Master's student demands to remove thesis partner from their research after entitled partner failed to do any work, causing her not to graduate: ‘I kept bugging her to finish her part, and she never did’

Author image for Bar Mor Hazut
Bar Mor Hazut • Senior Editor
Jun 21, 2025 1:00 PM EDT

Any time two people are forced to work together on something, one person will end up doing more of the work than the other. It is unavoidable, and those of us who take on the title of that overworked individual, also know how frustrating that can be.

When we were in school, whether it was high school or college, the divide between the two types of people was the most apparent–let's call them Type A's and Type B's.

Type A will always find themselves taking charge of the work. They will be the ones to decide on the theme of the paper, they will divide the work fairly between the two partners, and they will do their part as soon as possible, ensuring everything will be done by the deadline.

Type B will basically do none of the above. They will follow the Type A lead, but not follow anything else through. In lucky cases, they will do their half-hearted work last minute, will barely pay attention to anything that needs to be completed, and will be wholeheartedly unaware of any deadlines.

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  • It is the worst to be a Type A who is forced to work with a Type B, and the story below proves that.

    Only this time, our Type A refused to let Type B take all the credit for their work and decided to say something to their professor, even if it meant holding their partner back and denying their graduation.

  • 01
    "I've carried her through the entire college course"
    via AleksandarGeorgiev

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • 02

    AITA for requesting to remove my thesis partner from our research, which may cause her not to graduate?

    So I (M) am in a college course with only 8 people, so we're all pretty close. For our thesis, we were assigned to work in pairs and I got partnered with a woman I've already worked
    via FluidWishbone6237
  • 03
    with several school projects before. She tends to do things last-minute, but she usually does them, so I wasn't thrilled but figured we'd manage.
    via FluidWishbone6237
  • 04
    That changed quickly. We both work night shifts, but she also has a kid. I get that, and I've really tried to be understanding. But I still
    via FluidWishbone6237
  • 05
    managed to interview her three times over three months, while she was constantly unavailable. When it came time to transcribe the
    via FluidWishbone6237
  • 06
    interviews (each an hour long), we split the work, but she didn't do any of hers. I ended up doing all of it just to keep us from falling behind.
    via FluidWishbone6237
  • 07
    Then came encoding, which is the most tedious and time- consuming part of our paper. We split the work again, and for almost a month, I kept
    via FluidWishbone6237
  • 08
    bugging her and messaging. her to finish her part, and she never did. I eventually gave up and just did the whole thing myself. I told our advisor, and
    via FluidWishbone6237
  • 09
    they made her pay for the subscription to the software we were using as compensation. But that was the only thing she contributed.
    via FluidWishbone6237
  • 10
    Still trying to be fair, I asked her to handle our thesis defense presentation and script instead. But on the day of the defense, the
    via FluidWishbone6237
  • 11
    presentation was unfinished, and I had to fix it myself right there in the room. She arrived 1.5 hours late, and the script she gave only covered 20 pages for a 45+ slide deck.
    via FluidWishbone6237
  • 12
    After the defense, we were told to redo the encoding and rewrite chapters 3 and 4 separately so we could compare and combine. I started mine right away. She?
    via FluidWishbone6237
  • 13
    Still hasn't done anything. I've been consistently messaging her to ask for updates, to follow up on her encoding, her write-up and I just got "yeah
    via FluidWishbone6237
  • 14
    I'll do it" but still nothing. And I constantly see her active on Facebook and posting stories. Finally, I asked our advisor if I could submit the thesis under
    via FluidWishbone6237
  • 15
    my name only, which would mean she won't graduate. Now people are telling me I'm being too harsh and should just carry her one last time, but
    via FluidWishbone6237
  • 16
    I honestly feel like I've carried her through the entire thing already. AITA for doing this, even if it might cost her graduation?
    via FluidWishbone6237
  • 17
    disable, the innovation process. By
    via Marta Branco

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • 18
    SeraphimKensai Your professor is the a hole for making anyone work with a partner for a thesis. A thesis is supposed to be the culmination of one's study in a field applied to a research project and is meant to assess an individual.
    via SeraphimKensai
  • 19
    soulangelic I can't believe there are joint theses in some fields. I've never heard of that. What a terribly designed way to defend your graduate degree - why would they do that? Solo thesis work prevents exactly your situation from happening.
    via soulangelic
  • 20
    3littlepixies Not only did she not contribute, she waited until the last minute every time to inform you thereby increasing your stress. Had she just been up front from
    via 3littlepixies
  • 21
    the beginning, you could have done all the work with half the stress. She created emergencies you had to handle. NTA.
    via 3littlepixies
  • 22
    Embarrassed_Advice59 Imo you're not being harsh enough. NTA and it would be unfair for her to graduate with a thesis she barely contributed to.
    via Embarrassed_Advice59
  • 23
    wickybasket NTA. if she wanted to graduate she should have done the work. So she'll get hired at a job thinking she can do the work, pass the buck to others and get fired then instead? Talk to your teacher. Show receipts.
    via wickybasket

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studying degree school graduation students work reddit story partners Professors thesis entitled Reddit masters college student entitled people
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