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How to Avoid Failing Your Ph.D. Dissertation

By  Daniel Sokol

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I am a barrister in London who specializes in helping doctoral students who have failed their Ph.D.s. Few people will have had the dubious privilege of seeing as many unsuccessful Ph.D. dissertations and reading as many scathing reports by examination committees. Here are common reasons why students who submit their Ph.D.s fail, with advice on how to avoid such pitfalls. The lessons apply to the United States and the United Kingdom.

Lack of critical reflection. Probably the most common reason for failing a Ph.D. dissertation is a lack of critical analysis. A typical observation of the examination committee is, “The thesis is generally descriptive and a more analytical approach is required.”

For doctoral work, students must engage critically with the subject matter, not just set out what other scholars have said or done. If not, the thesis will not be original. It will not add anything of substance to the field and will fail.

Doctoral students should adopt a reflexive approach to their work. Why have I chosen this methodology? What are the flaws or limitations of this or that author’s argument? Can I make interesting comparisons between this and something else? Those who struggle with this aspect should ask their supervisors for advice on how to inject some analytic sophistication to their thesis.

Lack of coherence. Other common observations are of the type: “The argument running through the thesis needs to be more coherent” or “The thesis is poorly organized and put together without any apparent logic.”

The thesis should be seen as one coherent whole. It cannot be a series of self-contained chapters stitched together haphazardly. Students should spend considerable time at the outset of their dissertation thinking about structure, both at the macro level of the entire thesis and the micro level of the chapter. It is a good idea to look at other Ph.D. theses and monographs to get a sense of what constitutes a logical structure.

Poor presentation. The majority of failed Ph.D. dissertations are sloppily presented. They contain typos, grammatical mistakes, referencing errors and inconsistencies in presentation. Looking at some committee reports randomly, I note the following comments:

• “The thesis is poorly written.”
• “That previous section is long, badly written and lacks structure.”
• “The author cannot formulate his thoughts or explain his reasons. It is very hard to understand a good part of the thesis.”
• “Ensure that the standard of written English is consistent with the standard expected of a Ph.D. thesis.”
• “The language used is simplistic and does not reflect the standard of writing expected at Ph.D. level.”

For committee members, who are paid a fixed and pitiful sum to examine the work, few things are as off-putting as a poorly written dissertation. Errors of language slow the reading speed and can frustrate or irritate committee members. At worst, they can lead them to miss or misinterpret an argument.

Students should consider using a professional proofreader to read the thesis, if permitted by the university’s regulations. But that still is no guarantee of an error-free thesis. Even after the proofreader has returned the manuscript, students should read and reread the work in its entirety.

When I was completing my Ph.D., I read my dissertation so often that the mere sight of it made me nauseous. Each time, I would spot a typo or tweak a sentence, removing a superfluous word or clarifying an ambiguous passage. My meticulous approach was rewarded when one committee member said in the oral examination that it was the best-written dissertation he had ever read. This was nothing to do with skill or an innate writing ability but tedious, repetitive revision.

Failure to make required changes. It is rare for students to fail to obtain their Ph.D. outright at the oral examination. Usually, the student is granted an opportunity to resubmit their dissertation after making corrections.

Students often submit their revised thesis together with a document explaining how they implemented the committee’s recommendations. And they often believe, wrongly, that this document is proof that they have incorporated the requisite changes and that they should be awarded a Ph.D.

In fact, the committee may feel that the changes do not go far enough or that they reveal further misunderstandings or deficiencies. Here are some real observations by dissertation committees:

• “The added discussion section is confusing. The only thing that has improved is the attempt to provide a little more analysis of the experimental data.”
• “The author has tried to address the issues identified by the committee, but there is little improvement in the thesis.”

In short, students who fail their Ph.D. dissertations make changes that are superficial or misconceived. Some revised theses end up worse than the original submission.

Students must incorporate changes in the way that the committee members had in mind. If what is required is unclear, students can usually seek clarification through their supervisors.

In the nine years I have spent helping Ph.D. students with their appeals, I have found that whatever the subject matter of the thesis, the above criticisms appear time and time again in committee reports. They are signs of a poor Ph.D.

Wise students should ask themselves these questions prior to submission of the dissertation:

• Is the work sufficiently critical/analytical, or is it mainly descriptive?
• Is it coherent and well structured?
• Does the thesis look good and read well?
• If a resubmission, have I made the changes that the examination committee had in mind?

Once students are satisfied that the answer to each question is yes, they should ask their supervisors the same questions.

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What EXACTLY Happens if You Fail Your Dissertation Project?

by  Antony W

June 28, 2024

Failing a dissertation is one of the most difficult and painful experiences for many students. After months of research and writing, the last thing you want is to get failing marks. So what happens if you fail a dissertation?

If you fail your dissertation project, your institution will give you another chance to redo the work and re-submit it based on an agreed date. However, you institution will cap the marks for a resubmitted dissertation at a pass level.

Notably, it’s highly unlikely for students to fail their dissertations straight outright. More often than not, the possibility of failure often arises from a student’s negligence, which it’s easy to avoid with proper planning.

Just because you’ve failed a dissertation, if you have, doesn’t mean it’s the end of life. You still get the chance to change your marks from a fail to a pass.

In this guide, you’ll learn everything about failed dissertation, including the options you have to redeem yourself from the failing marks to the bare pass level.

Let’s get started.

What Does it Mean to Fail a Dissertation?

To fail a dissertation paper means you have scored below the institution’s cut mark, which is often a 40. The majority of pupils can beat the cut-off points by as little as one point, which means it’s often unlikely that one would intentionally fail the project.

You cannot graduate if you fail a dissertation. In fact, graduating with a failed grade would be tantamount to celebrating your failure. Most colleges permit re-sits, after which students may graduate if they get the required grade.

As a result, if you want to be included on the graduation list, you should work hard enough to make sure you don’t fail your dissertation. You have to aim to get a 40, although it’s best to aim higher because the set minimum marks don’t necessarily have to be the limit.

Why Do Students Fail Their Dissertations?

Nothing is as frustrating as spending months on a dissertation only to fail the assignment in the end. The question is, “why do students get failing marks in the first place”?

1. Failure to Dedicate Time to the Project

It’s possible to get failing marks for a dissertation because of failing to dedicate enough time to do the work.

The majority of college and university students are preoccupied with other aspects of their lives, such as employment or family. These factors may reduce the amount of time available for study, resulting in failure.

2. Plagiarism: Students Copying Other Research Projects as their Own

Another possible cause of failure is plagiarism. If your institution establishes beyond a reasonable doubt that you’ve copied another person’s work and use it as your own, you stand a 100% chance to fail the dissertation project.

From what we understand, plagiarism is usually the first thing that many institutions look at when students submit their dissertation projects.

3. Lack of Assistance from Project Supervisor

It’s possible for a student fail a dissertation if they don’t get enough help from your supervisor. Because the majority of instructors are overworked, finding time for their students becomes a nightmare. As a result, the student doesn’t get the help they need to stay on the right track, particularly for a technical course.

How Bad Does a Dissertation Project has to be to Fail?

It’s highly unlikely that you’ll fail a dissertation project. A dissertation isn’t some assignment that you have to submit in two hours or within two weeks . You have more than 6 months to complete the project, which is enough to research, outline, write, proofread, and submit the assignment.

You’ll make mistakes as you work on the assignment, but the errors should be easy to fix provided you’re on schedule. Moreover, you will have your work evaluated on a chapter-by-chapter basis. So, by the time you get to the conclusion, your supervisor will have mentioned the errors you need to fix to make your dissertation stand out. 

While the chances of failing the dissertation are extremely low, some students still fail because their dissertations are extremely bad. A dissertation is bad if:

• There are parts of the final document missing. For example, you risk failing if the work doesn’t have an abstract or study techniques.
• The document doesn’t have a formally accepted and approved layout. Failure to adhere to the proper format may result in your work getting failing marks. For example, the conclusion cannot come before results and findings.
• You omit technical words or adequate research procedures.

These examples demonstrate a lack of understanding, which is the dissertation’s central theme.

What to Do if You Fail a Dissertation

Is it possible to redo the dissertation project the same way you would other types of assignments in college or university?

Well, you have the option to redo your dissertation if you don’t get a 40, but keep in mind that your institution will reduce the pass mark to a minimum. You won’t get anything close to a grade B, but at least you will get passing marks.

Keep in mind that you only have one last chance to redo the dissertation project. If you fail a second time, your institution will declare that you’ve failed completely. So if you failed your dissertation the first time, take the second attempt as an opportunity to give the project the most attention possible because you cannot afford to fail twice. 

How Not to Fail a Dissertation

Here’s how not to fail a dissertation project:

• Review your work before to submission. This will make it easy for you to identify mistakes, strange formatting, or an incorrect structure. Verify that each section is where it should be and that no component is missing.
• Run the work through a plagiarism checker. Additionally, examine your references and sources to avoid plagiarism fines.
• Consult your supervisor: When you’re through writing a section, double-check that what you’ve written is consistent with the paper’s overall objective. If you encounter any difficulties, address them immediately before they grow too large for you to handle.

About the author 

Antony W is a professional writer and coach at Help for Assessment. He spends countless hours every day researching and writing great content filled with expert advice on how to write engaging essays, research papers, and assignments.

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Failed my BEng dissertation in a computer/electronics related field twice, how do I move forward?

I went to university to study a degree which has computer software and hardware elements to it. I didn't do badly in my normal modules at all, I never got below a 2:1 grade in any module, and some of them I got to over 80% percentage wise. Now, I don't feel like I come from a terribly good home, and there has been a lot going on in the background that is sort of still there, at least some of it is.

When it came to my dissertation I picked a topic somewhere in September last year. My topic was to do more with physics and graphics than my actual degree. I thought it would be interesting to find out about these things. I tried to do it in C++ which I already knew, and apply OpenGL to see it on the screen.

Honestly, I didn't know how or why but learning anything on the topic didn't work for me. Creating the programming environment took me days and sometimes I still have issues with just making the bare skeleton of things work. I followed a tutorial from over 10 years ago (so quite outdated for my liking) on how to do this particular thing, but its 2 days from hand in date number two and the practical side doesn't work. To give you an idea of time, I say I failed twice because I managed to get a 3 month extension due to Covid, and failed to hand anything in on hand in date one, and now will fail to hand in anything on hand-in date two because I simply can't learn how this works.

When it came to actually working and meeting with my supervisor, every meeting I would want to break down and cry, and so I'd avoid most meetings, and then further not be able to do any meetings online during Covid, because every single second I knew that I didn't understand a thing, and there was nothing to say to him. I haven't spoken to him for over 3 months. I generally tried to do work in the mornings, and only started with my hobbies in the evening so that I gave myself at least 3-6 hours of work per day to do this, especially after the extension was given as this was my only work for those three months. But it looks like I am just too stupid to do this. Tutorials for OpenGL took me days to get through in a way that I understand what was going on. I got some medication for my panic attacks, but generally, due to this work, I've been waking up to me sweating and breathing really fast for the last few weeks especially, not to mention constant nightmares I have. Needless to say, I find it difficult to be happy right now and people have been telling me I am distant and I act like I hate them.

I don't know how to move on from this failure and tackle the re-take, if it happens at all at this point. I want to ask for some sort of study leave, so that I can study what a dissertation is, and what is it that I could possibly research instead of this, and then hopefully go back and do the retake, not run away from my supervisor, and actually feel like I know what I am doing like I usually did during my modules. In general, I need some recommendations on how to tackle dissertation and failure, as well as how to pick a dissertation topic I feel like I can do.

Sorry if this is the wrong place to ask for help, please leave a comment on where I can go otherwise, but mostly I just wanted advice from people that actually have an academia background and could write a dissertation, especially in a computer or programming related field.

• computer-science
• all-but-dissertation

• 16 Prioritize your health. Rely on mental health professionals, not the internet, for that. –  Anonymous Physicist Commented Aug 2, 2020 at 6:01
• 1 To me, "failed" would be a failing grade assigned to work that was due. You have received one extension, and have a second extension looming. You may or may not receive a failing grade when you submit your work, but you have not already failed twice. But speaking of the grade for your work, find out what is expected of your dissertation. Sometimes, all that is required is that you learn something, not that you create new information. –  Teepeemm Commented Aug 2, 2020 at 18:35
• @Teepeemm That may be true in a strict legal sense, but the reality is (1) The OP hasn't told hls/her supervisor there is a problem (2) The extended deadline is two days away, and (3) He/she doesn't have any work to hand in. Given those facts, IMO writing any sort of dissertation in two days is going to require magic. –  alephzero Commented Aug 2, 2020 at 18:58

6 Answers 6

Your first and main source for help and advice on this should be your supervisor.

Working in industry I went through a high stress phase when I tended to cry during meetings with my boss. He was a very courteous person, and ignored my crying except for moving a box of tissues next to where I was sitting. Depending on your supervisor, you may need to bring your own tissues, but that is no reason to cut yourself off from essential help and advice.

Your supervisor knows what is expected for your dissertation. It is not something you should go off and study by yourself. Your supervisor should also be able to help you with where to go from here in terms of getting an extension and modifying your project if that is the best thing to do.

As for not having anything to say to him, "I am stuck, and will not be able to hand anything in on the current schedule" is something you should tell him as soon as possible - a few weeks ago would have been better than today, but today is much better than tomorrow.

In addition to a PhD in computer science I have over 30 years computer industry experience. I would plan and expect to spend a week or so learning my way round OpenGL if I needed it. Needing a few days to understand a tutorial, especially as you probably have less experience learning programming languages and libraries, does not seem like a very serious problem to me.

If you are using a current version of OpenGL with a ten-year-old tutorial that may be part of the problem. The tutorial and the OpenGL version you are using may not be compatible. In general, if a tutorial or book is not working for you, try a different one - there are plenty to choose from. Also, once the tutorial tells you what features you need to use, read the reference documentation on those features.

Given that you have medication for panic attacks, you may be able to use that issue to get extra time and help from your university's disability services. If you have not already done so, discuss your project difficulties with whoever is treating you for the panic attacks.

• 3 OpenGL is conceptually quite hard. It relies quite heavily on math and some of the concepts like homogeneous coordinates dont even come up in most ath curriculums. It does not help that modern openGL is way different from legacy openGL. Also unless you picked up 3d graphics in the 1990's you now need to wade a mathematics heavy explanations on how things like render equation work. ON top of this is its not particlarily easy to come to terms needing to program 2 different kinds of processors at the same time. So a week is indeed quite minimum. –  joojaa Commented Aug 2, 2020 at 7:26
• 4 @joojaa Agreed. If I were the OP's supervisor I would be questioning whether it is necessary to involve OpenGL. For example, if the objective is to get a few charts to go in a dissertation I would ask whether it would be possible to dump the relevant numbers to a .csv file, read them into a spreadsheet, and use the spreadsheet's chart capabilities. –  Patricia Shanahan Commented Aug 2, 2020 at 7:36

You have to speak with your supervisor / course mentor / Head of Department as any solution will have to be within the course regulations.

We cannot suggest a solution as we don’t have the regulations for your course so you have to reach out to them.

• 2 This is a great comment, but not an answer. –  Anonymous Physicist Commented Aug 2, 2020 at 6:01
• @AnonymousPhysicist The OP will need to speak to the mentor or equivalent, so this must be an answer or at least part of the anser related to the qualification being sought as comments are not for answers... –  Solar Mike Commented Aug 2, 2020 at 6:36
• 1 @AnonymousPhysicist how is "speak with your supervisor / course mentor / Head of Department" not an answer to "How do I move forward?"? –  wimi Commented Aug 2, 2020 at 21:36
• @wimi The question is very vague, but clearly asks for an action. Talking to someone is not "move forward." Also "I need some recommendations on how to tackle dissertation and failure, as well as how to pick a dissertation topic I feel like I can do." –  Anonymous Physicist Commented Aug 3, 2020 at 1:07

I looks to me like you are overly ambitious regarding the goals you have set for your dissertation project. Modern C++ is a large and complex language with unsafe memory handling, thus offering you more than enough rope to hang yourself. In addition, OpenGL also offers a large and complex API, requiring you to understand the intricacies of dividing the rendering work between the CPU and the massively parallel and specialized GPU. Moreover, both C++ and OpenGL have evolved significantly over the past decades, and as a result you'll find tons of outdated information on the web. To these two problems add the fact that you also need to obtain the required domain expertise in physics and possibly also computer graphics (if you hadn't taken such a course). In short, possibly due to inexperience regarding what you set out to achieve, you've set yourself up for failure. Very few would have succeeded in what you set out to do, so don't blame yourself.

I don't know if your supervisors only agreed on the topic rather than its implementation. If they knew how you were going to implement your topic (with C++ and OpenGL) they could have warned you that this was over-ambitious. Consider explaining to them that you misjudged the difficulty of using the technologies you chose, and that you need a significant extension to start from scratch.

Then, use a friendlier environment to tackle only the physics problem . For example, depending on your existing knowledge and the problem's requirements, you can use Python or R and Jupyter notebook or Processing . Python would be great for reusing diverse third-party libraries, R for performing sophisticated numerical or statistical processing, and Processing for interactive animations. Split your work into small tasks, and try to make concrete progress each day. If you find yourself stuck for a longer period, reconsider your implementation choices and talk to your supervisor.

I coordinate graduation projects in our department, thus I have quite a bit of experience in this.

These things happen. It is normal. It happens to the better or worse students. If you are certain your mental situation is really tied to this mess, then it is the symptom. In this case it is easier to treat the issue then to treat the symptom. But just to make sure, visit a professional.

Before following any advice here, talk to your supervisor. There might be particular regulations in your department that may render these problematic.

Now there are obviously two solutions. Second solution is generally not considered early enough by students. And it is perfectly acceptable in most situations. Accept defeat, change your topic. Now you may feel like defeated and may even think you are not good enough for this particular topic. Know this, when you are in a deadlock which you might be in, it doesn't matter if you are the best in the world. You are trapped and will not be able to get over the problem. If you are such a person that does not accept defeat, call it fallback and later try it again, after you finish your degree.

I have been programming for over 20 years, at times there were things that I found very difficult. Once I disengaged and tried even a few months later, suddenly the problem becomes so simple. The reason behind this is approach. Once you start something, you may commit to a path to the solution. But sometimes the path you have initially chosen is terribly unsuitable. The best idea is to start over with a completely different mindset.

First approach is obviously find a more efficient way to handle your project. A lot of commenters say OpenGL or C++ is difficult, don't believe them. I have written several game/graphics/ui engines with OpenGL and C++. They are easy once you learn them properly; but it is also very easy to get a wrong footing with both of these. Learning C++ properly is a serious challenge.

However, these are tools. If you are after 3D physics simulation, then the problem you will have will be about simulation. And if you join them right away, you will get nowhere. First start small, write a small application that cubes fall from sky. Watch and enjoy your work. Learn the pipeline. Slowly add things that you think will be simple. Everytime I wrote circles I animate sunflower patterns using the circles. So satisfying, so easy (just a simple formula). These things might not be related with your topic. But you just need to feel these tools. You don't learn how to use a hammer on the shelf you are trying to build. You practice on a piece of throw away wood.

You should start your project after being comfortable with your tools. You have a good working schedule, you should be able to learn and complete your project in a short amount of time.

• You are right that these things happen the first time , and apparently the OP was given a second chance. But if the second attempt was a total failure (i.e. nothing at all was produced) and no warning was given that things were going wrong again until the final deadline arrived, there comes a time to say "enough is enough". Otherwise, you might as well just pass everybody who enrolls for the course and skip all the time-wasting activities of teaching, studying and actually learning something! –  alephzero Commented Aug 2, 2020 at 22:19
• When you are in a pit you sometimes don't realize that. I am not saying you should let anyone slip without the necessary hard work. However, I am also certain the chosen topic is not forced, there should be a way to change it. I am not sure the system in their university, but in ours, we don't give extension at all (maybe an extra week), we fail the student but they are allowed to retake the project/dissertation next semester. They are also free to continue or start on a different topic. Generally, whoever changes their project passes next time. Those who insist, well, more of them fail again. –  Cem Kalyoncu Commented Aug 3, 2020 at 23:11

Honestly, a BS project isn't expected to be great or even functional. It's expected to demonstrate problem solving methodology and show some results. I would argue your problem is that to even show any result involves a lot of boiler-plate coding which you seem to be having problems with.

What exactly are you trying to do?

As others have suggested, step 1 is to address your mental health with a professional. That doesn't mean you'll feel better instantly: it means you'll have a place of support and some reality checking and some assistance monitoring how you're doing.

Step 2 is re-establishing a relationship with your advisor (or a new one). This type of project is supposed to be hard and it's not something you are supposed to do alone, that's why you have an advisor. When setting up the scope of a project, ask them very direct questions for feedback:

Is this scope reasonable?

How much time do you think this would take a student at my level?

Are there better ways to approach this that I'm not seeing?

You've acknowledged here that you're failing. That's good, but you need to acknowledge it with your supervisor as well. In your position I would approach the advisor and say honestly: hey, I tried to do this on my own and it's not working out. I was scared to get advice and that made it harder for me. I don't know what my next steps should be and I need advice.

A good supervisor will take this and do the best they can to help you and will be much more useful than this Stack can be. You should plan to meet with them weekly at a minimum , and every week discuss what you've done and what you plan to do next week. It's okay if "what I did this week" is "I tried XYZ and all of them failed" or "I got stuck learning to do QRST and didn't make it further". This gives your an advisor a chance to help you through those spots and suggest other approaches or other resources, or help recalibrate your goals.

Other supervisors may not be willing to help at this level, in which case you would need to see if you can move to a different supervisor or look at other options you have.

• 1 @Hugh "This is supposed to be hard" refers to your project, not re-establishing a relationship with your advisor. –  Teepeemm Commented Aug 2, 2020 at 18:33

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What Happens if You Fail Your Dissertation?

In University by Think Student Editor February 9, 2023 Leave a Comment

A dissertation module is one of the key things that defines the step up from secondary school to university. It’s one of the biggest pieces of writing you’ll do for your degree, in terms of research and word count. It’s no mistake to think that a lot rests on a good dissertation. However, it’s always good to be prepared for the worst-case scenario. You’ve probably already asked the question – what actually happens if you do fail?

If you fail your dissertation for the first time at any degree level, you will be allowed one resubmission, which is usually capped at the pass mark. However, if you fail your dissertation resubmission, there are different consequences. If you fail your undergraduate dissertation, you can still graduate as long as you have enough credits, although this may be with an ordinary degree. However, if you fail your master’s dissertation or PhD thesis resubmission, you will not be allowed to graduate.

The topic of failure is quite daunting for most students. Not to worry! This article is here to help you understand failure criteria for a dissertation, and what happens in the event of failure.

Table of Contents

Is it possible to fail your dissertation?

Like with modules of your university course, unfortunately it is very much possible to fail your dissertation . Although this sounds daunting, don’t worry too much! Dissertations are not designed for you to fail.

The grading systems for university modules and dissertations are very similar . Across most universities, the pass mark for a dissertation is 40% or 50%. For example, check out this guide by Royal Holloway University, London to learn more about their dissertation grading.

This means that while it is certainly possible to fail your dissertation, it is unlikely that you actually will . However, in the event that you do fail your dissertation for whatever reason, don’t panic. Your university will usually let you resit your dissertation .

Keep in mind you’ll only be able to resit your dissertation once , so try your hardest to achieve the grade you want. For all the details you’ll need about a dissertation, I’d definitely recommend reading this Think Student article.

In summary, while it is possible to fail a dissertation (just like any other university module), a dissertation only requires a pass mark of 40%. Although a dissertation is different to a module, it is still pretty difficult to fail.

In the event you do fail your dissertation, don’t be too hard on yourself . Keep reading further to find out what happens if you fail your resit dissertation.

How bad does a dissertation need to be to fail?

To understand how “bad” a dissertation has to be to fail, you need to know what examiners are looking for.

Your university will have published the marking criteria for dissertations . These will normally feature comments on the key areas to earn marks in. As an example, check out the University of Edinburgh’s dissertation criteria here .

Therefore, if you failed your dissertation, it isn’t necessarily because you’re “bad at researching and writing”. To fail, it has to be the case that you didn’t meet the criteria to achieve a passing mark. It’s important to keep your confidence, so that you can do better when you resit.

If you haven’t written your dissertation yet, I’d definitely recommend looking through your university’s marking criteria. Similarly , your tutor will want to help you as much as possible, so you can ask them for advice if you’re really struggling .

If you’re seeking advice on how to write a dissertation, you should check out this Think Student article.

Can you graduate without passing your dissertation?

For an undergraduate degree, you can still graduate as long as you have enough credits to pass the other modules .

However , if your degree is a BSc or BA with Honours, if you fail your dissertation and the resit dissertation, you will graduate with an ordinary degree . You can read more about what an ordinary degree is in this Think Student article.

If you fail your first dissertation attempt, but pass your resit undergraduate dissertation, you will still pass with whatever class of degree you earned.

However, the rule is slightly different for master’s dissertations and a PhD thesis. These rules also depend on the university you attend .

At all universities, you are allowed one resit of coursework (dissertation is a form of coursework, as it is not a timed exam), even for a master’s degree and a PhD. However, if you fail your resit dissertation for your master’s degree, you cannot be awarded a master’s degree.

In the case of a PhD, you will not be able to graduate with a failed resit thesis . I’ll explain this in more detail later in the article, so keep reading!

What happens if you fail your master’s dissertation?

Failing your master’s dissertation for the first time isn’t ideal, but it isn’t the end of the world. You’re allowed a resit, which if you pass, means you can still graduate with a master’s degree.

However, a failure is a lot more serious if you fail your dissertation a second time . Failing a resit dissertation at master’s degree-level means you cannot graduate with a master’s degree.

This doesn’t mean you can’t be awarded anything at all for your effort. For example, the this page by the University of Nottingham states that if your dissertation is not passable but still “adequate”, you may still be awarded a diploma .

What happens if you fail your PhD thesis?

Like with an undergraduate or master’s degree, you’re allowed to resubmit your thesis once only . Given that you pass the resubmission, you’ll still be on track to graduate with a PhD.

Failing a PhD thesis resubmission means you cannot graduate. The pass mark for a PhD thesis is usually around 60 , such as at the University of Cambridge, which you can learn more about on their website, here .

In most cases, a PhD thesis will account for around 50% of the degree . Looking at it this way, it makes sense that if you failed half of your degree, you wouldn’t be able to graduate. A PhD is a research-based degree, and the thesis proves you have good research skills.

If you’d like to know more about how a PhD is graded, I’d recommend this Think Student article.

How often do students fail their dissertation?

As I established earlier, it’s pretty hard to fail your undergraduate dissertation module . It’s also quite hard to fail a master’s dissertation or a PhD thesis given the pass mark.

According to this article by The Healthy Journal, up to 50% of PhD students will not finish their thesis or graduate . This statistic sounds quite extreme, but keep in mind that not many people choose to complete a PhD because of the amount of time and money it takes.

If you really are concerned about failing your dissertation, speak to your tutor . They will have been in your position and will know how to help. Don’t struggle on your own!

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Failed your thesis? What next?

Your results have just been released. Hopefully you have been successful in your studies and are enjoying celebrating your achievement. Unfortunately, maybe the news you receive is not so positive. You get the unwelcome message that you have ‘failed’ your thesis or dissertation. Despite your undoubted disappointment, this should not stop you from continuing to study, completing your programme and obtaining your qualification. Simply pause and ask yourself: ‘what can I do next?’

First, and foremost, it is worth noting that failing a thesis or dissertation is not uncommon. After all, for most of your degree, many of of your assessments were short, directed tasks, which accounted for relatively small credits towards your overall qualification. When it comes to your thesis, or dissertation, however, you are often left to work alone, for a long period of time. During this time, you are using a process that is relatively new to you, and which comprises a large proportion of the credits you need to complete your programme.

Take note of the proverb put forward by Thomas H. Palmer in his Teacher’s Manual . ‘Tis a lesson you should heed: Try, try, try again. If at first you don’t succeed, try, try, try again’. Unless your college’s rules say otherwise, it is usual for students to have an opportunity to submit a revised thesis or dissertation, and/or do another viva voce (oral examination). You should most certainly ‘try again’!

Review your result

When ‘trying again’, you need to verify exactly what your result means. One student we worked with contacted us in a panic. They said they had ‘failed’ their dissertation. When we looked at their transcript, it simply said the mark was ‘withheld’ (some institutions use other wording, such as ‘pending’). This did not mean that they had failed, but, rather, there was a delay in publishing their result. This can happen if, for instance, the Examination Board did not have all the information they needed, such as requiring further evidence in support of the thesis. In such cases, you will be requested to furnish additional information within a specified (usually short) timeframe before you can obtain your overall result. Occasionally, if an Examination Board is not able to agree a mark/score on the available evidence, students can be offered a viva voce examination (an oral defence of their work).

Another common result given is ‘failed, entitled to resubmit’. This indicates that you have not passed your thesis, but can resubmit all, or part of your assessment work, for further consideration by the examiners. The results for such resubmissions are typically ‘capped’. This means that if you are successful in your resubmission, you will only be awarded the lowest available pass grade. Nonetheless, it is well worthwhile resubmitting, so you can complete your programme of studies and rightfully earn your degree.

Try again. Do better

Another proverb, this time from Samuel Beckett . ‘Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better’.

Assuming your overall result is a ‘fail, entitled to resubmit’ you should view this as your opportunity to ‘do better’. To help, we recommend you seek feedback on your performance. It is important to do this immediately, as information on why students fail is not normally retained by institutions for too long after the official results are published.

In some cases, the Examinations Board provides feedback in the form of a written performance profile, or report, which identifies areas where marks have been gained or lost. Performance profiles vary in the amount of detail they offer, as the content is decided by the Examination Board, who, in turn, are advised by the institute’s general assessment regulations. You will, however, receive a score/mark on each component, or part, of the thesis. You may find minor differences between your overall, examinable, score and the component-level scores on your performance profile. This can occur when the Examination Board checks and revises borderline scores and amends the overall score, accordingly. In this situation, you can be confident that your awarded score/mark is correct.

Even if you do not receive written feedback, you may be able to approach your supervisor and/or examiner(s) to request some. Most are usually willing to offer verbal observations, but will rarely give written comments, as this might cut across decisions made by the Board. Again, you should try to do this quickly, as those who are most likely to be able assist you (such as your supervisor, internal examiner, or external examiner) may be moving on to the next cohort of students. It is important to seek not just feedback, but feed-forward. In other words, to discuss with your supervisor and/or examiner how you can improve your research study, document structure and/or presentation format, when you resubmit.

Other supports

In addition, you should establish what other supports may be available to help you resubmit your work. In some colleges, your supervisor remains in place until your second submission is complete. Whereas, in other institutions, you are automatically appointed an alternative supervisor to assist with resubmission. Even if no supervision is provided, you may have access to a counsellor or mentor to help you. Regardless of what is (or is not) available, it is always worthwhile checking. The more guidance you can obtain, at this stage, the better. If no support is forthcoming from your college, seek help from other students who have passed their thesis. Find out, who, in your class, was awarded a first/distinction. Would they share a copy of their thesis with you? Could you ask for their advice on how to improve yours?

Check the rules for resubmission

Make sure you know the rules for resubmission. You need to find out when, where, and in what format, you can resubmit. Questions you may need to pose are:

When should resubmission happen? This could vary from a couple of days, to up to six months after the original submission date. If you are not ready to rework your thesis or dissertation straight away, you may be able to postpone to the next opportunity for resubmission. This could, however, be as much as twelve months away. If you are ready, confirm who is responsible for registering you for your resubmission. In some institutions, this is done automatically by the faculty; in others, you will be responsible for your own registration.

What will your institution allow you to revise? Sometimes, it is only the presentation elements of your thesis document that can be changed (such as, structure, layout, typeface, and so on). Whereas in other cases, you are permitted a total rewrite of your study. This may occur, for example, when the content is of an appropriate standard, but it contains errors related to spellings, grammar, citing and referencing. Some institutions will only allow you to alter components for which you have a fail mark (such as, if your findings are poorly written up, you may be invited to revise that chapter/section only). Others may direct you to refine, or amend, a specific section (for example, your abstract).

The viva voce

In cases where you are invited to a viva voce, or a second presentation, it is usually because the research itself is passable, but the Examinations Board wants added assurances. For example, that you carried out the work yourself, or that you fully understood the research process you followed. This may mean that you will have to prepare for an in-depth, audio-visual presentation, and/or, participate in an oral questions and answer session. If your research is genuinely yours, and you understood what you did, this should not phase you. Make sure that you prepare in advance and practice, practice, practice. It would be helpful to have a copy of your thesis document ready, with key information marked up, so that you can refer to them easily.

If all else fails?

One final proverb comes to mind here. ‘If at first you don’t succeed; try, try again; then give up, and go and do something else instead’ (anon.).

If you are not eligible for a resubmission, or if they are not available for your thesis, you should check to see if you can gain credit for the research by retaking the whole module. That is, by doing new research and submitting that in place of your original thesis, or take another module, like a taught module, instead.

Finally. most institutions have an appeals mechanism, and this is the ultimate course of action you can take. With a thesis, or dissertation, it is rare to have the result of an Examinations Board overturned. The Appeals Board, however, may offer an alternative way of obtaining credit to complete your qualification, for example, by obtaining credits on another module.

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What If I Failed My Dissertation, Assignment or Exam?

Published by Alvin Nicolas at August 13th, 2021 , Revised On June 24, 2024

Each year several hundreds of university students end up failing their dissertation, coursework, exam, or assignment. Receipt of a failing mark can be the most devastating experience for students in the UK.

Failing a dissertation, essay, or assignment can have a devastating effect on your life – from being shocked by hearing the news of their failure to the mental sufferings that follow.

Have you recently failed your  dissertation ,  assignment , exam or  coursework ? If yes, then be calm because you are not alone. There are several ways of tackling such a situation. This article presents several options for students who have failed an exam, dissertation, or assignment.

So, please sit back and relax because it’s not the world’s end.

Possible Reasons for Failure

Often students do not get enough help from their tutors  to pass an exam, dissertation or coursework, which results in a situation where they start to wait for things to resolve on their own until their problems become too large.

Fortunately, failing mark is not the end of the world, and students can change their circumstances.

There could be numerous reasons as to why you may have failed your dissertation, exam,  essay , or  report . Some students cannot keep up with course reading during the semester, while others do not have a sufficient understanding of their subject-related theories and knowledge due to various reasons.

The inability to understand key concepts, missing lectures regularly, and lack of understanding of course content are some of the most common reasons for a failing mark.

A sensible thing to do would be to  have your paper edited and proofread by an expert to eliminate any grammatical, structural, and spelling errors.

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Avoiding Failure Before you Even Begin

If you want to avoid failure before it happens, you must take some pre-emptive actions before your problems become too large.

Achieving a graduate or postgraduate qualification is not a walk in the park. Therefore, it is vitally important for students to make sure that they meet their challenges head-on to prevent them from turning into potential failures.

Here are some tips for you to avoid failure before you even start.

• If you know that you are struggling with your  dissertation ,  coursework , or  assignment , then take out the time to discuss your problems with your academic supervisor. An academic supervisor or mentor is a member of the faculty assigned to you at your degree course.

Meet with them regularly and let them know of any problems you are facing so they can help you address them promptly.

• Meet the challenges head-on. Don’t wait for your problems to become too large. A small issue can turn into a major crisis if you keep on ignoring it for too long. For example, if you are struggling to  collect primary data for your dissertation , it will be appropriate to consult with your mentor to avoid falling behind on deadlines.

Most universities understand that students may face unforeseen challenges now and then due to their finances, family problems, personal limitations, and prolonged sickness. Therefore, it is possible to minimise the damage by filing for extenuating circumstances.

• By completing and submitting the extenuating circumstances form, you will be formally notifying your university that you are lagging on your dissertation or coursework. And do not forget to attach a formal plan to let them know how you will make sure to meet your new deadline so you can be granted an extension to your coursework, exam, or dissertation deadline.

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Opportunities for Reassessment

Even if you end up receiving a failing mark, you will have several options to choose from to clean the mess. However, before making any decisions, you must determine whether you have failed the entire module, just an element of a module or the dissertation.

Failing Dissertation

if you have forgotten your dissertation because you will be allowed to resubmit it by the deadline agreed upon by yourself and the university.

However, the marks awarded for a resubmitted dissertation are usually caped to a minimum passing mark as a penalty for your failure in the first place.

A complete dissertation failure in UK universities will only occur if you cannot achieve the minimum passing mark even on your second attempt.

To improve your situation, you should regularly meet with your supervisor and avoid overlooking mandatory draft submissions.

Failing Module

You will be required to either re-sit an exam or re-submit the coursework (in some cases) if you have failed an entire module.

Each module that you take the exam for usually has a unique set of module guidelines associated with it. How you will be reassessed is taken by the board of examiners and the lecturers only after considering these guidelines.

Again, the maximum obtainable mark is usually capped to a bare pass level if you are re-siting an exam or resubmitting coursework.

Failing an Element of Module

If you only failed one piece of an exam or coursework and managed to achieve high marks for other modules, you may not need to resubmit that element.

The bottom line is that if your average coursework mark is above the bare minimum passing mark, you will pass that module even if you failed one piece of it.

For example, receive a failing mark of 35 in one essay coursework that counts for 25% of the overall module mark but pass the remaining 75% module assessment (which can be in the form of an exam or coursework). You can still give the entire module.

However, depending on your university’s regulations, you may have the opportunity to resubmit the failed coursework to improve your overall course grade.

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Plagiarism – A Serious Offence

All UK universities have strict rules and penalties against students who are caught plagiarising. If you receive a failing mark due to  plagiarism , you may not be able to resubmit your dissertation/coursework or re-sit an exam.

So make sure to cite others’ ideas and  avoid copying work from other academic sources  to prevent your case from being sent to the University Ethics Board, which usually has the power to take a range of measures against you. In most cases, you will not be able to appeal the decision being taken if you are found guilty of plagiarising. So, refrain from it.

To help bring the point home, you can check out the comments and guidelines made by Reading, UK , regarding plagiarism.

Interesting watch: Check out a student’s account of how and why their dissertation went badly (UK institution).

Also read:   Consequences of Plagiarism 

How to Appeal Against a Failing Mark?

If you believe that you have been disadvantaged in some way or your university did not consider your financial or family problems while awarding you a failing mark. You may have the grounds to appeal against the mark awarded to you.

All UK universities have their own set of rules for lodging student academic appeals. Generally, this is a very lengthy procedure. Make sure that you provide documentary evidence along with the appropriate forms to justify your appeal.

The university exam board will review your case, and you will be allowed to resubmit your work or  resit the exam  if your application is successful.

Detailed information on appealing procedures is usually available on the university’s website and provided to students before starting their degree.

While no student ever wants to fail an exam, coursework, assignment or dissertation, the unthinkable sometimes can happen. But it would help if you did not get discouraged by the disastrous situation because most universities offer another chance to students who have genuine reasons.

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ResearchProspect is a UK-registered firm to provides academic support to students around the world. We specialise in completing design projects,  literature reviews ,  essays ,  reports ,  coursework ,  exam notes ,  statistical analysis , primary and empirical research,  dissertations , case studies,  academic posters , and much more. Getting help from our expert academics is quick and simple. All you have to do is complete our online order form and get your paper delivered to your email address well before your due deadline.

Winning Dissertation Presentations

Don’t let all the paranoia get to you. If you don’t want your dissertation to fail, make sure to take steps to prevent that thing from happening.

Alternatively, checking out some real-life instances of students defending their dissertational research might help, too:

Three Minute Thesis (3MT) 2011 Winner – Matthew Thompson

2014 Three Minute Thesis winning presentation by Emily Johnston

Oxford University’s graduate’s advice for an award-nominated, A-graded dissertation

Furthermore, you can also check out real-life students’ advice about writing a winning dissertation, advice they wish someone had given them.

Further still, if you want to take every last measure, you could also check out what institutions in the UK, such as Birmingham University, require in your dissertation .

Frequently Asked Questions

What does it mean if you fail your dissertation.

Failing a dissertation means not meeting required standards. It may lead to retaking or resubmitting. Understand feedback, identify weaknesses, and seek support to improve and succeed next time.

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The list of figures and tables in dissertation help the readers find tables and figures of their interest without looking through the whole dissertation.

Learn how to write a good declaration page for your thesis with the help of our step-by-step comprehensive guide. Read now.

Appendices or Appendixes are used to provide additional date related to your dissertation research project. Here we explain what is appendix in dissertation

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What to Do if You Fail Your Essay, Assignment, Exam or Dissertation

One of the most difficult experiences for students in the UK is the receipt of a failing mark (usually anything marked 39 or below is a fail). It is important to understand that there are many reasons why this can happen to students, and there are usually several options to change the failing mark. Whether you fail an exam , coursework or even the dissertation itself, you have options available so it’s not necessarily the end of the world!

Common Reasons for Failure

Students fail elements of their degree for a number of reasons. The most common issues are not attending lectures, not keeping up with course reading, confusion or lack of understanding of course content, and personal problems that distract students.

How to Avoid Failure Before it Happens

With all of the problems noted above, students can usually avoid failing simply by taking pre-emptive action before the problem spirals out of control. There are several steps to take to ensure that small issues don’t become potential failures.

• Talk to your Academic Tutor. This is a member of the faculty assigned to you at the beginning of your degree programme, who you meet with regularly to discuss your progress. You can contact this person at any time and they can advise you on how to address any challenges you are facing.
• Don’t wait until problems become large. It is always best to be aware that a small issue can quickly become a crisis if you neglect to address it. For example, if you are struggling to understand the course material one week, you will be unlikely to follow along as the course progresses. It is far better to consult with your lecturer early to avoid falling seriously behind later.
• File for ‘Extenuating Circumstances’. Most UK universities understand that students will sometimes face unavoidable difficulties due to prolonged sickness, family problems or financial issues. If you experience one of these problems you can file an ‘Extenuating Circumstances’ form, which formally notifies the university about your problem. Your Academic Tutor will sign this form and together you will construct a plan to catch up on any missed coursework or exams, and you will possibly be granted extensions to normal coursework deadlines.

Re-Assessment Opportunities

If the worst happens and you do receive a failing mark, you have several options. First, you need to understand whether you have failed an element of a module, the entire module, or the dissertation.

Failed Module Element

If you’ve failed one piece of coursework or an exam, it may not be necessary to re-submit that element. If your marks for other module elements are high enough that your averaged course mark is 40 or above, you will pass the module overall regardless of the one failure. In other words, if you receive a mark of 35 on an essay that counts for 40% of your module mark, you can still pass the module if you receive an average mark of 45 on the remaining 60% of the module assessment. However, you may wish to re-submit anyway, in order to achieve a higher overall degree average. The opportunities to allow this vary among Universities, so check the regulations at your own institution.

Failed Module

If you fail an entire module you are usually required to re-sit the assessments, either by re-submitting the coursework or, in some cases, by resitting an exam. The form of the assessment will be decided according to the existing module guidelines, university regulations, and the decisions of the lecturer and board of examiners. The resulting mark is usually capped at a bare pass level, which is typically in the 40-50 range.

Failed Dissertation

If you fail a dissertation, you will usually be given an opportunity to re-submit it by an agreed-upon date. As with a module failure, the marks awarded for a re-submitted dissertation will usually be capped at a bare pass level. It is worth noting that a complete failure of a dissertation is rare at UK universities, and typically occurs only if a student has neglected to meet with their supervisor at regular intervals, or neglected to submit drafts in advance of the final submission.

A Note on Plagiarism

Although university regulations usually allow a student to re-sit exams and assessments, as described above, there are special procedures in place in cases of failure due to plagiarism. If a student is found to have copied work from another source or used the ideas of others without citing their sources appropriately, they may receive a failing mark. In serious cases the matter can be referred to a University Ethics Board, that will have the authority to take a range of measures against the student. In many cases, students found guilty of plagiarising will not be provided with an opportunity to improve their marks, though they could potentially appeal the decision. In short, don’t do it!

Appeal Procedures

In addition to re-submitting assessment elements, you may have grounds appeal the marks awarded to you. This can happen if your university has neglected to take your Extenuating Circumstances into account, or if you were unfairly disadvantaged in any way. Each university has its own procedures for student academic appeals, and in general, it requires a somewhat lengthy process. You must be certain to file the appropriate forms before the deadlines, and fully document the reasons you feel justified in appealing your marks. Your case will be considered by a university exam board, and if you are successful you will be offered options for re-sitting or re-submitting work without restrictions on the potential marks you can earn. Full details of your university’s appeal procedures will be given to you at the start of your degree programme.

While every student hopes to avoid failing or even coming close to failing, sometimes the unthinkable does happen and a failing mark results. These situations can seem terribly disheartening for students, but it is important to remember that universities do offer second chances for genuinely honest and hard-working students!

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What Happens If You Fail Your Dissertation?

If you are on the brink of failure over your final year research, then don’t worry, you are not alone. It is no doubt that every year, several students go through a failing dissertation which is a traumatizing experience for anyone, thinking what will happen if you fail your dissertation?

Opportunity or Exhaustive?

It is a fact that the degree will not be awarded with a failed dissertation, no matter which academic program a student is enrolled in. The nightmares of ‘what happens if I fail my dissertation’ are completely fair.

What Happens If you Fail your Dissertation?

When it comes to Ph.D., the dissertation failure rate is about 40% to 50% which increases the thoughts of what happens if you fail dissertation. Some don’t even make it to their final defense and are rejected over their proposal presentation. And gets in the list of fail dissertation UK professors manage.

With a figure like this of Ph.D. students who are comparatively professionals at what they do, think about the failed undergraduate dissertation rates that students might go through every year. In fact, before submission they are surrounded with one question; how bad does a dissertation have to be to fail? and try to conquer it.

The question arises, are facing such results an opportunity or exhaustive? That depends upon the student and how they perceive it. Many get motivated by their failures while others do breakdown and cry thinking I ‘failed my dissertation’. To have a say, it should be taken no less than an opportunity to improve a failing dissertation.

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So What’s Next?

“What happens if I fail my dissertation?” or “what happens if you don’t submit your dissertation” is a common question. Students with this unfortunate situation will be given another opportunity to re-submit their dissertation within a given deadline.

Strictly keeping in mind, the marks will be kept to a minimum passing line during the resubmission, which is an academic probatory method practiced for certain reasons. Anyhow, it is somewhat a good news, better than wondering wondering ‘what happens if you fail your undergraduate dissertation?’ A passing grade would even work.

What Happen If I Failed in My Dissertation on Second Attempt?

If the second attempt turns out to be unsuccessful, then you can re-submit your dissertation the next semester of your university. Doesn’t need to brag ‘I failed my dissertation’

Can you resit a dissertation again after the second attempt? That depends upon the regulation that the university has set forth. However, such situations are rare and are less likely to occur but might be possible to some extent when you failed undergraduate dissertation.

How to Avoid Possible Dissertation Failure?

Before starting your  dissertation writing  and possibly avoid the chance of saying: “I failed my dissertation”, it is necessary to keep certain practices in check.

Keep communication with your supervisors regular

The dissertation supervisor is the key to achieving a passing grade. Every help should be taken from the supervisors as they have the academic insider of all the do’s and don’t. Even ask what happens if you fail dissertation UK standard has rejected. This is a student’s guide to achieve perfection, let alone just passing.

Look for immediate help from other sources

Look for immediate help to overcome minor research issues. Avoid delaying as it might become last-minute trouble to fix a failed dissertation (what every student thinks). Yet again, it is not wise to disturb your supervisor over and over again so don’t be shy to seek help from your friends, or anyone professional, if you think you are on the edge to fail dissertation this year.

Have a Maintained Flow

Can you fail a dissertation? Failure is possible when it comes to not proposing a proper presentation. This may be caused due to not having a strong enough literature review, research methods, variables, or the research statement itself. Furthermore, there has to be a connection from one chapter to another. Without a connection, the judging panel might find it difficult to understand which can lead to rejection and failing a dissertation might become your fate.

The submission of hard copy needs to be structured properly with relevant and up-to-date citations used within the plagiarism percentage criteria. In this case, ‘can you resit a dissertation’ thoughts becomes void.

This is a glimpse of how bad does a dissertation have to be to fail, where following these guidelines are just the basics for passing on the borderline and resist ‘what happens if you fail a  dissertation’ thoughts.

Keeping in Mind!

These are the basic understanding as to what happens if you fail your dissertation on any academic level. But keep in mind, you can always appeal to your university for re-checking any unfair corrections that might have occurred in your failed masters dissertation or so. Universities around the world do facilitate such procedures where you can provide strong evidence to avoid such failure.

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Some of the common questions asked by students regarding this matter are:

You will need to submit a new application in the next semester for your dissertation and repeat the research credit hours all over again from scratch.

That varies from university to university and the regulations they might have set forth. However, it is required to complete the full credit hours of the final dissertation again.

Not much compared to the dissertation failure rate of Ph.D. students . The key is to follow all the advice of your supervisor as they usually carry most of the dissertation mark weightage.

To understand the procedure and to know what happens if you fail your dissertation on the first attempt, you will generally be given another opportunity to resubmit your dissertation on another given deadline.

To some extent, yes. It possible; judging by the dissertation failure rate which exists. However, there could be numerous reasons for failing your dissertation. This possibility exists and many students tend to go through the horror thoughts of ‘what if I fail my dissertation’ and it is completely fair to fear.

Put a stop to deadline pressure, and have your homework done by an expert.

So, How Bad Does a Dissertation Have to Be to Fail?

How hard is it to write a dissertation? Well, it is pretty difficult to write one because the research takes a long time and you also need to have strong critical and analytical skills to do a good job. Your questions should really be “how bad does a dissertation have to be to fail?”

While a failed masters thesis is not a very big deal, a failed PhD is. You can lose years of research and hard work because your university may not allow you to enroll a second time. However, you will be thrilled to learn that a dissertation should be pretty bad to fail. Read the rest of the article to find out just how bad (as well as what you can do to improve your score)!

Mandatory Parts of a Dissertation

Still in college, many students are starting to research ways to get their PhD. They are looking at the PhD failure rate and at what a dissertation means. Inevitably, you will ask yourself this question: what are the mandatory elements of a good dissertation? Fortunately, most dissertations are structured the same. Here is what you will need to include in your paper:

The dissertation Abstract. This is basically a very short summary of your entire dissertation. A scholar will read it to find out if your paper can help him with his work (or if your paper is going to be of interest). The dissertation Introduction. The introduction is around two pages long and its main goal is to give your reader an idea of what you will be discussing in your paper. You can also briefly describe the methods you will be using and even present a bit of information about your findings and conclusions. The Dissertation Methods and Discussion. This part is different from dissertation to dissertation. You will need to provide extensive information about the methods you have used to gather the data and the results of your research. Also, you will need to carefully discuss each result and critically analyze it. You can use an empirical or non-empirical route in this section. The Dissertation Conclusions. The conclusion should be viewed as the deduction part of your paper. Think long and hard about what you can deduce from your findings. Make assumptions and suppositions. This section is very important because it shows the committee that you have understood the subject and managed to answer the research questions. The Dissertation References. The references section is the part where you include all the materials you have used to write the paper. Any journals, articles, interviews, etc. should be included here if you’ve used them. Also, every time you cite anything in your text, you should create a reference entry.

Remember to check the requirements of your university to make sure you know what the committee expects to receive. Your university can tell you more about the number of words, which fonts to use, and even if you need to include the acknowledgements before or after the abstract.

Length and Quality of Content

What happens if you fail college? Well, you don’t get a bachelor’s degree. Also, you forfeit any chance of getting a Master’s degree and then a Doctoral degree. However, if you are thinking about a failed PhD, things are a lot easier. You won’t get the Doctoral degree, but you could get a Master’s degree automatically – depending on university rules. So, how can you avoid a dissertation defense failure? Well, one of the very first things you should do is pay attention to the length of your paper and quality of the content. Here are a few hints to get you started:

The length of a dissertation can vary from 100 to 300 pages in length. Margins are usually 1 inch on all sides Font size is usually 10-12 points Double spacing is used in the body of text The content needs to be structured in a logical manner and all the sections we’ve talked about above must be included. The content needs to be 100% free of plagiarism and spelling/grammar errors. The content needs to contain original research and a critical analysis of the findings. Referencing a dissertation is not that difficult, regardless of the academic format (APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.) Make sure you read the style guide and understand the proper way to cite and reference other people’s work.

What Can Go Wrong?

We’ve seen more than one failed masters degree. A dissertation failure is not that different. There are many things that can go wrong when it comes to such a complex academic paper. And remember, the paper is no everything. Here are some of the reasons why you can fail your dissertation:

• You focus on your grades in grad school. Remember that nobody cares about your grades in grad school. Instead of working on your dissertation every chance you get, you are more worried about low grades.
• You procrastinate. If you are like most grad students, you like to procrastinate. You think you have more than enough time to research and write the dissertation. Well, the sad truth is that you probably don’t.
• You ignore the committee and its recommendations. In most cases, you will be asked to change some things during the oral presentation of your dissertation. Failure to implement these changes is a sure way to fail the PhD.
• You don’t write at least 4 papers that can be published in reputable scholarly journals. This is also a sure way to fail your dissertation. Remember, the committee expects to see these pieces. And they will really read them. This means that you should not, under any circumstance, rush them just to get them done.
• Not having a clear structure in mind is very risky. Also, not thinking critically is definitely going to hurt your score. Simply analyzing other works is not enough to get a passing score. You need to be able to think critically and come up with original ideas that are supported by well-researched data. A dissertation must present original data that you have uncovered yourself.
• Not editing and proofreading your work can result in a failure. Poorly written content makes reading the dissertation difficult and can irritate the committee or at least the chair of the committee. This is enough to get you a low score.
• Waiting for your supervisor to tell you what to do is not an option. You are expected to take charge of your paper and do the necessary research yourself. You should not expect the supervisor to tell you what to do.
• Your thesis may be deemed not good enough. Keep in mind that your thesis needs to be original and present conclusive findings. If the evaluators think your paper is flawed beyond repair, you will fail.
• The PhD defense fail. After you submit your thesis to the committee, you will need to defend it. The faculty members will ask you various questions to make sure you have understood the field and that it really is you who wrote the paper. If you are unable to answer the questions, you will fail. You can also be accused of plagiarism, which is not something you want.

There are many other things that can happen, including things that are outside your control (like poor health or family problems). However, keep in mind that the PhD completion rate is around 80% in the United Kingdom and around 56% in the United States. This means that you have a very good chance of getting a doctorate degree if you focus on your paper and you do whatever you can to perfect it.

The Process of Grading a Dissertation

What is the process of grading a dissertation? Do professors check sources? The process of grading a dissertation is not overly complex and yes, most professors really do check your sources. It is very important to use authoritative sources and information taken from reputable authors and scholars. Don’t include references just for the sake of having references because they will be checked and you risk failing your PhD. As for the grading process, every school has a different system. However, in most cases, you need to achieve the following to get a top score:

• Demonstrate a deep understanding of the topic and show originality with the research question and aims.
• Demonstrate plenty of fieldwork (this can be independent research as well). This means you need to prove that you have analyzed primary published data in-depth (or carry out comprehensive computer-aided research or archival research).
• Demonstrate that you have used strong critical commentary in interpretative techniques in your methodology and even the design of the research.
• Your paper has a coherent structure and is very well organized (or even innovatively organized).
• You show great critical synthesis skills and know how to put your work in context with the wider theoretical framework.
• Your paper looks professional. This means having a greatly-written bibliography and excellent references.
• You have a fluent style and there are very few or no spelling or grammar errors. We would advise you to hire a proofreader to proofread your work.

Basically, you will almost certainly get a top score if your dissertation can be published as a journal paper with only minor changes.

How Can You Avoid a Failed PhD?

I think my dissertation is bad, what can I do to make things right? This is one of the most common questions we get. And it’s not easy to give an answer. There are many things that you can do to avoid a failed PhD. Here are some of the most important things you need to do to avoid a fail:

• Make effective use of your critical reflection skills. Most dissertations fail because of a lack of critical analysis. Being generally descriptive or criticizing other scholars’ work will not do the trick. You need to analyze the subject and come up with original solutions or use your research to bring something new to light.
• Make sure your paper is coherent. Poorly organizing the dissertation will most likely cause it to fail. Keep in mind that the paper must be coherent in its entirety and not just a bunch of paragraphs thrown together.
• Make the presentation as good as you can. A poor presentation will have disastrous consequences because it will give the committee the reason to fail you for poorly written content and even a lack of a logical structure. Proofread your work or hire a professional proofreader to do it for you. Make sure it is perfect!
• Make the changes that have been requested by the committee during the oral examination. You probably won’t fail at the oral examination, but you will surely fail if you don’t make the changes that have been requested. And no, the changes should not be superficial either.
• Make sure you have at least 4 or 5 pieces of publishable work. Usually, the committee does not expect you to have these published. However, you need to make sure that these pieces can get published in a good scholarly journal.
• Don’t aim too high. Your research will probably not revolutionize the field and won’t probably lead to the discovery of a cure for cancer. The aim of your dissertation is to show the committee that you are able to do high level research, not to show your best work in your career.

Remember that all the dissertation stress can take a toll on you. You will hit a writer’s block sooner or later, with devastating consequences. To make sure you have the best chance to pass the dissertation and get a top score, you should consider getting some help from a person who already has a PhD and who knows how to write one the right way.

Get Writing Assistance From Our Dissertation Experts

Getting a doctorate degree is very difficult, as you can see. It is a lot more difficult than getting your masters degree. This is why we suggest you to get some writing assistance from our awesome thesis writers. Our experts have been writing dissertations for years. Also, they’ve helped students with any kind of dissertation proposal or defense you can imagine. Bottom line, we have extensive experience writing dissertations that any professor or any supervisor can appreciate.

If you are a graduate or undergraduate student, getting assistance from us is very simple. Get in touch with us and send us a detailed list of requirements. Give our professionals as much information about your project as you can. Also, you could send us some materials if you thing they will help our expert do a better job. We will pair you with our most experienced writers (or you can choose the writers you like). Once you make payment for the paper, our experts start working.

Your dissertation will be ready before the deadline, guaranteed. And remember, it will be perfect. All the information will be sourced from authoritative sources and properly cited and referenced. We will handle the research part ourselves as well. Getting the best dissertation help has never been easier. Let our writers (all of them have at least one PhD degree) work their magic and help you get a top grade on your dissertation. So, can you do my dissertation right away? Sure, just get in touch with us today!

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Academic Manual

• 9. Consequences of Failure

Section 9: Consequences of Failure

Published for 2023-24

9.1 Overarching Principles

9.2 Failure at the First Attempt

9.3 Failure at the Second Attempt

9.4 Resitting a Module

9.5 Repeating a Module

9.6 Non-Modular Programmes

9.6.1 ba (hons) english.

9.6.2 BA (Hons) Fine Art 

9.6.3 BFA (Hons) Fine Art 

9.6.4 MBBS (Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery) 

9.6.5 MA Fine Art

9.6.6 MFA Fine Art in the Slade School of Fine Art

Advice for students.

Further information and advice for students about assessment is available on the  Examinations & Awards webpages .

Recent Changes

A guide to changes to the regulations are available from the  Recent Changes  page.

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What Happens If You Fail Your Dissertation? Know Here

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1. Inappropriate Data

2. incorrect referencing, 3. missing information, 4. improper structure, 5. lack of academic research, 6. grammatical errors, 7. poor presentation, 8. plagiarised text, conduct in-depth research, analyze mistakes chapter wise, revise and edit your paper, seek experts assistance.

Are you struggling to write your dissertation and wondering what happens if you fail your dissertation? Get the answer here! But before this, let us quickly have a glance at the meaning of the dissertation term.

A dissertation is based on original research. You have to focus on numerous aspects before starting and while writing it. The paper begins with selecting a perfect topic. If it is not impressive, then your professor will not think twice while giving you poor marks.

The next task comes is research. It is the crucial one because your entire paper depends on it. Then comes the planning and presentation of the information.

But what if, after all the hard work, your dissertation fails? Nothing can be more devastating for a student than a dissertation failure. Many times, you do not know why a dissertation fails. However, it can be plagiarized, errors or anything else. The perfect solution for your problem is to get our dissertation proofreading services .

Most UK students are afraid of resitting a dissertation because it requires double hard work. If you also have a failed dissertation, you must know what can happen next in the below section.

Are You Worried about Writing a Dissertation Due to the Fear of Failure?

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How Poor Does a Dissertation Have to Be to Fail?

Do you know what happens if you fail dissertation uk or what can lead to dissertation failure? Then, this section is completely for you. Thus, poor writing and improper research take you down in the dump. Therefore, to know other things that lead to failure, you must read the points given below.

Adding wrong information that is not relevant to your topic causes students to worry about what happens if you fail your dissertation. In such a situation, a student can take the assistance of a dissertation expert and get one-to-one interaction with them to know the right procedure for referencing.

Students do not know how to do referencing and in-text citations, which demonstrates inefficiency in doing the research work. It can lead to delivering a failed dissertation. Referencing helps scholars remove the probability of plagiarism work and give credit to the research work and other authors.

A dissertation contains various sections like introduction, abstract, methodology, literature review, discussion, references, and others. Moreover, there are high chances that you can forget any of these. And if you miss out on some vital information, it can lead to failure. So, add all the helpful information and try to check it twice before submitting or getting dissertation writing services from our experts.

Perfect structure captivates a lot of eyes towards your paper. Well, students take it casually and do not focus on making a proper structure. It is the way they drag the hole for themselves and fail the dissertation. So, you must go through the guidelines and some examples that can help you with this.

Are you a student who thinks research wastes your time? Well, if you are one then you can cause failure in your dissertation. Moreover, it is because, if you are not given enough time to review the literature, you will not clarify the concept and will not be able to make your document unique.

Grammatical errors, use of jargon, and abbreviations can be a reason for you to fail your dissertation. It is because your reader keeps certain criteria to grade your document, which involves grammar mistakes. So, if you do not want to be caught in such a situation, you can use our grammar checker tool.

You may also like to read: 35+ Trending Brexit Dissertation Topics

In a dissertation, you have to present original research. The information in the paper is vital; if it is not presented impressively, the professor can fail you. Poor presentation confuses the reader, and the quality of the document suffers.

No university will ever entertain the plagiarized text in the dissertation. Since original research is required in this type of paper, traces of plagiarism can ruin it. Most universities fail their students if the dissertation committee finds plagiarism. Nowadays, professors run the document on various checker tools to identify such mistakes that students make.

Well! You have to focus on various things while writing a dissertation. That is why it takes months to complete the paper. If you want to know how to avoid dissertation failure, then read below.

Is It Possible to Graduate Without Passing Your Dissertation?

No, there is no chance of getting graduated without passing your dissertation. In academic institutions, the dissertation is the most crucial component of a graduate program. Moreover, failing it can have many implications for graduation degree.

However, there are specific policies regarding dissertation failure and graduation eligibility that differ among different institutions. In addition, get your query solved by consulting your academic advisor or carefully reading the policies of your institutions to have a better understanding to stay away from the potential outcomes of failing a dissertation.

You may also like to read: Geography Dissertation Ideas & Topics [2024]

4 Tips for Students to Overcome from Dissertation Failure

Are you in a dilemma and wondering what happens if you fail dissertation uk? Worry now! Here are the four tips that can be life-changing for students because they will help them overcome dissertation failure. If you are also writing a dissertation but cannot work on it properly, do not worry! You can buy dissertation where our experts can help you with a top-quality document. But, now let's have a look at the tips given below:

Research is a vital part of your dissertation process because it is one of the lengthy and most crucial papers for students. So, you should conduct in-depth research and ensure to note down the essential points. By this, you can remember what information is a must to add to your project. Thus, do not take this casually, otherwise, you can fail your dissertation.

A dissertation is a lengthy paper that includes many chapters, which can confuse students. Therefore, they need to check on the previous documents and analyze the mistakes they have made. It will help them to remember what errors you should not repeat.

Before the final submission of your dissertation, do ensure to have a thorough recheck. Moreover, this will help you to correct the spelling, vocabulary or sentence errors, and if you are missing some information, you can add it at that moment. You should also have your content run on the plagiarism and grammar checker tools to ensure the uniqueness of your document.

Struggling to Compose an 100% Original Write-up?

Let Our Experts Help You to Deliver Human Generated Content in No Time

If you do not want to take the risk to fail your dissertation, you must seek help from your peers, professors or any professional. Moreover, for perfect assistance, students always ask for dissertation help from our experts. So, you can also avail of our services and release your stress.

These are the few tips that students need to note down in their heads while working on their dissertations. If you do not, then it can cause a major issue in your academic career and will wonder, what happens if I fail my dissertation. But, to keep yourself away, you can always rely on us. Do you want to know how? Let's read the next section and clarify your problem.

We At Assignment Desk Can Write a Perfect Dissertation for You

If you have failed a dissertation or wondering, what happens if you fail your dissertation, then your solution should be Assignment Desk. Moreover, it is because you cannot take the risk to get failing, as you cannot get a graduate degree before passing the paper. Therefore, our experts have solved this problem for many students. In addition, we have certified and experienced writers that can benefit you in various ways. They can easily offer you a well-structured, plagiarism-free paper in a short time if you get our dissertation editing services .

Are you thinking that hiring an expert can be costly and you cannot afford that much? We got your back! You must check out the discounts and offers we are providing. By doing so, you can get the paper at the most reasonable and cheapest price. What are you still wondering? Go now and grab this amazing opportunity and elevate your academic grades in no time!

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MASTERS DISSERTATION FAILED!!

Hi all, I was wondering whether anyone can shed any light on this situation. I handed my dissertation in the beginning of May to a Liverpool university. I bumped into my supervisor who said that according to her I had passed but it still needed to be second marked. I received an email today saying that my provisional mark is that i have failed but this decision will not be confirmed until tomorrow, when it goes to the exam board. Can anyone tell me what the next steps would be? This is the first time I have submitted my work. Thanks

Hi, Usually the external examiner would be asked to look at it, and if he / she confirms the fail then the exam board will decide what to do. If you have a look in the exam regulations for Liverpool you can probably find out for sure but I'd suspect that you will be given two choices a) if you passed all the other modules you could walk away with a postgrad diploma or b) you could revise and resubmit the dissertation but the mark will probably be capped. If there are extenuating circumstances of any sort and you can prove them, then I'd suggest letting your course leader know about them asap.

I mark MA dissertations. The way it goes is that most are marked twice. However, of one marker has passed it, and another marker has failed it, the dissertation goes to a third marker, and that's what they'll be waiting on. Usually, if it fails, you're given time to resubmit, unless the failure is for plagiarism, and then it's a whole different ball-game! So don't panic. It'll either be a pass (third marker agrees with first marker) or a resubmit (third marker agrees with second marker).

Hi Sunshine901, There is another option that has not been mentioned yet. If you can prove that the level of supervision you received was not adequate you might have a case against your supervisor by way of a formal complaint. This may lead to you being appointed a different supervisor and you being given the chance to improve your mark without it being capped. This is perhaps the most likely steps you should/could take since your supervisor lead you to believe that you passed and then the second marker decided it is a failure. Even if you pass via the third marker you may still have a case against the supervisor for inadequate supervision and therefore still have a chance to improve your mark if you wish to. The supervisor (assuming you have been working with him/her through to completion) should ensure the work you submit is of the required standard to pass - it is their responsibility. Good luck whatever you decide to do.

======= Date Modified 28 Nov 2011 09:31:43 ======= ============= Edited by a Moderator ============= --SPAM--

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• CAREER FEATURE
• 21 August 2023

Failed PhD: how scientists have bounced back from doctoral setbacks

• Carrie Arnold 0

Carrie Arnold is a science writer based near Richmond, Virginia.

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Distraught and panicking, Jess McLaughlin logged into their Twitter account last October and wrote a desperate, late-night tweet .

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A community for people who need advice, feedback or help for their dissertation or other similar academic writings. People interested in helping others with writing or interested in learning more about the topics written about are also very welcome.

Failed thesis work TWICE

My boyfriend studies in Prague, his thesis work was failed TWICE, saying that he used AI. However, it was never proven… The university keeps taking money for the semesters and the exams. What should he do? Btw, he didn’t use AI, and they never showed any proof of him using AI. His friend failed for the same reason, and when we checked their works through GPTZero, AI use wasn’t as high as the university said it was. Also, he has a good GPA and his mentor ignored him while he was writing both of his papers, on the second thesis my boyfriend reported him to the university and his mentor replied on the day of his deadline🤡 I saw the “document” which they sent to my bf where they describe the “act” and the possibility of getting expelled, and the document looks very informal and unprofessional… His friend’s mentor said that to prove that he didn’t use GPT, he has to write a new paper with a screen recording))) Also, the day before his thesis presentation, the university texted my bf that they want to use his thesis where he’s gonna be a CO- author for his own work in a magazine🤡🤡🤡 Does anyone have any advice on what should we do, we are thinking that he should go to court, and return all the money because we also found out that students pay veryyyyy different tuition prices, however going to court also is a waste of money… Any advice? (P.S. Sorry for my English😂, not my first language)

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Failed Master's dissertation twice

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