I have less than two years to finish a master's thesis
Build a realistic 12 to 24 month thesis plan by working backwards from your submission date.
In short
Start here, today. Find your program's thesis submission deadline for the term you want to graduate. Write it at the bottom of a page, then work backwards and mark when your full draft must go to your supervisor, when data collection must end and when ethics approval must be in place. This takes about 30 minutes.
After that, work through these steps. Choose one to jump to it.
Step by step
Tick each step as you finish it. Open a step for the how.
0 of 6 steps done
Work backwards from the real deadline
Graduate schools publish deadlines for submitting a thesis in time to graduate in a given term, and any defence or examination has to happen before that. The University of British Columbia's Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability, for example, tells its master's students to plan backwards from graduation deadlines and to submit defence paperwork at least three weeks before the defence date. Put your program's dates in Milestone Map first, then fit everything else around them.
Settle the topic and committee early
In that UBC example timeline, students have a rough topic and form their supervisory committee between January and April of their first year, so that data collection can happen in the first summer. Your program may differ, but aim to have a question your supervisor has agreed to by the middle of your first year. A good-enough question in month six beats a perfect one in month twelve.
Shrink the project to fit
Ask your supervisor directly: “What is the smallest version of this project that would make a good master's thesis?” A single case, one well-chosen dataset or one set of interviews is often enough. You can list the bigger questions as future research in your conclusion.
Start the slow tasks first
Ethics review, data access agreements and recruitment all depend on other people's timelines. Start them as early as your program allows, and keep reading and drafting while you wait. Track each request in the Waiting-For List so nothing sits forgotten in someone's inbox.
Write from the beginning
Draft your methods section while you're planning the method, and turn the literature section of your proposal into a chapter draft. Leaving all the writing to the end is one of the most common ways a two-year plan stretches into a third year. Short, regular writing sessions through the year keep the final stretch manageable.
Agree on turnaround times for drafts
Ask your supervisor how long they usually need to read a chapter, and build that into your plan, along with time for at least one round of revisions. If your supervisor will be away for part of the summer, find out now. Two weeks of reading time for each chapter adds up quickly in a short program.
Words you can use
Is this you? Signs to look for
- You started your program assuming the thesis would sort itself out once courses were over.
- You don't know your program's last submission date for graduating when you planned to.
- Your topic still feels too big for the time you have.
- Ethics approval, data collection and writing all seem to need the same few months.
Why this happens
A master's thesis is a full research project fitted into a short program, usually alongside courses. In a two-year program, the first year often disappears into coursework, and many students reach their second year with a topic but no data. By then, ethics review, recruitment and waiting for feedback can take several months before writing even starts.
It helps to know how big the job really is. Aalto University in Finland, for example, tells its master's students that a 30-credit thesis is equivalent to about 810 hours of work on average, with a target of six months of full-time work. Your program will be set up differently, but the point holds: a thesis is several months of focused work, and it won't fit into the gaps left over at the end.
The good news is that a master's thesis is meant to be a contained project. It needs a clear question, a sound method and an honest write-up. It doesn't need to change your field. Most delays come from a topic that's too large and from time spent waiting, not from students lacking ability.
Worth a look (6)
- Ideal timeline for RES master's students, UBC Institute for Resources, Environment and SustainabilityA term-by-term example of a two-year thesis master's, from forming a committee to final submission.
- Preliminary planning of the master's thesis, Aalto UniversityShows how one university sizes a master's thesis in hours and months, and what a short research plan should cover.
- How to Write a Thesis, by Rowena MurrayA practical book on planning and writing a thesis in stages, with plenty on writing regularly.
- Shut Up & Write!Free writing sessions, online and in person in over 80 countries, where you write quietly alongside others for a set time. It's a gentle push when you keep putting off your thesis.
- FocusmateBook a short video session with another person, say what you'll work on, then work quietly side by side. The free plan gives you three sessions a week.
- Time managementVitae's guide to managing research time, with simple techniques like logging your hours, separating urgent from important, and working back from deadlines.
When to bring someone in
Bring your supervisor in as soon as you have a draft timeline, because they know how long things really take in your field. Your graduate coordinator can confirm deadlines, registration rules and what happens if you need an extra term. If you're already behind, say so early: most programs have options, and they're much easier to use before a deadline than after it.
Find the right person, or talk to Ify