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University does not allow me to choose my dissertation topic

I am doing a master's at a UK university.
The course contains group project dissertations.
Students applied dissertation topics a few months ago, ranking the first to 8th choice.

I have nearly 10 years of work experience in finance and my first choice was a finance-related topic, specifically one of my main roles at work. I could not get my first choice which aligns with my previous experience and future career goal. Since I have quite a long experience, I don't want to put anything on my CV which is already full of experience, but I do want to put something specific to develop my CV.

I talked to the school (even to the head of the school) but they said the topic was assigned based on certain criteria and they could not change my topic, which sounded ambiguous to me.

As I am sure I am not disqualified to do the first choice project, I feel the university limits my opportunity and does not support my future. And now, I lost the motivation to continue my studies.

The dissertation has an important impact on my future academic or professional prospects, so I can't just accept the school's decision and move on. Can anyone give me advice on this matter?

Reply 1

They did the same to me. Can I ask what university are you at?

Reply 2

They did the same to me. I’m at Leeds, UG. I’ve also spoken to the allocator at great lengths and have been given nothing back but wishy washy excuses as to how it would be unfair. I replied back saying that nearly all other universities let students choose their own topic and area which I think is unfair, they’re just being lazy. 30 grand to write 10-12k words on something we’re not interested in and won’t be beneficial in the future.

Reply 3

Original post by username6174686
I am doing a master's at a UK university.
The course contains group project dissertations.
Students applied dissertation topics a few months ago, ranking the first to 8th choice.
I have nearly 10 years of work experience in finance and my first choice was a finance-related topic, specifically one of my main roles at work. I could not get my first choice which aligns with my previous experience and future career goal. Since I have quite a long experience, I don't want to put anything on my CV which is already full of experience, but I do want to put something specific to develop my CV.
I talked to the school (even to the head of the school) but they said the topic was assigned based on certain criteria and they could not change my topic, which sounded ambiguous to me.
As I am sure I am not disqualified to do the first choice project, I feel the university limits my opportunity and does not support my future. And now, I lost the motivation to continue my studies.
The dissertation has an important impact on my future academic or professional prospects, so I can't just accept the school's decision and move on. Can anyone give me advice on this matter?

I empathise with your situation. Perhaps you could outline the specific topic you want and the topic assigned? I believe that topics should be able to be modified to suit a student's area of interest.

Reply 4

They assigned me a topic randomly for my dissertation. The topic is not in my field of study. And I don't have a background in it. And I am not interested in it. I am an international student for my master here. I met with the supervisor, he said the topic is complicated, it's quite complicated. The university policy is that they assign a topic randomly to me for my dissertation. If I don't complete the dissertation, not because I am not qualified, but because the topic is not in my field of study (taking into consideration it requires three months of working and writing 10k words), they exit me with a diploma, not with a master's degree. I am here for a master's degree, not for a diploma. My master's degree now is at risk. That is not fair!
Did anyone's uni tell them that their dissertation is supposed to be outside of their current area of expertise/specialism?

Not being facetious, just curious.

Reply 6

They never told us. There is no information in the course handbook on the website stating that the dissertation is supposed to be outside the field of study/ specialization.

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