12 Essential Things To Know About The MBA Dissertation Format

An MBA dissertation is the last challenge on your way towards a desired master’s degree in business administration. This is where you should demonstrate a high level of your research and writing skills as well as the ability to effectively apply your knowledge of the subject. When preparing your MBA research project, you should follow a range of formatting requirements.

General Requirements to Formatting the Text

  1. The MBA dissertation should consist of 15,000 to 20,000 words. This word count doesn’t cover appendices, glossary, and references. Do not include symbols and technical terms in this limit as well.
  2. Number the pages of your paper sequentially. Put the first number at the title page if there are no other requirements. Numbers should go at the bottom right corner of the page.
  3. Number the figures and tables sequentially within each chapter. Equations should also be numbered sequentially, with the numbers put in parentheses.
  4. Each table and figure should have a title. It should also be explicitly explained and referred to in the document.
  5. Cite the sources consistently throughout the text. Whether it is a quotation or a table taken from the original research of the other scholar, make sure to mention the source in your MBA paper. Follow the citation format recommended by your advisor.

Specific Requirements to the Structure

  1. Format the cover and title pages properly. As a rule, you are supposed to put the following details in these sections: the title of your paper, the study program, your name, the advisor’s name, and the date.
  2. Follow the structure and the page numbers of your paper in the table of contents. The MBA dissertation table of contents usually consists of three hierarchical levels.
  3. Place the summary section in the introductory part of the MBA paper. It commonly follows the table of contents and briefly informs of the objectives, methods, and conclusions of the work (not more than 300 words).
  4. If there are lots of tables and figures in your paper, place the list of tables and the list of figures after the table of contents.
  5. Structure the main part of your paper properly. It should consist of the introduction, the dissertation chapters, and the conclusion.
  6. Cover the key aspects of the MBA paper in your chapters. Literature review and methodology should necessarily be included in the main chapters of your work.
  7. The references should be arranged in alphabetical order and presented in compliance with the recommended formatting style.