University-Wide Requirements for the Ph.D. Dissertation:  Format

Format

Additional information regarding formatting may be found in The Chicago Manual of Style or other style manuals.

Fonts

• Embedded fonts required.
• PostScript Type 1 fonts required.
• Any legible font equivalent in scale to 12pt. Times New Roman accepted.  Script, italic, or ornamental fonts are not acceptable.  However, italicized font may be used for non-English words and quotations.
• Font color must be black, without highlighting.
• Font requirements apply to all text including captions, footnotes, citations, etc.

Line Spacing

• Double-space: abstract, dedication, acknowledgments, table of contents, and body of the dissertation, except for quotations as paragraphs, captions, items in tables, lists, graphs, charts.
• Single-space: footnotes, bibliographic entries (with a line space between each entry), lists in appendices.

Margins

• Left: 1 inch; Right: 1 inch; Top and Bottom: 1 inch
• All material must appear within the margins, including page numbers, figures, footnotes, and full page images.

Page Numbers

• Each page must have a page number printed on it with the exception of the title, copyright, dedication, part-opening, and epigraph pages.  Although page numbers do not appear on these pages, a page number is implied.  Every sheet must be counted for purposes of numbering pages, with no page missing.
• Preliminary pages must be numbered consecutively, using lowercase Roman numerals.  The title page counts as "i" although the page number does not appear on it.
• Regardless of the number of preliminary pages, the first text page must be Arabic numeral "1," and the pagination must continue with consecutive Arabic page numbers throughout the body and the end matter of the dissertation.
• Page numbers must be centered at one inch from the bottom of the page.

Parts of the Dissertation

• An electronic dissertation does not have multiple volumes. 
• Front matter may include a title page, copyright page, dedication, and epigraph.  These initial pages should not be included in the table of contents. They should be followed by the table of contents, next any lists (of tables, figures, illustrations, maps, etc.), then the acknowledgments, and then other preliminary pages.  The table of contents should include everything that follows it, although chapter subheadings are often omitted.
• The body, or text of the dissertation, may include an introduction, chapter one, and subsequent chapters, with figures, tables, and so forth interleaved within the text.  Each chapter must begin on a new page, while sections within chapters should not, except by chance or to prevent the subheading from being the last line of text on a page.
• The end matter may include appendices, a bibliography, and other material.

Title Page

• The layout and style of the title page must follow the model provided by the Dissertation Office.
• The font must be the same as the font used in the rest of the dissertation.
• The month noted must be that of your convocation—December, March, August, or June.

Table of Contents

• All major sections must be listed in the table of contents—front matter (acknowledgments, abstract, preface, lists of tables, figures, maps, abbreviations, etc.), body (opening pages for parts, chapter titles), end matter (appendices, reference lists or bibliographies).
• Title, copyright, dedication, table of contents, and epigraph pages should not be listed in the table of contents.
• Subheadings may appear in the table of contents if this will be useful. Note: if any subheadings are included then all other subheadings of the same level must be included.
• If the dissertation is divided into parts, the division should be noted in the table of contents.  Page numbers should not be listed for separate part-opening pages.
• Titles and page numbers appearing in the table of contents must match the contents of the dissertation exactly.

List of Tables, List of Figures, and Other Lists

• All dissertations with tables, figures, or other images must include a list of tables, a list of figures, and other lists, even if there is just one table, figure, etc. These lists should be placed immediately after the table of contents.  If more than one list is included, each list must begin on a separate page.
• The lists must include the number and title of each table, figure, or other image and the page number on which it begins.  Tables, figures, etc. appearing in appendices must be included on the lists.
• The title of the table or figure may be an abbreviated version of its caption.
• If a table or figure is longer than a page, only the first page should be referenced.

Tables, Figures, and Other Images

• Each table, figure, etc. must have a unique number assigned to it, along with a title or description of the figure or table.  The number and title or description must appear on the first page of the figure or table.
• Captions, legends, tables, figures, and the outer edges of all images must appear inside the margins.
• Captions and legends may be single-spaced.  If they will not fit on the same page as a figure, they may continue onto the second page.  Facing pages are no longer permitted; there are no facing pages in the electronic version of the dissertation.
• If a table or figure continues to a second page, the continuation must be labeled.
• If a table or figure is printed in a broadside (or landscape) orientation, the top of the item must be adjacent to the margin on the left.  The page number location must remain centered at one inch from the bottom of the page, exactly as it appears in a portrait orientation.
• Tables and figures should be interleaved with the text on the same page.  When appropriate, they may be gathered in an appendix, but they must not simply appear at the end of a chapter or bibliography.
• Notes in tables must not be numbered sequentially with other footnotes but should use either symbols or superscript lowercase letters in a sequence that begins anew for each table.
• Notes in tables must appear at the bottom of the table, not the bottom of the page.
• Sources for tables and figures do not require footnotes. If needed, SOURCE, followed by the source, should appear under the line rule at the bottom of the table.  For figures, attribution of source should appear in the caption.
• Students may choose to remove images from their dissertations and retain the caption and identifying information, in accordance with departmental instructions for such removal.

References and Footnotes

• The use of endnotes is discouraged. Internal references and footnotes are preferred.
• Footnote numbering must not be continuous throughout the text.  Each chapter or appendix must begin with footnote 1, with consecutive numbering within the chapter or appendix.
• Numbered footnotes must begin on the same page as the footnote indicator.
• A short line rule called a separator should divide the footnote area from the main text.
• Footnote text should be single-spaced, and footnotes must appear inside the margins.

Appendices

• Separate appendix opening pages may be used when appropriate.
• If there is more than one appendix, each must be identified with a number or letter in addition to the title.
• For each appendix, the title, page number, and appendix number or letter must appear in the table of contents.

Bibliography

• Individual entries should be single-spaced with a line space between each entry.

Supplementary Files

• Materials that cannot be included within the pdf (for example, audio, video and extremely large data sets) may be submitted as supplementary files. Supplementary files must be listed in the table of contents, and a description of the supplementary files should be provided in the abstract.

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