Can I still publish an undergrad thesis from 17 years ago?

r/

Was asked by my adviser to publish my thesis but it was done in 2008. Would journals still accept it? I now have a masters degree in the field and currently teaching in an SEAsian country. Studied also in an SEA university.

Comments

  1. alephmembeth Avatar

    I would say that highly depends on the content. A mathematical proof, for example, doesn’t age. A literature review in psychology does…

  2. mckinnos Avatar

    Just depends on what it is. You’ll want to make sure your review of the literature is up to date

  3. ZealousidealTie7785 Avatar

    I think so! As long as your advisor and any other coauthors  agree, I see no reason not to.

  4. ImUnderYourBedDude Avatar

    Definitely so. In my lab, we recently had 2 phD’s publish their theses, with fieldwork and data collected in the early 2000’s. Journals also didn’t mind the fact that the data was collected that long ago. And no, their analyses did not take 25 years, they just quitted their phD’s temporarily to have kids.

    My country thankfully didn’t have at the time a law that imposes restrictions on the maximum duration of a phD, therefore both students were still eligible to defend and have their phDs awarded.

  5. dj_cole Avatar

    It’s certainly still possible. My advisor from my PhD program had a manuscript that took 14 years from initial submission to a manuscript being published. It went through a couple journals before finding a home, but the content was still relevant. The topic will impact how well the research ages, but it’s certainly still possible. If your advisor asked about publishing it, my guess is it isn’t something that would be a non-starter.

  6. wizardofpoles Avatar

    I think you’d have to update some of the information and citations for quality, but likely yes!

  7. Alarmed_Dot3389 Avatar

    For every paper that is written, there is a journal willing to publish it. So the answer to your question is yes.

    But the better question to ask is whether it is worth publishing it, especially if only very poor journals would publish it. Will you be proud of it on your CV? Will it help or harm your employability?

    You will need to see if your work from 17 years ago is still considered relevant and rigorous today.

    There are even journals that would scramble to publish a high school essay, but I wouldn’t want to be associated with that publication

  8. v3bbkZif6TjGR38KmfyL Avatar

    You could, but honestly is it any good and worth publishing? I’m not saying you didn’t do well in your undergrad, but there’s a reason 99% don’t publish anything from their bachelor’s…

  9. Super-Judge3675 Avatar

    how would the journal or reviewers know it is that old? not a given…

  10. ProfessorStata Avatar

    Most undergrad theses aren’t publisher except in student journals. Undergrads just don’t have the understanding of the field you gain in graduate school.