What is a “Thesis by publication”?
That’s actually not an easy question to answer. There is no common definition of the Thesis by Publication (TBP) across countries and disciplines, and in some cases even across institutions!
With a lack of consistency, it is important for aspiring and current doctoral researchers to investigate the norms in their own geographic and disciplinary contexts. To guide our own research, we define the TBP simply as:
any approach to doctoral education that sees doctoral researchers “publishing their work throughout their candidature and including their research outputs within their final thesis submission”
(Mason & Merga. (2018). Integrating publications in the social science doctoral thesis by publication
Concluding a deeper analysis of institutional policies in more than 150 universities, we defined the TBP in a little more detail, but still open enough to capture the many differences that are evident in policy and practice:
“a doctoral thesis format that includes a variable number of co- or single-authored outputs, preferably with the doctoral researcher in lead position, mostly or fully produced during candidature, and ideally published in ‘quality’ peer-reviewed journals. The final submission must be presented in a coherent way as more than just a collection of outputs, with their relevance and connection to each other and to the overall study evident”
(Mason et al. (2024). What makes a Thesis by Publication? An international study of policy requirements and restrictions
Prospective v. Retrospective model
It is important to note that in our research, and on this website, we are focused on the ‘prospective model’ of TBP. This is different from what is sometimes referred to as the ‘retrospective model’, ‘thesis by prior publication’, or confusingly, a ‘thesis by publication’. In this model, established researchers who already have a body of published research use their contributions to date to gain a doctoral degree retrospectively. This model is common in countries where it is (or has been) possible to begin and continue an academic career without a doctoral degree. This type of PhD is becoming less common, particularly in established higher education systems.
What might the approach be called?
The approach in its various forms may be given a range of names, but in some cases, it might not be given a specific name, especially if including publications in a thesis is the norm, or if it is still relatively rare (but allowed). Nomenclature we have come across in our research include:
📖 Alternative format thesis
📖 Article-based thesis
📖 Compilation thesis
📖 Cumulative thesis
📖 Hybrid thesis
📖 Manuscript-based thesis
📖 Manuscript dissertation
📖 Paper-based thesis
📖 PhD by publication
📖 Prospective PhD by publication
📖 Publication-based thesis
📖 Thesis as a series of papers
📖 Thesis by articles
📖 Thesis by publication
📖 Thesis with papers
📖 Thesis with publications
📖 Three-article dissertation
📖 Three-paper thesis
How common is the TBP?
The TBP (otherwise named) is well-established and well known in some parts of the world, particularly in some parts of Europe. It also has a longer tradition in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) disciplines. However, there has been considerable growth in popularity of the model in many countries. Possibly the most rapid growth has been seen in Australia, where the TBP has moved from rare, to available in every university, and the preferred option in many universities, in around ten years. There has been strong growth in the social sciences.
Goal of this website
This website was first developed not long after the creators completed their own TBPs, all being in contexts where it was uncommon. With little support and lots of unanswered question, this site aims to collate the collective knowledge to help answer some of the most pressing questions that doctoral researchers have about selecting and completing a thesis including publications, or TBP.
Thesis By Publication 