How much support is allowed for a master's thesis?

Understand what support is allowed for your Master's thesis. Learn about ghostwriting, coaching, and editing, and how to navigate university guidelines to ensure academic integrity.

The master's thesis is a significant academic achievement that culminates a master's degree program. Students can draw on various forms of support when writing such a thesis. However, it is important to know what kind of support is allowed and where the limits lie. In this article, we take a look at ghostwriting, coaching, and editing, and discuss how much support is permissible for a master's thesis.

Ghostwriting refers to the practice where a ghostwriter writes the master's thesis on behalf of the student as an individual sample work. Although this method promises a quick result, it is ethically controversial and is considered fraud by universities and colleges. In Austria, a " Ghostwriter Ban " was even introduced in 2022, prohibiting the offering of ghostwriting services in the academic field.

The independent creation of the master's thesis is a fundamental part of the academic process and allows students to demonstrate their skills and knowledge. Therefore, ghostwriting is generally not allowed and can lead to serious consequences such as exmatriculation.

Nevertheless, a ghostwritten master's thesis can be a helpful support if used as a guide. Such a master's thesis can, for example, provide valuable sources and approaches to a specific research question. The adoption of sources and approaches is legal.

In contrast to ghostwriting, coaching offers a supportive role by helping students organize, plan, and structure their master's thesis. A coach can provide valuable insights into the research process, offer methodological guidance, and assist with literature research. It is important to note that a coach should not complete the work for the student. Instead, they should promote the learning process and help the student develop their own skills. Coaching is generally allowed and can help students effectively design their work. However, the boundary of coaching is very imprecise and subjective. Therefore, it is advisable to consult with the university/college about how far the support for the master's thesis can go.

This form of support for the master's thesis can even be more expensive than ghostwriting, depending on its scope.

Editing refers to the linguistic and stylistic revision of a master's thesis. An editor checks the work for grammatical errors and improves the writing style. It is important to note that editing should not involve substantive changes to the master's thesis. This means that an editor should not rewrite the master's thesis or introduce new ideas. The role of the editor is to improve the linguistic quality of the work without changing its scientific content. In most cases, editing is allowed and is even recommended by many universities. Even if the editor is not allowed to make substantive changes to the master's thesis, the editor can point out factual errors, improvements, and additions. For this reason, it is advisable to engage a subject-specific editor so that they can provide the best possible feedback on how to improve the quality of the master's thesis, including its content.