University of Houston – Jeremy Bailey Susan Scarrow writes:
A master’s thesis is generally 40-80 pages, not including the bibliography. However, the length will vary according to the topic and the method of analysis, so the appropriate length will be determined by you and your committee. Students who write a master’s thesis generally do so over two semesters.
A master’s thesis is a piece of original scholarship written under the direction of a faculty advisor. A master’s thesis is similar to a doctoral dissertation, but it is generally shorter and more narrowly focused.
As a rule of thumb, a master’s thesis should be publishable as a single article, though it might be longer than a typical article; a doctoral dissertation is generally equivalent to at least three articles.
Students who chose to write a master’s thesis rather than a bibliographic essay often do so because they are interested in pursuing further research, for instance in a doctoral program in political science or another discipline, or as a researcher in a public agency.
