The final piece of the PhD journey is the PhD dissertation. It takes many years to accumulate enough original and new data to fill out a dissertation to the satisfaction of experts in your field. However, PhD dissertation length is one thing many are not sure about.
A PhD can be anywhere from 50 pages to over 450 pages long. This equates to between about 20,000 words to 100,000 words. Most PhD theses are between 60,000 and 80,000 words long excluding contents, citations and references.
In this post, we explore PhD dissertation length, as well as other related questions you may have. Let’s go.
How Many Pages Should A PhD Dissertation Be?
A PhD dissertation should contain as many pages and words as it takes to:
- outline the current state of your field,
- provide adequate background information,
- present your results, and
- provide confidence in your conclusions.
A PhD dissertation will also contain figures, graphs, schematics, and other large pictorial items that can easily inflate the page count.
Here is a boxplot summary of many different fields of study and the number of pages of a typical PhD dissertation in the field. It has been created by Marcus Beck from all of the dissertations at the University of Minnesota.
Typically, the mathematical sciences, economics, and biostatistics theses and dissertations tend to be shorter because they rely on mathematical formulas to provide proof of their results rather than diagrams and long explanations.
On the other end of the scale, English, communication studies, political science, history and anthropology are often the largest theses in terms of pages and word count because of the number of words it takes to provide proof and depth of their results.
At the end of the day, it is important that your thesis gets signed off by your review committee and other experts in the field.
Your supervisor will be the main judge of whether or not your dissertation is capable of satisfying the requirements of a PhD in your field.
If you want to know more about how long a Masters’s thesis and PhD dissertation is you can check out my other articles:
Can A PhD Dissertation Be Too Long?
The length of a PhD dissertation often sparks debate.
Some say it should be as long as it needs to be. Others argue that an excessive word count can bury key points under academic fluff. I agree more of the earlier.
I’ve seen PhD candidates submit a thesis or dissertation that stretches past 350 pages, only for their examiners to suggest major cuts.
One former PhD student told me their examiner questioned whether a 400-page dissertation and thesis submission was an extended exercise in academic endurance.
The reality? Length doesn’t always equal quality. Writing a PhD thesis is about refining ideas, not overwhelming the reader with sheer volume.
Some universities set a maximum length. Others let doctoral students determine what’s necessary.
If you’re writing a PhD dissertation or thesis, you’ll likely face pressure to include every detail. But remember Hemingway’s advice—omit the unnecessary.
A bloated thesis often weakens a unique contribution to knowledge rather than strengthening it.
Examiners don’t want to wade through 100 pages of fluff before reaching the core argument. If your PhD writing process produces an excessive word count, trim it.
A dissertation defense is easier when your work is sharp, clear, and to the point.
How Short Can PhD Thesis / Dissertation Be?
A PhD dissertation length varies depending on the field. Social sciences and humanities often require 300 pages in length, while STEM fields can be much shorter.
The shortest PhD dissertations are typically found in mathematics.
One of the shortest PhD theses ever written is by John F. Nash Jr., the Nobel Prize-winning mathematician. His 1950 doctoral dissertation at Princeton was just 26 pages long.
The key points fit within a concise format, but his original research changed the field of game theory forever.
The shortest PhD thesis is only 9 pages long, from David Lee Rector. The thesis is about topology and algebraic topology. In simpler language, it is to use algebra to understand the shape of things.
Most PhD programmes require a dissertation and thesis of at least 50 pages, with a literature review, research proposal, and materials and methods.
But some universities have no strict word limit. A dissertation defense depends on content, not length.
Some PhD students fear their dissertation length is too short. Examiners don’t judge doctoral students by the number of pages.
A well-refined final dissertation with strong academic writing is better than a bloated 350 pages of fluff.
Why PhD Dissertations Are Typically So Long
PhD dissertations are often over 200 pages long.
One of the primary reasons they are so long is that it is a single document that summarises many years of hard work.
Also, summarising the research field to date and making sure that all of your references and citations are included so you avoid plagiarism will bolster the word count of the thesis dramatically.
Here are all of the reasons PhD dissertations tend to be so long.
Many Years of Work
PhD theses or dissertations contain many years of research and analysis.
In many of my YouTube videos I recommend that a PhD student work towards their PhD thesis by doing at least three hours of focused work every work day.
This amount of work quickly adds up.
Of course, not every bit of work makes it into the PhD dissertation but a lot of it does. It can be difficult to work out what to include or leave out of your thesis.
As a PhD student, I perfected the art of turning one experiment into many different types of grafts and schematics to fully explore the limits of my data.
The graphs can take up a lot of space in your PhD thesis and, therefore, bolster the page count significantly.
In Depth Literature Review
One of the most substantial parts of a PhD dissertation is the literature review.
The literature review can take up a huge portion of the early part of your PhD dissertation depending on the amount of data and publications in your field.
Writing an in-depth literature review requires just as much meticulous data analysis and searching as the central part of your dissertation.
Figures and Schematics
Some fields end up producing a lot of figures and schematics.
My thesis had many full-page figures of atomic force microscopy experiments with much more explanation on subsequent pages.
As they say, a picture paints a thousand words and a dissertation can really benefit from having many schematics to highlight the important aspects of your findings.
References And Citations
The recommended PhD dissertation word count from an institution or university does not include:
- citations,
- references,
- summary of abbreviations,
- table of figures, or
- others.
However, these components of your dissertation can take up many pages and add to the overall thickness of your PhD dissertation.
University Formatting Rules
University formatting rules will also dictate how you many pages your words take up.
I often get roasted on my YouTube channel for having doublespaced lines and wide margins. Unfortunately, this layout was dictated by my university before printing.
PhD dissertations often end up going into long-term storage and therefore, need to adhere to archival and standardised formatting rules.
Deep in the depths of the University of Newcastle, there is a copy of my thesis on a shelf. The formatting and binding rules mean that my thesis looks like everyone else’s.
Universities will often have their own requirements for PhD dissertation cover colour, quality, and type of paper. Even the quality of the paper can change the thickness of the PhD dissertation significantly.
PhD By Publication
It is becoming increasingly common to submit a number of peer-reviewed papers bound together with supplementary information in between instead of a PhD dissertation.
The benefits of this to the researcher and university are:
- More early career peer-reviewed journals for career advancement
- an easier review process – they have already been peer-reviewed
- an early focus on publishing means better research outcomes for the researcher, supervisor, and Department.
- No mad rush at the end to finish a thesis
- continually writing peer-reviewed papers throughout your PhD helps with timely analysis and communication of results
Even though this option has been available to PhD students for a number of years, I have only known a handful of students actually submit their PhD via publication.
Nonetheless, having this option will suit some research fields better than others and lead to a more productive PhD.
Steps in Writing a PhD Dissertation
A doctoral dissertation is more than just words per page—it’s a unique contribution to knowledge.
Research Proposal
The first step is the research proposal. Without a clear research question, your dissertation and thesis will lack direction.
PhD students must justify their study’s relevance to the field of study before diving into data collection.
Literature Review
A literature review comes next. This section connects your work to existing research. Many PhD candidates meet frustration here, drowning in sources and struggling to refine their argument.
A well-organized bibliography helps.
Writing The Dissertation / PhD
Then comes the writing process. A PhD thesis must include materials and methods, key points from data analysis, and a strong discussion.
The dissertation length will vary depending on the discipline or university. Social sciences often reach 300 pages in length, while STEM theses are shorter.
Formatting, Proofreading & Bibliography
The format matters. A table of contents, appendices and references, and a polished layout make a difference.
An examiner will notice sloppy academic writing, no matter how brilliant the research. Proofread your dissertation thoroughly before submission.
Viva Voce / Thesis Defense
Viva preparation is the last step. The dissertation defense is where doctoral students prove their expertise.
Writing a PhD thesis is only half the battle—defending it in front of experts is the real test. Hemingway’s advice applies here: keep it clear, concise, and compelling.
Whats The Difference Between Dissertation A Thesis
The terms dissertation and thesis are often used interchangeably, but they mean different things depending on the discipline or university.
A master’s degree usually requires a thesis, while a PhD programme requires a doctoral dissertation.
A PhD dissertation or thesis must present original research. It is a unique contribution to knowledge and can be 300 pages in length or more.
A master’s thesis often summarizes existing research rather than introducing new findings.
A PhD student spends years to complete their final dissertation, refining arguments, conducting studies, and writing draft chapters.
A thesis or dissertation at the master’s level usually takes less time and requires fewer pages.
The format also differs. A doctoral dissertation includes a literature review, materials and methods, research results, and discussion.
The table of contents, appendices and references, and bibliography must follow strict academic writing standards.
Wrapping Up
This article has been through everything you need to know about the length of a PhD dissertation and the common lengths of PhD dissertations for various fields.
Ultimately, there is no predefined length of a PhD.
A PhD thesis is as long as it needs to be to convince your examiners that you have contributed significantly enough to an academic field to be awarded the title of Dr of philosophy.
Mathematical and analytical theses tend to be shorter and can be as short as 50 pages (with one of the shortest being only 9 pages long).
At the other end of the spectrum, PhD students in anthropology and history tend to produce the longest dissertations.
Typically, the mathematical sciences, economics, and biostatistics theses and dissertations tend to be shorter because they rely on mathematical formulas to provide proof of their results rather than diagrams and long explanations.
On the other end of the scale, English, communication studies, political science, history and anthropology are often the largest theses in terms of pages and word count because of the number of words it takes to provide proof and depth of their results.
At the end of the day, it is important that your thesis gets signed off by your review committee and other experts in the field. Your supervisor will be the main judge of whether or not your dissertation is capable of satisfying the requirements of a PhD in your field.
If you want to know more about how long a Masters’s thesis and PhD dissertation is you can check out my other articles:
Can a PhD dissertation be too long?
A PhD thesis should contain enough evidence and discussion to report on the most significant findings of your PhD research.
A PhD dissertation should not contain everything that you have done during your PhD. It should only include the data and information required to convince your PhD examining body that wraps up and tells the full story of particular lines of investigation.
Including random results, thoughts, or superfluous explanation can result in a dissertation that is unfocused. I have heard of music PhD is being described as too verbose and physical sciences PhD dissertations as being unfocused.
Therefore, a PhD thesis can be too long if the information it contains does not form a full and cohesive story.
One of my colleagues during their PhD removed an entire chapter from the thesis after writing it as the supervisor said that it needed more experiments to be a full story. They did not want to spend the next six months gathering the data and simply removed the chapter altogether.
How short can PhD dissertation be?
The shortest PhD dissertations are typically found in mathematics.
George Bernard Danzig was an American mathematical scientist who made contributions to industrial engineering and many other mathematical-related fields. An interesting miscommunication led to 1 of the shortest PhD theses ever.
In 1939 his professor wrote two problems on the blackboard and Danzig thought they were homeless assignments. He stated that they were harder than usual but handed in solutions to the surprise of the professor.
They were, in fact, open mathematical problems in statistics.
His professor said to bind the solution to the two problems together and submit them as his thesis – the total thesis length = 14 pages.
Obviously, most PhD theses and dissertations will be so much longer than that!
My PhD dissertation was 256 pages long. It was full of schematics, diagrams, and tables to demonstrate and communicate my findings.
I would say that most people’s PhD thesis experience will be closer to mine than Prof George Bernard Danzig’s.
Why PhD dissertations are typically so long
PhD dissertations are often over 200 pages long.
One of the primary reasons they are so long is that it is a single document that summarises many years of hard work. Also, summarising the research field to date and making sure that all of your references and citations are included so you avoid plagiarism will bolster the word count of the thesis dramatically.
Here are all of the reasons PhD dissertations tend to be so long.
Many years of work
PhD theses or dissertations contain many years of research and analysis.
In many of my YouTube videos I recommend that a PhD student work towards their PhD thesis by doing at least three hours of focused work every work day.
This amount of work quickly adds up.
Of course, not every bit of work makes it into the PhD dissertation but a lot of it does. It can be difficult to work out what to include or leave out of your thesis.
As a PhD student, I perfected the art of turning one experiment into many different types of grafts and schematics to fully explore the limits of my data. The graphs can take up a lot of space in your PhD thesis and, therefore, bolster the page count significantly.
In depth literature review
One of the most substantial parts of a PhD dissertation is the literature review.
The literature review can take up a huge portion of the early part of your PhD dissertation depending on the amount of data and publications in your field.
Writing an in-depth literature review requires just as much meticulous data analysis and searching as the central part of your dissertation.
Figures and schematics
Some fields end up producing a lot of figures and schematics.
My thesis had many full-page figures of atomic force microscopy experiments with much more explanation on subsequent pages.
As they say, a picture paints a thousand words and a dissertation can really benefit from having many schematics to highlight the important aspects of your findings.
References and citations
The recommended PhD dissertation word count from an institution or university does not include citations, references, or other thesis parts such as summary of abbreviations, table of figures, et cetera.
However, these components of your dissertation can take up many pages and add to the overall thickness of your PhD dissertation.
University formatting rules
University formatting rules will also dictate how you many pages your words take up.
I often get roasted on my YouTube channel for having doublespaced lines and wide margins. Unfortunately, this layout was dictated by my university before printing.
PhD dissertations often end up going into long-term storage and therefore, need to adhere to archival and standardised formatting rules.
Deep in the depths of the University of Newcastle, there is a copy of my thesis on a shelf. The formatting and binding rules mean that my thesis looks like everyone else’s.
Universities will often have their own requirements for PhD dissertation cover colour, quality, and type of paper. Even the quality of the paper can change the thickness of the PhD dissertation significantly.
PhD by publication
It is becoming increasingly common to submit a number of peer-reviewed papers bound together with supplementary information in between instead of a PhD dissertation.
The benefits of this to the researcher and university are:
- More early career peer-reviewed journals for career advancement
- an easier review process – they have already been peer-reviewed
- an early focus on publishing means better research outcomes for the researcher, supervisor, and Department.
- No mad rush at the end to finish a thesis
- continually writing peer-reviewed papers throughout your PhD helps with timely analysis and communication of results
Even though this option has been available to PhD students for a number of years, I have only known a handful of students actually submit their PhD via publication.
Nonetheless, having this option will suit some research fields better than others and lead to a more productive PhD.
Wrapping up
This article has been through everything you need to know about the length of a PhD dissertation and the common lengths of PhD dissertations for various fields.
Ultimately, there is no predefined length of a PhD.
A PhD thesis is as long as it needs to be to convince your examiners that you have contributed significantly enough to an academic field to be awarded the title of Dr of philosophy.
Mathematical and analytical theses tend to be shorter and can be as short as 50 pages (with one of the shortest being only 14 pages long). At the other end of the spectrum, PhD students in anthropology and history tend to produce the longest dissertations.
