failed master dissertation

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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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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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.

How “Dissertation Proposal” Can Help You!

Our top dissertation writing experts are waiting 24/7 to assist you with your university project, from critical literature reviews to a complete masters dissertation.

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.

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Do you have to redo your entire program? I’m starting my masters and I just want to know what happens if I fail

Edit: thank you for the responses, this is really comforting to know. I was curious just because I was anxious thinking ahead to the possibilities, but rest assured I will be doing my best to not fail.

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• Career Advice

How to Finish Your Dissertation

By  Kerry Ann Rockquemore

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iStock/Alexei Nabarro

Dear Kerry Ann,

I was hoping to finish my dissertation last year and graduate in May. But it’s August, I’m heading back for another year on campus and I’m nowhere near finishing the dissertation. The sad part is that it’s not the research that is holding up my progress (it is mostly complete) and it’s not my committee (they are supportive and want me to finish). The problem is that I’m not writing. I’m starting to think that I may never finish and will end up another A.B.D. who fades out of the program.

But I do want to finish my dissertation! And yet I’m not making any progress. I need help beyond your usual suggestion to start a daily writing habit (I tried that and it didn’t work).

Need Help Finishing

Dear Need Help,

I am so glad to hear that you are resolved to complete your dissertation, recognize that what you’re doing isn’t working and are open to new experiments for the upcoming academic year.

There’s an important reason that nearly half of graduate students who start doctoral programs don’t finish -- they never complete their dissertations. That means you’re not the only person who has struggled while A.B.D. Over the past year, I’ve worked with more than 400 dissertation writers , and I’ve seen over and over again that isolation, perfectionism and procrastination are the three biggest threats to completion.

So that leaves us with a very simple issue. If you have only one way to finish your dissertation (write it) and you know the three challenges you need to overcome to do the writing (isolation, perfectionism and procrastination), then the key question is: How can you create an environment and support systems this year that will enable you to write on a regular basis? In other words, how can you design your work time to ensure that you have everything you need to complete your dissertation this year? Only you can answer these questions, but I would like to share a few insights and gentle suggestions.

Get Real About Daily Writing

I know I sound like a broken record on this point, so I’ll be brief. You cannot binge write a dissertation over a weekend, over a weeklong writing retreat or even if you hide in a cave for a month. High-quality work takes time to produce. We know that the most productive academic writers don’t write in large uninterrupted blocks of time; they write every day (Monday through Friday) in small increments.

I also realize that it seems like everyone these days is telling dissertation writers to “ write your dissertation in 15 minutes a day ” or that “you should try 25-minute pomodoros .” And as you’ve noted, I regularly advise people to write for at least 30 minutes per day. In response, graduate students tell me “that’s pie in the sky,” “it’s impossible to write a dissertation in 15 minutes a day“ or (my personal favorite) “ Bolker really meant 15 hours a day -- the publisher made a mistake and never fixed it, sending an entire generation of graduate students into a tailspin of self-loathing and misery.”

So let me make two important distinctions. First and foremost, when I encourage you to write at least 30 minutes per day, the most important part of that phrase is “at least.” It doesn’t mean that you’re going to complete your dissertation in one semester by writing for only 30 minutes per day. It’s advice given to people like you, who are not writing at all. In fact, it literally means start with 30 minutes a day, boo. When you’ve got that locked down, work your way up to longer periods of writing.

The second distinction that’s important is about the expectation versus the reality of what constitutes writing. Many graduate students I’ve worked with imagine that writing means producing perfect prose on the first draft. I have observed students spend 30 minutes writing, revising, deleting and rewriting a single sentence. If that’s how you are spending your daily writing time, I understand why you might conclude that it doesn’t work.

Instead, consider that drafting and revising are two separate stages of the writing process. Those initial drafts are where you work out your existing ideas and generate new ones. For that reason, much of what you write is for you, for your own thought process, and may never be shared with your committee or make it to the final draft. This is why we often say “ writing is thinking !”

Win the Battle of the Moment

If you’re like the majority of dissertation writers I’ve worked with, your initial attempts at daily writing fail. Why? Because you experience a repeating and self-defeating pattern that looks like this: you set aside time in your calendar for dissertation writing and you fully intend to write during that scheduled time. Then when the time comes, you experience a subtle but powerful urge to do anything but write. It’s such a strong and seemingly harmless impulse (“Let me just answer one quick email!”) that you follow the urge where it leads you, whether it be email, Facebook, teaching prep, more reading or a snack. Pretty soon your writing time is over and you haven’t written a single word. You promise yourself that you’ll do better tomorrow, but the next day comes and goes with the same result. After a week, you decide the whole daily writing thing doesn’t really work for someone like you.

I call this daily struggle “the battle of the moment.” It’s the moment that it’s time to start writing -- the hardest moment to move through -- and if you can just get going you’ll be fine. It’s truly a battle between your future self and your resistance . One of you will win and one of you will lose. In other words, either your future will win and you’ll start writing your dissertation or your resistance will win and you’ll end up arguing with somebody on Facebook about the presidential election.

The best way to win the battle of the moment is to first understand that it’s normal for your resistance to show up every day when it’s time to write. I encourage you to become aware of it and accept it for what it is . Then set a timer for a small block of writing. ( Even 10 minutes will get you through the moment.) The goal is to win the moment each day. Once you can stack up enough daily wins, you’ll see that you’re making progress on your dissertation.

And it’s important to know that your resistance is strongest when you’re alone because it festers in isolation. But that also means that your resistance is weakest in the presence of other active daily writers. For that reason, I strongly encourage you to consider what type of writing support you can create for yourself this year. Be creative! Dissertation writers use many different types of support structures to overcome resistance: write on-sites , writing buddies, accountability groups, dissertation boot camp , Facebook groups, writing retreats and 14-day writing challenges , to name just a few.

Learn to Analyze Why You’re Not Writing and Design Work-Arounds

If you’ve tried daily writing in the past but were unable to maintain it, then ask yourself why ? What exactly kept you from the single most important activity that will allow you to complete the dissertation, finish your degree and move on with your professional life? What happened (be as specific as possible) when you sat down to write?

For most dissertation writers, the inability to develop and maintain a daily writing practice is due to one of three things: 1) technical errors, 2) psychological obstacles or 3) external realities. While I’ve written about those in detail elsewhere , let me provide a quick dissertation-specific overview so that you can diagnose why you’re not writing and then design a quick and effective work-around.

Technical Errors: Dissertation writers often struggle to establish a daily writing practice due to several technical errors. That simply means that you’re missing a skill or technique. As soon as you identify the error, the work-around is clear. Here are the most common technical errors I’ve observed in working with dissertation writers and a corresponding work-around:

• You haven’t set aside a specific time to write. (A work-around is to designate time in your calendar for dissertation writing.)
• You have been setting aside the wrong time for writing. (A work-around is experimenting with writing first thing in the morning.)
• You struggle to get started writing each day. (A work-around is to develop a writing ritual.)
• You have no idea how much time tasks take and keep grossly underestimating how long it takes to do them. (A work-around is to use a timer to collect data on how long it takes you to complete various writing tasks.)
• You don’t have any way to measure progress because you just have “write dissertation” as your daily writing goal. (A work-around is to set SMART goals .)
• You feel overwhelmed because you can’t figure out what you have to do. (A work-around is to make a dissertation plan that lays out the steps for completing each chapter.)
• You keep writing and revising the same sentence. (A work-around is to try Write or Die to permanently separate the drafting stage from the revising stage.)

Psychological Obstacles: Technical errors can be fixed with changes in your writing habits, but psychological obstacles often underlie dissertation writers’ inability to write daily. The most common I’ve observed are impostor syndrome , perfectionism , disempowerment , inner critics on steroids , fear of failure and/or success and a lack of clarity about your future goals. Regrettably, a quick tip, trick or hack will not eliminate psychological obstacles, but we can loosen their grip by increasing our awareness of their existence, reframing them and experimenting with behavioral changes.

External Realities: Lastly, I would be remiss if I did not recognize that sometimes the inability to maintain a daily writing practice results from an external reality that is beyond your control. The truth is that life events occur that directly impact the amount of energy we have to write. For example, you have a baby, someone dies, you or someone you love becomes ill and you have unexpected recovery/caregiving, you get divorced, etc. These situations can’t be “fixed,” so they require patience, compassion toward yourself, adjusted expectations and the willingness to explicitly ask for the kind of support you need.

Change Your Peer Group

In my experience, people who don’t finish their dissertations have one of two problems with the people they surround themselves with: 1) they don’t have anyone who is actively writing a dissertation in their daily life (i.e., they remove themselves entirely from contact with other dissertation writers) or 2) they surround themselves with dissertation writers who are not writing and spend their time complaining about their advisers, their campus, the oppressive nature of graduate education and/or the abysmal state of the job market.

To state the painfully obvious, neither self-isolating nor surrounding yourself with negative peers will help you develop a consistent daily writing habit. What you need most is a positive community that supports you through the ups and downs of writing a dissertation and celebrates your successes every step of the way. Every small win builds momentum, and seeing other people succeed makes it seem possible for you, too. It’s sharing the daily grind while making personal progress that reduces the isolation, perfectionism and procrastination that got you to this point.

I hope it’s clear from these suggestions that finishing your dissertation is a realistic possibility. It won’t happen if you keep on doing the things that have kept you unproductive. But if you’re willing to get serious about writing, get into a relationship with your resistance and join a positive community of writers, you will quickly start to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Peace and productivity,

Kerry Ann Rockquemore, Ph.D.

President, National Center for Faculty Development & Diversity

P.S. I love your questions, so keep posting them on my Facebook page or email me at [email protected] .

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• 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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Elisa Granato

Microbial ecology & evolution, phd tips – dealing with “failed” experiments.

“PhD tips” is an ongoing series of blog posts written by postdocs and aimed at graduate students at the University of Oxford (Department of Biology). I wrote this in April 2021.

[Update Dec 2022: this article is now published in The Microbiologist ]

Hi everyone!

I hope you are all doing well. This week, I want to talk about dealing with “failed” experiments.* I put “failed” in quotes because, as I will argue below, only a very small fraction of experiments perceived as failed have actually failed in the sense that they were completely pointless.

The first thing to realize is that the core of experimental science is an iterative process: you do a thing, it does something (or not), you think about it, you do it a little different next time. Crucially, this process works the same way whether the results made you happy or not (for whatever reason). You think about what happened, you change stuff, you do it again the same way, you do it again with a twist, or you do something else entirely. A very normal experience as a scientist is to – on average – be a little disappointed in the outcome of your experiment. See below for a list of outcomes that tend to make people unhappy. Again: this is normal and part of the process. The most “successful” projects are built on a foundation of “failed” or semi-failed attempts at doing something.**

The second thing to realize is that learning is at the core of this iterative process: a thing has to happen for us to better understand what we’re dealing with. This means that the essential goal of each experiment is to learn something, anything! And this “lesson” doesn’t usually come in the shape of a perfect plot that’s publication-ready on the first try. Instead, the next learning item usually comes from a mangled mess of an experiment or dataset.

What exactly you are learning from each attempt depends of course on the details of your project, but below I am giving a few real-life examples of typical experimental outcomes that tend to make people unhappy, and some suggestions on what one could learn from them.

• Not failed at all, this is a valuable negative result.
• Outcome: solid scientific insight.
• Not failed at all, this is valuable data we can learn from.
• Potential next step: figure out if noise is biological variance or technical measurement error, or both.
• Outcome: a better understanding of your system, solid scientific insight
• Example: forgot to wash cells before treating them.
• Semi-failed, this is valuable data we can learn from. By comparing the washed cells with the unwashed cells we can learn how this step in the experiment influences the final results. Can be useful for future troubleshooting.
• Outcome: an experimental protocol where we understand better what each step does, or where we realize one step is less important than previously thought; honing of lab skills.
• Example: positive/negative control didn’t yield the expected result, even though it has always worked before and the experiment was (to the best of your knowledge) executed as usual.
• Semi-failed. An opportunity to evaluate the reliability of the protocol/equipment/material.
• Potential next steps: introduce checklists and more note-taking to ensure little details are adhered to; evaluate assumptions e.g. is the control genotype actually this genotype, is something contaminated, is the machine still working, etc.
• Outcome: a more reliable experimental protocol, honing of lab skills
• Example: algae grow over all your aquatic plants and kill them
• Semi-failed. An opportunity to evaluate “housing” conditions for your organism.
• Potential next steps: pilot experiment to optimize housing conditions before doing “actual” experiments; investigate whether the contaminant did something interesting
• Outcome: a more reliable experimental protocol; chance of a random cool discovery with the contaminant
• Example: dropped tube with the sample on the floor. Cannot be recovered.
• Close to “actually failed”, but still an opportunity to introduce better safety measures / risk assessment.
• Potential next steps: introduce safety procedures to ensure better sample preservation, labelling etc.
• Outcome: a more reliable experimental protocol

The third thing to realize is that feelings of frustration, anger, sadness, fear, are all very common in the wake of a “failed” experiment, especially if it took a long time. And trying to think about the next steps while still frustrated can turn into a vicious cycle where you make mistakes because frustrated brains are bad at solving problems. So, instead, allow yourself to feel these feelings, get a good night’s sleep, and then start troubleshooting the next day with a fresh and relaxed mind.

So, to summarize: doing your PhD, and science in general, is about learning. Every experiment, no matter the outcome, can teach you something. Some of the lessons are perhaps a bit more appealing and easier to swallow than others, but they are all useful and necessary. So next time an experiment “fails”, try taking a nice little break if you can, and then list all the things you still learned about your experimental setup, or organism of interest.

Finally, I would like to share a little mental trick I developed over the years that has helped me with dealing and accepting experimental setbacks. I like to imagine that any given project will take me X hours to complete, including setbacks, trials by fire, random distractions, dead-ends etc. In science, X is usually unknown. But importantly, there is always an X. Every time I conduct an experiment that “fails”, and let’s say it took me 6 hours, I have now reduced X by 6 hours. Not bad! I am one step closer to finishing the project. It’s a bit tongue-in-cheek of course, but it still helps me see my work for what it is: I gave these 6 hours my best and the outcome doesn’t change that.

*If you work on theory you can probably replace “failed experiments” here with “theoretical approaches that didn’t work out” or something along those lines and maybe some of this might still be helpful.

**This is the science version of “The master has failed more times than the student has even tried”.

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Writing a master's dissertation is no easy feat. It requires extensive research, critical thinking, and dedication. Unfortunately, even with the best intentions and hard work, some dissertations may go differently than planned. If this happens to you, don’t worry—you can get your dissertation back on track.

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What are the Reasons Behind Failed Master’s Dissertation?

Before discussing how to ace your dissertation after failing it, let's examine why things went north.

1.   Poor Planning

One of the primary factors behind failed master's dissertations is poor planning. Too often, students underestimate the amount of time needed to complete a project like this, or they need to be made aware of all the steps that must be completed to achieve success.

Before starting your dissertation, it is important to map out a plan that includes all the tasks you need to do and when they should be accomplished. It is also beneficial to create a timeline for yourself to track your progress and stay on schedule.

2.   Poor Thesis Statement 

A thesis statement is one of the most important components of any dissertation since it guides the reader and the student throughout their journey. A weak thesis statement will lead to an unfocused paper that does not answer meaningful questions or provide useful insights about the topic at hand.

• Review How to Write A Thesis Statement

Therefore, it is essential for students to create a strong thesis statement that accurately reflects the research topic and serves as an effective guide throughout the entire process. 

3.   Inadequate Knowledge of the Subject Matter

A poor understanding of the subject matter can also cause dissertations to fail because it prevents students from properly analyzing data or drawing relevant conclusions from their findings.

To ensure success, students should consult with professors or experts who are familiar with the subject matter before beginning their work on the dissertation. It will help them better understand what kind of information they need to include in their papers and how they can use it effectively in their research work. 

4.   Unclear Research Questions

Another reason why many master's dissertations fail is that the student has not framed a clear research question or objective for their project. By articulating what exactly they are trying to answer with their research, it becomes easier for them to determine what data they need to collect to answer those questions or reach their objectives. Your research question should be concise yet thorough so that you can narrow down your focus and target relevant information to create a successful dissertation.

• Expert Tips on How to Write a Research Question with Real Examples

5.   Lack Of Focus On Quality Writing

Finally, another major factor behind failed masters’ dissertations is the lack of focus on quality writing. Writing a dissertation requires strong writing skills, including grammar and spelling accuracy, as well as clarity and conciseness in arguments made throughout the document.

• The Basics of Writing a Literature-Based Dissertation: Tips and Examples

Additionally, citing sources accurately is essential for any academic writing piece, so ensure you are familiar with proper citation methods before beginning your work. With these tips in mind, you can ensure that your dissertation meets all expectations for quality writing set by your institution or advisor.

Tips to Modify Your Failed Master’s Dissertation

1.   Accepting the Failure and Moving On

It’s hard to accept that you were not able to complete the dissertation in time or that it failed. You may feel embarrassed or ashamed, but it's important to remember that failure is part of the learning process. The sooner you accept it and move on, the better off you will be. Take some time to process your feelings and devise an action plan to regain momentum with your dissertation.

2.   Assess the Situation 

The first step in getting your dissertation back on track is to assess the situation. What led to it failing in the first place? Was it a lack of resources or support? Were there any challenges that you weren’t aware of when starting? Identifying these issues can help you understand what went wrong and prevent them from happening again in the future.

3.   Start by Identifying Your Weaknesses

Once you have accepted the failure, identify any areas where you may have gone wrong or could have done better. It will help ensure that those same mistakes don't happen again when you retake your dissertation. Was there anything in particular that caused your downfall? Perhaps poor research skills or lack of organization? Pinpointing these weaknesses will help inform how best to approach your rewrite so that it succeeds this time around.

4.   Re-evaluate Your Topic

If your topic may have been too broad or difficult for the scope of your dissertation, consider re-evaluating it. Take time to look at your original plans and goals for the project and think about whether or not they are still achievable within the parameters of your new topic. If necessary, seek advice from faculty members who can provide guidance on how best to proceed with a revised topic.

5.   Reorganize and Reinvigorate

Once you've identified any weaknesses in your approach, reorganize and reinvigorate yourself around completing the project. Set realistic goals for each day of work - even if it’s just one page - so that at least something gets done each day towards completing the project. It will help build momentum and provide motivation as well as accountability for getting things done in a timely fashion.

Additionally, talk with a mentor or professor about what went wrong the last time around so they can offer advice on how best to approach rewriting your paper this time around. Their guidance could be invaluable!

Lastly, make sure that you are taking care of yourself - mentally, physically, and emotionally - during this trying period by taking regular breaks from work and engaging in activities outside of schoolwork like exercise or socializing with friends/family members so that burnout does not become an issue during the writing process again.

• The Benefits of Master Dissertation Writing

Writing a successful master’s dissertation is no easy feat – but if you follow these steps outlined above - accept failure and move forward; identify weaknesses; reorganize/reinvigorate; talk with mentors/professors - success should follow! It won't be easy, but it is definitely achievable if you stay committed throughout the writing process!

For further assistance, contact professional writers at Premier Dissertations.

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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.

• How it works

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.

Does your Dissertation Have the Following?

• Great Research/Sources
• Perfect Language
• Accurate Sources

If not, we can help. Our panel of experts makes sure to keep the 3 pillars of Dissertation strong.

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.

Get an expert academic to help you with your dissertation, assignment, coursework, or essay so they can do the hard work for you. At ResearchProspect , we have masters and PhD qualified writers in all academic subjects. Whether it’s an essay, coursework, exam, dissertation, or assignment, you need help with. Our writers will exceed your expectations.

All you have to do is complete our online order form to place your order , and we will send the completed paper to your email address on or before the specified deadline. You are welcome to  view our professional samples , take a look at  our service portfolio  and learn more  about our company  before placing your order.

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.

Want to know what essay structure and style will work best for your assignment?

Problem fixed! We can write any type of essay in any referencing style. We ensure every essay written is beyond your expectations.

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.

How ResearchProspect Can Help

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.

You May Also Like

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

Writing a dissertation can be tough if this is the first time you are doing it. You need to look into relevant literature, analyze past researches, conduct surveys, interviews etc.

Make sure to develop a conceptual framework before conducting research. Here is all you need to know about what is a conceptual framework is in a dissertation?

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MSc. Eng. thesis - Failed experiment - How to put it in the thesis?

I'm currently writing a thesis. I'm simulating a problem using CFD model. The model has been validated by using it to investigate similar problem with known results. The model vs. experimental results are showing good consistency.

As for my problem, I've modeled it and I've got the results. I've spent few weeks designing, building and testing the experimental equipment but I've concluded the experimental equipment must be rebuilt using different components and I don't have time.

So, where in the paper do I report the failed experiment and how do I put it in words that it failed?

Here is the main structure of my paper.

1: Introduction

2: Literature Review

3:1 Model observation

3:2 Experimental observation

4: Results and discussion

4:1 Model validation

4:2 Problem Results (Here I was going to compare model vs. experiment)

4:3 Discussion

5: Conclusion and future work.

• negative-results

• Did you get results that differ from the model, or can you not get any results at all? –  Patricia Shanahan Commented Apr 29, 2017 at 15:43
• I couldn't get any sensible results. The equipment is vibrating allot which have direct effect on the sensors and data acquisition. The equipment is partially controlled by motors which doesn't seem to have enough torque and the motor is changing position when load is applied. As for the force sensor I was allocated, it's just unfavorable for this kind of measurements (Weak tolerance for momentum which is unavoidable in this case). –  Bjartmar Commented Apr 29, 2017 at 16:56
• If you have not already done so, still have access to the experimental setup, and have time, try to quantify as much as possible. How much torque does the motor supply? How much is needed? Vibration amplitude and frequency? –  Patricia Shanahan Commented May 1, 2017 at 12:50

You need a slight mental twist. Your experiment was not a failure. The purpose of an experiment is to ask the real world a question, and unexpected answers from the real world are at least as interesting as ones you expected.

The question you asked the real world was "Does this experimental set-up work for Problem X?". The short answer to the question, based on your experiments, is "No". Of course, you will go into a lot more detail in your thesis.

The early sections of your thesis will be much the same as they would have been if you had got the results you expected.

In 4:2, you describe your tests of your experimental set-up. To the extent that you got results at all, you do compare them to the model.

In 4:3 you discuss what you learned from building and testing your experimental equipment. If you are getting different results from model and experiment, you need to discuss why the model is more reliable than the experiment. One learns more from unexpected results than from expected ones, so this section will be richer and more interesting than it would have been if you had got the results you expected.

Your question contains the outline for "Conclusion and future work", easily identified through the keyword "concluded":

I've concluded the experimental equipment must be rebuilt using different components

The conclusion is that the equipment you built is not suitable for your problem. The future work is to rebuild it using different components. Again, you need to go into a lot more detail. What aspects of your set-up were unsuitable? Why do you think particular changes might improve it?

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Msc Dissertation failed

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