, who set me off on the road to this MSc a long time ago.
I would like to thank Mr. Joe Smith for guiding me to his important publications and for the stimulating questions on artificial intelligence and automation. The meetings and conversations were vital in inspiring me to think outside the box, from multiple perspectives to form a comprehensive and objective critique.
First of all, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Beauville Scholarships, the UK government’s global scholarship programme, funded by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and partner organisations, for letting me be part of this incredible leaders’ network. Further, I would like to thank my supervisor Alejandro for the thoughtful comments and recommendations on this dissertation. I am also thankful to the School of Engineering and all its member’s staff for all the considerate guidance. To conclude, I cannot forget to thank my family and friends for all the unconditional support in this very intense academic year.
I would like to thank my supervisor Prof. Mark W. and Liam H. for their consistent support and guidance during the running of this project. Furthermore I would like to thank the rest of the undergraduate research team for their collaborative effort during data collection. I would also like to acknowledge the school in Bradford for their participation and engagement in the study.
I would like to thank my supervisor Gina K. for her dedicated support and guidance. Gina continuously provided encouragement and was always willing and enthusiastic to assist in any way she could throughout the research project. I would also like to thank Andrew P. for providing advice regarding analysis.Finally, many thanks to all participants that took part in the study and enabled this research to be possible.
With many thanks to my supervisor Dr Martyn G. for his guidance during this research. To Jennie R., the dissertation module leader, for her support and encouragement throughout the process. Furthermore, to my mentor, Josh B. for providing access and introductions to women leaders, without this, the research would not have been possible. Finally, to all of the women who sacrificed their time, and the support of these well-known companies for their participation.
I would like to express my gratitude and appreciation for Barbara S. whose guidance, support and encouragement has been invaluable throughout this study. I also wish to thank the team an CIL who have been a great source of support.
Firstly, I’d like to express my thanks to my patient and supportive supervisor, Tao J., who has supported me throughout this research project. I am extremely grateful for our friendly chats at the end of our meetings and your personal support in my academic and business endeavours. I’d also like to thank my participants and customers who took the time to reflect on their consumption choices. Thank you for expressing your thoughts so eloquently and your feminism so unapologetically.
I would like to say a special thank you to my supervisor, Jennie R. Her support, guidance and overall insights in this field have made this an inspiring experience for me. I would also like to thank all of the women who participated in the study’s interviews. Finally, I would like to thank my family for supporting me during the compilation of this dissertation.
I would like to thank Rik B. for his continued support throughout this project. Guy R., through Dyesol and Philip L. for their SIM images of porous stone. I would also like to thank Dr. Steven M. for his advice throughout the project. Finally I would like to thank Maureen H. at the University of Freetown for allowing me to visit her and her explanation of various techniques.
From the bottom of my heart I would like to say big thank you for all the bioelectronics research group members for their energy, understanding and help throughout my project, especially to Mr D. N. for the guidance throughout the gel extraction, Mr Andrew L. for the help with AFM imaging and Mr Samuel D. H. for advice on the DNA analysis process. It truly has been very, very good time in this lab. I also would like to say special thank you to Professor P. W.and Dr R. S., without your help and wise guidance this project would have not been the same!
Visit our blog for more topics including Harvard referencing and Youtube
Rated 4.9/5 On Trustpilot…Read Our Reviews
Pay with debit/credit card with paypal or stripe.
100% Confidential
We take confidentiality seriously, read our privacy policy to find out how we keep your document safe and secure.
What our customers say
Read more…
Contact Us Today
Proofreading samples.
We are a professional UK proofreading and editing company and we use two proofreaders on every document. Our service goes beyond mere proofreading and includes editing for sentence structure, lexis, repetition and more.
- PhD proofreading service
- Thesis proofreading service
- Academic Proofreading Service
- Personal statement checker
Testimonials
"Having English as second language I always struggled to structure my assignment. However having my assignments proofread by London Proofread’s it has been the best thing I have done. Which resulted on me getting the best grades possible. Thank you London Proofreaders ".
- Neda M., University of Manchester
Customer Support Hours:
Monday to Friday: 08:00-19:00
Saturday: CLOSED.
Sunday: CLOSED.
© 2013 - 2022 | London Proofreaders is a trading name of MK Media Limited, a company registered in England and Wales.
Terms & Conditions
IMAGES
VIDEO
COMMENTS
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.
OUR STATS OF DISSERTATION WRITING. Choose the type of paper you need written, the number of pages, deadline and other requirements. Select a writer from the list and contact a few of them via our live chat function to help you make your final choice. Add funds to your balance and writer will start working on your paper.
To get your doctoral dissertation done in 20 days, you will have to pay around 20 dollars per page. However, if you are a Master’s student and need to get your thesis done, the price would be 18 dollars for each page. Just like any other dissertation writing service, you need to fill in the necessary information, pay, and you are good to go.
If you need more time, discover the best thesis writing services for 2022. If you have to write a dissertation, a thesis or a complete paper you can use writing service options. Dissertation writing is a complex matter and most students need professional help from a safe and affordable service. Thesis writing can be extremely tricky.