doctoral dissertation
3
7.0
- noun
- /ˈdɒktərəl ˌdɪsərˈteɪʃən/
- Specialized
:
tesis doctoral
- I decided to make my doctoral dissertation a study of the Al Capone mob, an inside study.
- an unpublished doctoral dissertation
- write a doctoral dissertation
- supervise a doctoral dissertation
Examples
-
Some students travel to England and the United States and can therefore also write doctoral dissertations.
Academic text (1993) -
My contact with Bill Fox began when I completed my doctoral dissertation at Columbia University.
Academic text (1990) -
In the last several years, many studies and doctoral dissertations have focused on childhood sexual abuse.
Academic text (2002) -
All of the nine doctoral dissertations mentioned earlier adopt more or less a Marxist social theory.
Academic text (1997) -
Nichols reported on the study as part of her doctoral dissertation in soil science at the University of Maryland.
Academic text (2002) -
In 2000, the Harvard history graduate defended a doctoral dissertation entitled "Americans' Search for Victory in the 20th Century."
Academic text (2004) -
Of the thirty-six doctoral dissertations he supervised, only twelve were based on Latin America.
Academic text (1996) -
Coutin had this experience when she completed her sanctuary fieldwork and began to write her doctoral dissertation.
Academic text (1998) -
The current pope, Karol Wojtyla, wrote his doctoral dissertation in Latin when he was a student in Rome.
Academic text (1994) -
I would like to interview these women for my doctoral dissertation in American history.
Synonyms
81
6.9
A long piece of writing based on research for a university degree
47
7.7
A long piece of writing for a university degree that shows the writer's research and results
How Advanced
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly and compositionally derived from 'doctoral' (relating to a doctorate) and 'dissertation' (a detailed written work for an academic degree); together they clearly indicate the lengthy formal research submitted for a doctoral degree. This compositional pattern is common cross-linguistically (e.g., Spanish 'tesis doctoral'), so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily understand the MWE.
Etymology
Doctoral dissertation comes from two parts: doctoral (about a 'doctor' degree) and dissertation (an old word for a long, formal 'discussion'). Picture a student writing a long, careful 'discussion' of research to show they deserve the doctorate, so the phrase means the long, formal research paper a student hands in to get a doctoral degree.