Does the bad (broad) master's thesis title have significant impact on graduate admissions?

Question

My Master's Thesis title will be something like "The clinical use of robots for individuals with X disorder" but I was actually researching perception of individuals with X disorder towards robots in a clinical setting. I needed to explain what is the aim of my research so I indeed wrote about clinical use of robots in X, still the title is too broad.

I have two concerns: (1) how bad is the impact of this title on my application for the Doctoral Program, and (2) can I somehow overcome this issue in my CV?

I need to add that my Master's Thesis isn't in English and I am not sure how much I can change my original title in the (English) summary. I tried to change my original title, but I couldn't do it and I don't know if I can somehow overcome this situation in my CV.

Answer 1

I'm not sure that having a broad title is likely to be particularly problematic. A title is just a title, and those reading your application are more likely to be interest in your ability to think critically and conduct research. Figuring out a title is a very small part of research.

If you are concerned that reading your title alone may not convey aspects of the content which are relevant for your application, then you may want to consider including a sentence or two in your CV which briefly describes what the thesis was about. This is not unlike listing duties responsible for under a job, or courses taken under a degree programme (both of which people occasionally do in a CV).

Alternatively, if you are required to include a cover letter or supporting statement then this might be the ideal opportunity to describe what your thesis contains rather than just what it was called.

Answer 2

Let me answer directly to your questions.

(1) how bad is the impact of this title on my application for the Doctoral Program?

There is usually no impact on your CV. The title was dependent on your supervisor during your studies. Plus, few universities have their own set of rules (although no rule of thumb) for setting title of the thesis. If at all it had any impact, then it would reduce the strength of the impact if you answer your question no.(2).

(2) can I somehow overcome this issue in my CV?

YES, certainly. If you point out a few statement on exactly what you had done.

For example: In this thesis, (i) we studied the impact of ... (ii) Also we compared our proposed technique ... with ... (iii) We also tried to solve the equation of .... (iv) like this go on.

But, be specific instead of much descriptive by writing half-page of your CV.