A
thesis or
dissertation is a document submitted in support of candidature for an
academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's
research and findings. In some contexts, the word "thesis" or a cognate is used for part of a
bachelor's or
master's course, while "dissertation" is normally applied to a
doctorate, while in other contexts, the reverse is true. The term
graduate thesis is sometimes used to refer to both master's theses and doctoral dissertations. Dissertations and theses may be considered to be
grey literature.