Dissertation & Thesis Formatting

Dissertation & Thesis Formatting Guidelines

Your dissertation/thesis must conform to academic and institutional standards. Please read the following formatting guidelines. These guidelines are to be used in conjunction with the specific style adopted by your academic program.

Because requirements may change over time, you should not use existing library or departmental copies of manuscripts as examples of proper format. Please always check the current format in the Doctoral Handbook, Master's Handbook, General Formatting information (below), and Templates (below).

Please remember: The College of Graduate Studies checks your document for required formatting; we do not edit or read your content. This means that we do not check your citations, spelling, or grammar, and we do not review your document for plagiarism.

Margins

Text may not extend beyond 1-inch for left/right and top/bottom margins for each page. All figures and tables must also conform to these margins. Do not hyphenate words between lines.

Font

- Times New Roman, size 12

Spacing

- Double-spaced throughout the document.

- Right alignment set to ragged edge or right justified.

- Remember to be consistent throughout your document regarding the spacing as well as alignment style chosen.

Page Numbers

- Bottom center

- .5 inches from the bottom

- Times New Roman, font size 12

Preliminary pages of the dissertation/thesis are numbered with lower case Roman numerals starting with the Abstract on page iv. The page numbers should run consecutively throughout the rest of the preliminary pages.

The first page of the body of the narrative text is numbered with an Arabic numeral starting with page 1. The page numbers should run consecutively throughout the remainder of the document.

Page Titles should be in ALL CAPS.

Preliminary page formatting is very detailed and specific. Please be sure to use the available templates provided by the College of Graduate Studies.

MANDATORY Dissertation/Thesis Templates

Thesis Templates:

Dissertation Templates:

LaTeX Templates

Doctor of Nursing Practice Project Template

DNP Template Guide - DNP Template

The title “TABLE OF CONTENTS” should be centered at the top of the page.
The heading “Page” should be used for the column of page numbers.
List the preliminary pages, beginning with the abstract, and include all headings and subheadings used in the manuscript. The Table of Contents should be an entry within the TABLE OF CONTENTS.
All required content (e.g., chapters, certain headings, references) must be included in the TABLE OF CONTENTS.
Tab leaders should be used between the content titles and the page numbers.
Chapter numbers should be in Roman numeral format and capitalized (CHAPTER I, CHAPTER II...).
REFERENCES and APPENDIX should be capitalized.

If a figure or table is included in the manuscript, a List of Tables and/or List of Figures must also be included. The List of Figures and List of Tables should have the same format as the Table of Contents, including the heading “Page” above the column of page numbers.

An example of these pages can be found in the templates (see above). If you have specific questions about formatting, please contact CGS by telephone (361-825-2174) or email (gradcollege@tamucc.edu).

Dissertation & Thesis Formatting Guidelines

Dissertation & Thesis Formatting Guidelines

General Formatting

Templates

Table of Contents, List of Figures, and List of Tables

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