dissertation submission captions

100+ Dissertation Instagram Captions to Inspire

Ever stare at your freshly minted dissertation and think, "If this thing had a face, I'd tell it to take a hike"? Yeah, we get it. But now that you've conquered the beast, it's time to shout your victory from the digital rooftops—and we know just how to help you do it with flair (and a touch of sass). From the snarky to the solemn, we've got all the graduation dissertation captions you need to make your Instagram posts pop. Because let's be real, you didn't spend nights cuddled with coffee and APA guidelines to not boast about it online, right? Stay tuned, because you're about to become a caption wizard for all those priceless academic snapshots.

Best Graduation Dissertation Captions for Instagram

Hey there, you academic warriors! You've fought the good fight, spent countless hours in the library, and now it's time to celebrate that monster of a project you've been wrestling with – your dissertation. What better way to brag a little and inspire your friends than with the perfect caption on Instagram? Here's a collection of top-notch captions to showcase your triumph. Get ready to flood your feed!

• Mastered it, now I can finally breathe 🎓💨
• This piece of paper has a piece of my soul 📜✨
• Sleep is for the weak, dissertations are for the strong 💤🏋️♀️
• Bound, printed, and ready to party 🎉📗
• Blood, sweat, and citations – I made it! 💪📚
• Kiss my thesis! 💋📖
• On to the next chapter... after some rest 📚🛌
• Con-grad-ulations to me! 🎓✌️
• Unlocking achievements in academia 🔓🎖
• Three hundred pages later, I'm still standing 📃👣
• Survived the dissertation defense, dare me anything! 🛡️💥
• From proposal to podium – a journey worth every typo 🗒️🏅
• Doctorate in the house – no appointments needed 🎓🏠
• Blessed and thesis obsessed 🙏💼
• Coffee-fueled, determination-built! ☕🛠️
• Just added 'Doctor' to my Insta bio 👨⚕️📱
• Chapter closed, scroll uploaded, heart full ❤️🔚
• Dissertation done, sanity questionable 🤓😜
• Fear not, the thesis whisperer has conquered! 🤫🏆
• Paperback warrior in a hardbound world 📙🗡️

And there you have it, fellow grad gurus! Flaunt that degree like it's hot because, let's face it, your research is literally on fire. Now, go tell the world with these captions!

Fun Fact : The longest dissertation ever written was over 2,600 pages – now that’s a whole lot of proofreading!

Short Completing Dissertation Announcement Captions for Instagram

You've been grinding away at your dissertation, and guess what? You're basically done. Go ahead, take that victory lap on Instagram. But what do you say? "Look at me, I'm a big smarty-pants with a giant paper"? Nah, you need something snappier, something that’ll get all the likes and maybe even a few "aww" reactions. Don't sweat it. Here are 20 short and sweet captions that'll do your grad glory justice.

• Finally done with this chapter of my life 📚✨
• Chapters closed, degree opened 🔐🎓
• Déjà vu! Didn't I just start yesterday? 🙈🕓
• This is not a drill, I'm actually done 🚨🔚
• All the coffee paid off ☕️🏆
• Words cannot espresso how relieved I am ☕️🙌
• Mission accomplished, thesis submitted 🎯📃
• Hard work + Dedication = Dissertation done 🥇📈
• Data conquered, defense dominated 👩🎓👊
• Sleep is back on the schedule 😴📅
• Textbook case of success 📚✔️
• Over and out of the library 🏃♂️📚
• That's a wrap, folks 🎬👋
• Degree loading... complete 🖥️💯
• Dissertation? More like done-sertation 🎉👌
• Slayed my thesis like a boss 💁♀️🎓
• Piece of paper, mountain of knowledge 🏔️📜
• Consider this thesis #nailedit 🔨✅
• Who’s got two thumbs and finished their dissertation? This grad 🎓👍👍
• From proposal to approval, the journey ends here 🛤️🏁

And there you have it, twenty snappy captions to capture your monumental moment! Remember, every word you typed was a step towards accomplishing something amazing!

Fun Fact: The longest PhD dissertation ever written was over 2,500 pages! Imagine captioning THAT on Instagram. 🤓📚

One Word PhD Defense Captions for Instagram

So, you're finally done with your PhD defense? That's not just a big deal; it's a mountain-sized achievement! And of course, you want the world (or at least your Instagram followers) to know how incredibly brilliant and relieved you are. But let's be real: after all those years of studying, who has the energy to craft long, flowery captions? Your dissertation was wordy enough. Keep it snappy, keep it sassy, and let one word do all the talking. Grab your favorite victory selfie and pair it up with these punchy one-word dissertation Instagram captions.

• Victorious 🏆✨
• Accomplished 🎓🌟
• Survivor 🏁💪
• Doctorate 📘🤓
• Mastered 👑📚
• Triumphant 🥇👊
• Achiever 🌈🙌
• Warrior ⚔️🎒
• Determined 📈💡
• Resilient ⚙️🎖️
• Grateful 🙏💕
• Conqueror 🛡️🛤️
• Champion 🎖️🏵️
• Visionary 🎨🌠
• Innovator 💡🌀
• Crowned 👑🎉 Getting through your PhD defense is like having a mental marathon. It's exhausting, challenging, but in the end, oh-so rewarding. Fun Fact : Did you know that the term "Doctor" comes from the Latin word 'docere' which means to teach? Get ready to school the world, Doctor! 🎓✏️

Funny Academic Journey Quotes for Instagram

You've been buried in books for what feels like eons, and now you're close to the finish line. Your brain is fried, your social life is a distant memory, but hey, you're about to conquer that huge mountain called dissertation! So why not have a little fun with it on Instagram? Share the hilarity of your academic journey with friends and followers, and watch them double-tap the struggle that is oh-so-real but equally hilarious!

• Surviving my dissertation like a boss, one coffee at a time ☕️👑
• Thesis mode: ON. Social life: OUT OF ORDER 🤓🚫
• Library is my second home, send care packages 📚😩
• Decoding my research like it's the Da Vinci Code 🕵️♀️🔍
• On a date with my dissertation, it's complicated... 💔📄
• Keep calm and pretend this is on the syllabus 😅📖
• Slaying these footnotes like it's dragon season 🔥🐉
• Citing sources like I'm writing the next best-seller 🎯📚
• Just a grad student holding on to sanity by a thread 🧵😬
• My dissertation's word count is higher than my bank account 🆙💸
• Chapter one: Optimism. Chapter two: Caffeine. Chapter three: Tears. 🌟☕️😭
• Spellcheck has become my new best friend 📝💔
• They say journey before destination, but what about nap before dissertation? 😴🏁
• Graduating is my superpower, procrastinating is my kryptonite ⌛️🦸
• Turning my thesis into a horcrush – defeating it one chapter at a time! ✨🔮
• What do we want? Sleep! When do we want it? After this thesis! 😪🛌
• I've got 99 problems and my dissertation is 98 of them 🙃📑
• Headphones in, world out, thesis time 🎧🌍
• Survived another day of thesis writing and didn't cry once… Okay, maybe once 😭🎉
• Writing my thesis: a horror story in the making 🧟♀️🎬

And there you have it, folks – your perfectly seasoned academic life, now with a dash of humor served up Instagram-style!

Fun Fact : Did you know that the longest PhD dissertation ever written was over 2,000 pages? Imagine the caption possibilities for that! 🤣📚

Aesthetic Thesis Submission Celebration Quotes for Instagram

Thesis submission day is more than just a regular day – it's the grand finale of coffee-fueled late nights, endless revisions, and a whole lot of "I'll do it tomorrow." So when you've conquered that academic beast and you're ready to share your victory with the world (translation: your Instagram friends), you need captions that sparkle just as much as your freshly-printed pages. These carefully curated aesthetic quotes are perfect for topping off your triumphant post.

• Chapter closed, book open to new beginnings 📚✨
• Just turned my 'shoulds' into 'dids' 🎓👏
• Dropping off my thesis like mic drops 🎤🔥
• From drafts to dreams, we made it, baby! 🌟💼
• Next chapter? Real life. Thesis? Submitted. 🌈📖
• Spines are for books and backbones – mine's leading to success 💪📙
• Footnotes in my thesis, milestones in my heart 💖👣
• Now accepting degrees and compliments 🎓💌
• Study long, study wrong? Not this time! 💯📒
• Binding my work, unwinding my stress 🌀📕
• Page-turner phase is done – got my focus on the fun! 🎉📗
• Sleepless nights to bright future days ☀️🌜
• Watch me strut with these stacks of knowledge 🚶♂️📚
• Cinderella's got her slipper, I've got my thesis 🏰📜
• My thesis: bound, Me: unbound 🦋🔗
• Too legit to quit – thesis submitted 💼🚀
• Taskbar cleared, thesis declared! 💻📣
• Checked thesis off my list with scholarly finesse ✅🧠
• Paper turned in, now where's the gin? 🍸📘
• Gather 'round as I proclaim, the thesis game's got my name 📢🏆

And there you have it, folks – twenty captions sure to make your thesis submission look as good as it feels.

Fun Fact : Did you know that the longest PhD thesis ever written was nearly 2,500 pages? Your thesis might not be breaking records, but hey, it's your personal opus! 🏅📚

The best things in life are free.

And so is our instagram pod., clever grad school milestone captions for instagram.

Grad school is a marathon and every milestone is a victory lap worth sharing! As you tackle each chapter, exam, and presentation, hold your head high and let your Insta fam in on the success. Picture this: your followers scrolling through their feeds and coming across your proud grad school moment paired with the perfect caption – now that's how you celebrate success with style!

• Mastering milestones one chapter at a time 🎓✨
• From proposals to presentations, we conquer 📚👊
• Thesis? Completed it, mate! 💡🔥
• Research like a boss, lead like a scholar 🕵️♀️📈
• Caffeine, citations, and countless hours 🍵💻
• Chapters closed, degree almost in hand 🤓🎉
• Adding 'Master' to my bio soon 🧠🌟
• Legends of late-night lab sessions ⚗️🌙
• Paper accepted, ego boosted 📃💪
• Dedication + Data = Diploma soon 📊🎓 ** Remember, folks: semicolons save lives; they also save GPA’s! 😅👌
• Conquering grad school, one defense at a time 🛡️👑
• Celebrating this thesis milestone like a pro 🎈🥂
• Milestones: brought to you by resilience and coffee ☕🏆
• Class, chapters, and a side of charisma 🤗✏️
• Survived a semester; thriving's next! 🌱🚀
• Just a grad scholar making history 📝🌍
• Poster presentations got nothing on me 📌💃
• Journal club champ speaks citations fluently 🏅🗣️
• The grind is real, but so are the results 🤜💥
• From panic to published, we got this 👻📚 Grad school juggles aren't easy, but celebrating every win makes the journey unforgettable. Fun Fact: Did you know a group of flamingos is called a "flamboyance"? Just like your research, it’s uniquely brilliant and hard to miss!

Inspirational Dissertation Milestone Posts for Instagram

Hitting a milestone in your dissertation is a huge deal, and it's DEFINITELY Instagram-worthy. Whether you've just battled through the proposal, conquered another chapter, or finally spilled out the last word of your conclusion, it's time to celebrate! And let's be real, nothing screams "I did it!" like a perfectly crafted Instagram caption to flaunt your brainy achievements. So let's dive in, showcase those victories, and inspire others who might still be typing away in their academic trenches.

• Just hit a thesis milestone and feeling like a rockstar 🎓🌟
• Chapter complete: one step closer to the cap and gown life 🎉👩🎓
• Late nights, strong coffee, stronger thesis chapters 💪☕
• Officially halfway through this dissertation beast 💼🐾
• Data analyzed, results out, someone pop the champagne! 🥂📈
• Survived my dissertation defense and ready to rule the world 🌎👑
• Crossed a major milestone: committee says yes! 🤝🎊
• Methodology maven: mastered and moving on 📚🚀
• Another milestone, another reason to celebrate big 🎈📜
• Research revisions done, feet up, feeling triumphant 🛋️🏆
• Today's milestone: one chapter closer to a PhD! 🖋️🎓
• Witness my unstoppable thesis progress 🚂🛤️
• Abstract approved, let the next adventure begin! 👨💻🚀
• Dissertation milestone completed – where's my superhero cape? 🦸♂️✨
• Tiny victory today, monumental success tomorrow 🛠️🏗️
• Draft submitted, mental health retrieved 🧠❤️
• Lit review locked down, time to celebrate! 🔐🎈
• Sailed through my proposal defense, smooth seas ahead 🌊⛵
• Research journey benchmarks, making waves one milestone at a time 🌐🏄
• From blank page to approved outline, conquering chapters! 📃➡️🎉

Your hard work, relentless dedication, and sleepless nights have crafted a path to success, one milestone at a time.

Fun Fact: Did you know? The longest dissertation ever written was over 2,000 pages – that's one serious milestone! 📚🖊️

Humorous Final Chapter Submission Shoutouts on Instagram

You did it! You've typed your fingers to the bone, caffeinated yourself beyond human limits, and now your dissertation's final chapter is ready for the world (or, at least, your advisor). Why not give the academic world a laugh while you're at it? Get ready to drop a hilarious final chapter submission shoutout on Instagram that'll make even the sternest professors crack a smile. Here are some funny captions to celebrate your colossal achievement.

• Finally done with the 'type' of adventure I didn't ask for 📚😅
• Chapter "Done and Dusted," time for a nap 🎓😴
• Thesis submitted, sanity... questionable 🤷♂️😜
• Survived my dissertation: should be a PhD in that alone 🏅🎉
• Can I put "survivor of the final chapter" on my resume? 📜🥴
• They said "Enjoy the journey" – pretty sure they never wrote a thesis 🤔🧳
• My bibliography is longer than my patience was with this chapter ⏳📃
• Ctrl+Alt+Complete – Dissertation finalized! 💻🎯
• Now accepting rewards for defeating my dissertation dragon 🐉🏆
• Got my PhD in perseverance, the dissertation was just a side quest 🛡️😏
• Breaking up with my thesis; it’s not me, it’s definitely you 💔🤪
• Started from the bottom now the whole thesis here 🎶🔝
• 99 problems but a dissertation ain't one ✌️🆒
• Final submission: Insert victory dance here 🕺✨
• When you finish your dissertation and realize you can read for fun again 📖😂
• Sent my dissertation to print and suddenly got all my free time back ⌛🕰️
• Just submitted the longest, most expensive paper of my life 💵📝
• Turning in my dissertation like I drop the mic 🎤⬇️
• Finito! Time to trade the APA for some PJs and Zs! 💤🥳
• Consider this chapter...CLOSED 🚪🙌

Now, go ahead, post your triumph for the gram and let the likes roll in! Your well-earned bragging rights are just a hashtag away.

Fun Fact : Did you know there's a tradition called “PhD hat” in Sweden and Finland? New doctors get a specially designed top-happ that’s as unique as their dissertation!

Doctoral Humor for Social Media Captions

Hey there, academic all-star! You've been cramming your brain with so much knowledge that you could probably rival the wisdom of Google at this point. But guess what? It's time to take a break, give your neurons a breather, and share a laugh or two with the world. Let's add a dash of humor to your Instagram with some chuckle-induced captions that even your thesis advisor might smirk at. Because let's face it, if you don't laugh, you'll probably cry, and we've had enough tears through this doctoral journey, right? 😅🎓

• Chapter one: Optimism. Chapter five: Send help. 📚🆘
• Slaying my dissertation like a boss. Next up: real life! 💼🐉
• Viva? More like "Surviva". I came, I saw, I conquered. 🌟✨
• Dissertation: 5000 words, 99 problems, 1 grad warrior. 💪😎
• When your dissertation is a horror story but you're the final girl.👻💁♀️
• Just another manic Monday... and Tuesday... and every day. #DoctoralLife ☕📅
• E=MC Hammered after finishing this dissertation. 🎤📚
• Hit me with your best shot, dissertation committee. Ready, aim, graduate! 🎯🎓
• Survived my defense. Still waiting for my superpowers to kick in. 🦸♂️🎉
• On a date with my dissertation. It’s complicated. 🗂️💔
• PhDone with this chapter... Wait, there's more? 🎉🔄
• Do theses dreams count as a reference? Asking for a friend. 🛌📃
• This dissertation has 99% perspiration, 1% inspiration. And now, it's done! 💦🌈
• Roses are red, violets are blue, my dissertation's finished, how about you? 🌹📘
• If sleep were currency, I'd be bankrupt by chapter 2. 😴💸
• I'm like a ninja, but with words and APA formatting. 🥋📄
• Yes, I have a type... A thesis type. Times New Roman, 12pt. 🔤👌
• Running on caffeine, dreams, and a whole lot of panic snacking. ☕🍪
• Defense day forecast: 100% chance of nailing it. 🧠🎤
• Doctoral haters gonna hate, I'm too busy being great. 🧢🤩 You came, you saw, you conquered—and posted it all with wit! Fun Fact : Did you know that the longest PhD dissertation ever was over 2,500 pages? That's a lot of coffee-fueled typing! ☕📃

Dissertation Stress-Relief Captions for Instagram

We all know that dissertation stress is like a clingy friend who can't take a hint - always there and just too much. But what's the best way to shake off that stress? That’s right, by sharing a fun Instagram caption! Think of it as your digital scream into the void (but stylishly, of course). Here are some light-hearted captions to ease the tension and make your followers smile, because if you gotta be stressed, you might as well do it in style.

• Sipping away the dissertation blues one latte at a time ☕😌
• Chapters and chill? More like chapters and mental thrill 📚😤
• Surviving my dissertation on a strict diet of quotes and caffeine 📝☕
• A little less conversation, a little more action - on these footnotes please! 💃🎶
• Breaking up with stress, my dissertation made me do it 💔📚
• Plot twist: my dissertation is actually going well (sort of) 📈🤓
• My survival tactics? Bibliographies and breakdowns! 📖😩
• Research like a pro, panic like an amateur 😏👀
• Hypotheses and daydreams holding my sanity together 🔬💭
• Citing my sources and dodging the stress bullets 🎯🔖
• On a date with my dissertation, it's complicated... 🗂💔
• I’ve got 99 problems, but writing a killer thesis ain’t one 💪🔝
• Mixing up my methodology with a dash of madness 🥴🔬
• Just call me a research warrior, with tired eyes and coffee breath ☕🛡
• Relaxation? Oh, you mean that thing I used to do before my thesis... 🧘♂️🔍
• Hit the books so hard, even stress is taking notes from me 📑😂
• Sweatpants and library receipts – the official uniform of dissertation season 🧾👖
• Choosing my hypothesis over hysterics (most of the time) 🧪🙃
• Dancing through data, tripping on tables 🕺📊
• My thesis whisperer game is strong, just like my coffee ☕🤫

Here's to conquering the chaos and turning stress into success (or at least, a few laughs).

Fun Fact: The longest Ph.D. thesis ever was over 2,000 pages – now that’s a workout for your thumb scrolling through Instagram!

Captions Celebrating Academic Achievements Online

Here's to all the late nights, early mornings, and endless cups of coffee. You've tackled your academic giants and now, it's time to shout your success from the digital rooftops. Celebrate your scholarly victories with captions that capture the essence of your journey and inspire your followers. Go ahead, flaunt that brainy sparkle – you've earned every bit of this online cheering session!

• Just turned my 'To-Do' into 'It's Done' 🎓🎉
• Sleepless nights to bright future lights 💡✨
• Pages of pain for a lifetime of gain 📚🚀
• Degree hotter than my laptop after a thesis marathon 🔥💻
• Slayed my dissertation defense like a boss 💪🛡️
• Citation wizard, chapter conqueror 🧙♂️✅
• Research beast mode: deactivated 👾🎮
• Footnotes frenzy has officially ended 🦶🎶
• Conquering chapters like levels in a game 🎮🏆
• Supercharged my CV with one epic dissertation 💼🚀
• Mastered the art of scholarly wizardry 🎩📖
• Academic gladiator, arena champion 🏟️🏅
• Celebrating my thesis victory lap 🏁🍾
• The one where I become an academic hero 🦸♂️🎓
• Started from a proposal, now we here 🗂️👑
• Panel-approved and proud 🤝🙌
• In a committed relationship with my diploma 🖋️❤️
• Full-time scholar, now an achiever for hire 💼🎖
• Made my thesis retreat in defeat 🗡️🏳️
• Ritualistically burned all my draft copies at dawn 🔥🌅

Your hard work has paid off, and your celebration is absolutely contagious. Enjoy this victory!

Fun Fact: The average PhD thesis is around 80,000 words, which is equivalent to a novel. Plot twist: you just wrote a scholarly bestseller!

Post-Dissertation Feelings Captions for Instagram

Congratulations, smarty pants! You've beat the boss level of academia and now it's time to flood your Instagram with all the feels. Everyone knows that after-dissertation glow is brighter than my future on a Monday morning, so why not share that accomplishment with the world? These captions will not only make your followers hit the 'like' button faster than you can say "ProQuest submission," but also encapsulate all the rollercoaster emotions you've been through. 🎓💫

• Dissertation: Done and dusted, I'm officially busted 📚😴
• Not to be dramatic, but I just completed the written version of a marathon 🏃♀️📖
• From proposal to defense, it's been real, thesis 🎉👋
• Could someone please inform my coffee it’s no longer needed on an emergency basis? ☕🚫
• Chapters closed, book open to the next adventure 📘🌍
• All these citations, but I still can’t cite the time I got enough sleep 💤📄
• Time to swap my thesis for a much-needed thes-island vacation 🌴👙
• The tassel was worth the hassle, and oh, what a hassle it was 🎓🎒
• My dissertation and I have finally 'decided to see other people' 🤝💔
• Mastered the art of typing while crying - dissertation submitted! 🎨😭
• No more explaining my research at parties, I promise 🙅♂️🍾
• Who knew I'd miss library dates with my reference materials? 📚💔
• Degree hotter by one dissertation! 🌡️📜
• The only defense I want now involves a blanket fort ⛺🛡️
• It's not just a big paper, it’s a pricey paper 🧾💸
• Spellcheck: the unsung hero of my dissertation 🦸♂️🔍
• Farewell, late nights with JSTOR. Hello, late nights doing whatever I want! 🌙❤️
• That moment you realize your bibliography is your longest relationship 📑💞
• Ready to start using my brain for trivia nights, not just research 🔍🍻
• Survived the committee's quest like a scholarly Frodo 🧝♂️🔥 It's time to pat yourself on the back and enjoy the weightlessness of a post-dissertation life! Fun Fact: Did you know the average doctoral dissertation is longer than a classic Russian novel? Lengthy reading has got nothing on you!

Q: What should I caption my thesis on Instagram?

A: When you're flaunting your scholastic achievements, pair it with a witty or proud caption like "Just added a few letters behind my name. #MasteredIt" or "Caffeine and determination got me here. #ThesisCompleted"

Q: How do you caption a picture in a dissertation?

A: You'd want to keep it formal and descriptive. Try "Fig. 1: The effects of social media engagement, depicted" or "Illustration: Comparative analysis of digital marketing trends."

Q: What are some good Instagram captions?

A: Since you asked for ready-to-go captions, here's a few:

• "Living my story, one picture at a time. 📚✨"
• "Suns out, puns out. 🌞"
• "Good vibes and high tides. 🌊"

Q: How to use quotes in a dissertation?

A: Place the quote in your text, attribute it with a citation, and discuss its relevance. For instance, start a section with "As Mark Twain said, 'The secret of getting ahead is getting started.'" Then connect it to your work.

Final Words

Alright, so you've just scrolled through an arsenal of clever quips for marking that mammoth milestone – your dissertation. I bet you've found some serious gems for your 'gram, from the snappy one-liners about finally finishing that dissertation to the witty wisdom for your PhD defense, and let's not forget those aesthetic thesis celebration quotes.

Your academic journey's been a wild ride, and you've got the captions to prove it. So go ahead, pick out that perfect phrase that screams 'you,' slap it on your next post, and watch the love pour in. Here's to making your dissertation Instagram captions as memorable as that final full stop on your paper. Cheers!

More Articles Related to Instagram Captions

Boost Your Vibes – 180+ Dissertation Instagram Captions & Quotes

Embark on a journey of academic inspiration with our curated collection of Dissertation Instagram captions and quotes tailored specifically for your dissertation endeavors. Whether you’re diving into the depths of research, grappling with complex theories, or celebrating small victories along the way, these captions and quotes are designed to uplift, motivate, and accompany you through every stage of your dissertation process. From moments of triumph to challenges overcome, let these words serve as beacons of encouragement as you navigate the intricate landscape of scholarly pursuit. Let your Instagram posts reflect not just your academic achievements, but also the resilience, determination, and passion that drive you forward in your pursuit of knowledge.

Funny Dissertation Instagram Captions

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• Bournemouth
• King's
• University of East Anglia

Here are your best dissertation hand-in pics of 2018

If I have to read one more ‘diss’ pun I’m going to scream and will probably never be able to stop

Look, your dissertation is unlikely to be of such academic prowess that it changes the world.

Sure, it will get you a degree and be a gigantic waste of paper that will contribute to the continued degradation of our planet, but is that reason enough to go through all that stress?

No of course not, you moron, the real point of sweating over 10,000 words for months on end is for the moment you can boast about finishing it on social media.

After meticulous planning and hours spent deliberating the most hilarious way to force a 'diss' pun into your caption, you post it. The likes start flooding in. "HOOK IT UP TO MY FUCKING VEINS" you scream as the likes on your photo hit treble figures. At this point you would go through the trauma of writing another just to experience this feeling again.

But which diss hand-in pics are genuinely worthy of your attention? We've gathered up some of the best, including the most aesthetic and extra as well as those with puns so bad they're good, and arranged them all neatly below. How thoughtful of us.

You probably could have got a closer pic if someone else had taken a photo from…I dunno, THE MOON.

You can't quite read it but the title of his diss was "yaaaaaaaaaaaas".

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Gregorio Giuffrè 🇮🇹🇬🇧 (@gregogiuffre)

I spent half an hour trying to think up something funnier than the original caption but tbh I can't beat it

View this post on Instagram A post shared by caitlinstagram (@caitlinatha)

Get that post-diss stress highlight glow, girl

View this post on Instagram A post shared by PP (@poojapopat)

"How did my dissertation go? I do-nut want to talk about it"

If your looking for the student most relieved to be done with his diss here he is.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Mathew Theophilus (@matjtheo)

If you can find me a more standard dissertation hand-in pic than this I will call you a liar to your face and not even feel bad about it

It was nine months of discomfort, stress and mood swings but i'm happy to report that mother and child are both doing very well.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by @ginadeen_

If you make a diss=this pun in your caption you don't deserve a degree imho

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Becca Shearman (@beccashearman)

Yep, this is even worse than the last one, someone take away his grad job please

With the double pun i at least hoped her degree was film studies but i had a quick stalk and it isnt, fuming, their album drops in two weeks, finally, here's a caption to be proud of. hannah stephens, you keep doing you pal.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Hannah Stephens (@hannnahstephens)

A crash course in attempting to deflect attention from the fact you're about to hand in 10,000 words of pure and utter garbage

Predicting final grades based on facial expressions (from left to right): high 2:1, 59.5 per cent but rounded up to to a 2:1, first class honours, 2:2, my diss photo staged nahhhhhh.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Jamie Turnbull (@jamieturnbull96)

When you're so proud of your dissertation you get the title printed onto a t-shirt

Most "i've definitely got a low 2:2" diss hand-in pic ever, straight after the pic was taken, it was straight into church to pray for a passing grade.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Seren Thomas (@seren_thomas)

Pretty confident this will be the only dissertation photo with a life-size Monsters Inc character in it

If dissertations were marked on hand-in photos alone this would get a starred first, doing a dissertation isn't so bad if you wrote it on a beach in what looks like the bahamas.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by ✨B✨ (@biancaluciax)

When you have to hand in your dissertation at 2pm but have footy down the park with the Lost Boys at 3pm

And to finish, the most extra diss hand-in insta.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Sam Thomson (@coolforthesammer)

Imagine getting a 2:2 after going to all this effort.

I learned the best interview habits to land my dream job by practising with the Meta Quest 3

This is a serious game changer

The 10 least essential things on the Urban Outfitters uni ‘essentials’ list 2024

Who needs cutlery when you have a Taylor Swift crochet kit?

From a cop to an alligator hunter: A rundown of Lana Del Rey’s very rogue boyfriends

The alligator hunter was spotted backstage with her at Leeds fest

Trisha Paytas just celebrated King Tut day again, so here’s her viral dance video explained

She even got her kids involved for the fourth duet of the original video

Steven exposed for acting completely differently when Love Is Blind cameras stopped filming

‘Such a seismic shift in who he was when the camera stopped rolling’

All the adorable evidence that Harry Styles and Niall Horan are still friends

Narry girlies RISE

Leaked government doc show places where smoking could be banned, including beer gardens

Keir Starmer has now confirmed there are plans in place

Steven denies inviting ex girlfriend to Love Is Blind UK wedding and calls out Sabrina

‘It’s factually incorrect… I’m surprised she said this’

It lasted 86 days: A full timeline of Sabrina and Steven’s failed Love Is Blind UK marriage

When they were married, Steven was living in a London flat share and hardly travelled to Belfast

Katy Perry dragged again after claims new song sounds like one from Netflix’s Eurovision movie

The similarities are… interesting

Omg, Stacy Snyder from Love Is Blind just hard launched her new girlfriend

Not me having no idea she’d even broken up with her ex

‘They didn’t like each other’: The It Ends With Us crew are now speaking out on the drama

Talk about a stressful work environment

Cat addresses rumours she and Sam secretly dated outside of the Love Is Blind UK pods

They were flirting up a storm at the reunion

‘The only knot he’ll tie’: Tommy’s first post since Molly-Mae split plagued with savage comments

His pic has 250k likes… Molly’s first post since has 1.8million

‘Do you know you have 30 minutes?’: Where the relatable TikTok sound actually comes from

I can’t get it out of my head

There’s another convincing House of the Dragon theory Aemond will become a white walker

It’s all in the eyes

Here’s the surprisingly low amount the cast of Emily in Paris earns for each episode

Clearly there’s some favouritism going on

Here’s who actually has the most followers out of the memorable Love Is Blind UK cast

Some of them have flopped big time

A lookalike of Chappell Roan claims she’s also getting stalked and harrassed by maniacal fans

‘I catch myself looking around and I shouldn’t – I’m not Chappell’

Here’s a full timeline of all the Oasis beef over the years for the girlies who don’t know

Something about a tambourine and a cricket bat?

Sean and Matilda have dramatically broken up one month after the Love Island finale

No more sweet shop discount for Matilda then

Steven finally speaks out about Sabrina split and says Love Is Blind marriage is being annulled

‘We separated and it just didn’t work, we weren’t compatible in real life’

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Formatting Guidelines For Theses, Dissertations, and DMA Documents

Guidelines for Formatting Theses, Dissertations, and DMA Documents is intended to help graduate students present the results of their research in the form of a scholarly document.

Before beginning to write a master’s thesis, PhD dissertation, or DMA document, students should read the relevant sections of the  Graduate School Handbook, section 7.8  for dissertations and/ or  section 6.4  for master’s theses.

Candidates for advanced degrees should also confer with their advisors and members of their graduate studies committees to learn about any special departmental requirements for preparing graduate degree documents.

Members of the graduation services staff at the Graduate School are available to provide information and to review document drafts at any stage of the planning or writing process. While graduation services is responsible for certifying that theses and/or dissertations have been prepared in accordance with Graduate School guidelines, the student bears the ultimate responsibility for meeting these requirements and resolving any related technical and/or software issues . Graduation services will not accept documents if required items are missing or extend deadlines because of miscommunication between the student and the advisor.

Accessibility Features

As of Spring, 2023, all theses and dissertations will need to incorporate the following accessibility features to align with the university’s accessibility policy.  When you submit your final document to OhioLINK you will be verifying that accessibility features have been applied.

• PDF file includes full text
• PDF accessibility permission flag is checked
• Text language of the PDF is specified
• PDF includes a title

Features and Other Notes

Some features are required, and some are optional. Each component is identified with a major heading unless otherwise noted. The major heading must be centered with a one-inch top margin. 

Sample Pages and Templates

Templates are available for use in formatting dissertations, theses, and DMA documents. Please read all instructions before beginning. 

• Graduate Dissertations and Theses Templates - OSU Login Required

FRONTISPIECE (OPTIONAL)

If used, no heading is included on this page.

TITLE PAGE (REQUIRED)

The title page should include:

• the use of title case is recommended
• dissertation, DMA. document, or thesis
• Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree [insert the applicable degree such as Doctor of Philosophy, Doctor of Musical Arts, Master of Science, etc.] in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University
• Name of the candidate 
• Initials of previous earned degrees
• insert correct name from program directory
• Year of graduation
•  Dissertation, document, or thesis [select applicable title] committee and committee member names

COPYRIGHT PAGE (REQUIRED)

Notice of copyright is centered in the following format on the page immediately after the title page. This page is not identified with a page number.

Copyright by John James Doe 2017

ABSTRACT (REQUIRED)

The heading Abstract is centered without punctuation at least one inch from the top of the page. The actual abstract begins four spaces below the heading. See sample pages.

DEDICATION (OPTIONAL)

If used, the dedication must be brief and centered on the page.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

(OPTIONAL, BUT STRONGLY RECOMMENDED)

Either spelling of the word, acknowledgments or acknowledgments, is acceptable. The acknowledgment is a record of the author’s indebtedness and includes notice of permission to use previously copyrighted materials that appear extensively in the text. The heading Acknowledgments is centered without punctuation at least one inch from the top of the page.

VITA (REQUIRED)

Begin the page with the heading Vita, centered, without punctuation, and at least one inch from the top of the page. There are three sections to the vita: biographical information (required), publications (if applicable), and fields of study (required).

There is no subheading used for the biographical information section. In this section, include education and work related to the degree being received.

Use leader dots between the information and dates. The publication section follows. The subheading Publications should be centered and in title case. List only those items published in a book or journal. If there are none, omit the Publication subheading. The final section of the vita is Fields of Study, which is required. Center the subheading and use title case. Two lines below the Fields of Study subheading, place the following statement: Major Field: [insert only the name of your Graduate Program as it reads on the title page] flush left. Any specialization you would like to include is optional and is placed flush left on the lines below Major Field.

TABLE OF CONTENTS (REQUIRED)

The heading Table of Contents (title case preferred) appears without punctuation centered at least one inch from the top of the page. The listing of contents begins at the left margin four spaces below the heading. The titles of all parts, sections, chapter numbers, and chapters are listed and must

be worded exactly as they appear in the body of the document. The table of contents must include any appendices and their titles, if applicable. Use leader dots between the listed items and their page numbers.

LISTS OF ILLUSTRATIONS (REQUIRED IF APPLICABLE)

Lists of illustrations are required if the document contains illustrations. The headings List of Tables , List of Figures , or other appropriate illustration designations (title case preferred) appear centered without punctuation at least one inch from the top of the page. The listing begins at the left margin four spaces below the heading. Illustrations should be identified by the same numbers and captions in their respective lists as they have been assigned in the document itself. Use leader dots between the listed items and their page numbers. See sample pages .

BIBLIOGRAPHY/REFERENCES (REQUIRED)

Include a complete bibliography or reference section at the end of the document, before the appendix, even if you have included references at the end of each chapter. You may decide how this section should be titled. The terms References or Bibliography are the most commonly chosen titles. The heading must be centered and at least one inch from the top of the page.

Include this heading in the table of contents.

APPENDICES (REQUIRED IF APPLICABLE)

An appendix, or appendices, must be placed after the bibliography. The heading Appendix (title case preferred) centered at least one inch from the top of the page. Appendices are identified with letters and titles. For example: Appendix A: Data. Include all appendix headers and titles in the table of contents.

Other Notes

Candidates are free to select a style suitable to their discipline as long as it complies with the format and content guidelines given in this publication. Where a style manual conflicts with Graduate School guidelines, the Graduate School guidelines take precedence. Once chosen, the style must remain consistent throughout the document.

Top, bottom, left, and right page margins should all be set at one inch. (Keep in mind that the left margin is the binding edge, so if you want to have a bound copy produced for your personal use, it is recommended that the left margin be 1.5 inches.)

It is recommended that any pages with a major header, such as document title, chapter/major section titles, preliminary page divisions, abstract, appendices, and references at the end of the document be set with a 2-inch top margin for aesthetic purposes and to help the reader identify that a new major section is beginning.

The selected font should be 10 to 12 point and be readable. The font should be consistent throughout the document. Captions, endnotes, footnotes, and long quotations may be slightly smaller than text font, as long as the font is readable.

Double spacing is preferred, but 1.5 spacing (1.5 × the type size) is acceptable for long documents. Single spacing is recommended for bibliography entries, long quotations, long endnotes or footnotes, and long captions. Double spacing between each bibliography entry is recommended.

Each major division of the document, including appendices, must have a title. Titles must be centered and have at least a one inch top margin. The use of title case is recommended. If chapters are being used, they should be numbered and titled. For example: Chapter 1: Introduction. Appendices are identified with letters and titles. For example: Appendix A: Data.

PAGE NUMBERS

Every page must have a page number except the title page and the copyright page. If a frontispiece is included before the title page, it is neither counted nor numbered. The page numbers are centered at the bottom center of the page above the one inch margin. Note: You may need to set the footer margin to 1-inch and the body bottom margin to 1.3 or 1.5- inches to place the page number accurately.

Preliminary pages (abstract, dedication, acknowledgments, vita, table of contents, and the lists of illustrations, figures, etc.) are numbered with small Roman numerals (i, ii, iii, iv, etc.). Page numbering begins with the first page of the abstract, and this can be either page i or ii (The title page is technically page i, but the number is not shown on the page).

Arabic numerals are used for the remainder of the document, including the text and the reference material. These pages are numbered consecutively beginning with 1 and continue through the end of the document.

Notation practices differ widely among publications in the sciences, the humanities, and the social sciences. Candidates should confer with their advisors regarding accepted practice in their individual disciplines. That advice should be coupled with careful reference to appropriate general style manuals.

• Arabic numerals should be used to indicate a note in the text. 
• Notes may be numbered in one of two ways: either consecutively throughout the entire manuscript or consecutively within each chapter.
• Notes can be placed at the bottom of the page (footnotes) or at the end of a chapter or document (endnotes). Once chosen, the notation style must be consistent throughout the document.
• Notes about information within tables should be placed directly below the table to which they apply, not at the bottom of the page along with notes to the text.

ILLUSTRATIONS

Tables, figures, charts, graphs, photos, etc..

Some documents include several types of illustrations. In such cases, it is necessary that each type of illustration (table, figure, chart, etc.) be identified with a different numbering series (Table 1, Table 2, and so on, or Chart 1, Chart 2, and so on). For each series, include a list with captions and page numbers in the preliminary pages (for example, List of Tables, List of Charts, etc.). These lists must be identified with major headings that are centered and placed at the two-inch margin.

Each illustration must be identified with a caption that includes the type of illustration, the number, and a descriptive title (for example, Map 1: Ohio). Numbering may be sequential throughout the document (including the appendix, if applicable) or based on the decimal system (corresponding to the chapter number, such as Map 2.3: Columbus). When using decimal numbering in an appendix, the illustration is given a letter that corresponds with the appendix letter (for example, Figure A.1: Voter Data). Captions can be placed either above or below the illustration, but be consistent with the format throughout the document. If a landscape orientation of the illustration is used, make sure to also orient the illustration number and caption accordingly. The top of the illustration should be placed on the left (binding) edge of the page.

If an illustration is too large to ft on one page it is recommended that you identify the respective pages as being part of one illustration. Using a “continued” notation is one method. For example, the phrase continued is placed under the illustration on the bottom right hand side of the first page. On the following pages, include the illustration type, number, and the word continued at the top left margin; for example, Map 2: Continued. Whatever method you choose just make sure to be consistent. The caption for the illustration should be on the first page, but this does not need repeated on subsequent pages.

If an illustration is placed on a page with text, between the text and the top and/or bottom of the illustration, there must be three single spaced lines or two double spaced lines of blank space. The same spacing rule applies if there are multiple illustrations on the same page. The top/bottom of the illustration includes the caption.

All final Ph.D. dissertations, DMA. documents, and master’s theses are submitted to the Graduate School through OhioLINK at https://etdadmin. ohiolink.edu. The document must be saved in PDF embedded font format (PDF/A) before beginning the upload at OhioLINK. During the submission process, OhioLINK will require an abstract separate from your document. This abstract has a 500-word limit. You will get a confirmation from OhioLINK that the submission is complete. The submission then goes to the Graduate School for review. After it is reviewed by staff of the Graduate School, you will receive an email that it has been accepted or that changes need to be made. If changes are required, you will need to re-submit the revised document via an amended OhioLINK submission. You will receive an “accepted” email from the Graduate School once the document has been approved.

THESIS OR DISSERTATION IN A FOREIGN LANGUAGE

The Graduate School has no policy specifically permitting graduate degree documents to be written in a foreign language. The practice is allowed as long as it is approved by the student’s advisor and Graduate Studies Committee. Documents in a foreign language must comply with the following requirements:

• The title page must be in English, but the title itself may be in the same language as the document.
• If the title is in a language using other than Roman characters, it must be transliterated into Roman character equivalents.
• The abstract must be in English.
• The academic unit must notify the Graduate School of dissertations in a foreign language so that an appropriate graduate faculty representative can be found to participate in the final oral examination

Dissertation and Theses

The dissertation is the hallmark of the research expertise demonstrated by a doctoral student. It is a scholarly contribution to knowledge in the student’s area of specialization. 

A thesis is a hallmark of some master’s programs. It is a piece of original research, generally less comprehensive than a dissertation and is meant to show the student’s knowledge of an area of specialization.

Still Have Questions?

Dissertations & Theses 614-292-6031 [email protected]

Doctoral Exams, Master's Examination, Graduation Requirements 614-292-6031 [email protected]

Thesis and Dissertation Formatting

Introduction.

The requirements listed in the Thesis and Dissertation Formatting Requirements apply to the formal master’s thesis and the doctoral dissertation.

The thesis or dissertation is a report of original research and scholarly work that is shared with the academic community and is made available to the public. The thesis or dissertation becomes part of the UWM Digital Commons and is also made available through ProQuest. Information about submission can be found on the Electronic Thesis & Dissertation Submission website.

These format standards have been developed to ensure a degree of consistency in the written presentation of this research across academic disciplines.

The Graduate School will not accept theses or dissertations that do not conform to these requirements. Have your formatting reviewed by the Graduate School by the formatting deadline .

• All students: email a draft to [email protected]

General Instructions

Required page order, preliminary pages:.

• Title page – required
• Abstract page – required
• Copyright page – optional
• Dedication – optional
• Table of Contents – required for all except creative works
• List of Figures – required if figures appear in thesis
• List of Tables – required if tables appear in the thesis
• List of Abbreviations – optional
• Acknowledgements – required if permission to reproduce copyright material is necessary
• Frontispiece (illustration) or Epigraph (quotation) – optional
• Appendices – optional

Thesis and Dissertation Formatting Resources:

• Manual (PDF) • Presentation (.pptx) • Thesis Formatting Template (.docx) • Dissertation Formatting Template (.docx) • Checklist (PDF)

Double space throughout, with the exception of the title page; captions; table or figure headings; extensive quotations; footnotes or endnotes; entries in the References section; entries in the Table of Contents; and appendices.

Any standard font is acceptable; however, the same font should be used throughout. Use a font size of approximately 12. The only exceptions to this font size are captions (not smaller than 9 point) and headings (not larger than 20 point).

ALL pages must have 1″ top, bottom, left, and right margins.

Preliminary Pages

Preliminary pages are the required pages that appear at the beginning of the final document. There are also optional pages which can be placed in this section.

Page Numbering

All preliminary pages are numbered with lower case Roman numerals, centered at the bottom of the page, with the bottom of the number at least 1/2 inch from the edge of the page. The exception to this is the title page, which is counted but not numbered.

Sample pages (PDF)

Pages appear in this order

• Title page – Required The title page is counted but not numbered. Follow the format shown in the sample pages (PDF) . All items centered and TITLE IN ALL CAPS. Use official degree names only. The date is the month and year of degree conferral. Degrees are awarded three times a year: in May, August, and December.
• Abstract – Required The abstract is a summary of the dissertation. Follow the format shown in the sample pages (PDF) . Copy the abstract heading sample exactly. See Sample ABSTRACT TEXT for important information. It always starts with page number “ii”.
• Copyright and Your Dissertation or Thesis (ProQuest) (PDF)
• copyright.gov
• UWM Libraries: Copyright and Fair Use
• Dedication – Optional May be combined with acknowledgements. There is no required heading on this page.
• Table of Contents – Required for all except creative works. The Table of Contents lists all sections that follow it (with the exception of an epigraph or frontispiece). Type TABLE OF CONTENTS centered at the top of the page, double space and begin the entries. Single space within entries and double space in-between entries.
• List of Figures – Required if figures appear in the thesis. Type LIST OF FIGURES centered at the top of the page, double space and begin. The term figures includes various non-text items. List the number, caption, and page number of each figure. Figures should be numbered consecutively throughout the thesis.
• List of Tables – Required if tables appear in the thesis. Type LIST OF TABLES at the top of the page, double space and begin. List the number, caption, and page number of each table. Tables should be numbered consecutively throughout the thesis.
• List of Abbreviations (or List of Symbols, or Nomenclature) – Optional, include as necessary. Format heading the same as List of Figures.
• Acknowledgments – Required if permission to reproduce copyrighted material is necessary. Type ACKNOWLEDGMENTS at the top of the page, double space, and begin the remarks.
• Frontispiece (illustration) or Epigraph (quotation) – Optional The source of the epigraph is listed below the quotation, but is not listed in the bibliography unless it is also cited in the main text.

Beginning with the text of the thesis, the page numbering changes to Arabic numerals, centered at the bottom of the page, with at least 1/2″ clearance from each edge. The first page of the main text is page 1, and should be displayed on the page. All subsequent pages are numbered throughout the text.

Tables and Figures

All illustrative materials must maintain the same margins as the rest of the thesis. 1″ top, bottom, left, and right margins

All illustrative material must be large enough to be easily read. Minimum font size is 9.

Landscape format

In order to maintain the required page margins for tables or figures, it may be necessary to print them in landscape format. The top margin will now be the edge that is bound. However, the page number must be placed on the page as though the page was in portrait format. It needs to appear in the same location and have the same text direction as the other (portrait) pages. See Thesis and Dissertation Formatting (.pptx) for additional help and examples.

Figure Captions

If space permits, the caption should appear on the same page as the figure. Font size must not be smaller than 9 point.

References and Citations

Any of the standard style manuals may be used as a guide in formatting references to works cited in the thesis. References may be placed at the end of the main text, or at the end of each chapter. Endnotes and/or footnotes may also be used. Whatever format is chosen, it must be followed consistently throughout the thesis.

If you are not following a style manual, please single space within each entry and double space between the entries.

Reference pages are numbered. Use the next consecutive page number of your document for your references.

All material included in the appendices must meet minimum font and margin requirements.

Many theses will not need this section. Material that supports the research, but is not essential to an understanding of the text, is placed in the appendices. Examples include raw data, extensive quotations, and survey or test instruments.

If there is only one appendix, it is simply called Appendix, not Appendix A. If there are multiple, appendices should be designated A: Title B: Title C: Title etcetera. Each appendix and its title and page number are listed in the Table of Contents.

Start the Appendix or Appendices with the next consecutive page number. The Appendix or Appendices should be listed in the Table of Contents.

The appendix title can be on its own page, or at the beginning of the actual material. See sample pages for examples.

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• Dissertation & Thesis Manual

Preparation and Submission Manual Overview

Doctoral dissertations and master’s theses.

Doctoral dissertations and master’s theses submitted to UC San Diego must meet the requirements set by the Graduate Council of the University of California San Diego for the degree candidate to be eligible for a graduate degree. A doctoral dissertation must be the result of original research conducted in the candidate’s specialization and must be approved in its entirety by the student’s doctoral committee. A master’s thesis must be a significant research work that must be approved in its entirety by the master’s committee.

The final version of the dissertation/thesis must conform to the details outlined in the " Preparation and Submission Manual for Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses. " For reference, we have provided some highlights below, but please refer to the full PDF Manual for complete instructions.

We have also made a template available as an inital resource to assist students with proper formatting.

Co-author permission letters are submitted electronically via the Kuali Permission Letter Submission Form .  (see section below, "Use of Published Material," for additional information) 

Specifications and Formatting

Minimum Margins

The margins of your thesis/dissertation should be from 1" on all sides. (Slightly larger margins are acceptable, but should be a minimum of 1 inch.)

Font and Font Sizes

A font size of at least 10 must be used for the text; students may choose one of the following font sizes: 10pt, 11pt or 12pt. Standard fonts are Arial, Century Gothic, Helvetica, or Times New Roman. A consistent font must be used throughout the entire dissertation or thesis.

Page Numbers

All page numbers are centered at the bottom of the page, 0.5” from the bottom edge.

Except where noted below, each page of the entire dissertation or thesis must be numbered consecutively; pages should be numbered according to the following standards:

• Neither the title page nor the blank or copyright page is to be numbered; however, the two pages are counted when numbering the preliminary pages that follow.
• The dissertation/thesis approval page is always numbered as page “iii”.
• The preliminary pages following the title and blank or copyright pages must be numbered consecutively beginning with lower case Roman numeral “iii” on the dissertation/thesis approval page. All preliminary pages are to be numbered using lower case Roman numerals (following the title and blank or copyright pages, begin with iii, iv, v, vi, etc.). This includes the dissertation/thesis approval page, dedication, epigraph, table of contents, list of abbreviations, list of symbols, list of illustrations, list of figures, list of schemes, list of tables, list of photographs, preface, acknowledgements, vita (required for doctoral dissertations), and the abstract. The page numbers must be placed at the bottom of the page and centered 0.5” from the bottom.
• The main body of the text and any back matter must be numbered consecutively with Arabic numerals beginning with “1” (1, 2, 3, etc.), including text, illustrative materials, notes, appendices and bibliography. All pages are numbered at the bottom of the page and centered.

Correct pagination (no missing pages, blank pages, or duplicate numbers or pages) is required for the doctoral dissertation or master’s thesis to be acceptable.

Page Organization

Preliminary Pages

Except for the title page and blank or copyright page, all preliminary pages are numbered with lower case Roman numerals at the center bottom of the page. Pages are numbered in sequence, and page numbers are centered and placed 0.5” from the bottom of the page.

• The name of the conferring institution – UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SAN DIEGO – appears in all capital letters at the top of the page.
• The title should be specific, unambiguous, and descriptive of the research, with easily identifiable key words that will ensure electronic retrieval.
• Scientific titles must use words, not symbols, formulas, superscripts or Greek letters.
• Doctoral students should refer to their document as a dissertation. Master’s students should refer to their document as a thesis.
• “in” should be all lowercase and on a line alone.
• The degree title listed should be the title that UC San Diego will actually confer; if unsure, contact your Graduate Coordinator.
• “by” should be all lowercase and on a line alone.
• Students may use either their legal or lived name as it is listed on the UC San Diego official record and remain consistent throughout the document
• All committee members must be listed, chair first, using the title Professor. If professor is not applicable to all committee members, list all names without any titles. Use double spacing between “Committee in Charge” and the chair’s name. Alphabetize all members after chair and single space all names. Indent all committee members 0.5” from “Committee in Charge”. (This section is the only section of the title page that is not centered.)
• Degree year: Students must use the year of the quarter of degree conferral.
• The title page is not numbered; it is counted as page “i” in the numbering of the preliminary pages. The title and blank or copyright pages are the only manuscript pages without page numbers.

Dissertation/Thesis Approval Page

This page is always numbered page iii. Page numbers from here forward in the preliminary pages of the document will vary for individual students, depending on which of the optional pages described below students choose to include. The numbers must be internally consistent for the document.

There is no header on the dissertation/thesis approval page. The text at the top of the page is either left justified or fully justified. The text at the bottom of the page is centered. All information should be centered on the page vertically.

Effective November 2020, faculty signatures are not collected on the dissertation/thesis approval page. Faculty committee member approval is captured on the combined Final Report Form (this form is initiated and managed by the department/program graduate coordinator). Students should check with their department/program graduate coordinator to verify that the combined form is being used. The formatted page iii must still be included in the dissertation/thesis and must follow the format described above.

All dissertations or theses are required to have a table of contents. List the page number that each section first appears on. Use proper capitalization and include header and sectional titles exactly as they appear within the dissertation or thesis (for example, if “Chapter” is used in the text headers, it must be used in the Table of Contents).  

If illustrations such as figures, tables, graphs, maps, diagrams, photos, etc., are scattered throughout, make a separate “List of Figures,” “List of Tables,” “List of Graphs,” etc. to follow the table of contents. 

Acknowledgements

The acknowledgements, along with any other preliminary sections or parts of the dissertation or thesis, must be reviewed and approved by the committee members.

See the section “Using Published Material” (in the full PDF manual, and in the excerpted section below) if any portion of the dissertation or thesis is co-authored, published, submitted for publication, or is being prepared for publication. A paragraph acknowledging all co-authors and publishers is required in the acknowledgements page and as the last paragraph of text at the end of each applicable chapter.

Permission letters from the committee chair and all co-authors must be submitted electronically via the Kuali permission letter submission form   prior to or the day of the student’s final document review . See the full manual for sample letters and additional information.  Click here for step by step instructions and an overview of the Kuali form.

An abstract should provide a clear impression of the content and major divisions of the dissertation or thesis. Abstracts of doctoral dissertations must not exceed 350 words; master’s theses abstracts must not exceed 250 words.

Figures and Tables

All figures and tables must be accompanied by a caption. Captions for figures go below the figure. Captions for tables go above the table.

All figures and tables must have their captions formatted the same, ie numbering, spacing, bold/italicized text, text alignment (left, centered, justified), font.

Figures/tables and their captions need to fit on one page and within the page margins. If they cannot fit on one page, then format the captions as a facing caption, where the caption goes on the page before the figure/table. For example, page 1 would be the figure caption (no other text), and page 2 would be the figure itself.

If figures/tables go on multiple pages, then the caption must be on each page that the figure/table appears. Table headers must also be on each page.

Appendices and References

• Appendices typically contain supporting material such as data sheets, questionnaire samples, illustrations, maps, charts, etc. Appendices may be single-spaced.

References/Biolography/Works Cited

• The format of the references and/or bibliography should follow that of the student’s discipline and should be consistent throughout the dissertation/thesis.
• All authors must be listed. Do not depersonalize non-primary authors by referring to them in the bibliography as et al.
• Bibliographies, references, and works cited are to be single-spaced with a double space between entries, and should be the last entry in each chapter or in the dissertation/thesis.

Use of Published Material and Co-Author Permissions

If students are using material which has been submitted for publication or has been published, students must read the full text that follows and see the manual for additional details. 

Students must obtain permission letters from all co-authors, including committee members and UCSD faculty. Students submit the co-author letters to GEPA electronically via the Kuali permission letter submission form  for any chapter or portion of a chapter in the dissertation or thesis to which one or more of the following applies:

• Students have co-authors (regardless of whether or not students are submitting it for publication);
• The chapter or portion thereof is being prepared for publication;
• The chapter or portion thereof has been submitted for publication;
• The chapter or portion thereof has been published.

If approved by the committee members, reports of research undertaken during graduate study at UC San Diego that have been published or submitted for publication in appropriate media may be accepted in their printed form in full or in part as the dissertation or thesis.  

If the material has co-authors other than the committee chair, the student must obtain permission letters from all co-authors giving their approval for the co-authored material to be used. This must be done even if copyright has been retained.  Students need to determine if the publisher’s permission is also required.  Students collect their signed co-author permission letters and cover letter from their committee chair and submit electronically via the Kuali permission letter submission form  prior to or the day of their final document review with GEPA.  

Click here for a sample/template of the cover letter from the committee chair and the permission letter(s) from co-author(s).

Click here for step by step instructions and an overview of the Kuali form.

Copyright and Publishing Options

• All students receive copyright when creating and publishing their dissertation/thesis.
• Proquest offers to file for additional copyright with the US Copyright Office for a fee. Students can file for additional copyright through Proquest or on their own through the US Copyright Office .

Publishing Options

• Your dissertation/thesis is published in two different libraries, Proquest and eScholarship.
• Traditional = your paper can only be accessed if someone has access to Proquest or pays to access your paper. The default option.
• Open access = your paper is available to anyone on the internet for free. You would have to pay a fee for this option.
• eScholarship is the University of California's digital library. All papers are open access in eScholarship.

Dissertation and Thesis Release Form (Embargo)

Students, with approval from their committee chair, may choose to immediately publish or put an embargo/delay on publishing their disserrtation/thesis. The default option is immediate publication.

• If an embargo is chosen, the options are for a 1 or 2 year delay. (Note: Students in the MFA in Writing program are required to have a 10 year embargo).
• If the embargo needs to be extended, a request from the committee chair must be submitted to the Assistant Dean of Academic Affairs via email before the embargo expires . Dissertations/theses cannot be re-embargoed once the embargo expires.

Your embargo choice must match in Proquest and on the dissertation/thesis release form . The release form must be signed by the student and the committee chair and must be uploaded as part of the submission to ProQuest. 

Please note: If you delay the release of your work, access to the full text of your work will be delayed for the period that you specify. However, the citation and abstract of your work will be available through ProQuest and through the UC California Digital Library (eScholarship).

Dissertation and Thesis Release Form (Embargo Form)

Embargo options are for a 1 or 2 year delay. (Note: Students in the MFA in Writing program are required to have a 10 year embargo).

Embargo Extension: If the embargo needs to be extended beyond initial embargo period, a request from the committee chair (with endorsement from the department chair / program director) must be submitted to the Assistant Dean of Academic Affairs via email before the embargo expires . The request must specify the reason for the additional time and how long the embargo should continue. Dissertations/theses cannot be re-embargoed once the embargo expires. Please see the Policy on Open Access for Theses and Dissertations: https://policy.ucop.edu/doc/2000688/ .

For further questions about doctoral dissertation or master’s thesis formatting, students may contact the appropriate GEPA Academic Affairs Advisor . 

Master’s thesis formatting questions:

• Kelsey Darvin, [email protected] : Biological Sciences, Biomedical Sciences, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Structural Engineering, Scripps Institution of Oceanography
• Kim McCusker , [email protected]:  All Arts & Humanities, Physical Sciences, and Social Sciences, Materials Science, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering 
• Karen Villavicencio , [email protected] : Bioengineering, Bioinformatics, Chemical Engineering, NanoEngineering, Computer Science and Engineering, Neurosciences  

 Doctor of Philosophy dissertation formatting questions:

• Kelsey Darvin , [email protected]:  Structural Engineering
• Eliese Maxwell , [email protected] : all other PhD programs (except those listed)
• Karen Villavicencio , [email protected]:  Chemical Engineering, NanoEngineering

Doctor of Musical Arts, Doctor of Education, all Rady programs, Biomedical Sciences, Biostatistics, and Neurosciences PhD, all joint PhD programs with SDSU, and Master of Public Health (MPH) formatting questions:

•   Sara Miceli , [email protected]

 After fully formatting your doctoral dissertation or master’s thesis you may schedule your appointments at: https://gradforms.ucsd.edu/calendar/ .

• Degree Completion
• Dissertation & Thesis Submission
• Dissertation & Thesis Template

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Style Guide

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Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Submission and Style Guide 2011 edition, Rev. 2013

Introduction.

Graduate students, in undertaking their theses and dissertations, embark upon the culminating research experience of their degree programs. The written thesis or dissertation reflects their commitment to scholarship and creative endeavor. After publication, the thesis or dissertation reflects the quality of research contributions made by American University. As such, American University maintains specific guidelines regarding the format and appearance of these documents. As a condition of graduation, each student's thesis or dissertation must be electronically submitted for inclusion in the ProQuest Dissertations and Theses (PQDT) database, as well as American University's Digital Research Archive (AUDRA). Responsibilities, requirements, and procedures for the preparation, formatting, and submission of theses and dissertations are described in this guide, which complements the assistance given to students by their advisory committees and their schools or colleges. It is intended to be used in conjunction with the publishing guides issued by University Microfilms, Inc. (UMI) which publishes in microformat and online all theses and dissertations approved by American University. This guidebook is not intended to provide all details on writing and submitting a thesis or dissertation and is not to be used in place of a style guide--APA, MLA, Chicago, etc. For additional information, student writers of theses and dissertations should consult the designated advisors in their schools and colleges. These guidelines have been adapted from the 1995 American University Guide to the Preparation of Dissertations and Theses, as well as ETD Style Guides issued by the graduate schools at the University of Maryland and Stony Brook University.

Chapter Two: Student Responsibilities

There are several items students are responsible for addressing as part of the thesis or dissertation submission process. Students are encouraged to familiarize themselves with these requirements during the proposal process. The student adheres to the University requirements for the preparation of theses and dissertations as described in this guide and prepares a thesis/dissertation acceptable to University Microfilms Incorporated (UMI), which is the publisher of American University theses and dissertations. This Guide outlines the University's formatting requirements for the dissertation or thesis, to be used in conjunction with the style guide appropriate to the student's discipline (APA, MLA, Chicago, etc. or the Turabian* manual, which is the default style guide for the University ) and UMI's "Preparing Your Manuscript for Submission," available on the UMI submission site at http://www.etdadmin.com/UMI_PreparingYourManuscriptGuide.pdf . The student should not use a previously published American University dissertation or thesis as a model. Format requirements may have changed, and the model may not be appropriate for the student's discipline or needs. Please note that the formatting requirements in this guide supersede guidelines in any other style manual. Students may wish to use the MS Word or LaTeX ETD templates that the University has provided. *Turabian, Kate L. A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2007. (Available in the American University Library reference collection, call no. LB2369 .T8 2007.) The student complies with U.S. copyright law with respect to using previously published material in the thesis/dissertation and documents permission from copyright owners when needed. The fair use doctrine under U.S. copyright law provides for some exceptions to the exclusive rights of a copyright holder, but does not provide absolute guidelines. Students should perform a fair use analysis for any copyrighted material they wish to include and seek permission from the author if fair use does not seem to apply.   The student adheres to the University's published policies and procedures regarding research compliance (human subjects, animal subjects, hazardous materials, etc.) and Responsible Conduct of Research training. For more information regarding the University's research policies and necessary training, please see http://www.american.edu/research/index.cfm. The student makes modifications to the thesis/dissertation as required by the thesis/dissertation chair and other committee members and makes any formatting changes required by the school. The student must submit the final document, including committee-ordered revisions to the school on or before the published submission deadline. However, formatting changes requested by the school may be completed after the published submission deadline.  

Chapter Three: Formatting Requirements

American University now accepts theses and dissertations in electronic format only. These formatting guidelines focus on creating an electronic file that meets the standards of the University and ProQuest Information and Learning.

Formatting Resources

The university has provided thesis and dissertation templates for users of MS Word and LaTeX. Instructions for formatting in MS Word without a template are also available.

Basic Requirements

The final electronic file that the student submits to the school or college must meet the following criteria:

• Be submitted in PDF format.
• Have acceptable font, margins, line spacing, page numbering and page layout.
• Contain all required elements, in the order described below.
• Tables of contents and lists of tables and illustrations (if needed) must be complete and accurate.

File Format

ProQuest requires that thesis and dissertation text be submitted as a single PDF document, without password protection, digital signature, or security settings that would prevent printing the document. Before the document is converted to PDF, fonts must be embedded. Microsoft Word (.doc) and Rich Text Format (.rtf) files are easily convertible to PDF documents using conversion utilities provided by Adobe ( http://www.adobe.com ) and on the ProQuest thesis submission site ( www.etdadmin.com/american ). It is also possible to convert a Word file to PDF within MS Word. As ProQuest publishes the PDF received from the student without altering it in any way, the student should carefully review the PDF to ensure that it corresponds to his/her original document.

A single font should be used throughout the entire thesis or dissertation, including text, captions, references, labels and headings. Fonts must be embedded in the document. ProQuest requires TrueType fonts, which will retain their look if a reader chooses to scale the document up or down for viewing. The University recommends 10 point Arial or 12 point Times New Roman. Italic, script and ornamental fonts should not be used, except when italics are allowed for non-English words and quotations. A longer list of recommended fonts and sizes can be found in UMI's "Preparing Your Manuscript" guide: http://www.etdadmin.com/UMI_PreparingYourManuscriptGuide.pdf. Tables, captions, and footnotes should appear in the same font as the body of the text, but can be in a smaller size, not less than 10 point. Chapter and section headings may, if the student wishes, be up to 3 points larger than the main font size, but no larger than 14 point.

All pages must have margins of no less than one inch on all sides (left, right, top and bottom). Margins may be wider, but not narrower than one inch. Margins must be consistent throughout the document, except for chapter title pages, which may have wider top margins, up to two inches if desired. If chapter title page margins differ, they must be consistent across all major heading pages. Text may be either left-justified on all pages, leaving a ragged right margin, or full-justified, which will leave even margins on both sides.

Line Spacing

All text must be double-spaced, with the following exceptions (these are optional, but may enhance the readability of your document):

• Quotations that are longer than 4 lines may be indented and single-spaced.
• Scholarly references-footnotes, endnotes, bibliography or list of references-may be single-spaced, but double-spaced between entries.
• Within the text, headings, captions and table titles of two or more lines may be single-spaced.
• A triple-space may be used before subheadings within the document.

Paragraphs should be indented from the left margin.

Page Number Placement

Page numbers should be placed within the margins, at least three-fourths of an inch from the edge of the page, either at the bottom center, bottom right, or the top right of each page. If the student chooses the top right, s/he may place the page number at the bottom center when beginning a new chapter. Otherwise, the student should maintain a consistent page-number placement throughout the manuscript. On landscape-oriented pages containing graphs, figures, photos, or illustrations, the student may suppress page numbering if s/he wishes. Otherwise, the page number should be placed in the same location as on portrait-oriented pages.

Widows and Orphans

It is possible to set Word to avoid "widows and orphans," which are single lines at the end of a paragraph appearing on the top of a new page and headings or subheadings appearing on the last line of a page, with the content beginning on the next page. These are not prohibited, but avoiding them will improve the professional appearance and readability of the document.

Document Order

The formal elements of the thesis or dissertation are listed here. Specific formatting requirements for the Title Page, Copyright Page, and Table of Contents are listed in the sections below; other pages must adhere to the basic formatting requirements detailed in the above section (font, margins, justification, etc.).

The required order for the thesis/dissertation is:

• Title page (required, non-numbered)
• Copyright statement (recommended, not numbered)
• Dedication (optional, not numbered)
• Abstract (required, start page numbering on this page with lower-case Roman numeral ii)
• Preface or Foreword (optional, lower-case Roman)
• Acknowledgements (optional, lower-case Roman)
• Table of Contents (required, lower-case Roman)
• List of Tables (required if present, lower-case Roman)
• List of Illustrations (required if present, lower-case Roman)
• Body of Text (required, all numbered, Arabic numerals, beginning with 1 on first page of chapter 1)
• Appendices (if any, numbered, Arabic)
• References or Bibliography (usually required, numbered, Arabic)

Each chapter must begin on a new page and all pages must be numbered consecutively (consecutive lower-case roman numerals for the abstract through the list of illustrations and, starting over with page 1 for the first page of the first chapter, consecutive Arabic numerals for the rest of the document). The document must not contain any blank pages.

The title page MUST include the following information.

• The full title of the thesis / dissertation, typed in all capital letters and centered on the page.
• The word "By" and the student's name as it appears in university records, centered on the page below the title.
• A standard degree statement centered on the page, below the student's name (see sample page in Appendix A for proper wording). Master's degree candidates should use the word "thesis" and doctoral candidates should use the word "dissertation."
• An alphabetical list of all members of the thesis/dissertation committee, but with the Chair first (If a member is of any professorial rank, use the title "Professor"; if not, use "Dr." or other title as appropriate). Each name should be typed immediately below a signature line and the list should appear on the right side of the document, below the degree statement.
• The words "Dean of" [student's school or college], typed below a signature line and above a line for the date the page was signed. This should appear on the left side of the document, below the committee names.
• The year (not month or day) the student's degree will be granted, and the words American University, Washington D.C. 20016, centered at the bottom of the page.

Except for the title, which must be in all capital letters, the first letter of each word should be capitalized, except for articles and prepositions.

Copyright Page

Students who choose to register their copyright with the Library of Congress through UMI must include a copyright page in their documents. Students who do not choose to register their copyright are also encouraged to include a copyright page in order to indicate that they have reserved all rights to the work, but are not required to do so. The copyright page should include a copyright statement, the student's name and the year of graduation recorded on the thesis or dissertation title page.

The abstract provides a summary of the thesis/dissertation. Abstracts include a statement of the problem, a summary of methods or procedures, the results, and the conclusions. (Contents may vary according to discipline.) The abstract must be in English. Mathematical formulas, diagrams, and other illustrative materials are not recommended for the abstract.

Although the university does not place a word limit on the abstract, students should be aware of the word limits in UMI's Dissertations and Theses Abstracts indexes. Abstracts of any length will appear complete in ProQuest's Online Dissertations and Theses database; however there are word limits for the print indexes. Abstracts for the master's thesis that exceed 150 words will be truncated in the print index, as will abstracts for doctoral dissertations that exceed 350 words. If the student wishes to ensure that the entire abstract appears in the print index, s/he can choose to adhere to UMI's word limits.

The abstract page should include the title of the thesis or dissertation, centered in all capital letters at the top of the page, the author's name (centered), the word "ABSTRACT" (centered) and then the body of the abstract (left or full-justified). See Appendix A for an example.

Table of Contents

A table of contents is required in all theses and dissertations. At minimum, the table of contents must list all front matter from the abstract forward (except for the table of contents), each chapter title and all end matter (appendices, references). If desired, one or two levels of sub-headings may also be included, but must be included consistently (i.e. if one first-level subheading is listed, all first-level subheadings must be listed). Chapter subheadings may be single-spaced, but double?spacing must be used between chapters or major sections. Dot leaders may be used or not, as desired. Most software?generated tables of contents would be acceptable.

Please note that the numbering of the entries in the table of contents must be consistent with any numbering system used in the text. Thus, if the student numbers subheadings within Chapter 1 as 1.1, 1.2, and so on, this same numbering must be used in the table of contents. It is not necessary to number or label subheadings, however. Pagination in the table of contents must accurately correspond to pagination in the text, and headings should be worded in the table of contents exactly as they are worded in the text. Also the page numbers printed in the table of contents must be flush right. Appendix A contains a sample table of contents.

List of Tables/List of Illustrations

If the thesis or dissertation contains at least one figure or one table, the appropriate list or lists must be present. These lists should be formatted in the same fashion as the table of contents. A table includes written material or data, whereas a figure refers to non?textual illustrative material. Unless the Style Guide directs otherwise, student should use the table and figure captions from the text to identify these in the list. All captions and numbering must correspond exactly to those within the text.

The body of the thesis / dissertation should be typed continuously (except in cases where breaks are necessary to avoid widows and orphans), double-spaced, with each new chapter beginning on a fresh page. If desired for style reasons, the chapter title may be typed no more than three inches from the top of the page, and may be typed in a font size not more than three points larger than the base font size and no larger than 14 point.

Headings and subheadings used in the document must be formatted and labeled in a clear and consistent manner. Each level of heading or subheading should be formatted in a manner distinct from the other heading levels and the same formatting used for that level of heading throughout the document. The student should consult his/her chosen style guide for an appropriate scheme. The AU Heading styles found in the AU Microsoft Word templates, which are drawn from the Turabian manual, are always acceptable.

Charts, Graphs, Tables and Figures (Illustrations)

All illustrations must be numbered consecutively (with tables separately numbered) and should be placed as close as possible to the text that refers to them, within 1-3 pages. The student should consult his/her style manual for a consistent numbering and identification system. Illustrations and tables must be listed in the preliminary pages. All illustrations must fit within the appropriate page margins. If illustrations fall outside the margins, they should be re-sized to fit. Figure captions should be consistent with the body of the thesis / dissertation text-these, like footnotes, can be 2 points smaller than the text, but no smaller than 10 point. Figures and tables may be placed on landscape pages, if necessary, and tables may be split across multiple pages if the entire table cannot be placed on a single page. Whenever possible, however, figures and tables should fit on one page. Students should be aware that all colors will be reproduced as gray in the microform copy of the thesis or dissertation and take care to choose colors that will convert well to grayscale.

Supplementary Materials

Supplementary materials, such as audio, video, spreadsheets or computer programs, can be submitted as supplementary files during the online submission process. Media files should not be embedded in the PDF. For acceptable file formats, see the guide "Preparing Your Manuscript for Submission" available at http://www.etdadmin.com/UMI_PreparingYourManuscriptGuide.pdf . A description of each supplementary file should be included in the abstract.

Chapter Four: Submission Process

The student should submit the final version of his/her thesis or dissertation as early as possible during the semester in which s/he expects to graduate and must do so by the final submission deadline listed on the ETD website in order to qualify for the degree in that semester.

In order for the thesis or dissertation submission to be considered complete, the student must submit via the ETD Administrator site a PDF file of the thesis or dissertation containing the title page signed by the student's committee members and the Dean of the school or college. (See Appendix B for instructions on how to prepare the PDF.):

Outline of Submission Process

Please consult staff in your school or college for more information regarding the submission process, as order of steps may vary.

1. Student submits or defends thesis or dissertation to committee.

2. Student makes any content revisions required by the committee and finalizes document formatting.

3. Committee approves final version of thesis or dissertation regarding content. Student submits document to school for formatting review via the online submission system, following the instructions in the next section of this guide.

4. Student collects committee members' signatures on a printed copy of the thesis title page. This may be done in person at the time of defense or may be coordinated following approval-see school or college for details.

5. Student drops the title page off at the school or college for Dean's signature.

6. Student scans signed title page and merges the page into thesis or dissertation PDF document. After making all formatting changes required by the school, student uploads completed thesis or dissertation document via online submission system.

Instructions for Online Document Submission

American University students are required to submit their completed theses or dissertations to ProQuest/UMI via UMI's electronic submission site.

Before beginning the electronic submission process, the student should make sure that his/her file is in PDF format (if not, the student will have an opportunity to convert the file to PDF on the submission site) and that it meets the formatting guidelines detailed in this document.

Students are required to submit their thesis or dissertation to the school or college one month before the final submission deadline to allow adequate time for formatting review. Students generally should not submit their thesis or dissertation online before it has been approved or successfully defended. However, if the defense cannot be scheduled before the formatting review submission deadline, the student may submit a draft version.

• Go to American University's UMI ETD submission site: http://www.etdadmin.com/american
• Create an Account. The student should click on "My Account," located on the left side of the site's home page. S/he will be prompted to enter an email address and other information. After the student enters this information, a password will be emailed to the account s/he specifies.
• Log In. Once the student has created an account, s/he can log in and begin the submission process.
• Word to PDF conversion. If the student has not already created a PDF document, s/he can do so using Proquest's Word to PDF conversion tool, located on the left side of the site. The student should review the resulting PDF carefully to make sure that it matches the source document.

Submission Agreement. On this page, the student will select publishing options both for ProQuest/UMI and the American University Digital Repository. For more information about these options, see Chapter 5. The student should select the desired publishing type and other publishing options from UMI. To delay the release of the thesis or dissertation through UMI and/or the AU Digital Repository, the student should select this option in the "Delaying the Release of Your Work" section and choose his/her reason for doing so from the drop-down menu.

If the student has been approved for a permanent embargo, s/he should select one of the delayed release options in the menu and, in the "Notes to Administrator" box, type a note requesting that the work be placed under permanent embargo in ProQuest and/or the AU Digital Repository. The staff reviewing the submission will then apply the permanent embargo(es) and the student will receive an email confirmation of the change.

After completing this page, the student must view and accept both the UMI and AU Digital Repository publishing agreements.

Contact Information The student should enter current and future contact information in the spaces provided. It is imperative that this information be as accurate as possible, as AU or ProQuest staff may need to contact the student regarding the thesis or dissertation after the student leaves the University.

Dissertation/Thesis Details. In this section, the student will enter information regarding his/her thesis or dissertation, such as the title, abstract, degree earned, and names of committee members. The student will also choose ProQuest index terms and keywords to help researchers find the thesis or dissertation. The information entered here will not be edited by ProQuest. If the abstract contains special characters, the student will need to code these according to the instructions on the site to ensure that they display properly.

Copyright Application. For a fee, ProQuest can register the copyright on a thesis or dissertation with the United States Copyright Office on the student's behalf. The student must either accept or decline this option before the submission can be completed. The $55 registration fee can be paid by credit card as part of the submission process. See Chapter 5 for more information about thesis and dissertation copyright. Note: If the student chooses to register copyright through ProQuest s/he is required to include a copyright notice in his/her document.

Order Bound Copies. If desired, the student may order bound copies of the thesis or dissertation.

• After completing these steps, the student must click submit on the final "Submit" page.
• The student will receive a system-generated email confirming submission of the ETD. The school or college will also receive an email notification regarding the submission. After reviewing the document, staff from the school or college will notify the student if formatting revisions are required or if the format has been accepted. The submission will be unlocked to allow the student to upload a new file with the signed title page and any required formatting changes. The student must log in using the log-in and password chosen when the account was created and click on the "Revise" link on the home page. After the thesis/dissertation has been submitted, no revisions may be made to the content of the document without notifying the school. The only changes that are permitted are those related to format as directed by the school or college. Students should be aware that the version with the signed title page will be considered final and submitted to UMI without further notice to the student unless corrections are required by the school.

Chapter Five: Copyright and Publishing Options

This chapter includes information about ProQuest/UMI, the AU Digital Research Archive (AUDRA) and the publishing restrictions students can choose during the submission process. This chapter also contains information about the copyright issues related to theses and dissertations. Students are encouraged to familiarize themselves with this information during the proposal stage and begin doing the necessary research to make informed decisions during the submission stage.

During the submission process, and as a condition of graduation, students are required to enter into publishing agreements with ProQuest/UMI and the AU Digital Research Archive. The UMI Publishing agreement and AU Digital Research Archive license agreement are both non-exclusive licenses. The student grants American University and ProQuest a one-time, non-exclusive right to archive, release, and reprint the thesis or dissertation. The student retains all rights to publish and re-use his/her work elsewhere in the future, and can put restrictions on the release of his/her materials.

After the thesis or dissertation has been approved by the school or college, it is sent to ProQuest/UMI for inclusion in ProQuest's Dissertations and Theses database. (A record of the thesis will be searchable in the database. Depending upon restrictions chosen by the student, either a 24-page preview or the full-text of the thesis or dissertation will also be visible in the database.) A microform copy will be sent to the American University Library, where it will be made available to interested researchers for on-site use. An electronic copy will also be sent to the AU Digital Research Archive.

Publication Agreements and Options

ProQuest/UMI Agreement

ProQuest/UMI maintains, through an arrangement with the Library of Congress, the bibliographic record for master's theses and doctoral dissertations dating back to 1861. This is done through the ProQuest Dissertations and Theses (PQDT) database, a popular research tool to which many university libraries, including the American University Library, subscribe. The database includes 2.7 million thesis and dissertation citations, including 1.2 million full-text theses and dissertations. Nearly 700 institutions submit titles to the database, including every accredited doctoral degree granting institution in North America.

The ProQuest/UMI publishing agreement allows the student to choose between two types of publication and, if desired, to apply for delayed release (or "embargo") of the document and/or other distribution restrictions. These choices are explained here.

Publication Types

• Traditional Publishing -This type of publishing allows ProQuest/UMI to sell copies of the thesis or dissertation and pay a portion of the proceeds to the author. ProQuest will host the work and offer it for sale through its database, offering a free 24-page preview to subscribers. The author is entitled to receive a royalty payment of 10% of all income ProQuest Information and Learning receives from the sale of the work, payable when the accrued royalties reach $25.00 (provided they do so within 25 years of publication). This option is free to students who submit electronically.
• Open Access Publishing -The full text of a thesis or dissertation published under this option will be made freely available to anyone with an Internet connection as part of the PQDT Open Access database. ProQuest/UMI may also sell copies of the work, but the author will not be eligible to receive royalties from these sales. ProQuest/UMI charges $95 for this option. Open Access distribution is available to all AU students through the American University Digital Research Archive at no additional cost.

Embargoes and Restrictions

• Embargoes -Students have the option of placing an embargo on their work. This means that the record of the work will appear in the ProQuest database, but the preview will not be visible and the work will not be available for sale until the embargo expires. Students may choose from the following embargo options during the submission process: 6 months, 1 year and 2 years. Permanent embargoes require the approval of the Dean of the student's school or college. Students who wish to request a permanent embargo should notify the ETD contact for their school or college.
• Restrictions -Students can choose to restrict ProQuest from sharing data about their thesis or dissertation with search engines such as Google. Students may wish to consider embargoes in the following circumstances: 1. Student has patents pending based on research outlined in his/her thesis or dissertation. 2. Thesis or dissertation contains sensitive or classified information. 3. Accessibility of thesis or dissertation may interfere with an existing or potential publishing agreement. (Note: It is important for students to speak with potential publishers and read the publishing agreements in order to know if posting the work elsewhere will interfere with the agreement. Many publishers take the view that works based on theses and dissertations differ so substantially from the works on which they are based that posting the thesis or dissertation elsewhere will not hurt the market for the book or article.) 4. Granting agency for research funds or primary investigator for research project may require delayed release.

AU Library Digital Research Archive Agreement

In order to support the common interest in broad, rapid and affordable dissemination of peer-reviewed literature shared by scholars and their institutions, American University Library hosts the Open Access Digital Research Archive. This repository serves as a means to archive and disseminate scholarly works, teaching tools and other literature produced by AU faculty and students. The AU Digital Research Archive makes files-including theses and dissertations-available via the Internet, with permanent URLs. Descriptive information on the available documents is distributed freely to search engines. A student may block access to his/her work by requesting an embargo. During the embargo period, the AU Digital Research Archive will contain a record of the work (title, author, abstract), but the full-text will not be accessible. In addition to choosing from the same embargo options offered through ProQuest, students can opt to make the work campus-accessible only, meaning that the item can only be viewed by authenticated AU users. Requests for permanent embargo require the Dean's approval.

Potential benefits of Open Access publishing include:

• The student's research can be found, read, and used by a global audience, including scholarly colleagues and potential publishers and employers.
• The student's research can be found by most popular search engines, such as Google or Yahoo, as well as through special repository search engines.
• Increased accessibility to the student's research may increase the likelihood of it being cited.
• Access to the student's work is maintained with a permanent URL, to which the student can refer and link from a CV, email messages, or web pages.

Resources for Students Making Publication Decisions

Students can consult many resources to help them make decisions regarding publication and copyright. Students may find it helpful to speak with mentors in their field. It is expected that students and committee chairs will discuss and reach mutual agreement regarding which embargo option, if any, the student will select. If a student's thesis/dissertation research is externally funded, the student should check with the funding source to determine if that source has any requirements or restrictions with regard to publication. For example, a student may be required to provide open access to the research if it is publicly funded, or to delay access for a certain period of time. If a student has previously published a portion of the thesis or dissertation, s/he should carefully review the existing publishing agreements to determine if it will be necessary to delay publication through ProQuest or the AU Digital Research Archive. A student who hopes to publish a work derived from his/her thesis or dissertation in the future should ask potential publishers about their policies regarding publishing works based on theses and dissertations that are available elsewhere.

Copyright Information

Copyright protects creative and intellectual original works of authorship including (but not limited to) books, journals, photographs, art, music, sound recordings, computer programs, websites, motion pictures, dance choreography, and architecture. A student's thesis or dissertation will be protected by copyright and may also involve the use of other copyrighted works. A student will need to consider how to manage his/her own copyright and will also need to ensure that s/he is not violating anyone else's copyright.

Copyright Protection for Theses and Dissertations

Copyright is an automatic protection for any "original work of authorship" that is "fixed in a tangible medium of expression." A student's thesis or dissertation is protected by copyright as soon as s/he writes it, whether or not the student chooses to include a copyright notice on the work, or register it with the U.S. Copyright Office. However, registering with the Copyright Office does offer additional protection, such as allowing the author to collect statutory damages in case of a successful infringement lawsuit. The copyright notice makes clear the name of the copyright holder to anyone who would like to request permission to use portions of a work.

If desired, the student may register his/her thesis or dissertation copyright directly through the U.S. Copyright Office or through University Microfilms for a fee during the electronic submission process.

Copyright Compliance in the Thesis/Dissertation

A student who wishes to use material created by another author in his/her thesis or dissertation must conduct an analysis to determine if the intended use qualifies as fair use or if permission is required. The fair use doctrine under U.S. copyright law provides for some exceptions to the exclusive rights of a copyright holder, but does not provide absolute guidelines as to what constitutes fair use. A fair use analysis takes into account the nature of the use (whether it is for commercial, or non-profit educational use), the nature of the copyrighted work, the proportion of the use in relation to the work as a whole, and the effect of the use on the potential market of the copyrighted work. Students can use the fair use checklist developed by Kenneth Crews of the Columbia University Copyright Advisory Office to perform a fair use analysis.

The student certifies by accepting the UMI and American University Digital Research Archive publishing agreements that s/he is not infringing or violating the rights of other authors. Accordingly, the student must obtain written permission from the copyright owner if s/he uses portions of a work that exceed fair use guidelines.

Letters of permission are also required for: Poems, Song lyrics, Musical scores, Surveys or portions of surveys, Standardized tests, Questionnaires/Responses to Questionnaires, Materials already reproduced in another work, Interviews, Letters, Speeches, Previously published portions of the thesis/dissertation, and Trademarks or logos.

Letters or permission are strongly recommended for: Maps, Tables, Figures, Charts, Cartoons, Newspaper articles, Illustrations, Photographs, Sounds files, and Video clips.

If the thesis or dissertation includes continuous or extensive quotes from a particular author, especially in such fields as fiction, drama, poetry, or criticism; or if it includes reproduced maps, charts, statistical tables, or other similar materials that have been copyrighted, the student must write to the copyright owner(s), describe the use to which s/he is putting the material, and request permission to include it in the thesis or dissertation. This practice also applies if the student cites his/her own published work(s) and his/her publisher holds the copyright.

Other important permission-related copyright scenarios include the following:

• If the student's published material lists a co-author, and if the co-author is listed by reason of having directed and supervised the research that serves as the basis of the thesis or dissertation, only the student's name should be listed as the author in the preliminary pages of the thesis or dissertation. The Acknowledgments section should state, "The text of this (thesis/dissertation) (in part/in full) is a reprint of the materials as it appears in (names of publications). The co-author(s) listed in the publication(s) directed and supervised the research that forms the basis for this thesis or dissertation."
• Copyright by (name of author/copyright owner)
• Copyright Registration Number (obtain this number from copyright certificate)
• Year copyright was obtained
• For the master's thesis or doctoral dissertation: when the copyright owner(s) is someone other than the student, a written statement from the copyright owner(s) is submitted when the thesis/dissertation is filed, granting the student permission to use the copyrighted material and authorizing American University and ProQuest/UMI to reproduce the material by photocopy or in microfilms on a one-at-a-time basis.

Each letter of permission must give permission to the thesis/dissertation author to use the materials, University Microfilms to sell copies of the thesis/dissertation containing those materials, and American University to make the thesis/dissertation containing those materials freely available via the World Wide Web. Copies of permission letters must be submitted by the student to UMI as specified in the guide " Preparing Your Manuscript for Submission " except when such letters must be retained to maintain confidentiality of survey or questionnaire respondents. In the latter case it is acceptable to submit a letter informing University Microfilms that the letters of permission are in the author's possession. University Microfilms will not publish thesis/dissertation pages containing material for which permission is not available.

The waiting period for obtaining requested letters of permission may be lengthy, and the thesis/dissertation author is advised to begin this process early. Sending a letter that includes a form with signature and date lines to the copyright owner may expedite the process.

See sample letter to copyright owner in Appendix C.

Copyright Resources

There are several excellent websites with information that can help students understand the copyright and fair use policies that affect their theses and dissertations. Some recommended websites include:

United States Copyright Office

Columbia University Library, Copyright Advisory Office

Boston College Copyright LibGuides

• Dissertation and Embargo Guidelines

University Registrar’s Office

Dissertation submission, submitting the doctoral dissertation.

Notification of Readers (NOR):

• Set up by you or your program prior to dissertation submission, depending on departmental practice. If your program allows students to create the NOR you will see a Notification of Readers tile in the Dissertation Progress Reporting and Submission (DPRS) site. Contact your departmental registrar for questions and assistance.
• Notify program of your intent to submit by February 15 (spring) or September 1 (fall)
• Three readers are required with a maximum of five permitted. Two must be ladder or ladder-track Yale faculty, including the adviser. All readers must hold a PhD degree and a faculty position or be considered otherwise qualified to evaluate the dissertation by the DGS and the Graduate School.
• NOR Submission Instructional video

Submission Information:

• March 15 for spring degree conferral in May/June, 5:00 pm
• October 1 for fall degree conferral in December, 5:00 pm
• A pdf of your dissertation may be submitted using the degree petition page in the  Dissertation Progress Reporting and Submission  (DPRS) site at any time within the academic year. Dissertations submitted after the above semester submission deadlines will be processed for the following degree date
• Final changes to the dissertation must be uploaded in DPRS within 30 days of the submission deadline. To make changes to your dissertation after it has been submitted, email  dissertationreaders@yale.edu .
• Upon submission of your dissertation and approval of your readers by the DGS, a pdf of your dissertation will be automatically sent to all readers.
• Upon request from a reader, students are required to and responsible for mailing a soft-bound copy of the dissertation to the reader.

IMPORTANT: Students who submit their dissertations before the end of the add/drop course enrollment period (see the  academic calendar ) are NOT eligible to register as students for the remainder of that term. Students who wish to remain registered until the end of a given semester must submit their dissertations AFTER add/drop closes in order to remain registered for that semester.

• Submitting Degree Petition and Dissertation in DPRS:

The Degree Petition page in DPRS consists of the degree petition, links to required surveys, and a site to upload a pdf of your dissertation. No paper submission is required.

• ​ The dissertation title is populated from your most recent Dissertation Progress Report. You can change the final title on the petition page by clicking the “No” radio button and modifying the title. Click the save button at the bottom of the page to save the title prior to submitting the dissertation
• Survey of Earned Doctorates – submission confirmation page
• GSAS Exit Survey – upload first page of GSAS Survey that has your email address
• ProQuest (ETD) Publication Agreement – detail page
• Upload a pdf of your dissertation

Degree Petition and Dissertation Submission Instructional Video

Additional Questions?

• Dissertation Office: dissertationreaders@yale.edu   
• Barbara Withington: barbara.withington@yale.edu
• Austin Hanlin: austin.hanlin@yale.edu

Formatting the Doctoral Dissertation

Physical Requirements:

• Double spaced
• Exceptions: block quotations, bibliographic references, captions, footnotes should be single spaced, with a double space between each entry
• Saved as a pdf to be uploaded on the Degree Petition and Dissertation Submission page in DPRS
• No paper copy needs to be submitted

Margins: Left side margin of 1.5”, 1” margin on all other sides

Page Numbers

• 0.5” from any edge
• Preliminary pages are numbered with lower-case roman numerals, except title page and copyright page which are not numbered. The page following the copyright will be numbered (iii) and additional pages will be numbered sequentially
• The dissertation proper begins with page Arabic number “1” and runs consecutively to the end            
• 10- to 12-point font
• Same font type should be used throughout, including header, footnotes, page numbers

Order of Sections:

• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• Front Matter (acknowledgements, list of illustrations or tables, etc.)
• Body of Text
• Back Matter (appendices, bibliography, supplemental figures and tables, etc.)
• Placed immediately preceding the title page
• Heading centered on page
• Dissertation title and name of author must match title page
• Text of abstract below the heading, double spaced

Full title of dissertation

Full name of author

Year of PhD conferral (e.g., 20XX)

• All text centered
• Month and year of conferral (e.g., May or June 20XX, or December 20XX)
• See attached example at end of guide

Copyright Notice:

• Typed 3” below top margin
• Format includes copyright symbol ©

                     © 20__ by [Student’s Name]

                     All rights reserved.

• Note: the copyright available through ProQuest is optional and an additional fee

Tables and Figures:

• Tables placed as close as possible to their reference in the text
• Heading at top of table
• Consecutive numbering throughout, or by chapter (e.g., 1.1, 1.2, 2.1, 2.2)
• Captions placed at bottom

(Sample Title Page)

Dissertation Title: Subtitle

(first letter of each word in title should be capitalized)

A Dissertation

Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School

Yale University

In Candidacy for the Degree of

Doctor of Philosophy

[Full Name of Author]

Dissertation Director: [Full  Name of the Advisor(s)]

(or chairperson of advisory committee)

(month of graduation, not of submission)

Submission Policy

Dissertations for the Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Doctor of Philosophy degree must be submitted to the Graduate School by 5:00 pm on March 15 for consideration at the May meeting of the degree committee, and by 5:00 pm on October 1 for consideration at the fall meeting of the degree committee. These deadlines are established to allow sufficient time for readers to make careful evaluations and for departments to review those evaluations and make recommendations to the Graduate School. No extensions of the deadlines will be granted. Dissertations submitted after the deadlines will be considered for degree conferral during the following term.

In accord with the scholarly ideal that the candidate for a doctorate must make a contribution to knowledge, all dissertations that have been accepted by the Graduate School are made available in the Yale library.

Students do not need to be registered to be eligible to submit the dissertation.

Students who complete all PhD requirements within four continuous years of full-time study in the PhD program will be registered and charged full tuition only through the term in which the dissertation is submitted. Students who take a leave of absence must complete the four-year full tuition obligation, regardless of when they submit the dissertation.

The Graduate School does not compel departments to evaluate the dissertations of degree candidates who are no longer registered. In practice, however, departments normally agree to evaluate these dissertations.

Checklist: Submitting My Dissertation or Thesis

Main navigation.

The following checklist includes all items that should be prepared in order to complete the submission of your dissertation or thesis, using the Axess Dissertation and Thesis Center  

We recommend that you take all necessary steps in order to upload your dissertation or thesis in time to meet all of the applicable posted deadlines and give your Final Reader plenty of time to approve the dissertation or thesis once it has been uploaded.

Prior to Online Submission

• Enroll in the quarter for which you intend to submit
• File online “Application to Graduate” through Axess by the appropriate deadline.
• Note:  if a committee member is missing, or has been assigned an incorrect role, meet with your department who maintains reading committees and changes permitted within policy.
• For thesis: The name of your Thesis Advisor and designate them as your Final Reader.
• Submit the Reading Committee Signature Page requirement in the Axess eForms platform, following the published instructions .
• Confirm with your department that your candidacy is valid through your degree conferral date.
• Confirm with your department that you have completed all required university milestones, especially the university orals milestone.
• Review Copyright Considerations for Authors of Electronic Theses and Dissertations . Discuss embargo and other release options with your co-authors and advisor before preparing the submission online.
• For students submitting a dissertation: Complete the Survey of Earned Doctorates .

During Online Submission 

Ensure your electronic dissertation or thesis is formatted following these guidelines:

• One electronic copy of the dissertation or thesis in PDF format.
• For D.M.A Composition students, score page size is 11" x 17".
• Type size 10, 11, or 12 point. Smaller fonts are acceptable for tables, captions, etc. 
• Font style is New Times Roman. If applicable, mathematic/scientific notation fonts are embedded in the PDF file.
• Line spacing of dissertation or thesis text is 1.5 or 2.
• Margins are 1.5 inches on the binding edge and 1 inch on all other sides.
• Text is divided correctly.
• Title page is formatted correctly.
• No signature page ii or copyright page iii is included (Axess automatically inserts a copyright and augmented signature page during submission).
• Pagination begins with the first page of the Abstract, which should be page “iv”; or, if formatted for double-sided printing with the Abstract to appear on the right page, then pagination begins with a blank page as page "iv". Pagination is continuous and placement of numbers is consistent throughout the manuscript.
• The dissertation or thesis is ready-for-publication in appearance. All pages and sections are in order.
• The dissertation or thesis contains no unnumbered pages, except for the title page which is not paginated, but is assumed page 'i'.
• PDF file size does not exceed 1 GB.
• PDF file has no encryption or other security measures applied.
• One version of the abstract, containing no special text formatting or HTML, entered into an online submission form.
• File size(s) do not exceed 1 GB. 
• Short description or label is applied to each file after upload. 
• Maximum 20 supplemental files.
• Agree to Stanford University publication license.
• Optional: Limit amount of dissertation or thesis content available via third-party distributors.
• Optional: Creative Commons license selected and applied.
• Optional: Delayed release (embargo) of the dissertation or thesis.
• Written permission from the appropriate copyright holder(s) to reproduce any copyrighted material in the dissertation or thesis. Each letter is formatted and uploaded as a single PDF file. Maximum 10 permission files.

After Online Submission

• Confirm via Axess that your designated Final Reader certifies the submission by noon of the final submission deadline date .
• For students submitting a dissertation, if you haven't done so already: Complete the Survey of Earned Doctorates .

Thesis & Dissertation Preparation & Submission

Old Dominion University requires a dissertation from all doctoral candidates and a thesis from all thesis option master's candidates. The thesis/dissertation should be presented in a scholarly, well-integrated, properly documented manner, which reports the original work done by the student under the supervision of the advisory committee.

This Guide for Preparation of Theses and Dissertations has been authorized by the Graduate Administrators Council of Old Dominion University to assist graduate students and their committee members in the preparation of theses and dissertations. The primary purpose of this manual is to provide uniform standards regarding style and format while allowing enough flexibility to satisfy the acceptable practices of each academic discipline. The word "thesis" will be used in reference to general instructions equally applicable to all theses and dissertations. "Journal model" will be used in reference to general style instructions.

Presentation

The finished work must reflect a comprehensive understanding of the pertinent literature and express in clear and legible English the method, significance, and results of the student's research. Full documentation and appropriate tabular and/or graphic presentation are especially important. The completed manuscript should be no longer than is necessary to present all pertinent information. The length will vary widely according to research topic, academic discipline, and the degree sought.

The thesis should be presented as a single unit; continuity from chapter to chapter is important. Several studies or experiments may be presented in separate chapters or major sections. Continuity in the thesis is provided by common Abstract, Introduction, Conclusion, and Reference sections. Each study or experiment may have subdivisions such as Introduction, Materials and Methods, Discussion, and Summary. The thesis may have only one Abstract and one Reference section; a study or experiment cannot have a separate Abstract or Reference section.

Each graduate program maintains an approved list of journal styles and/or accepted style manuals. The style specifications for the thesis should be approved during the preparation of the research proposal, and the appropriate instructions should be cited in the graduate student's permanent file.

The journal will be followed for:

• placement of table titles
• placement of figure titles
• reference format

Whenever there are differences in format and layout between the specifications of this Guide for Preparation of Theses and Dissertations and the journal model, this guide overrules the journal. Consistency of style and form should be the rule throughout the manuscript. The thesis is not expected to duplicate a published journal in typographic arrangement and display. The more sophisticated publication and layout practices of some journals (such as the use of double columns on a text page, etc.) are not to be followed. A journal's "Instructions to Contributors" are not to be followed exactly when writing a thesis. These instructions are for the convenience of the editors and printers of a journal and do not necessarily apply to the format of a thesis.

Check with the graduate program director in your department for further style instructions.

Publication of Research

Graduate students may publish material that subsequently will be used as part of the thesis provided that the student's graduate committee is notified at the time the student submits the paper for publication. In addition, students should be aware of the agreement that is signed when a journal accepts an article for publication. At that time, the student assigns rights to the journal as publisher and the student may no longer possess rights. See Copyright section for more information.

Use of Other Sources

Copyright protection extends for a statutory period on creative, original works of authorship fixed in a tangible medium. Since a thesis is legally classified as a literary work, care must be taken not to violate copyright laws. If the manuscript contains any material (figures, tables, text, etc.) taken from other sources, the student has the responsibility to determine if a license or a letter of permission from the copyright holder is needed. This is true even if the student is an author of the other source - - a letter of permission from the publisher may still be needed should the publisher own the copyright. Note: A work need not bear the copyright symbol in order to be protected under copyright law. If a letter is needed, it must be included in a separate appendix. In addition, an extra copy of the letter must be provided to the Office of the University Registrar.

Your thesis, being an original, written work, is automatically protected by copyright law even without a copyright notice or registration with the U.S. Copyright Office. Your document, once written, is automatically protected. Including the copyright notice and/or registering with the U.S. Copyright Office does add additional protections, however. Students who desire an additional layer of protection may register their work through ProQuest. If you wish ProQuest to act as your agent in securing additional copyright protection, you must indicate this when completing the ETD process and pay the copyright registration fee directly to ProQuest. Registration offers certain advantages to the copyright holder in the event of an infringement.

The copyright notice, if included, must be placed on a separate page immediately after the Abstract page. Refer to the sample pages in this manual for specific directions. A copyright notice should also appear on all other material included in the thesis (e.g., audio, video/film, other digital content). A thorough explanation of how copyright law applies to theses and dissertations is available in "Copyright and Your Dissertation or Thesis: Ownership, Fair Use, and Your Rights and Responsibilities," available from ProQuest  here .

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Procedures - Submission of Theses or Dissertations

The below content is organized in order for the standard process of submitting theses or dissertations. Please consult with the appropriate GPD for more specific procedures.

Initial Creation/Revisions

The student and committee ensure quality of content and correctness of form of the thesis. The student may be given ongoing evaluations by the committee, but final approval may be given only on the completed document. The student must apply for graduation prior to the semester of graduation and be enrolled in the University.

Submission to Thesis/Dissertation Committee

The finalized document must be submitted to the thesis or dissertation director a minimum of two weeks prior to the oral defense. If the director, committee, and graduate program director agree that the document is in acceptable form for presentation at an oral defense, announcements will be published and distributed.

Thesis/Dissertation Defense

Theses/dissertations must be defended in front of designated examining committees. The decision as to whether a student has passed or failed the examination rests with the committee, but it shall take into account the opinions of other participating faculty members. A majority of the committee, including a majority of those from the student's major department, must approve the thesis or dissertation. A unanimous decision is not necessary.

Committee Recommendations

Immediately following the examination, the chair of the committee shall communicate the results to the student. In some cases, further revision of the document may be required. The Thesis/Dissertation Acceptance form and the thesis or dissertation should be transmitted to the graduate program director for review and approval.

Begin ProQuest ETD Process

The student is advised to begin the ProQuest ETD (Electronic Thesis & Dissertation) process but should not upload the pdf version of the thesis/dissertation. The student may create the ProQuest account and familiarize her/himself with ProQuest publishing options and complete contact information and graduate work details sections.

Review by Dean's Office

The Dean's Office shall review the thesis/dissertation for compliance with this guide and return it for correction if necessary. The manuscript must be corrected and resubmitted as a new document, and the Dean's Office review process begins anew. All original submission deadlines must be met during the re-submission process in order to graduate that semester. The student should not submit the thesis/dissertation to ProQuest until it has been approved by the Dean's Office. Note: Graduation will be postponed if corrections are not made on time.

Finalize ETD Submission to ProQuest

The student must submit a final, error-free pdf version of the document to Proquest. Do not submit the pdf until all previous steps have been completed.

Department Submit Forms

The student's department must email the Thesis/Dissertation Acceptance and Processing form (M3 or D5) and the Result of the Master's/Doctoral Examination (M2 or D3) form to the ETD Manager ( [email protected] ). Forms emailed by students will not be accepted. Once forms have been submitted, the ETD Manager will approve and send the submitted thesis to ProQuest Dissertation Publishing, and the student will receive an email confirmation.

Please Note for Capstone and Paper Submissions: Do not submit your work to ProQuest unless it is an official thesis or dissertation. Capstone projects and paper submissions should be sent to  Karen Vaughan  for inclusion in the ODU Digital Commons. Contact your GPD with any questions.

Human Subjects Research and Research Involving Animals, Hazardous Chemicals, Biohazard Materials, Radioactive Materials.

Any proposal for research involving human subjects must be reviewed and approved according to the ODU Procedures for Review of Human Subjects Research. The process and approval must be cited in the text of the thesis.

All research involving human subjects, and certain human cultured cell lines, must conform to federal, state, and university policies providing for the protection of human subjects. While some forms of research may be classified by federal and state regulations as being exempt (i.e., survey research involving standard educational testing materials), all student research must first be reviewed and approved.

The student's thesis/dissertation director, acting as lead investigator, determines whether or not the project should qualify as exempt from Institutional Review Board (IRB) review. If the investigator believes it to be exempt and the study does not have a federal funding source, it can be submitted to the College Human Subjects Review Committee (HSRC) for review. If the College committee approves the project, the process stops there. If the College committee believes the project to be non-exempt, the project is forwarded to the IRB for review. The exception to this process is that federally funded exempt research needs to be reviewed by the IRB. These projects bypass college committees.

The student will receive an approval number that must be cited in the thesis or dissertation.

Any proposal for thesis or dissertation research involving vertebrate animal subjects, hazardous chemicals, biohazardous materials, or radioactive materials and/or radiation producing machines must be reviewed and approved according to the guidelines established by the appropriate committee. The process and approval must be cited in the text of the thesis or dissertation.

Guidelines Established By:

Additional questions regarding the review and approval processes outlined here should be directed to the University Research Compliance Officer. More information and appropriate forms can be found  here .

ETD (Electronic Thesis & Dissertation) Submission to ProQuest - General Specifications

All theses and dissertations must be submitted electronically to ProQuest. Fees for registering with the U.S. Copyright Office and ordering bound copies of the thesis or dissertation are payable directly to ProQuest. Click  here  to read through our ProQuest guide for submitting electronically.

Digitized Reproductions

Digitized reproductions of photographs or other materials are acceptable if there is enough resolution and contrast for viewing. The recommended minimum resolution for digitized images and/or photographs is 300dpi.

Tables & Figures

All figures and tables should be sharp black and white, clearly legible, and of professional quality. Hand-drawn material must be of publishable quality. If color is used for tables and figures, a consistent color scheme should be used. For example, tables should not differ drastically from one another in form, color, or general appearance.

Oversized Tables & Figures

Each table and figure in the text must have a unique title. If a figure or table is reduced in size, the title must remain normal size (10-12 point or 12-14 point). Ensure consistent formatting of table/figure titles - capitalization, placement, use of a period at the end.

Each table and figure in the text must have a unique number. Figures and tables are numbered consecutively throughout the text, and each table or figure must be mentioned by number in the text. When possible, first mention of each table or figure must be either within 1.5 pages before the table/figure or on the page immediately following the table/figure. Exceptions must be approved, in advance, by the Dean of the College.

The minimum font size within a table or figure is 10 point.

Tables and figures may be included on a page with text, or they may appear on separate pages. If a table or figure is placed on a page with other material, the table or figure should be separated from the text (or other materials) by a minimum of 2 double spaces (4 single spaces) at the top and bottom.

Placement of titles on tables and figures (above or below) is determined by the style format chosen as a model. If the table or figure is placed lengthwise (landscape position), the top of the table or figure must be at the left-hand, binding side of the page. The caption is placed in the same direction as the figure or table. The page number stays in regular (portrait) position.

Tables or figures longer than one page in length must have the complete title and number of the table/figure on the first page only. Subsequent pages have the table or figure number and the word "Continued" and necessary column headings for ease of reading. The end line of a table appears only on the last page of the table.

Captions or titles on a facing page are to be used only when absolutely necessary. Facing page captions may be used for figures only, never tables. This format applies only when the caption cannot be placed directly onto the page on which the figure appears. If a facing page caption is necessary, the facing page must face in the normal manner. The caption page comes first with only the page number on the front side of the page; (facing page is blank) the caption is placed on the back side of the page in the same direction as the figure. The facing page with the caption and the page with the figure are both numbered consecutively, with the page numbers in the standard position. The number of the page on which the figure itself appears is the only one recorded in the List of Figures.

Manuscript Details

The following tabs provide guidelines for proper manuscript details.

The entire thesis must be of uniform font or typeface. Do not attempt to replicate a journal's use of varying sizes and styles of typeface or font. Any standard bookface font may be used. The graduate program director will make the final decision regarding the legibility and acceptability of fonts. Acceptable printers will produce solid, unbroken lines of type. Consult with your graduate program director if there is doubt about the acceptability of a printed document.

Italics or boldface print (in the same point size as the text) may be used for major headings, subheadings and for emphasis. Underlining is an acceptable alternative to italics, but do not use underlining and bold together. Exceptions: tables, figures, and material in appendices may be in different fonts.

The thesis must be of uniform font size (10 point minimum - 12 point maximum).

Exceptions:

• Tables, figures, and appendix material can vary in point size.
• Major headings may be up to two point sizes larger than the text (maximum suggested size is 14 point). If this option is chosen, it must be used for all headings throughout the entire manuscript.
• Point size reduction may be made in narrative text footnotes, tables, figures and appendix material only. The minimum size for numbers and upper-case letters is 1.5 millimeters; symbols must be large enough to remain legible. The font of the preliminary pages, narrative text, endnotes, reference section, and vita may not be reduced.

Margins are 1.0" on all sides -- left side, right side, top, and bottom. All typing except page numbers must be within the area defined by the margins. Justified right-hand margins may be used in theses only with the approval of the Graduate Program Director.

Every page in the thesis except the Title/Approval Page and the Abstract must be numbered. Preliminary pages are numbered with lower-case Roman numerals beginning with the Title/Approval Page, understood to be i (no page number appears on this page), and the Abstract, understood to be ii (no page number appears on this page). The text and supplementary pages are numbered with Arabic numerals beginning with the first page of text (numbered 1). Every page following will have a page number. The Vita is the last numbered page.

Page numbers are placed in the upper right-hand corner of the page, one-half inch below the top edge of the paper and one inch from the right-hand edge.

Major Headings

All headings must be consistent regarding point size and the use of bold type. All major headings must be centered at the top of a new page in all capital letters. Point size may be the same size as the body text or up to 2 points larger: 12 point if text is 10 point or 14 point if text is 12 point.

The manuscript may be double-spaced or one and one-half spaced. Mixing of spacing in the text is unacceptable. Single spacing is used only for long, blocked, and inset quotations; footnotes; endnotes; and itemized or tabular material. For spacing of specialized pages (Table of Contents, List of Figures, etc.) see the sample pages included at the end of this guide.

Content Order

The first tab provides the list of contents in the proper order of presentation. The following tabs provide guidelines for each section.

Preliminary Pages (with Roman numeral page numbers)

All sections in italics are optional

• Title/Approval Page (no page number - understood to be i)
• Abstract (no page number - understood to be ii)
• Copyright Notice
• Acknowledgments
• Nomenclature
• Table of Contents
• List of Tables (if two or more tables appear in the text)
• List of Figures (if two or more figures appear in the text)
• List of Graphs (if two or more graphs appear in the text)
• List of Plates (if two or more plates appear in the text)

Text (with Arabic numeral page numbers)

• Introduction (as first chapter or section)
• Main body of text divided into various chapters or sections
• Summary or Conclusion (as last chapter or section)

References and Supplemental Sections

• Reference section
• Appendix material (i.e. copyrights)

The following general rules must be followed in the body of the document:

• Divide the body into chapters.
• Use Roman or Arabic numerals in chapter titles and any reference to chapters.
• Each text page needs at least 4.5 inches of text on it unless the page contains a table or a figure or the next text begins a new chapter or major section.
• Numbering of equations must be consecutive. No two equations may be numbered the same unless identical term for term.
• Do not use double columns in text.

Major Headings & Subheadings

The requirements for major headings and subheadings are as follows:

• Major headings in the text are bold if other major headings are bold. Boldface or italics may be used for subheadings.
• Each new chapter begins on a new page.
• The chapter designation (CHAPTER I) is upper-case and centered at the top of the page. The chapter title is also upper-case and centered at least one double-space (no more than two double-spaces) below chapter designation.
• Titles and subheadings more than one line in length must be double-spaced.
• There is no punctuation after a heading or subheading that is on a line by itself.
• Only major headings may be centered and in all capital letters. First level subheadings may be typed in all capital letters provided they are placed flush left.
• Spacing before/after headings and subheadings must be consistent throughout.
• The style used for subheadings must clearly show their various levels and must be consistent from chapter to chapter.
• Subheadings do not begin on a new page. Text continues within a chapter or section.
• A subheading at the bottom of a page must be followed by at least one line of text.

All theses and dissertations must include a references section. The requirements for the section are as follows:

• The title is the same heading used in the journal model (REFERENCES, WORKS CITED, BIBLIOGRAPHY). The heading is in all capital letters and bold if major headings are bold.
• The reference list must be consistent, accurate and complete.
• A journal article or accepted style guide approved by the graduate program director is used as a model for the reference list. Capitalization, punctuation and ordering (alphabetized, or alphabetized and numbered, or non alphabetized and numbered) of information must follow this model.
• The use of italics (or quotation marks) for book titles, journal names and article titles and the use of bold type must match the journal model.
• In an alphabetized list, the system of ordering multiple entries must be consistent.
• Citations should contain: volume number and page range for journal articles; publisher and city for books; city for universities, laboratories or corporations. Refer to the appropriate style manual for rules governing internet citations.
• Unpublished material must contain sufficient information for retrieval.
• Designation of state names (abbreviated or not) should be consistent.
• Single space within citations and between citations or use the spacing of text throughout the entire section.
• All references must be cited in the text and all textual citations must be referenced. All textual citations must be from sources the student has actually used.
• General references consulted and used as background study may be listed under a separate subdivision of the reference section. A subheading such as "Supplemental Sources Consulted" should be added at the end of the sources cited section. Follow the same style used in the reference section.

Appendices are used for supplementary material. The requirements for appendices are as follows: 

• Heading(s) is/are bold if major headings are in bold. 
• Appendix headings may either be on a separate cover sheet before appendix material or at the top of the first page of each appendix. Be consistent from appendix to appendix. 
• Appendix headings are centered. Appendix titles are centered, in all capital letters and appear at least one double space below heading. 
• Page numbering is continued from the last page of references. 
• All material must be within margins. 
• Tables and figures in appendices may be numbered consecutively following the text, or they may be numbered with an appendix designation. If numbered consecutively from the text, they must be included in the List of Tables or List of Figures 
• Material may be reduced but must conform to minimum size and legibility requirements. 
• Material may have mixed fonts and point sizes and may be single-spaced.  

The requirements for the vita section are as follows:

• The heading (VITA) is in bold if major headings are in bold.
• Wording of the student's name must agree with the name on the first three thesis pages.
• The vita should contain the address for department of study and a brief biographical sketch listing educational background (including background for all previous degrees: degree, major subject, university and date of graduation).
• Other information is optional but encouraged: professional experience, publications, business or academic information.
• Name of the word processor may be stated at the bottom of the page. (Example: The word processor for this thesis was Mary Jones.)
• The vita is limited to one page.
• Use either paragraph style with same spacing as text or resume style.

Dean's Office Checklist

Theses and dissertations submitted to the Dean's Office will be reviewed for acceptable execution of the following requirements:

General neatness and legibility.

Consistency in style and format.

Correspondence between titles and page numbers in the text and in the Table of Contents, List of Tables, and List of Figures.

Each major heading is centered, in all capital letters, and at the top of a new page.

Formatting and legibility of figures and tables should follow requirements in this guide.

Use only page numbers outside the margins.

Inclusion of a major introductory chapter or section and a major concluding chapter or section.

Quality of digitization or reproduction.

Title/Approval Page and Abstract must match the format of samples in this guide.

Journal model or style guide formatting for tables, figures and references.

Major headings and first level subheadings appear in the Table of Contents.

Consecutive numbering of tables and figures throughout the body of the thesis.

Documents should begin with the Title/Approval Page and end with the Vita.

Consistent subheading formatting throughout.

Visit our ProQuest guide page for how to submit your work electronically 

Check out these sample pages for guidance. .

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• Formatting Your Dissertation
• Introduction

Harvard Griffin GSAS strives to provide students with timely, accurate, and clear information. If you need help understanding a specific policy, please contact the office that administers that policy.

• Application for Degree
• Credit for Completed Graduate Work
• Ad Hoc Degree Programs
• Acknowledging the Work of Others
• Dissertation Advisory Committee
• Publishing Options
• Subject, Invention, and Patents
• Submitting Your Dissertation
• English Language Proficiency
• PhD Program Requirements
• Secondary Fields
• Year of Graduate Study (G-Year)
• Master's Degrees
• Grade and Examination Requirements
• Conduct and Safety
• Financial Aid
• Non-Resident Students
• Registration
• Residence Halls
• Student Groups

When preparing the dissertation for submission, students must meet the following minimum formatting requirements. The Registrar’s Office will review the dissertation for compliance and these formatting elements and will contact the student to confirm acceptance or to request revision. The Harvard Griffin GSAS resource on dissertation formatting best practices expands on many of the elements below.

Please carefully review your dissertation before submitting it to ProQuestETD. The Registrar’s Office will email you through ProQuest if they have identified major formatting errors that need correction. Students will be provided with a brief extended deadline to make only the requested formatting updates.  

• Embedded Fonts : If fonts are not embedded, non-English characters may not appear as intended. It is the student’s responsibility to make sure that fonts are embedded properly prior to submission. Instructions for embedding fonts can be found on the Dissertation Formatting Guidance resource .  
• Thesis Acceptance Certificate: A copy of the Thesis Acceptance Certificate (TAC) should appear as the first page. This page should not be counted or numbered. The TAC will appear in the online version of the published dissertation. The author name and date on the TAC and title page should be the same.  
• Title Page: The dissertation begins with the title page; the title should be as concise as possible and should provide an accurate description of the dissertation. The author name and date on the TAC and title page should be the same. Do not print a page number on the title page. It is understood to be page  i  for counting purposes only. 
• Abstract : An abstract, numbered as page  iii , should immediately follow the copyright page and should state the problem, describe the methods and procedures used, and give the main results or conclusions of the research. The abstract will appear in the online version of the dissertation and will be made available by ProQuest and DASH. There is no maximum word count for the abstract.  
• Preliminary pages (abstract, table of contents, list of tables, graphs, illustrations, and preface) should use small Roman numerals (i, ii, iii, iv, v, etc.). 
• All pages must contain text or images.  
• Count the title page as page i and the copyright page as page ii, but do not print page numbers on either page. 
• For the body of text, use Arabic numbers (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, etc.) starting with page 1 on the first page of text.
• Page numbers must be centered throughout the manuscript at the top or bottom. 
• Every numbered page must be consecutively ordered, including tables, graphs, illustrations, and bibliography/index (if included); letter suffixes (such as 10a, 10b, etc.) are not allowed. 
• It is customary not to have a page number on the page containing a chapter heading. Check pagination carefully. Account for all pages. 
• Copyright Statement: A copyright notice should appear on a separate page immediately following the title page and include the copyright symbol ©, the year of first publication of the work, and the name of the author: © [ year ] [ Author’s Name ]. All rights reserved. Alternatively, students may choose to license their work openly under a Creative Commons license. The author remains the copyright holder while at the same time granting upfront permission to others to read, share, and—depending on the license—adapt the work so long as proper attribution is given. (If a student chooses a Creative Commons license, the copyright statement must not include the “all rights reserved” disclaimer and should instead indicate the specific Creative Commons license.) Please note: The copyright statement applies only to the student’s own work; the copyright status of third-party material incorporated into the dissertation will not change. Do not  print a page number on the copyright page. It is understood to be page  ii  for counting purposes only. 
• Abstract 
• Table of Contents 
• Front Matter 
• Body of Text 
• Back Matter 

Students can refer to the resource on Dissertation Formatting Best Practice Resource for information on best practices for front and back matter

Individual academic programs may require additional formatting elements to meet the standards of a specific field or discipline. Students are responsible to ensure that their Dissertation Advisory Committee is in support of the final formatting as signified by the sign off on the Thesis Acceptance Certificate. Any deviation from these requirements may lead to rejection of the dissertation and delay in the conferral of the degree. 

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Thesis and Dissertation Guide

• « Thesis & Dissertation Resources
• The Graduate School Home

• Introduction
• Copyright Page
• Dedication, Acknowledgements, Preface (optional)
• Table of Contents
• List of Tables, Figures, and Illustrations
• List of Abbreviations
• List of Symbols

Non-Traditional Formats

Font type and size, spacing and indentation, tables, figures, and illustrations, formatting previously published work.

• Internet Distribution
• Open Access
• Registering Copyright
• Using Copyrighted Materials
• Use of Your Own Previously Published Materials
• Submission Steps
• Submission Checklist
• Sample Pages

II. Formatting Guidelines

All copies of a thesis or dissertation must have the following uniform margins throughout the entire document:

• Left: 1″ (or 1 1/4" to ensure sufficient room for binding the work if desired)
• Right: 1″
• Bottom: 1″ (with allowances for page numbers; see section on Pagination )
• Top: 1″

Exceptions : The first page of each chapter (including the introduction, if any) begins 2″ from the top of the page. Also, the headings on the title page, abstract, first page of the dedication/ acknowledgements/preface (if any), and first page of the table of contents begin 2″ from the top of the page.

Non-traditional theses or dissertations such as whole works comprised of digital, artistic, video, or performance materials (i.e., no written text, chapters, or articles) are acceptable if approved by your committee and graduate program. A PDF document with a title page, copyright page, and abstract at minimum are required to be submitted along with any relevant supplemental files.

Fonts must be 10, 11, or 12 points in size. Superscripts and subscripts (e.g., formulas, or footnote or endnote numbers) should be no more than 2 points smaller than the font size used for the body of the text.

Space and indent your thesis or dissertation following these guidelines:

• The text must appear in a single column on each page and be double-spaced throughout the document. Do not arrange chapter text in multiple columns.
• New paragraphs must be indicated by a consistent tab indentation throughout the entire document.
• The document text must be left-justified, not centered or right-justified.
• For blocked quotations, indent the entire text of the quotation consistently from the left margin.
• Ensure headings are not left hanging alone on the bottom of a prior page. The text following should be moved up or the heading should be moved down. This is something to check near the end of formatting, as other adjustments to text and spacing may change where headings appear on the page.

Exceptions : Blocked quotations, notes, captions, legends, and long headings must be single-spaced throughout the document and double-spaced between items.

Paginate your thesis or dissertation following these guidelines:

• Use lower case Roman numerals (ii, iii, iv, etc.) on all pages preceding the first page of chapter one. The title page counts as page i, but the number does not appear. Therefore, the first page showing a number will be the copyright page with ii at the bottom.
• Arabic numerals (beginning with 1, 2, 3, 4, etc.) start at chapter one or the introduction, if applicable. Arabic numbers must be included on all pages of the text, illustrations, notes, and any other materials that follow. Thus, the first page of chapter one will show an Arabic numeral 1, and numbering of all subsequent pages will follow in order.
• Do not use page numbers accompanied by letters, hyphens, periods, or parentheses (e.g., 1., 1-2, -1-, (1), or 1a).
• Center all page numbers at the bottom of the page, 1/2″ from the bottom edge.
• Pages must not contain running headers or footers, aside from page numbers.
• If your document contains landscape pages (pages in which the top of the page is the long side of a sheet of paper), make sure that your page numbers still appear in the same position and direction as they do on pages with standard portrait orientation for consistency. This likely means the page number will be centered on the short side of the paper and the number will be sideways relative to the landscape page text. See these additional instructions for assistance with pagination on landscape pages in Microsoft Word .

Format footnotes for your thesis or dissertation following these guidelines:

• Footnotes must be placed at the bottom of the page separated from the text by a solid line one to two inches long.
• Begin at the left page margin, directly below the solid line.
• Single-space footnotes that are more than one line long.
• Include one double-spaced line between each note.
• Most software packages automatically space footnotes at the bottom of the page depending on their length. It is acceptable if the note breaks within a sentence and carries the remainder into the footnote area of the next page. Do not indicate the continuation of a footnote.
• Number all footnotes with Arabic numerals. You may number notes consecutively within each chapter starting over with number 1 for the first note in each chapter, or you may number notes consecutively throughout the entire document.
• Footnote numbers must precede the note and be placed slightly above the line (superscripted). Leave no space between the number and the note.
• While footnotes should be located at the bottom of the page, do not place footnotes in a running page footer, as they must remain within the page margins.

Endnotes are an acceptable alternative to footnotes. Format endnotes for your thesis or dissertation following these guidelines:

• Always begin endnotes on a separate page either immediately following the end of each chapter, or at the end of your entire document. If you place all endnotes at the end of the entire document, they must appear after the appendices and before the references.
• Include the heading “ENDNOTES” in all capital letters, and center it 1″ below the top of the first page of your endnotes section(s).
• Single-space endnotes that are more than one line long.
• Number all endnotes with Arabic numerals. You may number notes consecutively within each chapter starting over with number 1 for the first note in each chapter, or you may number notes consecutively throughout the entire document.
• Endnote numbers must precede the note and be placed slightly above the line (superscripted). Leave no space between the number and the note.

Tables, figures, and illustrations vary widely by discipline. Therefore, formatting of these components is largely at the discretion of the author.

For example, headings and captions may appear above or below each of these components.

These components may each be placed within the main text of the document or grouped together in a separate section.

Space permitting, headings and captions for the associated table, figure, or illustration must be on the same page.

The use of color is permitted as long as it is consistently applied as part of the finished component (e.g., a color-coded pie chart) and not extraneous or unprofessional (e.g., highlighting intended solely to draw a reader's attention to a key phrase). The use of color should be reserved primarily for tables, figures, illustrations, and active website or document links throughout your thesis or dissertation.

The format you choose for these components must be consistent throughout the thesis or dissertation.

Ensure each component complies with margin and pagination requirements.

Refer to the List of Tables, Figures, and Illustrations section for additional information.

If your thesis or dissertation has appendices, they must be prepared following these guidelines:

• Appendices must appear at the end of the document (before references) and not the chapter to which they pertain.
• When there is more than one appendix, assign each appendix a number or a letter heading (e.g., “APPENDIX 1” or “APPENDIX A”) and a descriptive title. You may number consecutively throughout the entire work (e.g., 1, 2 or A, B), or you may assign a two-part Arabic numeral with the first number designating the chapter in which it appears, separated by a period, followed by a second number or letter to indicate its consecutive placement (e.g., “APPENDIX 3.2” is the second appendix referred to in Chapter Three).
• Include the chosen headings in all capital letters, and center them 1″ below the top of the page.
• All appendix headings and titles must be included in the table of contents.
• Page numbering must continue throughout your appendix or appendices. Ensure each appendix complies with margin and pagination requirements.

You are required to list all the references you consulted. For specific details on formatting your references, consult and follow a style manual or professional journal that is used for formatting publications and citations in your discipline.

Your reference pages must be prepared following these guidelines:

• If you place references after each chapter, the references for the last chapter must be placed immediately following the chapter and before the appendices.
• If you place all references at the end of the thesis or dissertation, they must appear after the appendices as the final component in the document.
• Select an appropriate heading for this section based on the style manual you are using (e.g., “REFERENCES”, “BIBLIOGRAPHY”, or “WORKS CITED”).
• Include the chosen heading in all capital letters, and center it 1″ below the top of the page.
• References must be single-spaced within each entry.
• Include one double-spaced line between each reference.
• Page numbering must continue throughout your references section. Ensure references comply with margin and pagination requirements.

In some cases, students gain approval from their academic program to include in their thesis or dissertation previously published (or submitted, in press, or under review) journal articles or similar materials that they have authored. For more information about including previously published works in your thesis or dissertation, see the section on Use of Your Own Previously Published Materials and the section on Copyrighting.

If your academic program has approved inclusion of such materials, please note that these materials must match the formatting guidelines set forth in this Guide regardless of how the material was formatted for publication.

Some specific formatting guidelines to consider include:

• Fonts, margins, chapter headings, citations, and references must all match the formatting and placement used within the rest of the thesis or dissertation.
• If appropriate, published articles can be included as separate individual chapters within the thesis or dissertation.
• A separate abstract to each chapter should not be included.
• The citation for previously published work must be included as the first footnote (or endnote) on the first page of the chapter.
• Do not include typesetting notations often used when submitting manuscripts to a publisher (i.e., insert table x here).
• The date on the title page should be the year in which your committee approves the thesis or dissertation, regardless of the date of completion or publication of individual chapters.
• If you would like to include additional details about the previously published work, this information can be included in the preface for the thesis or dissertation.

Previous: Order and Components

Next: Distribution

Thesis & Dissertation Guidelines

These guidelines provide students at Vanderbilt University with essential information about how to prepare and submit theses and dissertations in a format acceptable to the Graduate School. You can either explore the guidelines by topic below or review the complete Format Guidelines document .

General Information

Manuscript preparation.

• NEW: Dissertation Template
• Approved LATEX Template for Dissertations

Submission Requirements

Students in foreign language departments may submit manuscripts in a language other than English. The abstract, however, must be in English.

You may use a multi-part presentation format for combining original research that has been conducted in two or more related or non-related areas, or for presentation of combined journal articles (published or submitted for publication). You should organize the parts or articles into chapters, with well-defined subheadings, including an introduction, methods, results and discussion. Each chapter may contain its own list of references and appendices, or you may list them all at the end, depending on the custom of your discipline.When using this format, the thesis or dissertation should nonetheless consist of an integrated argument that binds the chapters together. You should include the appropriate preliminary pages, an introduction presenting the general theme of the research, and a conclusion summarizing and integrating the major findings. Any additional appendices related to the dissertation as a whole or any general references from the introduction, conclusion or transitional sections should come at the end of the dissertation.

When you have previously published portions of your thesis or dissertation as an article or book chapter, you must ensure the work may also be published as part of the dissertation or thesis. The  standard provisions of copyright law  regarding quoted and previously published material under copyright apply to the publication of theses and dissertations. Many publishers provide exceptions to work published as part of graduation requirements and this is often clearly outlined as part of the publication agreement signed by the author.In order to include your own previously published or co-authored material in your thesis or dissertation, you must comply with the following:

• You must be the first author, or obtain permission from your committee, to be uploaded as an Administrative file in Vireo.
• The article must be based on research completed while you were enrolled at Vanderbilt University.
• You must have permission from the publisher to reuse the work, which should be uploaded to VIREO as an Administrative file. The record of permission may take the form of the publishing agreement, a copy of the publisher’s webpage describing reuse rights, or an email approval from the publisher. You should also identify which chapters are associated with which articles when prompted within VIREO.
• If there are co-authors, you must obtain the permission of all co-authors to include the work in the thesis or dissertation as a matter of both copyright law and professional courtesy. Include these permissions (email approval is acceptable) as an Administrative file in VIREO.
• You must properly acknowledge previously published material and any co-authors within the text of your manuscript. This would typically take the form of a footnote, or, alternately, an italicized statement beneath the relevant chapter heading. The rubric should be: “This chapter is adapted from [Title] published in [Journal] and has been reproduced with the permission of the publisher and my co-authors [List co-authors]” and include the full citation required by the publisher, if any, or appropriate to your discipline.

If the work is submitted to the ProQuest database, ProQuest will scan the document to ensure it contains no copyrighted material without consent and proper citation.

Inclusion of Third-Party Content

If you are including content in your dissertation not authored or created by you, consider copyright issues. If your use of the content would exceed fair use under the Copyright Act, then you will need to seek the copyright holder’s permission in order to use the material. Obtaining copyright permissions often takes time and should not be left until the last minute.You should discuss questions about copyrighted material with your dissertation advisor or contact the VU Librarian for Copyright and Scholarly Communications at  [email protected]  for help evaluating fair use or obtaining permissions.

Your thesis or dissertation is automatically protected by copyright as soon as it is fixed in a tangible form, such as being saved as an electronic file.  Although not required, it is good practice to include the copyright symbol, your name, and the year on the title page of your work (© 2017 by [your name]).You also may choose to register your copyright, which will gain you additional protections in case of litigation for copyright infringement. You can file a copyright registration online directly with the  U.S. Copyright Office  for a fee of $45.00.

You will be asked to agree to the license to deposit your submission to the Vanderbilt Institutional Repository.  The Library, with the Vanderbilt Institutional Repository, enhances the metadata provided with your dissertation and adds your record to discovery tools like the Library Catalog and WorldCat, making it easily findable for scholars worldwide. The library also maintains the technical infrastructure of the repository.  If you plan to make your dissertation open access, we can assist you in understanding the options for licensing. If your dissertation makes use of copyrighted content, you will want to think early on about whether you may rely on fair use or need to acquire licenses. We will be glad to meet with you to discuss the requirements of your particular project.PhD students also have the option to request deposit of your submission with ProQuest, at no additional cost to you. If you elect to deposit your submission with ProQuest, you must also agree to the ProQuest license. This agreement is entirely between you and ProQuest.  Vanderbilt’s sole responsibility is to pass on the license agreement and your work to ProQuest.  Please contact ProQuest Dissertation Publishing, at 1(800) 521-0600 or  [email protected]  with any questions.

The expectation of the Graduate School is that all theses and dissertations will be made publicly available absent these limited circumstances.  You have the option to make your submission available immediately or to temporarily embargo its release for a limited period of time. Students may elect to embargo their work if they anticipate publication, are making a patent application, have restrictions imposed by sponsors, or privacy concerns.  Metadata, including the abstract, about your submission will still be visible in the Vanderbilt Institutional Repository, thereby indicating that your submission was accepted.  You should discuss any anticipated hold on publication with your advisor. If selecting the ProQuest publishing option, be sure that you make the same embargo selection under the Vanderbilt options. Once your submission has been released to ProQuest, we have no ability to retract it.If, after consultation with your advisor, you would like to request a temporary embargo, you can elect from the following:

• No embargo and release immediately for worldwide access
• Six (6) month embargo
• Twelve (12) month embargo
• Twenty-four (24) month embargo

If you, after consultation with your advisor, determine that you need to extend your embargo beyond your initial selection, you can only do so with permission from the Graduate School. If you have questions about your embargo, you may email  [email protected]

The Graduate School recommends Campus Copy for procuring bound copies of theses and dissertations. You may contact them directly at 615-936-4544, or online at  Printing Services .

These guidelines provide students at Vanderbilt University with essential information about how to prepare and submit theses and dissertations in a format acceptable to the Graduate School. The topics range from writing style to the completion of required forms. There are instructions and sample pages on the Graduate School website for guidance through this process.

There is a distinct difference between submitting a manuscript to a publisher and providing a completed thesis or dissertation to the Graduate School. A manuscript represents a pre-publication format; a thesis or dissertation is a final, completely edited, published document. Students should use these guidelines, not other style manuals, as the final authority on issues of format and style. Areas not covered in this document or deviation from any of the specifications should be discussed with a Graduate School format editor. Do not use previously accepted theses and dissertations as definite models for style.

Manuscripts consist of four major sections and must be placed in the order listed:

• Title Page (required)
• Copyright (optional)
• Dedication (optional)
• Acknowledgments/Acknowledgment of Support (optional)
• Table of Contents (required)
• List of Tables (required, if tables are in the body of the manuscript)
• List of Figures (required, if figures are in the body of the manuscript)
• List of Abbreviations/Nomenclature/Symbols (optional)
• Introduction (may be referred to as Chapter 1)

Body of Manuscript

• References  (required)
• Appendices  (optional)

The dedication is an optional portion of the academic manuscript. It is a personal message from the author in tribute to a person, group, or cause. Most dedications are brief statements beginning with “To…” or “For…” such as “To my family” or “For my daughter, Samantha.” The dedication, if any, is considered to be the sole work of the author and does not reflect endorsement of the views and opinions expressed therein by Vanderbilt University, the Graduate School, or the members of the faculty committee.

The acknowledgment is another optional portion of the academic manuscript. It is appropriately used to thank those people and organizations that have helped or encouraged the author in the process of obtaining the degree or otherwise making the graduate degree possible: advisers, the committee, labmates or members of one’s cohort, family, friends, etc. Typically, an acknowledgment is no more than 1 page in length.Acknowledgment of grant/contract or other financial support may be included on the acknowledgment page. Similarly, permission to reprint copyrighted material may be included here.The acknowledgment, if any, is considered to be the sole work of the author and does not reflect endorsement of the views and opinions expressed therein by Vanderbilt University, the Graduate School, or the members of the faculty committee.

The abstract is a separate document from the manuscript; it is not bound with the thesis or dissertation. Abstracts must be printed on white, 8 ½ x 11-inch paper. No page numbers are printed on the abstract. One copy is required. Abstracts must have the original signature(s) of the faculty advisor(s). The maximum length of the thesis abstract is 250 words. The maximum length of the dissertation abstract is 350 words, including the dissertation title. Majors are listed on the last pages of these guidelines. NEW: Abstract sample

The title page must be printed on white, 8 ½ x 11-inch paper. Committee member signatures on the title page must be originals. Spacing on the title page will vary according to the length of the title. The five lines following your name must be formatted exactly as found on the sample title page. The title page is considered page ‘i’ but the page number is not printed on the page.  The month, day, and year representing the conferral date must be listed on the title page.

• NEW: ETD Title Page sample
• NEW: Title Page With Signatures sample

Use a standard font consistently throughout the manuscript. Font size should be 10 to 12-point for all text, including titles and headings. It is permissible to change point size in tables, figures, captions, footnotes, and appendix material. Retain the same font, where possible. When charts, graphs, or spreadsheets are “imported,” it is permissible to use alternate fonts. Italics are appropriate for book and journal titles, foreign terms, and scientific terminology.  Boldface  may be used within the text for emphasis and/or for headings and subheadings. Use both in moderation.

Measure the top margin from the edge of the page to the top of the first line of text. Measure the bottom page margin from the bottom of the last line of text to the bottom edge of the page. Page margins should be a minimum of one-half inch from top, bottom, left, and right and a maximum of one inch from top, bottom, left, and right. Right margins may be justified or ragged, depending upon departmental requirements or student preference.

The title page is considered to be page ‘i’ but the page number should not be printed on this page. All other pages should have a page number centered about ½ inch from the bottom of the page. Number the preliminary pages in lowercase Roman numerals. Arabic numerals begin on the first page of text. Pages are numbered consecutively throughout the remainder of the manuscript. The Introduction may be placed before the first page of Chapter 1, if it is not considered a chapter. The use of Arabic numbers may begin on the first page of the Introduction.

The entire text may be single-spaced, one and one-half spaced, or double-spaced. Block quotations, footnotes, endnotes, table and figure captions, titles longer than one line, and individual reference entries may be single-spaced. With spacing set, the following guidelines should be applied: Two enters after chapter numbers, chapter titles and major section titles (Dedication, Acknowledgements, Table of Contents, List of Tables, List of Figures, List of Abbreviations, Appendices, and References). Two enters before each first- level and second-level heading. Two enters before and after tables and figures embedded in the text. One enter after sub-level headings.

Chapters may be identified with uppercase Roman numerals or Arabic numbers. Styles used on the Table of Contents should be consistent within the text. Tables, figures, footnotes, and equations should be numbered consecutively throughout the manuscript with Arabic numerals. These may also be numbered consecutively by each chapter. Equation numbers should be placed to the right of the equation and contained within parentheses or brackets. Use uppercase letters to designate appendices.

Departments will determine acceptable standards for organizing master’s theses into chapters, sections, or parts.  Usually, if a thesis has headings, a Table of Contents should be included. The dissertation must be divided into chapters. The use of parts, in addition to chapters, is acceptable.

Words and Sentences

Take care to divide words correctly. Do not divide words from one page to the next. Word processing software provides for “widow and orphan” protection. Utilize this feature to help in the proper division of sentences from one page to another. In general, a single line of text should not be left at the bottom or top of a page. Blank space may be left at the bottom of a page, where necessary.

Headings and Subheadings

Use headings and subheadings to describe briefly the material in the section that follows. Be consistent with your choice of “levels” and refer to the instructions on spacing for proper spacing between headings, subheadings, and text. First-level headings must be listed on the Table of Contents. Second-level and subsequent subheadings may be included.

Acronyms/Abbreviations/Capitalization

Abbreviations on the title page should appear as they do in the body of the thesis or dissertation. (Examples:  Xenopus laevis , Ca, Mg, Pb, Zn; TGF-β, p53.) Capitalize only the first letter of words of importance, distinction, or emphasis in titles and headings. Do not alter the all-cap style used for acronyms (Example: AIDS) and organizational names (Example: IBM). Use the conventional style for Latin words (Examples:  in vitro, in vivo, in situ ). Genus and species should be italicized. Capitalize the first letter of the genus, but not that of the species name (Example:  Streptococcus aureus ).

Figures commonly refer to photographs, images, maps, charts, graphs, and drawings. Tables generally list tabulated numerical data. These items should appear as close as possible to their first mention in the text. Tables and figures may be placed in appendices, if this is a departmental requirement or standard in the field. Tables and figures should be numbered with Arabic numerals, either consecutively or by chapter. Be consistent in the style used in the placement of tables and figure captions. Tables and figures may be embedded within the text or placed on a page alone. When placed on its own page, a figure or table may be centered on the page. When included with text, a table or figure should be set apart from the text. Tables and figures, including captions, may be oriented in landscape. Make sure to use landscape page positioning on landscape-oriented pages. Table data and figure data must be kept together, if the information fits on one page.

The submission process for theses and dissertations begins at the Graduate School. Forms must be digitally submitted to the Graduate School. View the Checklist for Graduation

The Vanderbilt Libraries have recently implemented  VIREO , an Electronic Thesis & Dissertation review and submission system for the Graduate School. The Graduate School requires electronic submission of all theses and dissertations through this new platform. Format reviews now occur within the VIREO submission process. If you have questions or would like an in-person format review,  contact administrators .Students will use their VUnet ID and password to log in and begin completing the appropriate information, as outlined below.

Verify Your Information

• Orcid ID (can obtain in VIREO)
• Department/Program, Degree, Major
• Phone & Address

 License & Publication Agreements

• Vanderbilt License Agreement (required)
• ProQuest Publication (optional)

 Document Information

• Title, degree month/year, defense date, abstract, keywords, subjects, language
• Your committee, Chair email
• Previously published material (optional)
• Embargo options

Upload Your Files

• Primary document: thesis/dissertation
• Additional files: supplemental, source, administrative (CV, Survey of Earned Doctorates (additional SED information is in the Ph.D. Dissertation Requirements accordion below))

Confirm and Submit

• Students will receive a confirmation email once submitted

Any documents you will be uploading into VIREO as administrative files should be saved as a PDF, and named with your last name, first name-file-conferral month and year. Examples:

• King, Amanda-IntraTermApp-032021.pdf
• King, Amanda-CV-052021.pdf
• King, Amanda-SED-052021.pdf
• King, Amanda-Title Page-052021.pdf
• King, Amanda-Permissions-052021.pdf
• King, Amanda-DGS Approval-052021.pdf

Intent to Graduate

Students planning to graduate at the end of the fall, spring, or summer term should submit the Intent to Graduate form through YES by clicking on Graduation – Intent. Note that all masters students should submit this form , even if they are receiving a master’s in passing to the PhD.

Format Review

A format review is required before thesis or dissertation approval. Review will take place through VIREO when you first upload your document. Allow time before the deadline for review and revisions. For questions contact  [email protected] .

Submit one copy of the title page, with original signatures of the advisor and a second reader (either a member of the committee or DGS of the program). The date on the title page will reflect the month, day, year of degree conferral.

Submit one copy of the abstract with the signature of the advisor.

Intent to Graduate 

Students planning to graduate at the end of the fall, spring, or summer term should submit the Intent to Graduate form through YES by clicking on Graduation – Intent.

Defense Results

Students must schedule the Defense Exam with the Graduate School two weeks prior to the exam. Students will bring the Defense Results Form (along with the Title Page & Abstract) to obtain committee signatures. Upload the signed title page and abstract as one administrative file (title page first followed by abstract) to VIREO as an administrative file, and have your department submit the defense results to the graduate school submissions portal.

Upload your signed title page as an administrative file in VIREO. The date on the title page will reflect the month, day, year of degree conferral. Be sure it is the date of conferral and not the date of your defense.

Upload your signed abstract as an administrative file in VIREO.

Survey of Earned Doctorates (SED)

Students finishing a doctorate degree are required to complete the  SED survey . Information provided to the National Opinion Research Council remains confidential and will be used for research or statistical purposes. Submit the Certificate of Completion with your VIREO submission as an administrative file.

Curriculum Vitae

Submit your CV through your VIREO submission as an administrative file. Directions on preparing a curriculum vitae are available here.

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Thesis/Dissertation

To graduate with a master’s (thesis program) or doctoral (dissertation program) degree, students are required to submit an Electronic Thesis/Dissertation (ETD) and a Committee Approval Form to the Graduate School through the  UW ETD Administrator Site . ETDs are distributed by ProQuest/UMI Dissertation Publishing and made available on an open access basis through UW Libraries  ResearchWorks Service .

The Graduate School partners with the UW Libraries to provide comprehensive resources for students as they write, submit, and publish academic theses or dissertations. These pages outline information and policies related to preparing your thesis/dissertation, including formatting, deadlines, copyright and distribution decisions, and, ultimately, graduation. We also encourage you to review the  ETD Library Guide  for additional information.

For comprehensive information on preparing to graduate, please refer to our graduation requirements information page .

Writing Your Thesis or Dissertation

Etd resources.

As a starting point, students submitting an ETD are encouraged to review the below resources:

• Hacking the Academy: UW Theses & Dissertations (Recording of July 29, 2020 event) This session helps students think through their options for how and when to share their work, including the copyright and publishing considerations they may need to take into account.
• Electronic Theses & Dissertations with the UW Libraries The University Libraries welcomes you to this self-guided course on electronic theses and dissertations (ETDs) at the UW. In this five-part learning experience, you will learn a lot about the ETD process including how the submission process works, how to give and receive recognition for your work, how to find and interpret publisher policies and how to read and inspect publishing contracts.

Formatting Guidelines

After you submit your ETD, the Graduate School will review your document as part of the graduation process at the end of each quarter. We will review for information accuracy, consistency, and to ensure your ETD meets the formatting requirements described below. There are three required sections (pages) that must be included at the beginning of your manuscript: 1) Title Page, 2) Copyright Page, 3) Abstract. Templates for these sections are provided below.

Apart from these first three pages, the Graduate School does not adhere to any specific formatting or publishing requirements unless explicitly stated by the ProQuest Author Guide: Preparing Your Manuscript for Submission (provided below). You should refer to the citation, formatting, and style specifications of your discipline and the guidance of your supervisory committee.  Note: theses and dissertations must be submitted in PDF format.

For a complete overview of the graduation process, please review  Preparing to Graduate .

Required Sections:

• Must include all items listed in the sample title page and placed in the same order
• May be the first or second page of your document
• Title of document
• Author’s Full Name
• Name of degree as it will appear on your diploma
• Year of graduation
• Names of chair/committee members (do not include signatures or professional titles, e.g. Dr. or PhD, before/after faculty names)
• Program authorized to offer degree (school or department)
• Name and year must match title pages
• List the year of graduation
• Place abstract after copyright and title page

Master’s Thesis Approval Form:

You are required to upload a completed and signed Master’s Thesis Approval Form into the UW ETD Administrator (ProQuest) site; the Approval Form is part of your ETD submission. This Approval Form is a separate PDF and should not be included as a page in the thesis or dissertation itself.

• Master’s Thesis Approval Form

Electronic Doctoral Dissertation Approval:

Final Exams scheduled after March 3, 2020 include a link for Reading Committee Members to approve the dissertation online at MyGrad Committee View.

ETD Formatting Resources:

• Thesis/Dissertation Formatting Checklist  – a quick reference guide of the formatting do’s and don’ts provided below.
• ProQuest Dissertation Publishing — Author Guide: Preparing Your Manuscript for Submission
• ProQuest Online Submission FAQs
• Master’s Thesis Title Page – Fillable PDF Template 
• Doctoral Dissertation Title Page – Fillable PDF Template
• Word Templates  – Alex Mamishev, Professor in Electrical Engineering maintains a Word file that other students may find useful when formatting their document.

Common ETD Formatting Revisions Requested

To ensure timely graduating, take some time before you submit to review this information and ProQuest’s document formatting guidelines. These are all common errors and revisions the Graduate School will request when reviewing ETD formatting. You will be required to resubmit if revisions are needed. Be precise, and consistent as you format your document.  Many formatting errors result from following a fellow or former student’s example, so it’s important to review the most current templates and guidelines.

Title Page, Copyright Page, Abstract

Language Requirement

Your document must be written in English ( policy 1.1.4.3 ). If you need to write your document in another language to accommodate the main audience, you must get prior approval to do so by  submitting a petition the dean via MyGrad . If the petition is approved, the required sections (title page, copyright page, abstract) must still be written in English.

Plagiarism is using words, ideas, diagrams, and other content from publicly available work without appropriately acknowledging the sources of these materials. This definition constitutes plagiarism whether it is intentional or unintentional and whether it is the work of another or your own, previously published work.

Plagiarism is a very serious offense that the University of Washington does not tolerate. Evidence of plagiarism may prevent granting of your degree.

Submitting and Publishing

Submitting for dissemination and access.

The Graduate School and the Libraries require that all UW theses and dissertations be submitted electronically for management efficiency, cost control, ease of dissemination, and long-term preservation reasons. In addition, your ETD must eventually be made available openly on the web. Your ETD will be hosted in both UW’s institutional repository,  ResearchWorks , and in  ProQuest’s ETD Database .  Consequently, you will need to indicate your choices in two sections about how your ETD is made available. Most students choose to make their work available immediately, but you can choose to limit access  temporarily  before making it available openly.

Students may restrict access to their theses and dissertations…

• while seeking to publish journal articles or books based on them,
• to protect intellectual property during the patent application process, or
• to prevent the disclosure of sensitive or classified information.

During the submission process, you will select ProQuest and ResearchWorks (Institutional Repository, or IR) publication options. The options are summarized on a table below, followed by selected scenarios to assist you in making your decisions.

IMPORTANT: The metadata describing your ETD, including the citation and abstract, is openly available  immediately— regardless of the embargo or restriction status. This information is searchable by Google, Bing and other search engines, so take care that neither the descriptive information nor the text contain confidential or sensitive information.

Selecting Access Options

Selected ETD Access Scenarios

The UW Libraries and the Graduate School are committed to the goal of sharing graduate students’ research as soon and as widely as possible, while allowing students to temporarily limit access to their theses and dissertations for such reasons as to support formal publication in journal article or book form or to allow time for filing patents. Below are some examples of how students may wish to use these options to support their publishing or intellectual property-protection goals.

Discussion of Scenarios

• Journal Article Publishing. In recent years graduate students – especially in scientific, medical and technical fields — have increasingly been publishing results of their research in journals.
• The “Research Article” Dissertation. In some disciplines students may be expected to publish 2 or more journal articles during the course of their studies and submit them as the core of their thesis or dissertation — along with an introduction, literature review, and conclusions. Because this has become so common, most journals now permit authors to immediately republish their articles within their theses or dissertations as long as they provide the full article citation and a statement that an article is being “reprinted with permission” of the journal. However, some other journals allow the practice but require that an article not appear on an open access basis before a delay of 6 or 12 months. The Libraries strongly suggests that students become familiar with the policies in place at the journals in which they would like to publish their work, and choose appropriate access restrictions if needed when they submit their ETD’s.
• Book Publishing. Some students in such humanities and social science disciplines as history and political science may hope to publish a revised version of their dissertation as their first book. As they consider that possibility they may be concerned they might undermine their prospects by making their dissertations widely available via ProQuest and/or on an open access basis.Before deciding whether or for how long to limit access to their work based on these concerns, The Libraries recommends students become familiar with the arguments and evidence put forward on these issues. For example, Cirasella and Thistlethwaite 3 and Courtney and Kilcer 4 provide excellent discussions of issues and review recent literature, while William Germano’s classic From Dissertation to Book 5 and Beth Luey’s Revising Your Dissertation 6 offer important insight into what might be involved during the dissertation revision process. While the Libraries recommends that most students hoping to publish their dissertations as books make them widely available while they work toward that goal, they should feel free to consider choosing otherwise, such as “Immediate Access” for ProQuest and limiting to UW for five years – at the end of which students may request additional time.
• Patent Protection Strategies. Students whose theses or dissertations describe work for which patent protection might be appropriate should contact Jesse Kindra at CoMotion ( [email protected] or 206 616-9658) prior to submitting their work to ProQuest and choosing access restrictions. Depending on the circumstances, a student may choose to completely withhold access for one year, but should recognize that doing so will prevent anyone else at the UW from having access to it during the restricted access period. To exercise this option, students should delay releasing their work to ProQuest for 1 or 2 years, and then choose “No access for 1 year, then make Open Access” from the Institutional Repository (IR) Publishing Options menu for the UW copy. In unusual circumstances, requests for access to be withheld an additional year may be considered. To make such a request, students should describe the reason(s) for it in an email to [email protected] prior to expiration of the original embargo period.

1 Marisa L. Ramirez, Joan T. Dalton, Gail McMillan, Max Read and Nancy H. Seamans, “Do Open Access Electronic Theses and Dissertations Diminish Publishing Opportunities in the Social Sciences and Humanities,” College and Research Libraries 74 (July 2013): 368‐80, http://crl.acrl.org/content/74/4/368.full.pdf+html .

2 Marisa Ramirez, Gail McMillan, Joan T. Dalton, Ann Hanlon, Heather S. Smith and Chelsea Kern, “Do Open Access Electronic Theses and Dissertations Diminish Publishing Opportunities in the Sciences?” College and Research Libraries 75 (November 2014): 808-21, http://crl.acrl.org/content/75/6/808.full.pdf+html .

3 Jill Cirasella and Polly Thistlethwaite, “Open Access and the Graduate Author: A Dissertation Anxiety Manual,” pp. 203-224 in Open Access and the Future of Scholarly Communication: Implementation (Kevin L. Smith and Katherine A. Dickson, eds.: Rowman and Littlefield, 2017), http://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_pubs/286/ .

4 Kyle K. Courtney and Emily Kilcer, “From Apprehension to Comprehension: Addressing Anxieties about Open Access to ETD’s,” pp. 225-244 in Open Access and the Future of Scholarly Communication: Implementation (Kevin L. Smith and Katherine A. Dickson, eds.: Rowman and Littlefield, 2017).

5 William Germano. 2013. From Dissertation to Book, 2d. ed. : University of Chicago Press.

6 Beth Luey (ed.). 2008. Revising Your Dissertation: Advice from Leading Editors. University of California Press.

Publishing Agreements

When you submit your ETD for review and publication, you will be required to read and accept two separate publishing agreements. You will also have to decide whether to publish your work right away or to delay its release. Additional pages within this section will outline all the considerations to keep in mind, when deciding how to make your work available to the scholarly community.

All students writing a thesis or dissertation should review the UW Libraries Copyright Research Guide . Understanding copyright law is another critical aspect as you write your thesis or dissertation.  As you compose your work, ask yourself the following questions:

• Have you referenced others’ work? If so, you either need to get explicit permission from the rights holder or to determine that your use is Fair.
• Have you previously published any part of the work? If you’ve signed your copyright over to your publisher, you will need permission to use your material in your thesis.

Ordering Paper Copies

There are no required fees , although you have the option to register your copyright via ProQuest for a fee. If you want to order bound (paper) copies of your document, you may do so through the UW Copy Centers or through ProQuest. Questions should be directed to the UW Copy Centers or to ProQuest at 1.800.521.0600 ext. 77020 — available 8 a.m.–5 p.m. EST, Monday through Friday (excluding U.S. holidays).

Frequently Asked Questions

I created an account in the etd administrator site, but i’m not ready to submit my etd. can i come back to my account later.

Yes. If you need to finish your submission later (for instance, if you need to update your PDF file before uploading it), you can save your information and come back to finish. No information will be lost.

I submitted my ETD but would like to make an edit to the document. How can I edit my submission?

Once your thesis/dissertation is submitted, no additional changes to the document are allowed with the exception of a major data error in the document. In this circumstance, a letter outlining the necessary changes is required from your supervisory committee chair.

What will the Graduate School be reviewing after I submit my ETD?

Submissions are reviewed by GEMS advisors for formatting requirements for the three required sections — title page, copyright page, abstract — before they are delivered to ProQuest for publication. We are checking for accuracy and consistency. Refer to the Formatting Guidelines section on this page for detailed information.

I submitted my ETD and haven't heard anything yet. When will it be reviewed?

We try to review all ETDs as they are received, but if you submit early in the quarter it may not be acted on immediately. If you need to confirm completion of your degree requirements to an external agency or employer, please access the request for letter of certification in the forms section of our Additional Resources page (once your degree has posted to your UW transcript, we can no longer issue this letter). In general, ETDs are reviewed in the last two to three weeks before the quarter ends and after the last day of the quarter. When your submission has been accepted by a GEMS advisor, you will receive email confirmation.

How can I tell if my ETD was submitted and received by the Graduate School?

When your ETD is successfully submitted and pending review, the status will read “submission in review.”

When will my ETD be made available for access?

This depends on the type of access restrictions you selected when creating your account. However, your submission will be delivered to ProQuest for publishing four to six weeks after graduation and you will receive email confirmation when this has occurred. It should be available in UW ResearchWorks around the same time.

When will the printed dissertation / thesis copies I ordered from ProQuest be ready?

After you receive the email confirmation that UW has “delivered” your submission (ETD) to ProQuest, you should please refer to the ProQuest customer service guidelines for the expected delivery date of your order.

What if I am missing a faculty signature for my thesis or dissertation, or I have encountered difficulties in uploading my ETD? Must I pay the graduate registration waiver fee and graduate in the following quarter?

If you encounter these types of situations, contact Graduate Enrollment Management Services (206.685.2630 or  [email protected] ) as early as possible and no later than the last day of the quarter in which you intend to graduate.

Additional Resources

• Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) Guide  (start here!)
• Copyright and Fair Use
• Open Access
• Scholarly Publishing
• ProQuest/UMI Agreement — Traditional Publishing Agreement
• University Agreement — UW Libraries Thesis and Dissertation Submission Agreement
• UW Human Subjects Division (HSD)
• UW CoMotion

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You are here

On this page:

Congratulations! You have arrived at an important step in the pursuit of your graduate degree—the writing of your thesis or dissertation. Your scholarly publication reflects the results of your research and academic pursuits at Oregon State University.

Student Responsibility

Students are responsible for:

• Meeting the deadlines associated with its preparation. Visit the master's deadlines and the doctoral deadlines.
• Submitting the necessary forms.
• Ensuring that your document conforms to all requirements in this Thesis Guide.

Your document must clearly state your objectives and conclusions, and present your results in a lucid and succinct manner. It must have a professional appearance and be user-friendly.

Ethical research practice requires you to avoid the following:

• Plagiarism: failure to acknowledge the work of others by using proper citations and obtaining written permission to use copyrighted material.
• Fabrication: the creation of fictitious research results.
• Falsification: alteration of research results by misrepresentation or selective reporting of findings.

General Format

Standard Document Format refers to one thesis document that addresses a single theme. The Pretext Pages, Introduction, Conclusion, and Bibliography are mandatory. Your committee determines the additional chapters; you choose the chapter titles. The following parts comprise the Standard Document Format:

• Pretext Pages (see model pages illustrated in Figures 2-11)
• Chapter 1 – Introduction
• Chapter 2 – Literature Review
• Chapter 3 – Materials and Methods
• Chapter 4 – Results
• Chapter 5 – Discussion
• Chapter 6 – Conclusion

Bibliography

• Appendices (optional)

Manuscript Document Format is a single thesis document made up of several scholarly manuscripts or journal articles addressing a common theme. All manuscripts/articles must be related or address a single, common theme. You must be the primary author of each manuscript. Co-authors other than your major professor must be mentioned in a Contribution of Authors page (see Figure 9) in the pretext section of the document. Formatting should be consistent for each journal article and must follow the thesis guide formatting not the separate journal formats. The following parts comprise the Manuscript Document Format:

• Chapter 1 – General Introduction (common introduction linking all manuscripts thematically)
• Chapter 2 – First Manuscript
• Chapter 3 – Second Manuscript
• Chapter 4 – General Conclusion (common conclusion linking all manuscripts thematically)
• Bibliography (common bibliography covering all manuscripts, although each manuscript may have its own reference section)
• Appendices – (optional)

Note: Within the larger Manuscript Format thesis document, Chapter Heading Pages (see Figure 1 below) precede individual manuscripts that have already been published. If not published, page is not required. Manuscripts must uniformly conform to these thesis guidelines.

MANUSCRIPT TITLE CENTERED AND ALL CAPS

Your name and other authors

Journal name Address of journal Issue manuscript appears in

Figure 1. Chapter Heading Page for Manuscript Document Format

Page Layout

Margin requirements.

The left margin must be 1 inch unless printing and binding a personal or departmental copy then change to 1.5 inch. All other margins must be at least 1 inch, preferably 1.2 for top margin. Nothing may invade a margin. Every page must meet margin requirements. Margin requirements are especially important if binding a copy of your thesis.

Page Numbering

Pretext pages: Do not add page numbers to pretext pages.

Body: The body of the text begins with page 1 and all successive pages are numbered consecutively with Arabic Numbers (e.g. 2, 3, etc.) including Appendix/Appendices and Bibliography. Page numbers should be the same size and font as the body of the text. Page numbers must appear at the top right corner of pages, approximately 1 inch from the top edge of the page and at least 1 inch from the right edge of the page. Page numbers must not invade any margins. There should be at least one space between the page number and the first line of text.

Your title must be worded exactly the same throughout the document as it appears on the Abstract page, Title page and centered on page one (optional). Titles longer than one line should be single-spaced. The document's title does not count as a heading level.

Text Requirements

Text spacing.

Line spacing must be 1.5 or double, consistent throughout the document and matching which one you choose for the body of the thesis. Use single spacing only in the following situations:

• Headings longer than one line
• Figure and table titles and associated legends
• Bibliographical and reference citations
• Direct quoted material
• Items listed within the body of the text (optional)
• Where indicated in the pretext section

Use regular, unadorned print, 10- to 12-point size for text (headings may be 14-point only if all headings are 14-point). Font size within figures and tables can be smaller but must be readable. Use the same font style and font size throughout.

Chapter names are Level 1 headings. Subheadings of a chapter are Level 2 headings. Subheadings of chapter subheadings are Level 3 headings, and so forth. Each level must look different from the other levels. Headings of the same level must look the same throughout the document. All headings, regardless of level, must be the same font size. Either number all headings or number none (See figures 10a and 10b). Single space headings that are more than one line. Use adequate and consistent spacing between the headings and the text. A minimum of two subheadings may be used within a given level. Each level 1 heading begins a new page.

Appendix Heading Page

A numbered, counted page should be inserted in front of your document's appendix/appendices. The word APPENDIX (or APPENDICES) should be centered about 1/3 down this page. This heading page and its page number should appear in the Table of Contents.

Blocked Quotes

Use Blocked Quotes for quoted material longer than three lines. Use the same font size as within the text. Single-space the quotation, and indent it evenly on both sides. Left justify the quotations.

Use the same font size as within the text. Choose a reference style with the guidance of your major professor and your committee and be consistent. Single-space each citation and use adequate and consistent spacing between citations.

Footnotes collected at the end of a chapter are called endnotes. Use the same font size as within the text. Single-space each endnote, and use adequate and consistent spacing between endnotes.

Orphan Lines, Headers, Footnotes

No orphan lines may appear at the top or bottom of a page. No headers or footers may be used. Footnotes are acceptable.

Figures and Tables

Figures and tables may be located in one of two places in your document. You must choose one system and use it consistently throughout your work.

• Insert the figure within the text, as close as possible after the first reference is made to it.
• Place your figures at the end of the chapter in which it is first discussed or referenced.

Figure Definition

The definition of a figure is quite broad. “Figures” include charts, diagrams, drawings, examples, graphs, illustrations, maps, photographs, etc. In the majority of cases, if it's not a table, it is a figure. All figures must be listed in the pretext pages' List of Figures.

Table Definition

A table is broadly defined as a compact, systematic list of data (facts, figures, values, etc.), generally arranged in columns and/or rows. All tables must be listed in the pretext pages' List of Tables.

Figure and Table Labels and Captions

A figure's or table's label denote the type of figure or table and its number, and a figure's or table's caption is its title and description. Every figure or table must have a label and caption unless there is only one of its type in the document. Use consecutive label numbers by order of appearance within the text. Each figure or table must have a unique number, i.e., Table 1.1 for the first table in Chapter 1, Table 2.1 for the first table in Chapter 2, or start with 1 and number consecutively. As always, pick one method and use it consistently throughout your document. Label and caption font size is the same as body text size. Add one space between the figure or table and its label and caption, and between the figure or table and text. The label and caption should be placed outside its boundaries, commonly above a table and below a figure.

Oversized Figures and Tables

Illustrations that take up more than one page should have the label followed by “(Continued)” on the second page. If both a figure/table and its label and caption do not fit on one page, place only the label on the page with the figure or table, and place the label and caption on a separate page that precedes the figure or table (called a legend page). Single-space the label and caption and center it 1/3 of the way down the page. Include no other text on this page. List the page number of the legend page in the pretext list.

There are two ways of managing the inclusion of oversized figures if printing personal copies:

• Reduction: Photographically reduce the size of figures to meet margin requirements.Page numbers and figure captions must remain the same font size as the text.
• Accordion Fold: If you are printing a personal or departmental copy. The final folded page must be 11 inches in height and no more than 8 inches wide. Fold the page from right to left, making the final folded width 8 inches. Fold the page a second time from left to right so the page number appears in the same position as all other pages in the text.

Landscaping

Because of their shape, some figures/tables may need to be placed crosswise on a page. If so, the top of the figure/table should be at the left margin as viewed normally (i.e. portrait orientation), and the caption should be parallel to the right margin. Reformatting pages numbers to match location of portrait oriented page numbers is not required. Margin requirements apply.

Choose high-contrast colors to differentiate lines, bars, or segments or use symbols with or without the color.

Parts of the Document (in Order of Appearance)

Regardless of general format, the thesis includes particular parts in an established order as listed below. Model pages are provided for most pretext pages. In all cases, margin requirements apply (see above) and the same font style/size must be used in the body of the text and elsewhere. All titles of pretext pages should be formatted identically with respect to font size and style.

I. Pretext Pages

Download templates for pretext pages.

An abstract is a summary of the document's purpose, methods, major findings, and conclusions. Your name (designated “Student Name”) must appear exactly the same throughout the document. In all cases, use the official name of the major as found in the OSU Catalog on the Graduate School's website under Programs. Please add underlines where indicated in the examples. (See figs. 2, 3, and 4)

AN ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS OF

Thomas A. Edison for the degree of Master of Science in Physics presented on January 30, 2024 A .

Title: Upon Recording Telegraph Messages Automatically.

Abstract approved: _______________________________________

Major I. Professor B

Begin text here, using the same line spacing (either double space or 1.5), font style and font size as within the body of the text in your document.

• Use official major name, not area of concentration
• Your name must appear exactly the same throughout the document
• For defense date use month spelled out, date, and year: January 30, 2022
• Title must be the same throughout the document

Figure 2. Abstract Page for Master's Degree. A The line breaks in these four lines are single space with a space after the defense date. B Include major professor's middle initial unless there is none. Do not include their title. Co-major Professors may share the same signature line; put both names below the line.

Student Name for the degree of Master of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies in First Concentration A . , Second Concentration , and Third Concentration presented on Defense Date B .

Title: Underlined Title Here

Major I. Professor C

• Use official major or minor name, not area of concentration

Figure 3. Abstract Page for Master's Degree. A The line breaks in these four lines are single space with a space after the defense date. B The line breaks in these six are single-spaced with a space between the defense date and title. C Include major professor's middle initial unless there is none. Do not include their title. Co-major Professors may share the same signature line; put both names below the line.

AN ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION OF

Student Name for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Official Name of Major presented on Defense Date A .

Title: Underline Title here.

Figure 4. Abstract Page for Doctoral Degree. A The line breaks in these four lines are single-spaced with a space between the defense date and title. B Include major professor's middle initial unless there is none. Do not include his/her title. Co-major Professors share the same signature line; put both names below the line with several spaces between names.

Copyright Page

Copyright by Thomas A. Edison January 30, 2022 All Rights Reserved or Creative Commons License

Figure 5. Copyright Page. Please choose either All Rights Reserved or Creative Commons License but not both. The copyright page is required. Inclusion of this page does not obligate you to go through a formal copyright process. Name must appear exactly the same throughout the document. Second line is the final defense date. Wording should begin one third down from the top and is centered.

Upon Recording Telegraph Messages Automatically

Title must match Abstract and page one title exactly. Do not boldface the title.

by Thomas A. Edison

Add two spaces after the title.  

A THESIS submitted to Oregon State University

Doctoral students may use “A DISSERTATION” instead of “A THESIS” on Title Page, Abstract, and Approval Pages.

in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of

Follow division of this sentence ( in partial fulfillment of... ) exactly.

Master of Science

Spacing should be the same after your name, “Oregon State University,” and your degree.

Presented January 30, 2023 Commencement June 2023 A

Defense date.

Figure 6. Title Page. A Commencement date is the June following the defense date, so if defense is after the commencement ceremony it would be for the following year. Only month & year, no date or it will be rejected.

Approval Page

On the Approval Page the Major Professor represents the major. The Approval Page considers your advisor as your major professor, regardless of his/ her official rank or tenure home. Official major names and department names can be found in the OSU Catalog. Some majors and departments have the same name while others differ. Your signature constitutes consent to have your document available for public reference in Valley Library, but the signatures on this page have been replaced with the ETD Submission Approval form.

Master of Science thesis of Thomas A. Edison presented on January 30, 2023.

_______________________________________ Major Professor representing Physics

_______________________________________ Head of the Department of Physics A

_______________________________________ Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School

I understand that my thesis will become part of the permanent collection of Oregon State University libraries. My signature below authorizes release of my thesis to any reader upon request.

_______________________________________ Thomas A. Edison, Author

Figure 7. Standard Approval Page. A If not part of a department, please list the head/chair/dean of the school or college.

Alternate wordings for signature lines:

Wording with two major professors:

Co-Major Professor, representing Name of Major

Head/Chair of the Name of Department, School or College

Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School

Wording with dual majors:

Co-Major Professor, representing Name of 1st Major

Co-Major Professor, representing Name of 2nd Major

Wording for MAIS:

Major Professor, representing Name of Major Area of Concentration

Director of the Interdisciplinary Studies Program

Acknowledgements

The acknowledgements page is optional but recommended. The exact content of the page is up to the student. Use same text spacing: 1.5 or double-space.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The author expresses sincere appreciation...

Figure 8. Acknowledgements Page.

Contributions

Manuscript document format only. If no contributions remove this page. Use same text spacing either 1.5 or double space.

CONTRIBUTIONS

Dr. So-and-so assisted with data collection. Such-and- such was involved with the design and writing of Chapter 2. Dr. Whoisit assisted in the interpretation of the data.

Figure 9. Contributions (manuscript format only).

Table of Contents

Ensure that the page numbers accurately reflect where the headings appear in the text. Listing the chapter headings in the Table of Contents is required; listing the subheadings is optional, and you may list some levels but not others. Levels are denoted by indention in the Table of Contents. Wording, spelling, and capitalization of headings in the Table of Contents must match the heading in the body of the text exactly. If headings are numbered in the Table of Contents, they must be numbered correspondingly in the text.

List appendix or appendices (if applicable) in the Table of Contents, if more than five then create a separate List of Appendices. In either case, list the Appendices Heading Page (see page 3) in the Table of Contents. When listing an individual appendix, include its title.

If the Table of Contents is more than one page, subsequent pages should have the heading “TABLE OF CONTENTS (Continued)” and additionally "PAGE" underlined above the page numbers.

Return twice between the TABLE OF CONTENTS heading and the first item in the table.

Do not underline, bold, or italicize in the Table of Contents (unless scientific species name)

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1 Chapter Title

1.1 Level 2 Heading

1.2 Level 2 Heading

1.2.1 Level 3 Heading

1.2.2 Level 3 Heading

1.2.3 Level 3 Heading

1.3 Level 2 Heading

2 Chapter Title

2.1 Level 2 Heading

2.2 Level 2 Heading

2.2.1 Level 3 Heading

2.2.2 Level 3 Heading

3 Chapter Title

3.1 Level 2 Heading

3.2 Level 2 Heading

Appendix A Title

Appendix B Title

Figure 10a. Table of Contents with Numbering.

Chapter Title

Level 2 Heading

Level 3 Heading

Figure 10b. Table of Contents without Numbering.

List of Figures

Lists are required if two or more figures appear within the text. (Reference figures 11a and 11b.)

List of Tables

Lists are required if two or more tables appear within the text. (Reference figures 11a and 11b.)

Choose one of the two methods of numbering in the model pages illustrated in Figures 11a and 11b and use it for both Lists of Figures and Lists of Tables. If a list is longer than one page, subsequent pages should be headed “LIST OF FIGURES (Continued)” or “LIST OF TABLES (Continued)" along with "Figure" or "Page" underlined above the figure names and page numbers. The first sentence of the figure or table caption must be listed, and the wording must match the text exactly. List only one page number per figure or table. When there is a legend page in front of a figure (see information on FIGURES below), list the legend page only. Figures in the appendices are listed on a separate List of Appendix Figures list.

Add two spaces between the LIST OF FIGURES/TABLES heading and the first listing.

LIST OF FIGURES

Name of the figure

First sentence of the legend matches the text exactly

List only one page number

Keep numbers and words in separate columns

Figure 11a. List of Figures/Tables with Consecutive Numbering.

LIST OF TABLES

Name of the table

Spacing requirements are the same as for the List of Figures

A List of Appendix Tables would look the same

All pretext headings should look the same

Figure 11b. List of Figures/Tables with Numbering by Chapter.

List of Appendices (optional)

If list of appendices is short, it may be attached to the Table of Contents. For more than 5 appendices, or list different heading levels are listed in the appendices, a separate List of Appendices is required. If two or more figures appear in the appendices, a List of Appendix Figures and/or a List of Appendix Tables are required.

List of Appendix Figures

For two or more figures in the appendices.

List of Appendix Tables

For two or more tables in the appendices.

Other Lists

If you are including other lists, such as lists of abbreviations, nomenclature, symbols, and so forth, each list must have its own page. The elements of these lists do not need numbering or page numbers.

Dedication (optional)

If desired, you may dedicate your document to the honor of someone. Dedications are usually short. Margin requirements apply. Use the same font/font size as text body. Arrangement of page is at your discretion.

Preface (optional)

You may include a preface.

II. Body of Text

Follow standard or manuscript document format.

III. Bibliography

Iv. appendix or appendices (optional), final requirements, printing specifications.

The Graduate School no longer requires you to submit a paper copy of your thesis/dissertation.

Formatting Template

A formatting template for thesis and dissertation pretext pages can be found on our website.

Electronic Submission

Submit one PDF copy of your thesis/dissertation, without signatures, electronically to ScholarsArchive. Ensure accessibility with Adobe Acrobat Pro. For uploading and accessibility instructions refer to the library's website.

Creative Commons License

DO NOT SELECT PUBLIC DOMAIN OR CCO. You may add a Creative Commons License to your item that allows copyrighted works to be shared and re- used. Either select License Type: Creative Commons or License Type: No Creative Commons License. DO NOT assign a Creative Commons license if you plan to place an embargo on your thesis or dissertation that allows only the OSU community access to your work.

Final Documents Submitted to the Graduate School

One signed Electronic Thesis and Dissertation (ETD) Submission Approval form by your Major Professor, Head/Chair/Director/Dean of your major, and yourself. The Graduate School Dean's signature will be added after the submissions of the form.

You can request an embargo in ScholarsArchive so your work will be accessible only to Oregon State University faculty, staff and students for up to two years.

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Dissertation layout and formatting

Published on October 21, 2015 by Koen Driessen . Revised on February 20, 2019.

The layout requirements for a dissertation are often determined by your supervisor or department. However, there are certain guidelines that are common to almost every program, such as including page numbers and a table of contents.

If you are writing a paper in the MLA citation style , you can use our  MLA format guide .

Table of contents

Font, font size, and line spacing, tables and figures, referencing, paragraph marks, headers and footers, page numbering, dissertation printing.

Use a clear and professional font. Some examples include Verdana, Times New Roman, and Calibri (which is the default font in Microsoft Word). Font size is best set to 10 or 11.

In scientific articles and theses, a line spacing of 1.15 or 1.5 is generally preferred, as it makes the document more readable and enables your supervisor to post comments between the lines of text.

Receive feedback on language, structure, and formatting

Professional editors proofread and edit your paper by focusing on:

• Academic style
• Vague sentences
• Style consistency

See an example

With tables, the number and title should be placed above; with figures and all other illustrations, the number and title should be placed below.

Microsoft Word has a feature that can help you to automatically place these numbers and titles in the correct position. Select the graphic, right-click, and choose “Insert Caption…” In the dialogue box that appears, specify whether it is a table or figure and enter a title. Once you click “Okay,” the number and the title will be generated in the right place.

Another advantage of using this Word feature to label your graphics is that you will later be able to generate lists of tables and figures with a push of a button.

Different heading styles are frequently used to help the reader differentiate between chapters, sections, and subsections of your dissertation. For instance, you may choose to bold all chapter headings but to italicize all lower-level headings.

Once you decide on the scheme you will use, it is important that you apply it consistently throughout your entire dissertation. Using the “Styles” feature of Microsoft Word can be very helpful in this regard. After you have created a heading, just highlight it and select a style (such as Heading 1 or Heading 2) from the home tool bar. Keeping a list may help you keep track of what style to use when.

Citing sources in a correct and appropriate manner is crucial in a dissertation, as failing to do so can make you guilty of plagiarism . It is important that these references follow certain standards.

The APA standard is most commonly used. After realizing how difficult it is to create correctly formatted citations manually, we developed the APA Citation Generator  to assist you. You can use this free and simple tool to easily generate citations that follow the official APA style.

We also recommend that you use a plagiarism scanner to check for unintended plagiarism.

Prevent plagiarism. Run a free check.

Using the “Show paragraph marks” feature can help you to avoid this scenario. To turn it on, click on the paragraph symbol in your home tool bar (as shown in the above illustration). A black paragraph symbol will then be shown after every paragraph and “hard return” in your document, which allows you to see how the layout is constructed.

This can be very helpful when you are trying to determine the cause of mysterious jumps and other problems.

Headers and footers can give your dissertation a very professional look. They also make it immediately clear to readers what document is before them.

A header or footer can be added by double-clicking respectively at the top or bottom of a page in your document. There are generally no firm rules about what you must include; the following are common choices:

• The name/logo of your home educational institution
• The name/logo of the company or organization where you completed a placement
• The title of your dissertation (which may be shortened if necessary)
• Page numbers

Page numbers are commonly placed in the lower right-hand corner of the page. They can easily be added by simply creating a footer. Bear in mind that a page number is usually not included on the title page of a dissertation.

• To ensure that the page numbering doesn’t start on the cover page, but the numbering begins on page 1, place the cursor on the bottom of the page where you want to start with page numbering (if you want to start on page 2, click at the bottom of the first page).
• Next go to “Page layout” and then “Breaks”. Next, choose the submenu “Next page”.
• Switch to the side, where the numbering should begin (in this case, page 2). In the edit mode of the header or footer, choose “link to previous”, after that click on “Move to footer” and click on the “Link to previous” again.
• Now, to add a page number, click on the “Insert” tab, then on the “Header and footer” group, and then click “Page number”. Now you can also choose where the page number should be (top of the page, bottom of the page or page margins) and you can choose a design.
• Finally select the option “format page number” and enter the page numbers, in what page you want the numbering to begin. After you have pressed “ok”, the page number then begins with the number from the previously selected break.

A clear and well-presented title page is a nice finishing touch for your dissertation. Certain information should be included here by default. We have prepared a separate article on title pages that includes a handy checklist you can use to make sure you don’t forget anything.

Always make sure that everything in your dissertation is in the correct order and placed in the appropriate chapter. More information on how to put your document together can be found in our article on structure a dissertation .

If you are interested in seeing how other students have tackled preparing their theses, you may find it useful to check out these dissertation examples .

The last step is usually to prepare a hardcopy of your final document. There are many issues to think about, such as whether you will make it single- or double-sided.

Before you print, however, we recommend that you check one last time that your document meets all of the below requirements!

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.

Driessen, K. (2019, February 20). Dissertation layout and formatting. Scribbr. Retrieved August 26, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/tips/dissertation-layout-and-formatting/

Is this article helpful?

Koen Driessen

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Organizing and Formatting Your Thesis and Dissertation

Learn about overall organization of your thesis or dissertation. Then, find details for formatting your preliminaries, text, and supplementaries.

Overall Organization

A typical thesis consists of three main parts – preliminaries, text, and supplementaries. Each part is to be organized as explained below and in the order indicated below:

1. Preliminaries:

• Title page (required)
• Copyright page (required)
• Abstract (required) only one abstract allowed
• Acknowledgments (optional) located in the Preliminary Section only
• Preface (optional)
• Autobiography (optional)
• Dedication (optional)
• Table of Contents (required)
• List of Tables (optional)
• List of Figures (optional)
• List of Plates (optional)
• List of Symbols (optional)
• List of Keywords (optional)
• Other Preliminaries (optional) such as Definition of Terms

3. Supplementaries:

• References or bibliography (optional)
• Appendices (optional)
• Glossary (optional)
• List of Abbreviations (optional)

Preliminaries

These are the general requirements for all preliminary pages.

• Preliminary pages are numbered with lower case Roman numerals.
• Page numbers are ½” from the bottom of the page and centered.
• The copyright page is included in the manuscript immediately after the title page and is not assigned a page number nor counted.
• The abstract page is numbered with the Roman numeral “ii”.
• The remaining preliminary pages are arranged as listed under “Organizing and Formatting the Thesis/Dissertation” and numbered consecutively.
• Headings for all preliminary pages must be centered in all capital letters 1” from the top of the page.
• Do not bold the headings of the preliminary pages.

A sample Thesis title page pdf is available here ,  and a sample of a Dissertation title page pdf is available here.

Refer to the sample page as you read through the format requirements for the title page.

• Do not use bold.
• Center all text except the advisor and committee information.

The heading “ Thesis ” or “ Dissertation ” is in all capital letters, centered one inch from the top of the page.

• Your title must be in all capital letters, double spaced and centered.
• Your title on the title page must match the title on your GS30 – Thesis/Dissertation Submission Form

Submitted by block

Divide this section exactly as shown on the sample page. One blank line must separate each line of text.

• Submitted by
• School of Advanced Materials Discovery 
• School of Biomedical Engineering
• Graduate Degree Program in Cell and Molecular Biology
• Graduate Degree Program in Ecology

If your department name begins with “School of”, list as:

• School of Education
• School of Music, Theatre and Dance
• School of Social Work

If you have questions about the correct name of your department or degree, consult your department. Areas of Study or specializations within a program are not listed on the Title Page.

Degree and Graduating Term block

• In partial fulfillment of the requirements
• For the Degree of
• Colorado State University
• Fort Collins, Colorado (do not abbreviate Colorado)

Committee block

• Master’s students will use the heading Master’s Committee:
• Doctoral students will use the heading Doctoral Committee:
• The Master’s Committee and Doctoral Committee headings begin at the left margin.
• One blank line separates the committee heading and the advisor section.
• One blank line separates the advisor and committee section.
• Advisor and committee member names are indented approximately half an inch from the left margin.
• Titles before or after the names of your advisor and your members are not permitted (Examples – Dr., Professor, Ph.D.).

Copyright Page

• A sample copyright page pdf is available here.
• A copyright page is required.
• A copyright page is included in the manuscript immediately after the title page.
• This page is not assigned a number nor counted.
• Center text vertically and horizontally.
• A sample abstract page pdf is available here – refer to the sample page as you read through the format requirements for the abstract.
• Only one abstract is permitted.
• The heading “ Abstract ” is in all capital letters, centered one inch from the top of the page.
• Three blank lines (single-spaced) must be between the “ Abstract ” heading and your title.
• Your title must be in all capital letters and centered.
• The title must match the title on your Title Page and the GS30 – Thesis/Dissertation Submission Form
• Three blank lines (single-spaced) must be between the title and your text.
• The text of your abstract must be double-spaced.
• The first page of the abstract is numbered with a small Roman numeral ii.

Table of Contents

• A sample Table of Contents page pdf is available.
• The heading “ Table of Contents ” is in all capital letters centered one inch from the top of the page.
• Three blank lines (single-spaced) follow the heading.
• List all parts of the document (except the title page) and the page numbers on which each part begins.
• The titles of all parts are worded exactly as they appear in the document.
• Titles and headings and the page numbers on which they begin are separated by a row of dot leaders.
• Major headings are aligned flush with the left margin.
• Page numbers are aligned flush with the right margin.

The text of a thesis features an introduction and several chapters, sections and subsections. Text may also include parenthetical references, footnotes, or references to the bibliography or endnotes.

Any references to journal publications, authors, contributions, etc. on your chapter pages or major heading pages should be listed as a footnote .

• The entire document is 8.5” x 11” (letter) size.
• Pages may be in landscape position for figures and tables that do not fit in “portrait” position.
• Choose one type style (font) and font size and use it throughout the text of your thesis. Examples: Times New Roman and Arial.
• Font sizes should be between 10 point and 12 point.
• Font color must be black. 
• Hyperlinked text must be in blue. If you hyperlink more than one line of text, such as the entire table of contents, leave the text black. 
• Margins are one inch on all sides (top, bottom, left, and right).
• Always continue the text to the bottom margin except at the end of a chapter.

• Please see preliminary page requirements .
• Body and references are numbered with Arabic numerals beginning with the first page of text (numbered 1).
• Page numbers must be centered ½” from the bottom of the page.

Major Headings

• A sample page pdf for major headings and subheadings is available here.
• Use consistent style for major headings.
• Three blank lines (single-spaced) need to be between the major heading and your text.
• Each chapter is started on a new page.
• The References or Bibliography heading is a major heading and the formatting needs to match chapter headings.

Subheadings

• A sample page pdf for major headings and subheadings is available here .
• Style for subheadings is optional but the style should be consistent throughout.
• Subheadings within a chapter (or section) do not begin on a new page unless the preceding page is filled. Continue the text to the bottom of the page unless at the end of a chapter.
• Subheadings at the bottom of a page require two lines of text following the heading and at least two lines of text on the next page.

Running Head

Do not insert a running head.

When dividing paragraphs, at least two lines of text should appear at the bottom of the page and at least two lines of text on the next page.

Hyphenation

The last word on a page may not be divided. No more than three lines in succession may end with hyphens. Divide words as indicated in a standard dictionary.

• The text of the thesis is double-spaced.
• Bibliography or list of reference entries and data within large tables may be single-spaced. Footnotes should be single spaced.
• Footnotes and bibliography or list of reference entries are separated by double-spacing.
• Quoted material of more than three lines is indented and single-spaced. Quoted material that is three lines or fewer may be single-spaced for emphasis.

Poems should be double-spaced with triple-spacing between stanzas. Stanzas may be centered if lines are short.

• Consult a style manual approved by your department for samples of footnotes.
• Footnotes are numbered consecutively throughout the entire thesis.
• Footnotes appear at the bottom of the page on which the reference is made.
• Footnotes are single-spaced.
• Consult a style manual approved by your department for samples of endnotes.
• Endnotes are numbered consecutively throughout the entire thesis.
• Endnotes may be placed at the end of each chapter or following the last page of text.
• The form for an endnote is the same as a footnote. Type the heading “endnote”.

Tables and Figures

• Tables and figures should follow immediately after first mentioned in the text or on the next page.
• If they are placed on the next page, continue the text to the bottom of the preceding page.
• Do not wrap text around tables or figures. Text can go above and/or below.
• If more clarity is provided by placing tables and figures at the end of chapters or at the end of the text, this format is also acceptable.
• Tables and Figures are placed before references.
• Any diagram, drawing, graph, chart, map, photograph, or other type of illustration is presented in the thesis as a figure.
• All tables and figures must conform to margin requirements.
• Images can be resized to fit within margins
• Table captions go above tables.
• Figure captions go below figures.
• Captions must be single spaced.

Landscape Tables and Figures

• Large tables or figures can be placed on the page landscape or broadside orientation.
• Landscape tables and figures should face the right margin (unbound side).
• The top margin must be the same as on a regular page.
• Page numbers for landscape or broadside tables or figures are placed on the 11” side.

Supplementaries

These are the general requirements for all supplementary pages.

• Supplementary pages are arranged as listed under “Organizing and Formatting the Thesis/Dissertation” and numbered consecutively.
• Headings for all supplementary pages are major headings and the formatting style needs to match chapter headings.

References or Bibliography

• The References or Bibliography heading is always a major heading and the formatting style needs to match chapter headings.
• References or Bibliography are ordered after each chapter, or at the end of the text.
• References or Bibliography must start on a new page from the chapter text.
• References are aligned flush with the left margin.
• The style for references should follow the format appropriate for the field of study.
• The style used must be consistent throughout the thesis.
• Appendices are optional and used for supplementary material.
• The Appendices heading is a major heading and the formatting style needs to match chapter headings.
• As an option the appendix may be introduced with a cover page bearing only the title centered vertically and horizontally on the page. The content of the appendix then begins on the second page with the standard one inch top margin.
• Quality and format should be consistent with requirements for other parts of the thesis including margins.
• Page numbers used in the appendix must continue from the main text.

A Foreign Language Thesis

Occasionally, theses are written in languages other than English. In such cases, an English translation of the title and abstract must be included in the document.

• Submit one title page in the non-English language (no page number printed).
• Submit one title page in English (no page number printed).
• Submit one abstract in the non-English language (page number is ii).
• Submit one abstract in English (page number is numbered consecutively from previous page – example: if the last page of the abstract in the foreign language is page ii the first page of the abstract in English is numbered page iii).

Multipart Thesis

In some departments, a student may do research on two or more generally related areas which would be difficult to combine into a single well-organized thesis. The solution is the multi-part thesis.

• Each part is considered a separate unit, with its own chapters, bibliography or list of references, and appendix (optional); or it may have a combined bibliography or list of references and appendix.
• A single abstract is required.
• The pages of a multi-part thesis are numbered consecutively throughout the entire thesis, not through each part (therefore, the first page of Part II is not page 1).
• The chapter numbering begins with Chapter 1 for each part, or the chapters may be numbered consecutively.
• Pagination is consecutive throughout all parts, including numbered separation sheets between parts.
• Each part may be preceded by a separation sheet listing the appropriate number and title.

• UW Libraries Search
• Your Library Account

Thesis & Dissertation Publishing

What support is available for thesis & dissertation publishing.

We can help you with:

• Publishing your thesis or dissertation – or using a publication in a thesis or dissertation
• Using images in theses and dissertations
• Determining what the appropriate access level should be before your thesis or dissertation is made available openly in ResearchWorks
• While we cannot offer explicit legal advice, we can provide you background and context for thinking through questions around fair use, Creative Commons Licenses, and using copyright-protected works

If you need help with any of the topics mentioned above, please reach out to us at: [email protected] .

Learn On-Demand

• Electronic Theses and Dissertations Canvas Course
• In this self-guided course, you will learn how the submission process works, how to give and receive recognition for your work, how to find and interpret publisher policies and how to read and inspect publishing contracts.
• Electronic Theses and Dissertations Guide
• UW Graduate School Thesis/Dissertation Page
• Interdisciplinary Dissertation Writing Group (Simpson Center for the Humanities Graduate Research Cluster)

UW Theses and Dissertations

For many students, the thesis or dissertation represents one of their first forays into publicly disseminating the products of their scholarship. This workshop will help students think through their options for how and when to share their work, including the copyright and publishing considerations they may need to take into account.

Available to: Current students, faculty, and staff

Offered: Quarterly

Next Session: TBA, Watch a Recording of a Previous Workshop

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Division of Student Life and Enrollment

Office of the Registrar

Fall 2024 thesis and dissertation deadlines.

The deadline to submit your final approved thesis/dissertation and final paperwork for Fall 2024 is November 29. There is an all-in-one webform for the approval page and report on the final exam. Additional information, instructions, and links to the forms can be found at: https://registrar.uconn.edu/graduation/ .