Is a Master's thesis considered 'published'? I'm currently applying for PhD positions in the US, having completed a Master's degree in Engineering in the UK and then working in Industry for the past 13 years. I'm a bit confused as to the extent to which (if at all) a Master's thesis is considered to be 'published'?

To my knowledge, my Master's thesis was not officially published on the University website. However, I have seen some cases where Master's theses at some institutions are available online from the affiliated institution's website. To what extent are these 'available online' Master's theses considered to be published?

If they are not considered published then, if someone completes a Master's thesis and publishes it online, but doesn't follow-up by publishing it in a journal (perhaps they don't go on to do a PhD), then what is to prevent another academic taking those results and publishing them as their own? Is that considered 'fair game' in academia?

The background to this on my side is that my Master's thesis was a very successful project and was received very well at the time by the faculty in the Engineering school I studied in. It probably could have been turned into a research paper; however, given that I made the decision to start a career in Industry, I didn't push to publish the results in an academic journal at the time.

More recently, I have come across a paper that was published a few years later by researchers I am not familiar with at another institution, which seems very similar to my Master's thesis (I'd say ~75-80% the same content). Now, I am not accusing them of plagiarism - it's quite possible they may have discovered the same thing independently. However, I am just wondering, in general, to what extent a Master's thesis posted online is considered to be 'published' and how it is perceived in Academia if someone was to 'plagiarize' a Master's thesis.

I guess a follow-on question relating to my situation is: how much of this (if any) should I mention in my applications for PhD programs?
To what extent are these 'available online' Master's theses considered to be published?


In academia, published typically means included in conference proceedings or a journal by a publisher in some format (typically a printed book) that has an ISBN. A thesis is not published, under that definition. Nonetheless, an unpublished thesis needn't be private, e.g., it may appear online and it may be available in university library.


  what is to prevent another academic taking [someone's Master's thesis] and publishing them as their own? Is that considered 'fair game' in academia?


Such behaviour isn't prevented, but it would destroy a career, so it is uncommon.


  to what extent a Master's thesis posted online is considered to be 'published' and how it is perceived in Academia if someone was to 'plagiarize' a Master's thesis.


Such a thesis isn't published, but that's not the main issue: Academic fraud is intolerable and fraudsters will suffer severe consequences.


  how much of this (if any) should I mention in my applications for PhD programs?


I don't see any reason to mention any of it. Do you? (Perhaps add a comment if you do.)