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Dissertation Formatting

Have questions on how to format your thesis or dissertation?

We’ll help you align your document to fit Rackham Graduate School requirements. 

Use our formatting guide

Our Guide to Microsoft Word for Dissertations includes a template you can modify, along with links to the Rackham Dissertation Handbook and formatting checklist. It also covers how to:

• Apply styles to maintain consistency
• Create a table of contents that keeps itself up to date 
• Include properly formatted landscape pages
• Insert page numbers, footnotes, images, figures, and more

LaTeX guidance

Most of our support is based on using Microsoft Word. If you plan to use LaTeX for your thesis or dissertation we recommend starting with  a LaTeX template designed to meet Rackham’s requirements.

We also have  a workshop recording on using LaTeX to format your U-M dissertation .

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We’re happy to discuss your document or help you solve a problem.

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Requirements

Master’s degree.

Coursework Only.  No additional paperwork is necessary to graduate.

Individual Project (ME590).  If ME590 is being taken in the term of graduation, final reports must be provided to the supervising faculty via the  ME590 website  no later than the last day of finals week, the last day of the semester. Individual faculty may require that the reports be completed earlier.

Thesis.  The thesis abstract must be submitted to the Academic Services Office before the last day of classes in the term of graduation. A PDF may be sent to  [email protected] .

Dual Degree Master’s.  Dual degree students must complete the dual degree course election form prior to last day of final exams. Please note that this form must be approved by both departments and may take a few weeks to complete.

“Embedded” Masters. An embedded master’s is a master’s degree awarded “on-the-way” to a PhD in the same program. Direct PhD students (i.e. students without a Master’s degree) will receive an “embedded” master’s along the way. The student should complete the  Online Request for an Embedded Master’s  in order to have the Master’s added to his or her record.

All dissertation requirements must be completed by the deadlines listed below.  More information can be found in the  Dissertation Timeline  and in the Graduate Handbook Dissertation Section .

Deadlines to Apply for Graduation

The deadline for having a name printed in the commencement booklet is early in the term, typically the first weeks of October (fall) and March (Winter).  The ME Graduate Coordinator will also communicate these dates.

• Master’s students should refer to Rackham’s  Master’s Degree Diploma Application Deadlines  page for further information.
• Doctoral students should refer to Rackham’s  Doctoral Degree Deadlines .

In order to graduate, a student must complete all degree requirements by the end of the current term and apply to graduate through  Wolverine Access  in the Student Center.

Commencement

Graduation means having a degree conferred by the Rackham Graduate School at the University of Michigan. Students may graduate in April, December, or August, depending on when the degree requirements are completed.

Commencement is the ceremony celebrating graduation. ME students are eligible to participate in any or all of three separate commencement ceremonies: The  University’s ceremony ,  Rackham’s ceremony , and the  College of Engineering’s ceremony .

Eligibility to participate in Commencement can be found on the University’s Commencement website (see link above).

Diplomas are should arrive to your diploma address approximately 12 weeks after degree conferral. The standard size of a Rackham diploma is 8.5″ x 11″. Degree postings will appear on your official transcript approximately one month after the last day of classes.

The  Registrar’s Office  creates and distributes diplomas.  If you have questions about when your diploma will arrive, if you need to change your diploma address, or have other questions please contact the Registrar’s Office as we do not issue diplomas in the ME Academic Services Office.

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How to Create a Dissertation Timeline (With Examples + Tempate)

When it’s time to start thinking about writing your dissertation, it is vital to put together a dissertation timeline. This will help you map out the months you will be spending on your dissertation, and ensure that you’re staying on track. A specific and detailed dissertation timeline will serve as an outline to guide you, step by step, through what can be a long and challenging process. 

While we often refer to a dissertation in a way that makes it sound like a monolith, in reality, a dissertation consists of many moving parts. A dissertation timeline includes a series of milestones that leads up to the dissertation defense , revisions, and final submission of your dissertation. Constructing an outline of every step in the dissertation process , including rough estimates of how long each will take, will give you a realistic picture of where you are in the process at any given time. 

Before embarking on your dissertation, it is a good idea to meet with your dissertation advisor and sketch out a dissertation timeline that is realistic for the size and scope of your project and includes deadlines. This will provide you with much-needed structure and a sense of what will happen next. To get an idea of what a completed dissertation looks like and the components your program requires, ask to see samples from recent graduates in your department. 

These are a few frequently asked questions about crafting a dissertation timeline: 

• What does a dissertation timeline look like?
• What goes in a dissertation timeline? 
• How structured should a dissertation timeline be?
• What do you do with a dissertation timeline? 

What Does a Dissertation Timeline Look Like? 

One way to think about a dissertation timeline is as a kind of outline. While the outlining process is unique to each writer, there are commonalities shared by all of them. Likewise, when writing a dissertation timeline, you’ll want to include all of the basic elements of your dissertation as well as the amount of time you think you’ll need to execute them. 

The best dissertation timeline format is the one that works for you. Though I’ve reformed somewhat over the years, for a long time I wasn’t a fan of intensely detailed outlines. Many people don’t like outlines. And that’s okay! However, writing a dissertation is not the time to be flying by the seat of your pants. To get started, a simple, linear timeline that projects the amount of time you think you’ll need to write your dissertation will suffice. 

Example Dissertation Timeline

Below, you’ll find an example of a dissertation timeline, which you can view as an image in your browser or download as a spreadsheet. Feel free to use the spreadsheet as a template as you build your own dissertation timeline.

Or download the spreadsheet below:

Inclusion in a Dissertation Timeline

When constructing your dissertation timeline, include every element of the dissertation from the abstract to the conclusion. Keep in mind that you may not be writing your chapters in chronological order. For instance, after completing their first round of research and writing their research question, most graduate students will tackle their literature review next, even though it comes after the abstract and introduction in the final document. 

Depending on the field being studied, most dissertations will also include sections for methodology, results, and discussion. Many programs also require a detailed conclusion that alludes to future research possibilities. Every dissertation also has an extensive list of references (pro tip: write this as you’re writing your dissertation), as well as appendices for charts, graphs, and other ephemera. And don’t forget your acknowledgments! 

Dissertation Timeline Structure

The structure of your dissertation timeline will take shape once you’re engaged in the research process. While a road map may seem like an apt metaphor for a dissertation, once you get started you may notice a lot of starts and stops and circling back. After you’ve begun researching, you may realize that you need to allot more time for digging through the databases, or you may discover that you need to reformulate your research question entirely. 

I’ve seen many of my own graduate students use calendars to great effect, giving themselves hard and fast deadlines to meet. Many students also build out their dissertation timelines as they progress, attaching working drafts of their abstract, introduction, and literature review to their timeline within a giant spreadsheet that links to multiple documents and sources. All of these methods are valid. Devise one that works for you. 

Using a Dissertation Timeline

So once you have a thoughtful, soundly-constructed dissertation timeline, what do you do with it? First, and most importantly, try your best to adhere to it. Check in with your dissertation timeline regularly, and use it to keep yourself on track. Also, make adjustments to it as needed. If you find yourself breezing through your preliminary research but needing a bit more time for your literature review, consult your timeline and adjust accordingly. 

While meeting your deadlines is important, also construct your dissertation timeline with an understanding that many graduate students face delays once they start working on their dissertation. These can include hold-ups at the department or university level in the form of late IRB approval or limited lab space or grant funding that gets cut. Anything can happen, but having a dissertation timeline will help you get back on track as soon as the storm passes. 

In my own experience, I also found my dissertation timeline to be a great document to share and discuss with my dissertation chair and committee. Once I finished my comprehensive exams, I met with members of my dissertation committee and got feedback on my rough dissertation timeline to make sure my goals for submitting my dissertation and graduating were realistic. This also ensured that we were all on the same page. 

When writing a dissertation, timing is everything. Creating a dissertation timeline gives you definitive time limits for research and writing, and it also influences several other major decisions that you’ll need to make. These include preparation to go on the job market, which often coincides with writing your dissertation. There is no doubt that this will be a hectic time in your graduate school career, but having a well-organized dissertation timeline is a good way to keep everything in perspective. 

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Courtney Watson, Ph.D.

Courtney Watson, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of English at Radford University Carilion, in Roanoke, Virginia. Her areas of expertise include undergraduate and graduate curriculum development for writing courses in the health sciences and American literature with a focus on literary travel, tourism, and heritage economies. Her writing and academic scholarship has been widely published in places that include  Studies in American Culture ,  Dialogue , and  The Virginia Quarterly Review . Her research on the integration of humanities into STEM education will be published by Routledge in an upcoming collection. Dr. Watson has also been nominated by the State Council for Higher Education of Virginia’s Outstanding Faculty Rising Star Award, and she is a past winner of the National Society of Arts & Letters Regional Short Story Prize, as well as institutional awards for scholarly research and excellence in teaching. Throughout her career in higher education, Dr. Watson has served in faculty governance and administration as a frequent committee chair and program chair. As a higher education consultant, she has served as a subject matter expert, an evaluator, and a contributor to white papers exploring program development, enrollment research, and educational mergers and acquisitions.

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