Where do thesis acknowledgments go in the document?

Acknowledgments typically come after the title page and dedication (if you have one) and before the abstract or the table of contents — the exact placement varies by institution and discipline. In U.S. dissertations they often follow the abstract; in U.K. and Commonwealth theses they usually precede it. In Italian theses they come right after the frontespizio. When in doubt, check your university's formatting guide or look at three recent theses from your department.

How long should the acknowledgments be?

One page is ideal for a master's thesis. One to two pages is standard for a doctoral dissertation. Anything longer starts to feel performative. If you find yourself at three pages, cut: name fewer people, write more about each, remove the most generic lines first.

Can I thank a person who has passed away?

Yes — and it is one of the most natural places for a special mention. A short, sincere paragraph honouring someone who shaped your path but did not live to see the work completed is a long tradition in academic writing. Keep it brief, name them, name what they gave you, and let the silence around the line do the rest.

Can I download a PDF of thesis acknowledgment examples?

We don't hand out template PDFs on our online shop: we think generic copy-paste acknowledgments produce a worse result than a few lines written in your own words. The examples in this guide cover the main recipients — use them as a starting point and adapt them to your real relationship with each person. If you want a second opinion on your final text before printing, drop by the shop or send us the draft at stampa@guug.it and we'll tell you whether it works.

Is it appropriate to thank people with a sense of humour?

Yes, in moderation. A dry, well-placed line ("…and to my cat, who attended every working session and contributed nothing") is memorable and humanises the document. Multiple jokes in a row, or jokes at someone else's expense, do not age well. One light moment per page is plenty.

Should I thank support and technical staff?

If they played a concrete role in your work (lab technicians for experimental theses, librarians for in-depth archival research, administrative staff for complex procedures), absolutely: one line each, with their specific role. It's an uncommon gesture that leaves a mark and makes an impression during the defense.

Should I write acknowledgments before or after the rest of the thesis?

After. Always. Acknowledgments written before the work is done are speculative; acknowledgments written when the work is finished are accurate. Write them in the final week, when you actually know who contributed what.

Do I need to acknowledge funding sources?

Yes — and it is often required, not optional. Grants, scholarships, fellowships, lab access, archival permissions: these belong in a separate, factual paragraph, usually toward the start of the acknowledgments. Check your funder's style guide: many specify exact wording for the credit line.

◆ Thesis guides

Thesis Acknowledgments Guide: Examples & Special Mentions

How to write the acknowledgments section of your thesis. Structure, special mentions, real examples, common pitfalls. Tips from a Rome print shop.

GUUG · June 2026

◆ In short

The acknowledgments section is a short, named-recognition piece in the front matter of the thesis: one page for a master's thesis, one to two pages for a doctoral dissertation. The order runs from formal to personal — funding bodies, supervisor, committee, colleagues, family, partner, friends — and the tone should be warm but composed. Say what each person actually did, not just that they were "supportive".

What thesis acknowledgments actually are

The acknowledgments section of a thesis or dissertation is a short, named-recognition piece that lives in the front matter of the document. It is not the abstract. It is not the preface. It is not a dedication (one line, no detail). It is the place where you name the people who helped you finish — supervisors, committee members, family, partners, peers, and sometimes institutions — and you say, briefly but specifically, what they did.

Length is one page for a master's thesis, one to two pages for a doctoral dissertation. Tone is warm but composed: this is an official document that the institution will archive and future students may read. The voice should sound like you, not like a wedding speech.

Most of what makes acknowledgments memorable happens in two places: concrete detail (saying what the person actually did, not just that they were "supportive") and the special mention — a short, weighted paragraph that singles out one person for particular gratitude.

Standard order: who to thank, in what sequence

The conventional order in English-language theses moves from formal to personal: institutional first, then academic, then private. You do not have to follow it rigidly, but readers — including your supervisor and committee — will pick up immediately if the structure feels off.

Funding bodies and institutions (if applicable) — grants, fellowships, scholarship programs, archives.
Supervisor / advisor — always named, always first among individuals.
Committee members and second readers — by name, with one concrete contribution each.
Colleagues and lab/cohort members — group acknowledgment is fine here, with the most significant named individually.
Family — parents first, then siblings, sometimes grandparents.
Partner or spouse.
Friends outside academia.
Special mention (optional, but increasingly standard).
A line to yourself (also optional, more common in recent years).

Examples by recipient type

Recipient categories with worked examples. Use them as scaffolding, not as templates — the more your acknowledgments sound like you, the better they read.

Your supervisor (advisor)

Always first

Always first. Tone: respectful but concrete. Cite one specific intellectual contribution rather than a generic "for her support". Faculty members read these — they prefer substance over flattery.

Example: "I would first like to thank my supervisor, Professor [Name], whose detailed feedback on the methodology of Chapter 3 reshaped this thesis at a critical point. Her willingness to push back on my first draft of the literature review made the final argument far stronger than I could have managed alone."

Committee members and second readers

For dissertations

For dissertations: name each committee member, with one specific contribution per person. For master's theses: a single sentence is enough.

Example: "I am also grateful to Professor [Name] and Professor [Name] of my committee, whose questions during the proposal defense forced me to think carefully about the framing of my research, and to Dr. [Name] for early feedback on the statistical model."

Family

After the academic thanks

Parents, siblings, sometimes grandparents. The temptation is to write a generic block ("thanks to my family for their love and support") — resist it. A short, personal detail makes the line memorable; a list of titles does not.

Example: "To my parents, [Name] and [Name], who never once asked me when I would finish — even when I was clearly avoiding the question myself. To my brother [Name], for being the only person who actually read my abstract before I submitted it."

Partner or spouse

Warm but composed

If the relationship pre-dates the thesis, this comes after family. Tone: warm but composed. The acknowledgments are read by faculty and family alike — keep private detail private.

Example: "To [Name], who lived three years inside this project without ever once making me feel I owed her something for it. Every chapter of this thesis carries a little of her patience in the margins."

Siblings

An often-overlooked recipient

Siblings are among the most searched-for recipients, and an important one that tends to be underestimated. An affectionate tone that acknowledges the complicity — even the playful kind — of a shared childhood works best.

Example: "To my sister [Name], my accomplice for a whole lifetime. Thank you for the laughter when the world was falling apart, for the advice I never asked for but always needed, for being the first to believe I would make it — even on the days I did not believe it at all. Knowing you are always there, whatever happens, is the greatest gift of these years."

Friends and colleagues

Distinguish the two groups

Distinguish between graduate-school cohort (who shared the daily grind) and friends outside academia (who reminded you there is a world outside). Two short paragraphs work better than one long list of names.

Example: "To my colleagues in the doctoral programme — [Names] — for the conversations in the corridor that solved problems I had spent weeks stuck on. To my friends [Names], who did not understand half of what I was working on and listened anyway."

Yourself (optional, increasingly common)

Written with restraint

A short final note to yourself has become standard in the last few years, especially in the U.S. and Commonwealth. It is not self-indulgent if it is written with restraint — two or three sentences, not a memoir.

Example: "Finally, a quiet acknowledgment to myself — for not stopping when it would have been easier to. For learning to ask for help, and for the long stretches when no one saw the work but the work happened anyway."

The "special mention": what it is, when to use it

A special mention is a brief, emphasized acknowledgment — usually placed near the end of the section — that singles out one person (occasionally two) for particular gratitude. It is distinct from the regular list of thank-yous because it carries weight. The phrase itself signals to the reader: this one matters more than a line, less than a chapter. It is most common in U.S. and Commonwealth academic traditions and is now standard in international degree programs. Italian students writing their thesis in English at programs like Sapienza, LUISS, John Cabot, AUR or NABA use it routinely.

When a special mention belongs:

A late family member who shaped your path but did not live to see the work finished.
A primary supervisor whose contribution went far beyond what was institutionally required.
A partner whose sustained presence made the entire endeavor possible.
A mentor outside the academic structure — a former secondary-school teacher, a relative who is also a professional in your field.
A person who is no longer in your life whose influence remained visible through the work.

Typical opening phrases: "A special mention goes to…", "I owe a special mention to…", "Finally, a special mention to…".

Position and length: special mentions almost always come at the end of the acknowledgments, after the structured thank-yous — they function as a kind of crescendo, and putting one at the start dilutes its weight. Length: one to three sentences. A "special" mention loses its meaning if it runs for five paragraphs. Restraint is the point.

Where to place them and how to structure the page

The standard position for acknowledgments is right after the title page and the dedication (if any), before the table of contents and the introduction. They have their own page titled simply "Acknowledgments" (centered, same typeface as the chapter titles). Some universities accept placement at the end, after the conclusions and before the bibliography — always confirm with your program's regulations.

The difference between a dedication and acknowledgments matters. The dedication is a single line (two at most), at the very front, addressed to a person or an abstract value: "To my grandmother", "To my parents", "To those who never gave up". The acknowledgments are the fuller section that lists people with concrete reasons. You can use both: dedication first, then the acknowledgments page.

The ideal length is one page, a page and a half at most (250 to 500 words). Standard formatting uses paragraphs separated by a blank line, justified alignment like the rest of the thesis, and the same line spacing (1.5 at most universities). No bold, no italics except for proper names if that is a style convention you use elsewhere.

A practical rule: write the acknowledgments last, once the thesis has been submitted or is about to be. Writing them cold produces generic text; waiting until the final days lets you remember clearly who really supported you, when, and in what specific way.

Six common mistakes to avoid

After twenty years of binding theses we see the same patterns. The good news: every one of these is fixable in the final draft.

⚠︎ Long name lists with no detail

Thirty names with the same template ("thanks to X, Y, Z, W…") reads like a group greeting card. Pick five to seven primary names and give each two or three sentences of substance. The people you leave out understand — they would have been more offended by an empty mention than by absence.

⚠︎ Hyperbolic flattery toward the supervisor

"The greatest mentor I will ever have the privilege of knowing" embarrasses the reader, the writer, and especially the supervisor. Stay concrete: what did you learn from her, in which moment did his intervention change the direction of the work, why are you grateful for the specific method.

⚠︎ Treating the acknowledgments as an autobiography

This is not the place for long anecdotes from your undergraduate years or quotations from Rilke. One page, perhaps a page and a half. Beyond that, no one reads to the end.

⚠︎ Excessive sentimentality

Tear-jerker openers, dramatic declarations, references to destiny and dreams — less is more. A measured acknowledgment is memorable. An over-the-top one is forgotten.

⚠︎ Private jokes and grudges

The thesis is an official document archived by the institution, often consulted by future students. No ironic asides about ex-partners, no veiled jabs at rival faculty, no inside jokes that only you and one friend will understand. Ten years from now you will be glad you did not.

⚠︎ Typos in names

A misspelled name in the acknowledgments is the kind of detail that stays in the family chat for years. Read it aloud, then ask one person outside the work to read it cold. Fresh eyes catch what yours stopped seeing months ago.

Frequently asked questions

Where do thesis acknowledgments go in the document?: Acknowledgments typically come after the title page and dedication (if you have one) and before the abstract or the table of contents — the exact placement varies by institution and discipline. In U.S. dissertations they often follow the abstract; in U.K. and Commonwealth theses they usually precede it. In Italian theses they come right after the frontespizio. When in doubt, check your university's formatting guide or look at three recent theses from your department.
What is the difference between a dedication and acknowledgments?: The dedication is a single line (sometimes two) at the very front of the thesis — "To my grandmother", "For C.", "To those who never gave up on me". The acknowledgments are a one- to two-page section with named individuals and concrete reasons for thanking them. You can have both: dedication first, then acknowledgments later in the front matter.
How long should the acknowledgments be?: One page is ideal for a master's thesis. One to two pages is standard for a doctoral dissertation. Anything longer starts to feel performative. If you find yourself at three pages, cut: name fewer people, write more about each, remove the most generic lines first.
Can I thank a person who has passed away?: Yes — and it is one of the most natural places for a special mention. A short, sincere paragraph honouring someone who shaped your path but did not live to see the work completed is a long tradition in academic writing. Keep it brief, name them, name what they gave you, and let the silence around the line do the rest.
Can I download a PDF of thesis acknowledgment examples?: We don't hand out template PDFs on our online shop: we think generic copy-paste acknowledgments produce a worse result than a few lines written in your own words. The examples in this guide cover the main recipients — use them as a starting point and adapt them to your real relationship with each person. If you want a second opinion on your final text before printing, drop by the shop or send us the draft at stampa@guug.it and we'll tell you whether it works.
Is it appropriate to thank people with a sense of humour?: Yes, in moderation. A dry, well-placed line ("…and to my cat, who attended every working session and contributed nothing") is memorable and humanises the document. Multiple jokes in a row, or jokes at someone else's expense, do not age well. One light moment per page is plenty.
Should I thank support and technical staff?: If they played a concrete role in your work (lab technicians for experimental theses, librarians for in-depth archival research, administrative staff for complex procedures), absolutely: one line each, with their specific role. It's an uncommon gesture that leaves a mark and makes an impression during the defense.
Should I write acknowledgments before or after the rest of the thesis?: After. Always. Acknowledgments written before the work is done are speculative; acknowledgments written when the work is finished are accurate. Write them in the final week, when you actually know who contributed what.
Do I need to acknowledge funding sources?: Yes — and it is often required, not optional. Grants, scholarships, fellowships, lab access, archival permissions: these belong in a separate, factual paragraph, usually toward the start of the acknowledgments. Check your funder's style guide: many specify exact wording for the credit line.

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