Did you dedicate your thesis / dissertation to anyone?

[peppapighastakenovermylife]

I am just about to submit my phd (is there a party smiley face?). Writing the acknowledgements eloquently is more difficult that the actual work though

My superviser suggested I do a dedication to my DC's. I had them both during the course of the PhD and they have been very insipirational (its about breastfeeding).

What did you put? Did you put anything? After some ideas. In terms of acknowledgements I have worked through thanking family etc, those who have helped me academically, the mums who filled in my questionnaires and did interviews and so on.

Just being nosey

I dedicated mine to my 2 uni friends who dragged me through kicking and screaming most of the way, I was single mum, working full time hours doing full time degree, all very stressful. And my son, so he would know although I was so busy for so long, there was a good was reason, it was for him as well, not just me. Well done by the way, its absolutely wonderful when you finish isn't it, relief beyond words.

I dedicated my PhD to dp - I used a quote from one of the plays that the dramatist I wrote about had written....

In my acknowledgements I had two sections -the professional stuff (funding etc) and personal which mentioned dp,parents etc...

My MA dissertation was dedicated to DH. We'd only been married three months, and I spent the next nine living 120 miles away from him for half of the week. He also mostly supported both of us financially while I indulged my whim .

I also acknowledged a tutor other than my supervisor who had inadvertently given me the idea and who was very generous with the benefits of his own research when I was pulling my thoughts together.

Congratulations! It must have been a fascinating subject to research, and I think dedicating it to your DCs is a lovely idea.

in order I thanked my great supervisor, the participants in the research, as without them there would have been no study!, my parents for childcare and a belief in me, my daughter born during the course of my studies for being such joy and most importantly DH for encouragement, support and believing in me

It ran to a page, but I guess after 9 years of study thats not much!!

Well done on being almost at the finish line peppa

congratulations peppa and good luck with the viva!

i wrote a short (one paragraph) thank you to supervisors etc but no dedication. working on the phd part-time over 7 years with freelance and teaching thrown in, the main reason i finished was my stubborn attitude

i had my ds after finishing though so may have been tempted to dedicate it to him -- its about diagrams and illustrations in children's science books

I had an acknowledgements page -

• my supervisors, for support, encouragement and insightful ideas
• Staff at agencies who had helped with data supply
• individual friends and family (with specifics, like providing accomodation, great company, good ideas about things in the thesis)
• my collegues at my original department and my new (host) university for 'creating a vibrant, enthusiastic working environment'
• my husband, for his 'practical help, and his love and emotional support'

aww, it seems an age away now.

Congratulations, and best of luck with the viva (they can be wonderful, I really enjoyed mine!)

Thank you - am just obsessing putting the finishing touches to it now - then off to the binder tomorrow. EEEK!!

My mate included a dedication to a few of us uni mates who had taken the piss supported him over the years. Was very touched
Congrats on your phd, and fwiw, I bet your kids will be chuffed to bits in years to come to have a book dedicated to them. My dad has dedicated books to me & my siblings, and it gives me a thrill every time I see it

Yes I dedicated it to DW who almost died while I was doing my PhD and then gave birth to DS1 a few months after I completed it.

I also thanked my supervisor and the many people who gave of their time to help me.

I wasn't a parent then, but my acknowledgements included my own parents, DH, close friends and a couple of my teachers who pushed me to go to university in the first place, plus supervisors, grant providers and so on. Definitely put your DC in, it will be lovely for them to read later. I saw someone else's dedication once which was simply 'To my lovely parents'

Well done on finishing! It's a great achievement.

I dedicated mine to dd1 (born while I was still doing lab work) and dd2 (born while I was writing up)

For my PhD I thanked my DH (my DC weren't here yet) along with many others but my dedication was to my Grandmother and Great Aunt who'd passed away:

"This thesis is dedicated to two strong and loving women who helped me become the person I am. To XXXXX who taught me to see beauty in everything and how to drink whiskey and to XXXXX who listened, believed, and taught me to be strong. Thank you both for the love and laughter. "

My other grandmother died two days after I'd submitted the final version. I would have loved to have been able to include her in the dedication but I was so happy she got to "celebrate", if just from her hospital bed, with me. Apparently she told all the staff at the hospital how proud she was (I did my PhD half a continent away from where I grew up).

Anyways, long winded way of saying that if you wanted to dedicate it to your DCs that would be lovely.

Party, party, party time! Well done, that's amazing. There is NO WAY ON EARTH that I could have done my PhD (or BSc or MSc)with children.

My dedication was (is?)

"To the memory of my father
Dad BikeRunSki, date-date
Who valued education above all"

Dad died a week before my MSc graduation and woudl have been blown away that I also went to do a PhD. (As a fiercely proud Sunderlander, he didn't need to know that I went to Newcastle Uni).

Then my acknolwedgements covered my supervisors, technicians, friends and family who had helped and supported me and my landlady who made me flapjacks to keep me going. I also took a gamble on mentioning the new man in my life. Just as well. He's still here over 10 years later.

Awww... I am getting all soppy now. Have written a draft and thanked everyone including the DC's in it. I think I will do a title page to them. Will try and think of something eloquent but maybe just 'to my children xxx and xxxx'

Cant believe its actually done...can worry about the viva now lol

peppapig - you have done a wonderful thing and well done for finishing. You deserve to go over the top a bit.

I had a sneaky look at a few other peoples in the University library and chose a style I liked.

I felt very emotinal doing mine for just finished MSc. Participants, staff at place I worked in, supervisor (now a dear friend and enormous influence in my life) fellow student who changed my life, my dh and my children.

I cried when I wrote it and even now feel like crying when i read it.