Originally Posted by
bcmatt
I am writing my PhD in the UK at the moment, and I what I am working on is called a thesis. A dissertation is what I wrote for my Masters. However, I suspect some undergrad students might call an extended final year assignment a dissertation sometimes.
For more see:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thesis_or_dissertation
In the UK it is common for the term "dissertation" to be used, even officially/formally, for the "main" assignment for a bachelor's degree, normally in an arts-type subject. (It tends to be called a final-year project in some science/engineering subjects, e.g. Computer Science).
Neil