If you choose not to include funders or advisors in your acknowledgements, you could risk insulting them. This could prevent them from working with you in the future, and could even lead them to refuse to write you any letters of recommendation. In many cases, you’ll have 1 academic advisor who is the chair of your thesis review committee, and then 2 or 3 additional faculty members who serve as secondary co-advisors. If this is the case, make sure that you include your secondary co-advisors in addition to your chair.

This could be other faculty members, fellow students, research assistants, archivists, librarians, or other institutional personnel who assisted in the research and writing process in any way. Professional contributors could include people who read and reviewed your work, helped facilitate research, or talked through challenging concepts and ideas with you throughout the thesis-writing process.

For example, while you may be close with and enjoy seeing a particular cousin or childhood friend, if they weren’t actively supporting you during this time, you likely won’t have space to include them in your acknowledgements.

If a well-known academic in your field was particularly inspirational but did not read your work, you can also mention them in your acknowledgements if you have space to do so.

If your faith is particularly important to you, you could also consider dedicating your thesis to the higher power you believe in. This could be done within the acknowledgments, or on a separate dedication page depending on your institution’s formatting preferences.

If someone was a great influence in your life but didn’t contribute to your thesis directly, you could consider writing them a personal letter or email instead of including them in your acknowledgements.

While acknowledgment sections are generally less than 1 page, some institutions will allow you to write more. Check with your academic advisor to find out for sure. [8] X Expert Source Jeremiah KaplanResearch & Training Specialist Expert Interview. 2 September 2021.

While there’s no set rule about acknowledgement order, in general, funders are thanked first for their financial support, then academic supervisors, followed by other academics and professionals, as well as colleagues and classmates.

If you’re afraid that your personal supporters might be offended by being acknowledged last, you could explain to them that this is a professional courtesy.

Since your academic advisor was likely a big part of your research and writing process, you’ll likely want to expand on how they helped you. For example, you could write, “I would like to thank my advisor, Dr. Timothy Kelly, for his guidance and prompt feedback throughout this process. ”

In contrast, you can include only first names for your personal acknowledgements if you choose.

If you focus on your own accomplishments too much, you could risk coming off as a bit smug. Instead, let the quality of your work speak for itself and use the acknowledgements to focus on others.

This is particularly important to keep in mind when you thank your academic peers or faculty members that you’ve developed a personal relationship with, as it can be tempting to write too casually in these instances. [16] X Research source For example, to thank your advisor, you could write, “I could not have completed this work without the unwavering support of my chair, Dr. Sherre McWhorter. Dr. McWhorter, your patience and guidance made this work possible. ”

If your parents provided substantial support for you during this process, thank them in a personal manner by saying something like, “It is impossible to extend enough thanks to my family, especially my parents, who gave me the encouragement I needed throughout this process. ” Instead of naming each of your friends individually, you could try thanking them collectively in a more casual manner. For example, you could write, “To my friends, this would have been a much more difficult feat without you. Thank you all for your unwavering support and for reminding me to take breaks and have fun when I’ve been stressed out. ”

If you want to thank someone for their support in a more emotional, personal manner, try thanking them in person or with a handwritten letter.