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In general, are papers published by mathematicians the same thing as PhD theses? In other words, if a mathematician submitted a paper for a PhD would it get accepted? Or are papers of higher quality than PhD theses?

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    There is a vast spectrum among journals as to the quality of papers they publish. The spectrum of standards for a PhD thesis among different programs and institutions is almost as vast. So I don't see how it's possible to give a useful answer to this question, other than to say that probably approving a PhD thesis means that it should be publishable *somewhere*. However, I believe that less than 50% of PhD theses do in fact lead to publications.2011-03-03
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    It rarely happens that a single paper qualifies for a PhD thesis. It must be a great paper. (Gödel did that for instance.) In general, a PhD thesis will consist of a reworked collection of published and yet unpublished material. There will also be a more extensive intro and outro. More time will be taken to clarify concepts than in your average paper.2011-03-03

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