3 ms·
Some people say ABD is 'all but defended' as in you wrote your thesis you just didn't do a defence, some people say ABD is 'all but dissertation' in that you di
by chrisseaton 4y ago
Some people say ABD is 'all but defended' as in you wrote your thesis you just didn't do a defence, some people say ABD is 'all but dissertation' in that you didn't get the point of writing the thesis. That's a pretty big difference. The former is you basically did your entire PhD, the latter is you didn't really start it.
- dagw 4y agothe latter is you didn't really start it. That seems unfair. By the time many people get started on their dissertation they have often done years of research and have gotten several papers published. Starting your dissertation basically means that you're 'done' with your PhD and ready to summerize what you've discovered.
- MereInterest 4y agoThere's also a difference in US and Europe conventions. In Europe, there's typically a 2-year MS followed by a 3-6 year PhD. In the US, these are typically combined into a single 5-8 year PhD program. So an "all but dissertation" phase in Europe is the entirety of the program, it's only the second (and most important) part in a US program.
- chrisseaton 4y agoYeah, and so if you skip the masters then day one of your PhD is the start of your dissertation.
- dagw 4y agoI though dissertation referred to the final written document you had to produce to get your PhD. Most people I know with PhDs stared writing that during the last year of the PhD program.
- chrisseaton 4y agoWhen you're writing papers during your PhD you're basically writing chapters of your dissertation.
- sky-kedge0749 4y agoIn practice in the U.S. the early part of a PhD program can be very similar to a master's. It's relatively common for people who leave PhD programs to walk away with a master's degree they didn't intend to get. It's called "mastering out."
- chrisseaton 4y agoYes you can also leave with an MPhil in the UK if it goes wrong.