How to write thesis acknowledgements

When in the trenches of thesis writing, the acknowledgements section is easy to overlook. Unlike other parts of a dissertation, acknowledgements are a ‘sort-of free-for-all … a place where students can express themselves in their own voices,’ as Jordan Mallon, a palaeobiologist at the Canadian Museum of Nature, puts it. Who you thank, how, and why are often yours to decide. But how exactly does one do that? 

Lots of thesis writing guides don’t mention acknowledgements at all, or gloss over them in a matter-of-fact way – just thank those who have helped you throughout your degree. Sounds simple, and for some, it is. ‘It was easy to rattle off all the people and organisations that supported me throughout my doctoral training,’ says Bryan James, a chemical engineer at Northeastern University in the US. ‘I had tremendous fun writing it, recollecting the ups and downs that came with my PhD.’ 

For others, like Henry Sun, who studies microbiology at Desert Research Institute in Las Vegas, US, it’s just a box to check – ‘I never attached much importance to the section to feel one way or another.’ 

And for still others, it can be a source of anxiety or an uncomfortable reminder that your university experience didn’t turn out how you’d hoped. ‘I had to find a balance between thanking certain key people while not erasing the complicated relationship I had with them,’ says one PhD graduate who asked to remain anonymous. 

Who should you thank? 

A strong place to start is to make a list of who you are expected to thank, and who you want to thank.

Depending on your specific research, you should also consider acknowledging the contributions of study participants, sample providers and sources of cell lines, such as Henrietta Lacks.

There can be more thank-yous to hand out than you expect. ‘The trickiest part was trying to keep track of everyone who helped me along the way,’ says Mallon. ‘It was a five-year slog, so it can be easy to overlook a single person who might’ve helped momentarily somewhere in the timeline. I always tell my students to track those things.’

If you’ve received support from conventional sources or otherwise, consider including them. Digital chemist and Chemistry World contributor Nessa Carson thanked many Twitter users. I acknowledged the cat shelter where I volunteered.

Remember too that you’re not limited to thanking humans. Carson thanked her cat and hermit crab (named potassium hexafluoroantimonate) in her first thesis. By her second, the list had grown to include ‘two rats, two degus, the same hermit crab, an arrow crab, a fish, another fish and three cats.’

You’re not even limited to thanking sentient creatures. I considered thanking the coffee franchise Tim Hortons for getting me through my thesis, and looking back, I wish I had.

You’re more likely to regret missing someone than including them. ‘I should have acknowledged the guy that graduated before me, was a groomsman in my wedding and that I still talk to a lot,’ says ChemJobber, an industrial chemist and Chemistry World contributor. Andrew Parnell, a polymer physicist at the University of Sheffield, UK, wishes he ‘had thanked my parents much more, as they gave me so much and supported me at every turn’.

These thank-yous can even do more than show appreciation. ‘Acknowledgements can serve as a meaningful form of academic networking. In my experience, they have helped foster collaborations and strengthen professional connections,’ says Bi Zhao, a palaeontologist at the Hubei Institute of Geosciences, China.

How do you write it?

‘I definitely didn’t receive any instructions on how to write [my acknowledgements],’ says Mallon. He figured it out in the same way that most of the people I spoke to did – by reading already-published theses.

Christopher Reddy, an ocean chemist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, US, says: ‘My PhD advisor had no comments on that section – no guidance, no edits.’ Simon Hamman, a food chemist at the University of Hohenheim, Germany, firmly believes that this lack of instruction is a feature, not a bug, calling it ‘the only page in a thesis that should go without external feedback’.

Judy Wu, a computational chemist at the University of Houston, US, echoes this – ‘I think it’s good that we are not instructed and that we do not instruct our students how to write it.’ Nobody else could or would produce the same thank-yous as you do. ‘It is so personal that, instead of looking outward for inspiration, I think the writer really has to look inward,’ recommends Wu.

If this all feels like a lot of pressure, keep in mind that no matter how you do your acknowledgements, ‘there is no wrong or right way to do it. It just should be true to [you],’ as James says.

How long should it be?

The simplest answer is, as long as it needs to be to thank those you want to.

James remembers his acknowledgements section as a long-winded Oscar acceptance speech. ‘Rereading it, I can imagine the music starting to play,’ he says. ‘But it should be as long as you want, and reflect the personality of the author.’

Reddy was told that ‘the longer the acknowledgements section, the weaker or less impactful it was’. He disagrees – ‘Opportunities to publicly and permanently thank those who have helped you are rare … therefore, I suggest leaning toward the longer side.’

If you’re after a solid number to compare to, James’ acknowledgements were ‘three pages double spaced.’ Mine was one page. The longest PhD thesis ever written, according to Guinness World Records, was written by Joachim Schuhmacher at the University of Konstanz in 1997. Of its 2205 pages, two pages were acknowledgements.

What if your experience wasn’t so positive?

Not everyone will look back on their academic lives with fondness.

For the anonymous graduate, writing their acknowledgements section was more difficult than they expected. ‘[It] brought back a lot of complicated feelings about different parts of my PhD journey,’ they say. ‘I didn’t want to be forced to say anything I didn’t actually mean, but also didn’t want to create more drama.’

One unconventional approach is anti-acknowledgements. Rachel Los chose to include ‘no thank yous’ in her thesis, including ‘No thank you to the researcher that asked me what I was wearing underneath my outfit during a conference’ and ‘No thank you to the people who have called me scary instead of strong and intimidating instead of intelligent.’

Should you thank your partner?

Opinions are split. ‘There was a superstition in the group … that if the respective partners are mentioned by name that separation might loom,’ shares Hamman. If your relationship does end, you may come to regret including them; if the relationship works out, you may regret the opposite. ‘My wife never lets me live this down,’ says James. ‘We had only been dating for a few months at the time when I defended, and so I never thanked her in my acknowledgements … lo and behold, we’re married now and have been together nearly six years.’

No amount of effort can make a thesis completely future-proof, but you may still want to consider how your thank-yous might read in a few decades. ‘When reviewing students’ theses today, I tend to call out only those acknowledgements that a student might regret later on (perhaps if it’s too unprofessional),’ says Mallon.

Regardless of a relationship being romantic or platonic, you probably will not stay in touch with everybody you thank in your thesis. ‘There are people mentioned, particularly people outside of academia, who I have lost contact with and some that I even have fallen out with since,’ says Sven Isaksson, an archaeological chemist at Stockholm University, Sweden. ‘But they were important to me back then – so, no regrets.’

Dedications

You can choose to dedicate your thesis to someone or something, and despite the examples below, they do not have to be dead.

James dedicated his dissertation to his father, who passed away during the second year of his PhD. ‘Thinking about that always brings up some tears,’ he shares. Wu included her gerbil – ‘who used to climb on my arm and sit on my hand – he passed away while I was preparing my dissertation’ – in her dedications, alongside her parents, supervisor and husband.

For the anonymous graduate, the decision was complicated. ‘I had a supervisor and a close colleague pass away, but also a friend and a family member, which was a lot,’ they say. ‘Since I had a complicated relationship with that supervisor, I didn’t want to dedicate the thesis to him or put him in a list of people.’

My thesis was dedicated to ‘everyone I wish I could show it to. To Grandma, Nana, Papa, Baba and especially to Mom. I hope I’m making you proud.’

But is anyone even going to read it? 

You may ask whether your acknowledgements are worth much effort. Eric Margelefsky, a chemist at Merck & Co in Rahway, US, didn’t worry about his – ‘I figured very few people would end up reading my thesis, and even fewer would look at the acknowledgements!’

But perhaps surprisingly, a lot of people love checking out these personalised notes of gratitude. ‘Whenever I look at someone else’s thesis … I always read the acknowledgements,’ says Carson. As does Reddy: ‘They give you a small but revealing snapshot of the person behind the science.’ Hamman similarly enjoys reading acknowledgements, ‘particularly if there’s something in there out of the ordinary structure.’

Which raises a good question – how weird can you get with it?

Can you break the mould?

Academia doesn’t always encourage individuality, but the acknowledgements section is one place where you can, if you want, have a bit of fun. I personally included poetry, and I’m not alone – ‘I pleasantly rediscovered a Dr Seuss poem that I had tucked into the dedication section and completely forgotten about,’ says Wu. ‘It felt like finding an Easter egg from my past self.’

‘Part of the fun is that it represents the voice of a bright-eyed, bushy-tailed version of me a long time ago,’ Wu continues. ‘I’m glad that that spirit and perspective was preserved in some way.’

And if you do end up cringing when looking back on your thank-yous later in life, that’s ok. ‘If you read your own acknowledgements and feel a little embarrassed, that’s sure evidence of real growth,’ says Wu.