iscte master thesis guidelines

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Useful regulations, templates and guidelines for writing thesis, reports and presentations.

Useful Templates

• M.Sc. Thesis  template , in English (Jan. 2024 version)
• Paper  template , in English (Oct. 2017 version)

Guidelines to Write Thesis, Reports & Presentations

Since we all need to write and present our work, giving way to our primary interest in contributing and discussing things, the formatting guidelines follow below, in either Portuguese or English:

• Writing Reports  Guidelines , in English (Nov. 2023 version)
• Presentations  Guidelines , in English (Nov. 2018 version)
• How to Prepare an Excellent Presentation Guidelines , in English (Jan. 2020 version)
• Tips&Tricks for Word , in English (Jun. 2013 version)
• Writing in english handbook for scientific and technical writers

GROWing people, please remember to use them!

Regulations

• IST M.Sc. Thesis   Guidelines for preparing the dissertation , in Portuguese (Sep. 2014 version)
• MEEC Thesis   Regulation , in Portuguese (Nov. 2021 version)
• IST Ph.D. Thesis   Regulation , in Portuguese (Oct. 2009 version)
• PDEEC Thesis   Regulation , in Portuguese (May 2007 version)

Other information

• Finalisation of an M.Sc. Thesis   plan & scheduling , in English (Oct. 2019 version)
• Finalisation of a Ph.D. Thesis   Documentation  (Jan. 2013 version), also available in the  IST website

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Business Analytics

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- The study cycle that leads to a master’s degree includes a mandatory  scientific dissertation or an applied project.

- The dissertation must concern an issue or topic in the domain of knowledge of the master’s. In the dissertation, this issue should be framed within the field by a review of the relevant literature; other components should include the dissertation’s proposed objectives, a description of the work performed, a critical discussion of the results obtained and their comparison to the current state of discipline, as well as a synthesis concluding with suggestions for future research.

- The project should also concern an issue or topic in the domain of knowledge of the master’s and present the outcomes, solutions and recommendations resulting from the experience acquired in its development. It should also include a theoretical grounding, an appropriate methodological justification and a critical analysis of the obtained results.

Rules & Templates

-  Presentation and Graphic Standardization Rules

- Department to which the Master belongs: Department of Quantitative Methods for Management and Economics

-  Capas de tese da Iscte Business School (Português) 

-  Cover templates for Iscte Business School (English)

See here all the MSc in Business Analytics defended theses.

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Centro de estudos sobre a Mudança Socioeconómica e o Território

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DINÂMIA’CET – Iscte, Centre for the Study of Socioeconomic Change and the Territory is an Iscte research unit which combines fundamental and applied research on economic, social and cultural topics. It carries out advanced international research systematically grounded on interdisciplinarity. With the aim of framing a new approach to sustainable development, our research seeks to contribute to the understanding of the contemporary world through the analysis of the contexts, the actors and the consequences of change, with a focus on institutional frameworks, and through extensive recourse to comparative approaches.

CIDADES, Comunidades e Territórios

CIDADES, Comunidades e Territórios is an academic journal in the scientific area of Urban Studies that was established in 2000 by a team of researchers from the former Centre for Territorial Studies, consolidating an acquis of scientific research and academic work at ISCTE-IUL for over twenty years. Its founder and first director was Professor Vítor Matias Ferreira. CIDADES, now in e-journal format, strives to disseminate research and discussions in the scientific area of Urban Studies, seeking to consolidate itself in the academic publishing scene, nationally and internationally, as a reference publication in its field. The orientation of CIDADES is based on the plurality of theoretical perspectives and disciplinary approaches to the analysis of the city, as enshrined in the array of multidisciplinary scientific area of Urban Studies. CIDADES seeks further knowledge about urban problems and policies in order to intervene and, in general, concerning the processes of transformation of cities, communities and territories.​

CIDADES, Comunidades e Territórios is currently indexed by Scopus, SciELO, OpenEdition and other Abstracting and Indexing Services.

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Entre transições:, retrospetivas – transversalidades – perspetivas.

O DINÂMIA’CET-Iscte (DC), Centro de Estudos sobre a Mudança Socioeconómica e o Território, organizou nos dias 1 e 2 de junho de 2021 a conferência Entre Transições – Retrospetivas, Transversalidades, Perspetivas – para celebrar um triplo aniversário: 40 anos do Centro de Estudos Territoriais, 31 anos do DINÂMIA e 10 anos do DINÂMIA’CET unidade orgânica do ISCTE. Analisaram-se as transições para sociedades do futuro através da apreciação crítica de dados recolhidos no longo prazo, aproveitando as lições retiradas de 40 anos de investigação sobre as grandes questões societais emergentes. 

PASSAGENS is an academic magazine edited by DINAMIA'CET, in line with scientific research and academic production at ISCTE-IUL, since 2013. Its founder and director by Paulo Tormenta Pinto which has, since 2022, Alexandra Saraiva and Patrícia Bento d’Almeida as coeditors.

The concept of this magazine is based on a reflection on the unfinished work of Walter Benjamin - Das Pasagen Werk, known as the book of "Passages". The guidance of PASSAGENS is based on the plurality of theoretical perspectives and disciplinary approaches within the multidisciplinary scientific areas of Architecture and Urban Studies. PASSAGENS seeks to deepen knowledge about the processes of transformation of cities, communities, and territories, crossing scientific areas and analyzing current issues linked to urban policies, society and the territory.

PASSAGENS, in paper format, aims to disseminate research and discussions in the scientific area of Architecture and Urban Studies, crossing other scientific areas and lines of investigation from DINÂMIA’CET, valuing the multidisciplinary identity of our Research Unit.

Working Papers & Reports

DINÂMIA’CET-Iscte Working Papers series aims to publish original materials proceeding from ongoing/concluded projects involving the Centre’s researchers. Aside this main calling, D’C Working Papers also disseminate other preparatory work resulting from papers presented to scientific events – conferences, seminars and workshops involving D’C researchers. The Working Paper series coordinator conducts the blind peer-review process, undertaken by area experts. This publication line also encompasses manuscripts by graduate students at Iscte - Instituto Universitário de Lisboa and from DINÂMIA’CET-Iscte partner university institutions.

In any case, DINAMIA’CET-Iscte Working Paper series editor reserves the right to publish or decline publication. All papers accepted for publication may be subject to reviewing according to what peer reviewers and/or the editor indicate.

DINÂMIA’CET Reports – IUL is to publish studies, mainly by students. The reports do not have the traditional structure of a journal article, such as eminently empirical research reports, master thesis, book reviews of works or relevant authors.

All submissions should be sent to the following address: [email protected] . Please check the following document containing our author and referee guidelines.

Coordenação geral: Sérgio Lagoa

Coordenação temática:   Alexandra Saraiva, Ana Costa, Cristina de Sousa, Paulo Marques

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Portuguese journal of social sciences

The Portuguese Journal of Social Science is a peer-reviewed cross-disciplinary journal focusing on research about Portuguese society by scholars of any nationality. However, the journal takes a broad view and accepts articles that are not exclusively devoted to the Portuguese case. We particularly welcome comparative studies.

While the journal concentrates on research articles it operates a flexible policy in respect of other types of submission, including book reviews.

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To pursue a modern view that positions both operations and innovation at the core of the generation of competitive advantage, by developing the business in an integrated holistic way that includes cooperative processes of collective learning that are supported by innovative collaborative alliances targeting a co-creation of value that might call for a reformulation of the product-service relationship.

To be able to independently design, deploy, operate and improve complex interdisciplinary production systems that are leveraged by the technology and that integrate people, materials and financial resources targeting making available quality goods and services in a flexible and efficient way, in such conditions that satisfy the social needs and, in a sustainable, entrepreneur and proactive, but also reliable and ethical way.

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This programme has Double Degree partnerships with the universities listed below.  For more information, click here.

  KEDGE Business School – France (AACSB, EQUIS, AMBA accredited)

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Tongji School of Economics and Management  - China (AACSB, EQUIS, AMBA accredited)

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The Master in Management of Services and Technology (MMST) is a unique advanced educational programme in Technology and Operations Management (TOM) that focuses on both industry and service domains. This programme aims at developing modern, updated, proactive, accountable and socially responsible managers, specifically focused on business operations. Graduates are prepared to excel, to lead, to learn and to become ethical entrepreneurs in any international arena. They might also pursue a career in research by attending the Ph.D. of this line of studies in TOM, where three independent cycles of studies interact and are integrated to extend the previous one.

Finally, the programme promotes both students and their own growth. The MMST has several double degrees,  an excellent opportunity which allows the students to graduate with two diplomas from two Universities (Iscte and a partner university).  

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Students from outside the EU must pay the whole amount of the tuition fee for each year immediately after enrolment, as payments in instalments are not available.

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Master/Doctorate dissertation template for ISCTE-IUL

cmpsoares91/iscte-iul_dissertation_latex_template

Folders and files, repository files navigation, iscte-iul_dissertation_latex_template.

Master/Doctorate dissertation Latex template for ISCTE-IUL (Portugal). If you are a student in ISCTE-IUL and you want to write your dissertation using Latex, this can be a good starting point. This template tries to follow this school's specification that you can get here ( Unfortunatelly updated documents are only available in portuguese ):

• Dissertation guidelines (pt-PT)
• Dissertation guidelines (en-GB)

The instructions to submit your dissertation at ISCTE-IUL are available in the following link:

• Delivery instructions and due dates (Doctorate)
• Delivery instructions and due dates (Master)
• Delivery instructions and due dates (Master - Modification Notice)

For more and up-to-date information please check the Institution's Norms and Rules in English:

• Norms and Rules

###DISCLAIMER: We will not guarantee that this template is 100% correct. We recommend that you talk to your advisors to check it first, and modify or request modifications. We are not responsible for any problem related to your thesis, use this template at your own risk. If any problem is found in the template we will be happy to help and fix it if requested with time . This is a template that was forked from IST's unofficial template, so references to it may be left to change, if you're looking for this template please check samfcmc/ist-dissertation-latex-template .

Advice: Focus on your thesis and not on the template.

Requirements:

• Latex: This will depend on your Operating System. You have to check how to install all Latex packages for your OS. Note: Make sure that the version of Latex that you are installing is the latest one.
• Any text editor (I use Atom in Unix and Notepad++ in Windows)
• language-latex
• Instead of the abovementioned, a Latex specialized editor, such as TexMaker , are easier to setup.

To use this template, you can simply fork this repo and start working on it.

If you don't want to fork, you can download a zip of the repo.

Once you have a copy of this repo, you can start creating sections, add a bibliography, etc.

Some values, for instance, the dissertation's title, are defined in a file called variables.tex . For instance, if you want to change the title, open this file and look for title's definition:

Replace "My Title" by your actual title.

You can also add your own variables. To define a new variable all you need to do is just to add a new line like this:

Replace "VariableName" by its name and "Value" by the actual value. To use this variable in your document:

If you know how to define macros in Latex you can define as many as you want and anyway you want in this file.

The cover file ( cover.tex ) has information such as title, supervisors, examination committee, etc. This file has the cover's layout. The values of title, subtitle, etc are defined in a file called variables.tex . Edit that file according to what makes sense in your dissertation.

Co-advisor name

Some thesis have two advisors instead of just one. If this is your case, open the variables.tex file and look for a variable named HasCoAdvisor and change its value from 0 to 1 like this:

Then, edit his/her name in the same file variables.tex :

Thesis Final Version

There are committee members and a chairperson in the defense of your thesis. However, you don't know who they are before the presentation. The version that you deliver after the presentation is the final one and has this information that was missing before. To have this information in your thesis cover, open variables.tex file and edit the names of the Committee Members and ChairPerson :

Then, in the same file, variables.tex change the value of IsFinalVersion from 0 to 1 :

According to the specification you have to write the abstract in english and portuguese. The english is located at abstract/abstract-en.tex and the portuguese abstract/abstract-pt.tex . Just edit those files.

Acknowledgments

Along the way, some people helped you. If you want to show them some love, this is the right place for it. Open the file acknowledgments/acknowledgments.tex and say thanks to everyone.

Anyway, this is optional. If you don't want to have this on your dissertation, just open variables.tex file and put 0 as the value of the includeAcknowledgments definition:

Also, it would be nice if you buy, at least, a beer to whoever supported you :) (Including the one that provided you this awesome template)

Chapters are located at chapters folder. To create a new chapter, you first need to create a file in this folder. The easiest way to do this, is to create a copy of chapters/new_chapter_template.tex file:

In the new file, change the section's title and label.

Now you just need to include this new chapter in the main file in chapters folder. Open chapters/main.tex file and add the include for the new chapter

Now get some inspiration and write its content.

Image files go to images directory. Place your files here and include them in wherever makes sense.

Bibliography

The bibliography is in a bib file located at bibliography/dissertation.bib . Put your bibliography there and cite it anywhere.

Appendix chapters are located at appendix folder. To create an appendix chapter, create a file in this folder. The easiest way is to copy the new_appendix_chapter_template.tex file.

Edit this file to set the chapter's title and create its content.

Now you have to include this new file in the main file ( appendix/main.tex ). Open it and include the new chapter's file below the appendix beginning

Acronyms definitions are located in the acronyms directory. To add a new acronym in your document you must define the new entry in the acronyms.tex file:

To reference an acronym you can use

to cite the acronym in the singular form, or

if you want to cite the acronym in the plural form.

Glossary definitions are located in the glossary directory. To add a new term in the glossary of your document you must define the new entry in the glossary.tex file:

The most common settings of a glossary entry are the name , description and symbol , as illustrated in this example:

To reference a term defined in your glossary you can use the command \gls{<label>} to cite the term in the singular form, or \glspl{<label>} if you want to cite the term in the plural form. To cite the description or symbol of an entry you can use the \glsdesc{<label>} and \glssymbol{<label>} .

Since this is not mandatory, by default, it is not being included. If you want to include it in your dissertation, just set the value of includeGlossary variable in variables.tex file to 1 .

Add extra stuff to the preamble

Some thesis require more packages or you might want to define your own commands. Instead of adding stuff to the dissertation.tex file you can use the extra_stuff.tex file. Here you can add everthing you need. For instance, if you want to use minted package to have syntax highlight for code snippets, you can introduce the needed usepackage to this file. Like this:

You have some ways to create the final pdf:

Using the text editor

It depends on the text editor you are using. If you are using atom and the latex plugin, just press Ctrl + Alt + B

Using the provided scripts

If you have the complete Latex environment installed, you can run the toPDF.sh script to generate the PDF ( dissertation.pdf ):

To clean all the mess (files generated by the compilation process), you can run clean.sh script:

Using Grunt

Using Grunt is optional, but if you choose to use these option you will make the development of you document much more efficient, since that each time that a .tex file is saved, the whole document is compiled again. The requirements to use Grunt are:

After install this components you need to change to the project's root directory and install the project dependencies by running:

And then you already can run Grunt:

Now you can edit you LaTex document. When you save the changes, your document will be compiled automatically.

NOTE: If you are using grunt you must not delete the toPDF.sh and clean.sh because it uses those scripts.

Using the Makefile

There is a Makefile in the project's root. If you have pdflatex and bibtex executables available on your 'Path' you can use this make file. Simply run:

To clean all the mess generated by the compilation process you can run:

Using an online tool

If you don't want to install anything and just want to use an online editor you can also use this template.

For instance, Overleaf is a latex online editor. You just need to create an account and import the files on this template to it.

You can use any other online latex editor, but it must support glossaries package, that is being used to generate the acronyms list.

Contribute ;)

Thanks to @mvpgomes that started this template and did most of the work. I am just publishing it on github and improving its structure a bit.

If you notice that something is missing, you can open an issue and make a pull request. Feel free to contribute :)

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/images/cornell/logo35pt_cornell_white.svg" alt="iscte master thesis guidelines"> Cornell University --> Graduate School

Required sections, guidelines, and suggestions.

Beyond those noted on the Formatting Requirements page , the Graduate School has no additional formatting requirements. The following suggestions are based on best practices and historic requirements for dissertations and theses but are not requirements for submission of the thesis or dissertation. The Graduate School recommends that each dissertation or thesis conform to the standards of leading academic journals in your field.

For both master’s and doctoral students, the same basic rules apply; however, differences exist in some limited areas, particularly in producing the abstract and filing the dissertation or thesis.

• Information in this guide that pertains specifically to doctoral candidates and dissertations is clearly marked with the term “ dissertation ” or “ doctoral candidates .”
• Information pertaining specifically to master’s candidates and theses is clearly marked with the term “ thesis ” or “ master’s candidates .”
• All other information pertains to both.

Examples of formatting suggestions for both the dissertation and thesis are available as downloadable templates .

Required? Yes.

Suggested numbering: Page included in overall document, but number not typed on page.

The following format for your title page is suggested, but not required.

• The title should be written using all capital letters, centered within the left and right margins, and spaced about 1.5 inches from the top of the page. (For an example, please see the template .)
• Carefully select words for the title of the dissertation or thesis to represent the subject content as accurately as possible. Words in the title are important access points to researchers who may use keyword searches to identify works in various subject areas.
• Use word substitutes for formulas, symbols, superscripts, Greek letters, etc.
• Below the title, at the vertical and horizontal center of the margins, place the following five lines (all centered):

Line 1: A Dissertation [or Thesis]

Line 2: Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School

Line 3: of Cornell University

Line 4: in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of

Line 5: Doctor of Philosophy [or other appropriate degree]

• Center the following three lines within the margins:

Line 2: Primary or Preferred Name [as registered with the University Registrar’s Office and displayed in Student Center]

Line 3: month and year of degree conferral [May, August, December; no comma between month and year]

Copyright Page

Suggested numbering: Page included in overall document, but number not typed on page

The following format for your copyright page is suggested, but not required.

• A notice of copyright should appear as the sole item on the page centered vertically and horizontally within the margins: © 20__ [Primary or Preferred Name [as registered with the University Registrar’s Office]. Please note that there is not usually a page heading on the copyright page.
• The copyright symbol is a lowercase “c,” which must be circled. (On Macs, the symbol is typed by pressing the “option” and “g” keys simultaneously. If the font does not have the © symbol, type the “c” and circle it by hand. On PCs, in the insert menu, choose “symbol,” and select the © symbol.)
• The date, which follows the copyright symbol, is the year of conferral of your degree.
• Your name follows the date.

Required?  Yes.

Suggested numbering: Page(s) not counted, not numbered

Abstract formats for the doctoral dissertation and master’s thesis differ greatly. The Graduate School recommends that you conform to the standards of leading academic journals in your field.

Doctoral candidates:

• TITLE OF DISSERTATION
• Student’s Primary or Preferred Name, Ph.D. [as registered with the University Registrar’s Office]
• Cornell University 20__ [year of conferral]
• Following the heading lines, begin the text of the abstract on the same page.
• The abstract states the problem, describes the methods and procedures used, and gives the main results or conclusions of the research.
• The abstract usually does not exceed 350 words in length (about one-and-one-half correctly spaced pages—but not more than two pages).

Master’s candidate:

• In a thesis, the page heading is simply the word “ABSTRACT” in all capital letters and centered within the margins at the top of the page. (The thesis abstract does not display the thesis title, author’s name, degree, university, or date of degree conferral.)
• The abstract should state the problem, describe the methods and procedures used, and give the main results or conclusions.
• The abstract usually does not exceed 600 words in length, which is approximately two-and-one-half to three pages of correctly spaced typing.
• In M.F.A. theses, an abstract is not required.

Biographical Sketch

Suggested numbering: iii (may be more than one page)

• Type number(s) on page(s).

The following content and format are suggested:

• The biographical sketch is written in third-person voice and contains your educational background. Sometimes additional biographical facts are included.
• As a page heading, use “BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH” in all capital letters, centered on the page.
• Number this page as iii.

Required? Optional.

Suggested numbering: iv (may be more than one page)

The dedication page is not required and can contain whatever text that you would like to include. Text on this page does not need to be in English.

Acknowledgements

Suggested numbering: v (may be more than one page)

The following content and format are suggested, not required.

• The acknowledgements may be written in first-person voice. If your research has been funded by outside grants, you should check with the principal investigator of the grant regarding proper acknowledgement of the funding source. Most outside funding sources require some statement of acknowledgement of the support; some also require a disclaimer from responsibility for the results.
• As a page heading, use “ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS” in all capital letters, centered on the page.

Table of Contents

Suggested numbering: vi (may be more than one page)

The following are suggestions.

• As a page heading, use “TABLE OF CONTENTS” in all capital letters and centered on the page.
• List the sections/chapters of the body of the dissertation or thesis. Also, list preliminary sections starting with the biographical sketch. (Title page, copyright page, and abstract are not listed.)
• For theses and dissertations, the conventional format for page numbers is in a column to the right of each section/chapter title. The first page of each chapter/section is stated with a single number. Table of contents usually do not include a range of page numbers, such as 7-22.
• The table of contents is often single-spaced.

Two-Volume Theses or Dissertations

If the dissertation or thesis consists of two volumes, it is recommended, but not required, that you list “Volume II” as a section in the table of contents.

List of Figures, Illustrations, and Tables

Suggested numbering: vii (may be more than one page)

• If included, type number(s) on page(s).

As described in the formatting requirements above, figures and tables should be consecutively numbered. The Graduate School recommends that you conform to the styles set by the leading academic journals in your field. The items below are formatting suggestions based on best practices or historic precedents.

Table of contents format:

• As a page heading, use “LIST OF FIGURES,” “LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS,” or “LIST OF TABLES” in all capital letters, centered on the page.
• There should be separate pages for “LIST OF FIGURES,” “LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS,” or “LIST OF TABLES” even if there is only one example of each.
• The list should contain enough of the titles or descriptions so readers can locate items using the list. (It may not be necessary to include entire figure/illustration/table captions.)
• The list should contain the page number on which each figure, illustration, or table is found, as in a table of contents.
• The list of figures/illustrations/tables may be single-spaced.

Page format:

• Figures/illustrations/tables should be placed as close as possible to their first mention in the text. They may be placed on a page with no text above or below, or placed directly into the text. If a figure/illustration/table is placed directly into the text, text may appear above or below the figure/illustration/table; no text may wrap around the figure/illustration/table.
• If a figure/illustration/table appears on a page without other text, it should be centered vertically within the page margins. Figures/illustrations/tables should not be placed at the end of the chapter or at the end of the dissertation or thesis.
• Figure/illustration/table numbering should be either continuous throughout the dissertation or thesis, or by chapter (e.g. 1.1, 1.2; 2.1, 2.2, etc.). The word “Figure,” “Illustration,” or “Table” must be spelled out (not abbreviated), and the first letter must be capitalized.
• A caption for a figure/illustration should be placed at the bottom of the figure/illustration. However, a caption for a table must be placed above the table.
• If the figure/illustration/table, not including the caption, takes up the entire page, the figure/illustration/table caption should be placed alone on the preceding page and centered vertically and horizontally within the margins. (When the caption is on a separate page, the List of Figures or List of Illustrations or List of Tables can list the page number containing the caption.)
• If the figure/illustration/table, not including the caption, takes up more than two pages, it should be preceded by a page consisting of the caption only. The first page of the figure/illustration/table must include the figure/illustration/table (no caption), and the second and subsequent pages must also include, at the top of the figure/illustration/table, words that indicate its continuance—for example, “Figure 5 (Continued)”—and on these pages the caption is omitted.
• If figures/illustrations/tables are too large, they may be reduced slightly so as to render a satisfactory product or they must either be split into several pages or be redone. If a figure/illustration/table is reduced, all lettering must be clear, readable, and large enough to be legible. All lettering, including subscripts, must still be readable when reduced 25% beyond the final version. All page margin requirements must be maintained. Page numbers and headings must not be reduced.
• While there are no specific rules for the typographic format of figure/illustration/table captions, a consistent format should be used throughout the dissertation or thesis.
• The caption of a figure/illustration/table should be single-spaced, but then captions for all figures/illustrations/tables must be single-spaced.
• Horizontal figures/illustrations/tables should be positioned correctly—i.e., the top of the figure/illustration/table will be at the left margin of the vertical page of the dissertation or thesis (remember: pages are bound on the left margin). Figure/illustration/table headings/captions are placed with the same orientation as the figure/illustration/table when they are on the same page as the figure/illustration/table. When they are on a separate page, headings and captions are always placed in vertical orientation, regardless of the orientation of the figure/illustration/table. Page numbers are always placed as if the figure/illustration/table was vertical on the page.

Photographs should be treated as illustrations. To be considered archival, photographs must be black-and-white. (If actual color photographs are necessary, they should be accompanied by black-and-white photographs of the same subject.) Color photos obtained digitally do not need to be accompanied by a black-and-white photograph. Make a high-resolution digital version of each photograph and insert it into your electronic document, following the guideline suggestions for positioning and margins.

Optional Elements

List of abbreviations.

As a page heading, use “LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS” in all capital letters, centered on the page.

List of Symbols

As a page heading, use “LIST OF SYMBOLS” in all capital letters, centered on the page.

Suggested numbering: xi (may be more than one page)

As a page heading, use “PREFACE” in all capital letters, centered on the page.

Body of the Dissertation or Thesis: Text

Suggested numbering: Begin page number at 1

• Text (required)
• Appendix/Appendices (optional)
• Bibliography, References, or Works Cited (required)

Please note that smaller font size may be appropriate for footnotes or other material outside of the main text. The following suggestions are based on best practice or historic precedent, but are not required.

• Chapter headings may be included that conform to the standard of your academic field.
• Textual notes that provide supplementary information, opinions, explanations, or suggestions that are not part of the text must appear at the bottom of the page as footnotes. Lengthy footnotes may be continued on the next page. Placement of footnotes at the bottom of the page ensures they will appear as close as possible to the referenced passage.

Appendix (or Appendices)

An appendix (-ces) is not required for your thesis or dissertation. If you choose to include one, the following suggestions are based on best practice or historic precedent.

• As a page heading, use “APPENDIX” in all capital letters, centered on the page.
• Place in an appendix any material that is peripheral, but relevant, to the main text of the dissertation or thesis. Examples could include survey instruments, additional data, computer printouts, details of a procedure or analysis, a relevant paper that you wrote, etc.
• The appendix may include text that does not meet the general font and spacing requirements of the other sections of the dissertation or thesis.

Bibliography (or References or Works Cited)

A bibliography, references, or works cited is required for your thesis or dissertation. Please conform to the standards of leading academic journals in your field.

• As a page heading, use “BIBLIOGRAPHY” (or “REFERENCES” or “WORKS CITED”) in all capital letters, centered on the page. The bibliography should always begin on a new page.
• Bibliographies may be single-spaced within each entry but should include 24 points of space between entries.

Suggested numbering: Continue page numbering from body

If you choose to include a glossary, best practices and historic precedent suggest using a page heading, use “GLOSSARY” in all capital letters, centered on the page.

Suggested numbering: Continue page numbering from glossary

If you choose to include one, best practices and historic precedent suggest using a page heading, use “INDEX” in all capital letters, centered on the page.

Font Samples

Sample macintosh fonts.

• Palatino 12
• Garamond 14
• New Century School Book
• Helvetica 12 or Helvetica 14
• Times New Roman 12
• Times 14 (Times 12 is not acceptable)
• Symbol 12 is acceptable for symbols

Sample TeX and LaTeX Fonts

• CMR 12 font
• Any font that meets the above specifications

Sample PC Fonts

• Helvetica 12

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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]