If you’re one of the lucky ones like me who have an option of whether you want to undertake a dissertation as part of a master’s programme, you, nevertheless, have a big decision to make. For some, it may be done within a snap of the finger but for others, it may require a long in-depth weighing up of the pros and cons. Having experienced the process, let me dissect it for you and hopefully make it a bit easier.

Pros of doing a dissertation

The most obvious and important reason that should guide your decision on whether to undertake a dissertation or not is that it offers you the chance to dive into something you’re passionate about. If you will see it as one more thing to tick away for the sake of doing so or just because it looks impressive then I strongly advise you to choose against it as it will not be worth your time and effort.

If you’re not a big exam person like me or if you want to spread out your assignment deadline calendar a bit more (the data collection and writing up process of a dissertation is typically done over the summer months from June to August although meetings with your supervisor and proposal writing occurs throughout the year) this is the perfect opportunity for you to potentially help elevate your grades as it typically will consist of one whole unit of your programme.

You will gain a range of skills from project management to critical thinking and adaptability in overcoming struggles that arise throughout your research process. Moreover, you can use existing ones, for instance, if you already take modules in the Department of Methodology: the quantitative, qualitative or mixed-methods approach can be leveraged in your dissertation. In fact, for the dissertation, you can re-use 1,500 words from a methodology summative assignment you have already submitted albeit you must clearly state that it has been taken from your previous piece of work and it will be permitted as per the plagiarism guidelines in your programme’s MSc handbook.

With an increased skill-set, comes better career prospects, some careers demand that you have a sound grasp of specialist information particularly if you’re thinking of working in international organisations or government agencies so it’s pretty much a given that you choose to do a dissertation. Another handy aspect you can market to potential employers is your communication skills whether written or spoken as a dissertation may involve speaking with many senior stakeholders such as your supervisor(s), previous colleagues of yours, senior officials or experts on your chosen topic or even consumers and members of the general public which will help if you’re thinking of pursuing a client-facing role in the future.

Cons of doing a dissertation

While everyone else is on summer vacation, you will be slaving away on your dissertation, just remember that. If you’d much rather be doing an internship, travelling, volunteering or whatever it is you’d want to besides a dissertation then I’d say this is an obvious sign to turn down the option of doing one.

If you’re not planning to go into research or want to enter a more practical field, then the experience is less important and giving yourself more room to take optional courses within your programme may be more useful for your needs.

Research can be an extremely challenging and at times frustrating pursuit even more so as the answers are almost always unclear or unknown. You have to be prepared to work hard. Slacking is simply not an option. If you know you cannot commit to such a big task, then decide against it straight away. Either that or you’ll have to run the risk of regretting this decision for the rest of your time at LSE. Not a great end to your academic journey!

Ultimately, whether you decide to do a dissertation course is up to you and remember that nobody should pressure you into doing one!