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Thesis / dissertation formatting manual (2024).

• Filing Fees and Student Status
• Submission Process Overview
• Electronic Thesis Submission
• Paper Thesis Submission
• Formatting Overview
• Fonts/Typeface
• Pagination, Margins, Spacing
• Paper Thesis Formatting
• Preliminary Pages Overview
• Copyright Page
• Dedication Page
• Table of Contents
• List of Figures (etc.)
• Acknowledgements
• Text and References Overview
• Figures and Illustrations
• Using Your Own Previously Published Materials
• Using Copyrighted Materials by Another Author
• Open Access and Embargoes
• Copyright and Creative Commons
• Ordering Print (Bound) Copies
• Tutorials and Assistance
• FAQ This link opens in a new window

UCI Libraries maintains the following  templates to assist in formatting your graduate manuscript. If you are formatting your manuscript in Microsoft Word, feel free to download and use the template. If you would like to see what your manuscript should look like, PDFs have been provided. If you are formatting your manuscript using LaTex, UCI maintains a template on OverLeaf.

• Annotated Template (Dissertation) 2024 PDF of a template with annotations of what to look out for
• Word: Thesis Template 2024 Editable template of the Master's thesis formatting.
• PDF Thesis Template 2024
• Word: Dissertation Template 2024 Editable template of the PhD Dissertation formatting.
• PDF: Dissertation Template 2024
• Overleaf (LaTex) Template
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• Last Updated: May 31, 2024 9:34 AM
• URL: https://guides.lib.uci.edu/gradmanual

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Graduate Studies

Thesis and dissertation formatting guidelines.

The following format guidelines are intended to help you prepare your master’s thesis or doctoral dissertation and should be used in conjunction with the specific style adopted by your academic program. It is your responsibility to conform to the following format requirements and ensure that your manuscript’s presentation is of the highest quality. Because requirements may change over time, students should not use existing library or departmental copies of manuscripts as examples of proper format.

Graduate Studies strongly suggests that your committee chair review a draft of your entire manuscript before you electronically submit it to the UNM Digital Repository.

The Manuscript Coordinator is available to help you with issues related to format. You may contact the Manuscript Coordinator at (505) 277-1206 or by email, [email protected] . If you are calling from out of state, you may call 1-800-225-5866, press 5 for the Graduate Office and ask to speak to the Manuscript Coordinator. Please click on each section below for more information.

Note: Paid editing and/or formatting services are available from people not employed by the Graduate Studies office. Check the bulletin board located outside the Manuscript Coordinator's office at Graduate Studies, Humanities Building, Room 107, for listings.

General Regulations

Rights of the author and the university:.

Your graduate unit has the right to require that you provide them with a copy of your thesis or dissertation, and that certain original records and materials be retained as the property of the University. Publication rights to the thesis or dissertation are reserved to you as the author.

Deadline Dates

The final version of your thesis or dissertation must be submitted to Graduate Studies by:

• November 15 for Fall (Check with Graduate Studies for the date of graduation)
• April 15 for Spring (Check with Graduate Studies for the date of graduation)
• July 15 for Summer (Check with Graduate Studies for date of graduation)

Writing a Thesis or Dissertation in a Language Other than English

With the approval of a student’s thesis or dissertation committee and the Dean of Graduate Studies, a manuscript may be written in a language other than English. However, the manuscript must be accompanied by an abstract in English approved by the committee.

Accompanying Forms

The following forms must be submitted before your manuscript will be accepted by the Dean of Graduate Studies.

• A Certificate of Final Form : You must submit this with your manuscript.
• An Information Cover Sheet : This is a Graduate Studies form that is submitted before electronic manuscript submission.
• A "Survey of Earned Doctorate" (doctoral students only excluding MFA/EDD) - the survey is completed  online .
• A Doctoral Dissertation Agreement Form-University Microfilms International (UMI) booklet entitled "Publishing your Dissertation" (see below): This is required for dissertation students only, and is optional for thesis students. The form is completed online .
• If your department requires, a  Report on Thesis or Dissertation  ("gray sheet"), completed by each member of your committee: These are often sent separately after the defense by the graduate unit; if given to the student for submission with the manuscript, they should be sealed in an envelope by the graduate unit and marked "Confidential." Ask your department for more information.

You may use the template for the front matter pages, on our  Templates Page .

Submitting to ProQuest (Doctoral Students Only)

If you are a doctoral candidate (excluding MFA/EDD), you are required to have your dissertation published by ProQuest (formally known as UMI). This will bring your work to the attention of researchers in your field in a variety of ways. Your abstract will appear in Dissertation Abstracts International, which is considered the authoritative source for concise summaries of current doctoral research. Your entire dissertation will be published by ProQuest.

ProQuest Publishing does not require payment of a registration fee for doctoral students who submit via the ProQuest ETD Administrator website.  Doctoral students must select the "traditional publishing" option and not the "open access" option to activate the no registration fee feature, otherwise they will be charged as shown below.

Students are responsible for the associated fee, which is currently $65 for traditionally published dissertations that are not submitted via the ProQuest ETD Administrator website and $160 for open access dissertations; $55 for traditionally published and $150 for open access theses. Both the ProQuest registration form and fee must be submitted with your dissertation electronically. The registration fee is payable by credit card.

ProQuest provides copyrighting of dissertations as a supplementary service when the work is being registered with them. The current fee for copyrighting is $65.

The publication or copyrighting of master’s theses by ProQuest is optional.

Registering Your Copyright

Registering your copyright in your thesis or dissertation is optional. Under current United States copyright law, the moment you reduce a work to a tangible medium (i.e., write it on paper, save on hard drive or other storage device, take the photograph, record the music, etc.) your thesis or dissertation is copyrighted. This applies to unpublished manuscripts as well. There is no longer the need to register your work for copyright. Furthermore, there is no longer the requirement of putting a copyright notice on a work for it to be copyrighted. You may register your copyright either by having ProQuest do so (see above) or on your own by submitting a registration form, which you can pick up at Zimmerman Library Government Publications or download from US Copyright Office's web page, with a check for $35, and two copies of your thesis or dissertation. Additional information can be obtained by calling 202-287-8700 or visiting the US Copyright Office website .

Including Copyrighted Material in Your Manuscript

You should remember that if you quote or otherwise reproduce in your thesis or dissertation material previously copyrighted by another author, beyond brief excerpts, you must obtain written permission from the copyright owner. Keep in mind that if a work was created in or after 1989, there is no requirement that it have a copyright notice to be copyrighted. This includes foreign works and foreign works for which the copyright has been reinstated pursuant to international treaty.

Copyright law is extremely complex and it can be difficult to determine what action you need to take and where to begin looking for permissions. The web sites listed below contain a great deal of information and have been helpful to students. Graduate Studies does not provide copyright advisement.

• The Copyright Clearance Center
• U.S. Copyright Office Home Page
• (ProQuest) Copyright and Your Dissertation or Thesis - Ownership, Fair Use, and Your Rights and Responsibilities  
• The University of Texas at Austin Copyright Crash Course
• UNM Office of University Counsel
• Boston College Information on Copyright

Preparing Your Manuscript

All manuscript pages must be 8.5"x11" ("letter size"). 

The left margin of each page must be 1 1/4 or 1 1/2 inches, and the top, right, and bottom margins 1 inch. Additional information is available  here .

Placement of Page Numbers

There are only two ways to paginate your manuscript: upper right hand corner and bottom center. If your page numbers are at the bottom, leave two blank line spaces between the last line of text and the line on which the page number is placed. Whether they are at the top or the bottom, page numbers should appear just outside the 1-inch margins (.5 to .8 inches from the top or bottom edge of the page. Whichever method of pagination is selected, it must be followed consistently. Use lower-case Roman numerals for the front matter (which is all pages before the body of research), create section break and continue (beginning again with page "1") with Arabic numerals for the remainder of the manuscript, including the text, illustrations, appendices and references. Additional information is available here . 

Type and Font

Your manuscript should be double-spaced (one and a half spaces can be used if approved by the chair of your committee) and single-sided. References may be single-spaced with a double space between each reference. Indented quotations may also be single-spaced. Use a professional quality font (e.g., Arial, Times Roman, Courier or Helvetica). Font size for your text should be 12 point; headings may be up to 14 point. Fonts for tables, figures, and appendices may range from 8 to 12 point.

The style of your thesis or dissertation may follow any one of many standard style guides, as preferred by your graduate unit, or the style considered standard in your particular discipline. You should consult your advisor for preferences or additional requirements your department may have. In any case, your manuscript must be internally consistent.

Thesis or dissertation manuscripts are generally divided into three sections: the Front Matter, the Body of Research, and the Reference Matter. Detailed information about each section is provided below.

Front Matter

For a visual reference to format the Front Matter, reference the examples of completed front matter here . A  Thesis Example  and a  Dissertation Example  will help you format the Front Matter for pagination and the placement of the proper order of the Front Matter pages.

Approval Page

The Approval Page is the first page of the Front Matter and the manuscript. Count this as page "i". Type the names of the committee members on the lines provided at the center of the page. No signatures are required. Additional information is available  here .

The Title page contains the title of your manuscript, your name, your previous degrees (including your majors, institutions and years centered on the page). Count the title page as page "ii". The degree you will be receiving at UNM, and the month and year of your graduation should be listed toward the bottom of the page (check with Graduate Studies for the graduation date). When listing the degree to be awarded, please refer to the Master’s and Doctoral  Degree List . Do not use abbreviations. Additional information is available  here . 

Dedication Page

(Optional) This is an optional page. If you use one, number it in appropriate sequence with a lower-case Roman numeral. The title must be in capital letters, centered just below the top margin of the page. The dedication itself may be single or double-spaced.

Acknowledgement Page

(Optional) This is also an optional page. If you use one, number it in appropriate sequence with a lower-case Roman numeral. The title must be in capital letters, centered just below the top margin of the page. The acknowledgment itself may be single or double-spaced.

Abstract Page

On the Abstract page first list the title of your manuscript, your name, all degrees you have already earned (in chronological order), and the degree to be awarded. These lines should be centered on the page, beginning just below the top margin. Then double-space, and on the following line, center the word ABSTRACT. Double-space again before beginning the text of your abstract. Use paragraph indentation as appropriate. The text itself should be either one and a half spaces or double-spaced. Number the Abstract Page in appropriate sequence with a lower-case Roman numeral.

Dissertation/Thesis abstracts are limited to 150 words. 

Table of Contents

The Table of Contents page is counted and numbered with a lower-case Roman numeral. If you have used a List of Figures (optional) and/or a List of Tables (optional) , they must be included in your Table of Contents. Tab leaders should be used between the heading levels and the page numbers. (DO NOT simply type dots across the page--the spacing will not work properly. Instead, set a dot leader tab. Check "dot leader tab" in Microsoft Word in the "help" for more information. If you have multiple appendices, they must each be listed (see section on Appendices).

List of Figures

(If Applicable) Use a separate page after the Table of Contents. This page is counted and numbered with a lower-case Roman numeral. It may be single- or double-spaced. Tab leaders should be used between the title of the figures and page the numbers. This page should be listed at the beginning of the Table of Contents.

List of Tables

(If Applicable) Use a separate page after the Table of Contents. This page is counted and numbered with a lower-case Roman numeral. It may be single- or double-spaced. Tab leaders should be used between the title of the tables and the page numbers. This page should be listed after the List of Figures at the beginning of the Table of Contents.

Preface Page

(Optional) This page is counted and numbered with a lower-case Roman numeral.

Body of Research

Beginning with the first page of text in the Body of Research (begin again with page "1"), pages are numbered with sequential Arabic numerals through the end of your manuscript. Each chapter/major division of the text must start on a new page. Each of these lead pages should be counted and numbered.

Figures may include diagrams, charts, drawings, schematics, photographs, etc. Each of the two required copies of your manuscript must contain its own original figures, with the exception of photographs, in which case both may be high-quality copies either in color or black and white. Figures should be inserted as near as reasonably possible to the text to which they relate. They should be numbered consecutively with Arabic numerals as part of the continuing text.

Figures and their captions must appear on the same page, within the required margins. If captions are more than one line long, they may be single-spaced. They should be placed on paper of the same size and weight as the rest of the manuscript. Colored materials are acceptable, but since color does not reproduce on microfilm, an alternate key should be provided if it will be needed for interpretation of the figure in black and white.

Tables that are a half-page or shorter in size may be placed at the top or the bottom of the page, or in the center, with text above and below. Tables may also be placed alone on the page immediately following the page that refers to them. The placement of tables should be consistent throughout the manuscript. Tables continuing for more than one page should be labeled [e.g., Table 1 (cont.)], and oversized tables should be treated in the same way as oversized figures (see above).

Reference Matter

Reference Matter may include notes to the text, appendices, a glossary, a list of references, and an index. The appendices and references are the two most commonly used categories. Detailed information about these sections is provided below.

The appendix (or a series of appendices) usually follows the main text, and contains material that is useful for a detailed review of the study, but is not essential to an understanding of the text. For example, an appendix is the appropriate section in which to place material such as raw data, the results of individual laboratory analyses, or sample forms. This may be useful supporting data even though it is not specifically utilized in the text. Note, however, that some reference should be made in the text to the fact that these materials appear in the appendix. The pages of the appendices are numbered in sequence with those of the text. Although it is preferable, you do not have to meet margin requirements for the material in your appendix, except for the left-hand margin.

After the last page of text, include a list of appendices on a separate page. Individual appendices should start on a separate page and should be clearly marked.

The list of appendices should also be included in the Table of Contents. To list appendices in your Table of Contents, use "Appendices" as your major heading. On the next line, indent five spaces, and begin listing each appendix with its title (e.g., "Appendix A. Survey Data") and page number.

No manuscript is complete without a full listing of the necessary bibliographic information about the sources upon which the study is based. In most cases, only those sources actually cited in the study are listed. This section will be called "List of References", "References Cited", or simply "References", and all pages are counted and numbered. The list is most often arranged alphabetically, although it may follow some other logical plan. It will follow the appendices.

Formatting Aids

Ms word template.

Templates for the Front Matter of your manuscript are available at the Front Matter Templates  section of this site. This page also includes samples of completed front and reference material. This section is a valuable visual reference to format the Front Matter with the proper lowercase Roman numeral pagination.

LaTeX Style

The LaTeX Style is popular with specific research disciplines, such as Engineering and the Math sciences. For a LaTeX Style File for formatting theses and dissertations, connect to  LaTeX Template and Style Files . 

Please note that computer-generated manuscripts are subject to the same formatting requirements as other manuscripts.

Common Problems

The problems listed below are among the most common, but manuscripts can be returned for other problems as well.

Formatting on Front Matter is very detailed. Make sure that formatting matches examples (especially red-bordered pages) and that pages are numbered correctly. (A sample of completed Front Matter is available on this web site.)

Margins for the entire manuscript must be:

• Left: 1.25 or 1.5 inches
• Top, Right, Bottom: 1 inch

Exceptions: Top, right and bottom margins may vary in the Appendix pages, but the left margin must be 1.25 or 1.5 inches throughout the ENTIRE manuscript (including Front Matter, References, and Appendices). Page numbers in the Appendices must also appear consistently as in the rest of the manuscript.

Landscape-oriented Figures and Tables

Margin requirements must be met, and page numbers must be placed consistently as in the rest of the manuscript.

Table of Contents/Headings & Subheadings

Your Table of Contents will be checked against the body of your manuscript.

• Page numbers must be correct.
• All headings and subheadings that appear at the same level should have the same appearance in the body of the manuscript and be distinguished from other heading-levels by appearance or numbering.
• All headings and subheadings (as many levels as you include in the Table of Contents) should appear in the Table of Contents. If you have some third-level headings in the Table of Contents, then ALL third-level subheadings should appear in the Table of Contents.
• The major section headings (usually Chapter headings) should each begin on a new page. Other levels should not be started on a new page.

All required manuscript forms must be submitted to Graduate Studies manuscript coordinator before submitting manuscript to UNM Digital Repository by graduate degree deadline. The forms to be submitted are attached below.

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Preparation and Submission

The University of New Mexico encourages open access to all theses and dissertations produced for graduate degrees. Therefore, all theses and dissertations are submitted electronically in PDF format to Graduate Studies. These electronically submitted theses and dissertations (ETDs) are uploaded on a server housed in the UNM Digital Repository, where they are accessible for search and download through web search engines such as Google.  In most cases, students submitting ETDs benefit from having their work available in the open access repository. In some special cases, however, students may want to delay making their work available for varying lengths of time.  For this reason, UNM has implemented an embargo policy that enables students, with approval from their advisers and Graduate Studies, to delay public-wide access to their work in the UNM Digital Repository. While under embargo the manuscript nonetheless remains available to the University of New Mexico academic community in order to satisfy requirements for the degree. Before submitting your thesis or dissertation, please consult with your committee chair and review the embargo restriction policy to determine whether or not you should release your work to open access or petition for an appropriate embargo option. If the decision is made to request an embargo restriction then the form must be submitted to Graduate Studies at the same time as you submit the  Announcement of Examination form   at least two weeks before your dissertation defense.

Steps for Submitting Your Manuscript

Once your thesis or dissertation committee approves your final manuscript and you have made all necessary revisions and corrections, you are ready to submit your work as a single pdf file to the  UNM Digital Repository  and, for dissertation writers, the  ProQuest ETD Administrator archive  following the  instructions below . At the minimum, you must submit your thesis or dissertation to Graduate Studies within (90) ninety days of your final defense or by the graduation deadline for the term in which you are graduating, whichever comes first.

Submission Instructions by Degree:

• Doctorate of Education
• Doctorate of Philosophy
• Master of Fine Arts
• Master of Arts or Master of Science

Note: You must submit the manuscript as a pdf file, thus you will need to convert your Microsoft Word document or any other document to the pdf format. As of May 2011, Graduate Studies has learned that when using either a PC or Macintosh platform with recent versions of Microsoft Office you may lose some formatting when converting your Word document into pdf or when submitting your pdf document to the UNM Digital Repository. To protect against such problems, it is important that you create and save all changes to your document on the same computer platform and using the same version of Microsoft Office. Thus, when you complete your final manuscript do not shift between computers and different versions of Word. If you encounter these problems, contact the Manuscript Coordinator at Graduate Studies for assistance.

Steps to Create Your Manuscript (Microsoft Word)

If you need help creating a single file for your manuscript,  click here .

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Thesis Writing and Filing

The following guidelines are only for master’s students. If you are pursuing a doctoral degree, please see the Dissertation Filing Guide .

Filing your master’s thesis at the Graduate Division is one of the final steps leading to the award of your graduate degree. Your manuscript is a scholarly presentation of the results of the research you conducted. UC Berkeley upholds the tradition that you have an obligation to make your research available to other scholars. This is done when the Graduate Division submits your manuscript to the University Library.

Your faculty committee supervises the intellectual content of your manuscript and your committee chair will guide you on the arrangement within the text and reference sections of your manuscript. Consult with your committee chair early in the preparation of your manuscript.

The specifications in the following pages were developed in consultation with University Library. These standards assure uniformity in the degree candidates’ manuscripts to be archived in the University Library, and ensure as well the widest possible dissemination of student-authored knowledge.

Research Protocols

Eligibility, fall and spring semesters, summer filing, formatting your manuscript, special page formats, organizing your manuscript, procedure for filing your thesis, permission to include previously published or co-authored material, inclusion of publishable papers or article-length essays, withholding your thesis, changes to a thesis after filing, diploma, transcript, and certificate of completion, certificate of completion, common mistakes, mixed media guidelines, definitions and standards, electronic formats and risk categories, frequently asked questions.

If your research activities involve human or animal subjects, you must follow the guidelines and obtain an approved protocol  before you begin your research.   Learn more on our website   or contact the Committee for the Protection of Human Subjects ( http://cphs.berkeley.edu/  or 642-7461) or the Animal Care and Use Committee ( http://www.acuc.berkeley.edu/  or 642-8855).

In addition to the considerations explained below, your Expected Graduation Term (EGT) must match the term for which you intend to file. EGT can be updated at any time using an eForm available in CalCentral.

To be eligible to file for your degree, you must be registered or on approved Filing Fee status for the semester in which you file. We encourage you to file your thesis as early in the semester as you can and to come in person to our office to submit your supporting documents. If you cannot come to our office, it is helpful if you have a friend bring your documents. The deadline to file your thesis in its final form is the last day of the semester for your degree to be awarded as of that semester.

Filing during the summer has a slightly different set of eligibility requirements. If you were fully registered during the immediately preceding Spring semester, and have not used Filing Fee already, you may file your thesis during the summer with no additional cost or application required. This option is available for both Plan I master’s degree students filing a thesis and Plan II students completing a capstone. Summer is defined as the period from the day after the Spring semester ends (mid-May) until the last day of the Summer Sessions (mid-August).

International students completing degree in the Summer must consult Berkeley International Office before finalizing plans, as in some cases lack of Summer enrollment could impact visa status or post-completion employment.

If you have already used Filing Fee previously, or were not registered the preceding Spring semester, you will need to register in 1.0 unit in Summer Sessions in order to file.

Theses filed during the summer will result in a summer degree conferral.

You must be advanced to candidacy, and in good standing (not lapsed), in order to file.

All manuscripts must be submitted electronically in a traditional PDF format.

• Page Size : The standard for a document’s page size is 8.5 x 11 inches. If compelling reasons exist to use a larger page size, you must contact the Graduate Division for prior approval.
• Basic manuscript text must  be a non-italic type font and at a size of 12-point or larger. Whatever typeface and size you choose for the basic text, use it consistently throughout your entire manuscript. For footnotes, figures, captions, tables, charts, and graphs, a font size of 8-point or larger is to be used.
• You may include color in your thesis, but your basic manuscript text must be black.
• For quotations, words in a foreign language, occasional emphasis, book titles, captions, and footnotes, you may use italics. A font different from that used for your basic manuscript may be used for appendices, charts, drawings, graphs, and tables.
• Pagination:   Your manuscript is composed of preliminary pages and the main body of text and references. Page numbers must be positioned either in the upper right corner, lower right corner, or the bottom center and must be at least ¾ of an inch from the edges. The placement of the page numbers in your document must be consistent throughout.

Be Careful!   If you have any pages that are rotated to a landscape orientation, the page numbers still need to be in a consistent position throughout the document (as if it were printed and bound).

• Do not count or number the title page or the copyright page. All other pages must have numbers. DO NOT SKIP PAGE ” 1 “.
• The remaining preliminary pages may include a table of contents, a dedication, a list of figures, tables, symbols, illustrations, or photographs, a preface, your introduction, acknowledgments, and curriculum vitae. You must number these preliminary pages using   lower case Roman numerals  beginning with the number “i” and continue in sequence to the end of the preliminary pages (i, ii, iii, iv, v, etc.).
• An abstract is optional, but if you chose to include one, your abstract must have  Arabic numeral  page numbers. Start numbering your abstract with the number “1” and continue in sequence (1, 2, 3, etc.)
• The main body of your text and your references also use Arabic numerals. Start the numbering of the main body with the number “1” and continue in sequence (1, 2, 3, etc.), numbering consecutively throughout the rest of the text, including illustrative materials, bibliography, and appendices.

Yes! The first page of your abstract and the first page of your main text both start with ‘1’

• Margins:   For the manuscript material, including headers, footers, tables, illustrations, and photographs, all margins must be at least 1 inch from the edges of the paper. Page numbers must be ¾ of an inch from the edge.
• Spacing:  Your manuscript must be single-spaced throughout, including the abstract, dedication, acknowledgments, and introduction.
• Tables, charts, and graphs   may be presented horizontally or vertically and must fit within the required margins. Labels or symbols are preferred rather than colors for identifying lines on a graph.

You may choose to reduce the size of a page to fit within the required margins, but be sure that the resulting page is clear and legible.

• Guidelines for Mixed Media:   please see Appendix B for details.

Certain pages need to be formatted in a very specific way. Links are included here for examples of these pages.

Do not deviate from the wording and spacing in the examples, except for details applicable to you (e.g. name, major, committee, etc.)

• As noted in the above section on pagination, the abstract is optional but if included must be numbered  separately  with arabic numerals starting with ‘1’
• IMPORTANT: A physical signature page should no longer be included with your thesis. Approvals by your committee members will be provided electronically using an eForm.
• The title page does not contain page numbers.
• Do not bold any text on your title page.
• The yellow bubbles in the sample are included for explanatory purposes only. Do not include them in your submission.
• If you are receiving a joint degree, it must be listed on your title page ( Click here for sample with joint degree )

The proper organization and page order for your manuscript is as follows:

• Copyright page or a blank page
• Dedication page
• Table of contents
• List of figures, list of tables, list of symbols
• Preface or introduction
• Acknowledgements
• Curriculum Vitae
• References or Bibliography

After you have written your thesis, formatted it correctly, assembled the pages into the correct organization, and obtained verbal approval from all members of your committee, you are ready to file it with UC Berkeley’s Graduate Division.

Step 1:  Convert your thesis to a standard PDF file.

Step 2: Log into your CalCentral account. Under Student Resources in your Dashboard find Submit a Form and choose Final Signature Submission .

Step 3:  Complete the eForm in its entirety and hit submit once all  required documents are submitted:

• Attach the PDF of your thesis and
• Attach a copy of the approval letter for your study protocol from the Committee for Protection of Human Subjects, or the Animal Care and Use Committee if your research involved human or animal subjects. 

(Step 4): Congratulations you’re done! The traditional lollipop will be mailed to you following the end of the semester. Please be sure to update your mailing addresses (especially the diploma mailing address).

Important Notes: 

• DO NOT SUBMIT A DRAFT. Once your thesis has been submitted, you will not be allowed to make changes. Be sure that it is in its final form!
• Check your email regularly. Should revisions be necessary the eForm will be “recycled” to you and you will be notified via email. To resubmit your thesis, go back to Student Resources in your CalCentral account find Manage Your Forms and select Update Pending Forms . Here you can search for your submitted Final Signature form and make necessary updates and/or attach your revised thesis.
• After your thesis has been approved by Graduate Division, it will be routed to the listed committee members for electronic approval. Once all members have provided approval you will be notified.
• The review of your thesis may take up to four business days.

Important note for students in a Concurrent Degree Program (e.g. Landscape Architecture & City Planning):

• If you are filing a thesis to satisfy both master’s degrees, do not submit two eForms. Please select one plan only on the eForm and the Graduate Division will update your record accordingly.

If you plan use of your own previously published and/or co-authored material in your manuscript, your committee chair must attest that the resulting thesis represents an original contribution of ideas to the field, even if previously published co – authored articles are included, and that major contributors of those articles have been informed.

Previously published material must be incorporated into a larger argument that binds together the whole thesis. The common thread linking various parts of the research, represented by individual papers incorporated in the thesis, must be made explicit, and you must join the papers into a coherent unit. You are required to prepare introductory, transitional, and concluding sections. Previously published material must be acknowledged appropriately, as established for your discipline or as requested in the original publication agreement (e.g. through a note in acknowledgments, a footnote, or the like).

If co-authored material is to be incorporated (whether published or unpublished), all major contributors should be informed of the inclusion in addition to being appropriately credited in the thesis according to the norms of the field.

If you are incorporating co-authored material in your thesis, it is your responsibility to inform major contributors. This documentation need not be submitted to the Graduate Division. The eform used by your committee chair to sign off on your thesis will automatically include text indicating that by signing off they attest to the appropriateness and approval for inclusion of previously published and/or co-authored materials. No addition information or text needs to be added.

Publishable papers and article-length essays arising from your research project are acceptable only if you incorporate that text into a larger argument that binds together the whole dissertation or thesis. Include introductory, transitional, and concluding sections with the papers or essays.

Occasionally, there are unusual circumstances in which you prefer that your thesis not be published immediately.  Such circumstances may include the disclosure of patentable rights in the work before a patent can be granted, similar disclosures detrimental to the rights of the author, or disclosures of facts about persons or institutions before professional ethics would permit.

The Dean of the Graduate Division may permit the thesis to be held without shelving for a specified and limited period of time beyond the default, under substantiated circumstances of the kind indicated and with the endorsement of and an explanatory letter from the chair of the thesis committee.  If you need to request that your manuscript be withheld, please consult with the chair of your committee, and have him or her submit a letter requesting this well before you file for your degree. The memo should be addressed to the cognizant Associate Dean, in care of Graduate Services: Degrees, 318 Sproul Hall.

Changes are normally not allowed after a manuscript has been filed.  In exceptional circumstances, changes may be requested by having the chair of your thesis committee submit a memo to the cognizant Associate Dean, in care of Graduate Services: Degrees, 318 Sproul Hall.  The memo must describe in detail the specific changes requested and must justify the reason for the request.  If the request is approved, the changes must be made prior to the official awarding of the degree.  Once your degree has been awarded, you may not make changes to the manuscript.

After your thesis is accepted by Graduate Services: Degrees, it is held here until the official awarding of the degree by the Academic Senate has occurred.  This occurs approximately two months after the end of the term.  After the degree has officially been awarded, the manuscripts are shipped to the University Library.

Posting the Degree to Your Transcript

Your degree will be posted to your transcript approximately 3 months after the conferral date of your degree.  You can order a transcript from the Office of the Registrar (https://registrar.berkeley.edu/academic-records/transcripts-diplomas/).

Diploma Your diploma will be available from the Office of the Registrar approximately 4 months after the conferral date of your degree.  For more information on obtaining your diploma, visit the Registrar’s website .  You can obtain your diploma in person at the Office of the Registrar, 120 Sproul Hall, or submit a form to have it mailed to you. Unclaimed diplomas are retained for a period of five (5) years only, after which they are destroyed.

If you require evidence that you have completed your degree requirements prior to the degree being posted to your transcript, request a “ Certificate of Degree Completion “.

Please note that we will not issue a Certificate of Completion after the degree has been posted to your transcript.

• The most common mistake is following a fellow (or previous) student’s example. Read the current guidelines carefully!
• An incorrect committee — the committee listed on your title page must match your currently approved committee. If you have made any changes to your committee since Advancement to Candidacy, you must request an official change from the Graduate Division. Consult your departmental adviser for details.
• Do not use a different name than that which appears in the system (i.e. the name on your transcript and Cal Central Profile). Students are allowed to use a Lived Name, which can be updated by self-service in CalCentral.
• Page numbers — Read the section on pagination carefully. Many students do not paginate their document correctly.
• Page rotation — some pages may be rotated to a landscape orientation. However, page numbers must appear in the same place throughout the document (as if it were bound like a book).
• Do not include the signature/approval page in your electronic thesis. Signatures will be provided electronically using the eForm.
• Do not include previous degrees on your title page.

In May, 2005, the Graduate Council established new guidelines for the inclusion of mixed media content in theses.  It was considered crucial that the guidelines allow theses s to remain as accessible as possible and for the longest period possible while balancing the extraordinary academic potential of these new technologies.

The thesis has three components: a core thesis, essential supporting material, and non-essential supplementary material.

Core Thesis.   The core thesis must be a self-contained, narrative description of the argument, methods, and evidence used in the thesis project.  Despite the ability to present evidence more directly and with greater sophistication using mixed media, the core thesis must provide an accessible textual description of the whole project.

The core thesis must stand alone and be printable on paper, meeting the formatting requirements described in this document. The electronic version of the thesis must be provided in the most stable and universal format available—currently Portable Document Format (PDF) for textual materials. These files may also include embedded visual images in TIFF (.tif) or JPEG (.jpg) format.

Essential Supporting Material.   Essential supporting material is defined as mixed media content that cannot be integrated into the core thesis, i.e., material that cannot be adequately expressed as text.  Your faculty committee is responsible for deciding whether this material is essential to the thesis.  Essential supporting material does  not  include the actual project data.  Supporting material is essential if it is necessary for the actual argument of the thesis, and cannot be integrated into a traditional textual narrative.

Essential supporting material  must  be submitted in the most stable and least risky format consistent with its representation (see below), so as to allow the widest accessibility and greatest chance of preservation into the future.

Non-essential Supplementary Material.   Supplementary material includes any supporting content that is useful for understanding the thesis, but is not essential to the argument. This might include, for example, electronic files of the works analyzed in the thesis (films, musical works, etc.) or additional support for the argument (simulations, samples of experimental situations, etc.).

Supplementary material is to be submitted in the most stable and most accessible format, depending on the relative importance of the material (see below). Clearly label the CD, DVD, audiotape, or videotape with your name, major, thesis title, and information on the contents. Only one copy is required to be filed with your thesis.  A second copy should be left with your department.

Note . ProQuest and the Library will require any necessary 3rd party software licenses and reprint permission letters for any copyrighted materials included in these electronic files.

The following is a list of file formats in descending order of stability and accessibility. This list is provisional, and will be updated as technologies change. Faculty and students should refer to the Graduate Division website for current information on formats and risk categories.

Category A:

• TIFF (.tif) image files
• WAV (.wav) audio files

Category B:

• JPEG, JPEG 2000 (.jpg) image files
• GIF (.gif) image files

Category C:

• device independent audio files (e.g., AIFF, MIDI, SND, MP3, WMA, QTA)
• note-based digital music composition files (e.g., XMA, SMF, RMID)

Category D:

• other device independent video formats (e.g., QuickTime, AVI, WMV)
• encoded animations (e.g., FLA or SWF Macromedia Flash, SVG)

For detailed guidelines on the use of these media, please refer to the Library of Congress website for digital formats at  http://www.digitalpreservation.gov/formats/index.shtml .

Q1: Can I file my thesis during the summer?

A1: Yes. There are 2 ways to file during the summer:

1)     If you have never used Filing Fee before AND you were registered during the immediately preceding spring semester, you can file your thesis during the summer with no further application or payment required. Simply submit your thesis as usual and the Graduate Division staff will confirm your eligibility. If you are an international student, you must consult the Berkeley International Office for guidance as this option may have visa implications for you.

2)     If you weren’t registered in spring, you can register for at least 1.0 unit through Berkeley Summer Sessions.

Q2: If I chose that option, does it matter which session I register in during the summer session?

A2: No. You can register for any of the sessions (at least 1.0 unit). The deadline will always be the last day of the last session.

Q3: If I file during the summer, will I receive a summer degree?

A3: Yes. If you file before the last day of summer session, you will receive an August degree. If you file during the summer, remember to write “Summer” on your title page!

Q1: I’ve seen other theses from former students that were / that had  __________, should I follow that format?

A1: No. The formatting guidelines can be changed from time to time, so you should always consult the most current guidelines available on our website.

Q2: I want to make sure that my thesis follows the formatting rules. What’s the best way to do this?

A2: If you’ve read and followed the current guidelines available on our website, there shouldn’t be any problems. You are also always welcome to bring sample pages into the Graduate Degrees Office at 318 Sproul Hall to have a staff member look over your manuscript.

Q3:  Does my signature page need to be printed on some special paper?

A3: Signatures are now an eForm process. A physical signature page is no longer required.

Q1: I’m away from Berkeley. Is there any way to file my thesis remotely?

A1: Yes! The whole process is done remotely.

Q2: Can I have a friend file my thesis for me?

A2: No. You will need to CalNet authenticate in order to file.

Q3: What’s a Receipt of Filing? Do I need one?

A3: The Receipt of Filing is an official document that we produce that certifies that you have successfully filed your thesis on the specified day and that, if all other requirements are met, the date of the degree conferral.

Some students may need the receipt in order to prove to an outside agency that they have officially filed their thesis. Many students simply keep the receipt as a memento. Picking up your receipt is not required.

Q4: What’s the difference between a Receipt of Filing and a Certificate of Completion?

A4: A Receipt of Filing is automatically produced for all students upon successful filing of their thesis. However, it only certifies that the thesis has been accepted. The Certificate of Degree Completion  must be requested. It will state that all requirements  have   been met and notes the date that the degree will be conferred. This is a useful document for students who file early in the semester and need some verification of their degree in advance of its conferral (note: degrees are only conferred twice each year).

Q5: How to I know if I’m eligible for a Certificate of Completion?

A5: In order to be eligible to receive a Certificate of Completion, you must:

1) Successfully file your thesis

2) Have a completed (satisfied) Academic Progress Report. Your department can assist you with this if you have questions.

3) Pay all of your registration fees. If you have a balance on your account, we may be unable to provide a Certificate of Completion.

Q6: I’m supposed to submit my approval letter for research with human subjects or vertebrate animals, but it turns out my research didn’t use this after all. What should I do?

A6: If you’re research protocol has changed since you advanced to candidacy for your degree, you’ll need to ask you thesis chair to write a letter to the Graduate Division explaining the change. It would be best to submit this in advance of filing.

Q7: My thesis uses copyrighted or previously published material. How to I get approval?

A7: The policy on this has recently changed. There is no need to for specific approval to be requested.

Q9: I found a typo in my thesis that has already been accepted! What do I do?

A9: Once a thesis has been submitted and accepted, no further changes will be permitted. Proofread your document carefully. Do not submit a draft. In extreme circumstances, your thesis chair may write a letter to the Graduate Division requesting additional changes to be made.

Q10: Oh no! A serious emergency has caused me to miss the filing deadline! What do I do? Are extensions ever granted?

A10: In general, no. In exceptional circumstances, the Head Graduate Advisor for your program may write to the Graduate Division requesting an extension. Requests of this type are considered on a case by case basis and, if granted, may allow you to file after the deadline. However, even if such an exception is granted you will receive the degree for the subsequent term. Your first step is to consult with your department if an emergency arises.

How to Write a Master's Thesis: A Guide to Planning Your Thesis, Pursuing It, and Avoiding Pitfalls

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Part 1: Initial Considerations

Who needs to write a master’s thesis.

Thesis writing is one of the more daunting challenges of higher education. That being said, not all master's students have to write a thesis. For example, fields that place a stronger emphasis on applied knowledge, such as nursing, business, and education, tend to have projects and exams to test students on the skills and abilities associated with those fields. Conversely, in disciplines that require in-depth research or highly polished creative abilities, students are usually expected to prove their understanding and independence with a thesis.

What's Your Goal?

Do you want to write a thesis? The process is a long one, often spanning years. It's best to know exactly what you want before you begin. Many people are motivated by career goals. For example, hiring managers may see a master's degree as proof that the candidate is an expert within their field and can lead, motivate, and demonstrate initiative for themselves and others. Others dream of earning their doctorate, and they see a master's degree as a stepping stone toward their Ph.D .

No matter what your desired goal is, you should have one before you start your thesis. With your goal in mind, your work will have a purpose, which will allow you to measure your progress more easily.

Major Types of Theses

Once you've carefully researched or even enrolled in a master's program—a feat that involves its own planning and resources —you should know if you are expected to produce a quantitative (which occurs in many math and science programs), qualitative (which occurs in many humanities programs), or creative (which occurs in many creative writing, music, or fine arts programs) thesis.

Time and Energy Considerations

Advanced degrees are notoriously time and energy consuming. If you have a job, thesis writing will become your second job. If you have a family, they will need to know that your thesis will take a great deal of your attention, energy, and focus.

Your studies should not consume you, but they also should not take a back seat to everything else. You will be expected to attend classes, conduct research, source relevant literature, and schedule meetings with various people as you pursue your master's, so it's important to let those you care about know what's going on.

As a general note, most master's programs expect students to finish within a two-year period but are willing to grant extra time if requested, especially if that time is needed to deal with unexpected life events (more on those later).

Part 2: Form an Initial Thesis Question, and Find a Supervisor

When to begin forming your initial thesis question.

Some fields, such as history, may require you to have already formed your thesis question and to have used it to create a statement of intent (outlining the nature of your research) prior to applying to a master’s program. Others may require this information only after you've been accepted. Most of the time, you will be expected to come up with your topic yourself. However, in some disciplines, your supervisor may assign a general research topic to you.

Overall, requirements vary immensely from program to program, so it's best to confirm the exact requirements of your specific program.

What to Say to Your Supervisor

You will have a supervisor during your master's studies. Have you identified who that person will be? If yes, have you introduced yourself via email or phone and obtained information on the processes and procedures that are in place for your master's program? Once you've established contact, request an in-person meeting with him or her, and take a page of questions along with you. Your questions might include:

• Is there a research subject you can recommend in my field?
• I would like to pursue [target research subject] for my thesis. Can you help me narrow my focus?
• Can you give me an example of a properly formatted thesis proposal for my program?

Don't Be Afraid to Ask for Help (to a Degree)

Procedures and expectations vary from program to program, and your supervisor is there to help remove doubt and provide encouragement so you can follow the right path when you embark on writing your thesis. Since your supervisor has almost certainly worked with other graduate students (and was one at some point), take advantage of their experience, and ask questions to put your mind at ease about how to write a master’s thesis.

That being said, do not rely too heavily on your supervisor. As a graduate student, you are also expected to be able to work independently. Proving your independent initiative and capacity is part of what will earn you your master's degree.

Part 3: Revise Your Thesis

Read everything you can get your hands on.

Whether you have a question or need to create one, your next step is simple and applies to all kinds of theses: read.

Seek Out Knowledge or Research Gaps

Read everything you can that relates to the question or the field you are studying. The only way you will be able to determine where you can go is to see where everyone else has been. After you have read some published material, you will start to spot gaps in current research or notice things that could be developed further with an alternative approach. Things that are known but not understood or understood but not explained clearly or consistently are great potential thesis subjects. Addressing something already known from a new perspective or with a different style could also be a potentially valuable project. Whichever way you choose to do it, keep in mind that your project should make a valuable contribution to your field.

Talk with Experts in Your Field (and Don't Be Afraid to Revise Your Thesis)

To help narrow down your thesis topic, talk to your supervisor. Your supervisor will have an idea of what is current in your field and what can be left alone because others are already working on it. Additionally, the school you are attending will have programs and faculty with particular areas of interest within your chosen field.

On a similar note, don't be surprised if your thesis question changes as you study. Other students and researchers are out there, and as they publish, what you are working on can change. You might also discover that your question is too vague, not substantial enough, or even no longer relevant. Do not lose heart! Take what you know and adjust the question to address these concerns as they arise. The freedom to adapt is part of the power you hold as a graduate student.

Part 4: Select a Proposal Committee

What proposal committees are and why they're useful.

When you have a solid question or set of questions, draft a proposal.

You'll need an original stance and a clear justification for asking, and answering, your thesis question. To ensure this, a committee will review your thesis proposal. Thankfully, that committee will consist of people assigned by your supervisor or department head or handpicked by you. These people will be experts who understand your field of study and will do everything in their power to ensure that you are pursuing something worthwhile. And yes, it is okay to put your supervisor on your committee. Some programs even require that your supervisor be on your committee.

Just remember that the committee will expect you to schedule meetings with them, present your proposal, respond to any questions they might have for you, and ultimately present your findings and thesis when all the work is done. Choose those who are willing to support you, give constructive feedback, and help address issues with your proposal. And don't forget to give your proposal a good, thorough edit and proofread before you present it.

How to Prepare for Committee Meetings

Be ready for committee meetings with synopses of your material for committee members, answers for expected questions, and a calm attitude. To prepare for those meetings, sit in on proposal and thesis defenses so you can watch how other graduate students handle them and see what your committee might ask of you. You can even hold rehearsals with friends and fellow students acting as your committee to help you build confidence for your presentation.

Part 5: Write Your Thesis

What to do once your proposal is approved.

After you have written your thesis proposal and received feedback from your committee, the fun part starts: doing the work. This is where you will take your proposal and carry it out. If you drafted a qualitative or quantitative proposal, your experimentation or will begin here. If you wrote a creative proposal, you will now start working on your material. Your proposal should be strong enough to give you direction when you perform your experiments, conduct interviews, or craft your work. Take note that you will have to check in with your supervisor from time to time to give progress updates.

Thesis Writing: It's Important to Pace Yourself and Take Breaks

Do not expect the work to go quickly. You will need to pace yourself and make sure you record your progress meticulously. You can always discard information you don't need, but you cannot go back and grab a crucial fact that you can't quite remember. When in doubt, write it down. When drawing from a source, always create a citation for the information to save your future self time and stress. In the same sense, you may also find journaling to be a helpful process.

Additionally, take breaks and allow yourself to step away from your thesis, even if you're having fun (and especially if you're not). Ideally, your proposal should have milestones in it— points where you can stop and assess what you've already completed and what's left to do. When you reach a milestone, celebrate. Take a day off and relax. Better yet, give yourself a week's vacation! The rest will help you regain your focus and ensure that you function at your best.

How to Become More Comfortable with Presenting Your Work

Once you start reaching your milestones, you should be able to start sharing what you have. Just about everyone in a graduate program has experience giving a presentation at the front of the class, attending a seminar, or watching an interview. If you haven't (or even if you have), look for conferences and clubs that will give you the opportunity to learn about presenting your work and become comfortable with the idea of public speaking. The more you practice talking about what you are studying, the more comfortable you'll be with the information, which will make your committee defenses and other official meetings easier.

Published authors can be called upon to present at conferences, and if your thesis is strong, you may receive an email or a phone call asking if you would share your findings onstage.

Presenting at conferences is also a great way to boost your CV and network within your field. Make presenting part of your education, and it will become something you look forward to instead of fear.

What to Do If Your Relationship with Your Supervisor Sours

A small aside: If it isn't already obvious, you will be communicating extensively with others as you pursue your thesis. That also means that others will need to communicate with you, and if you've been noticing things getting quiet, you will need to be the one to speak up. Your supervisor should speak to you at least once a term and preferably once a week in the more active parts of your research and writing. If you give written work to your supervisor, you should have feedback within three weeks.

If your supervisor does not provide feedback, frequently misses appointments, or is consistently discouraging of your work, contact your graduate program advisor and ask for a new supervisor. The relationship with your supervisor is crucial to your success, especially if she or he is on your committee, and while your supervisor does not have to be friendly, there should at least be professional respect between you.

What to Do If a Crisis Strikes

If something happens in your life that disrupts everything (e.g., emotional strain, the birth of a child, or the death of a family member), ask for help. You are a human being, and personal lives can and do change without warning. Do not wait until you are falling apart before asking for help, either. Learn what resources exist for crises before you have one, so you can head off trauma before it hits. That being said, if you get blindsided, don't refuse help. Seek it out, and take the time you need to recover. Your degree is supposed to help you become a stronger and smarter person, not break you.

Part 6: Polish and Defend Your Master's Thesis

How to write a master’s thesis: the final stages.

After your work is done and everything is written down, you will have to give your thesis a good, thorough polishing. This is where you will have to organize the information, draft it into a paper format with an abstract, and abbreviate things to help meet your word-count limit. This is also where your final editing and proofreading passes will occur, after which you will face your final hurdle: presenting your thesis defense to your committee. If they approve your thesis, then congratulations! You are now a master of your chosen field.

Conclusion and Parting Thoughts

Remember that you do not (and should not) have to learn how to write a master’s thesis on your own. Thesis writing is collaborative, as is practically any kind of research.

While you will be expected to develop your thesis using your own initiative, pursue it with your own ambition, and complete it with your own abilities, you will also be expected to use all available resources to do so. The purpose of a master's thesis is to help you develop your own independent abilities, ensuring that you can drive your own career forward without constantly looking to others to provide direction. Leaders get master's degrees. That's why many business professionals in leadership roles have graduate degree initials after their last names. If you already have the skills necessary to motivate yourself, lead others, and drive change, you may only need your master's as an acknowledgement of your abilities. If you do not, but you apply yourself carefully and thoroughly to the pursuit of your thesis, you should come away from your studies with those skills in place.

A final thought regarding collaboration: all theses have a section for acknowledgements. Be sure to say thank you to those who helped you become a master. One day, someone might be doing the same for you.

Image source: Falkenpost/Pixabay.com 

We’re Masters at Master’s Theses! Make Yours Shine.

Let our expert academic editors perfect your writing, or get a free sample, about the author.

A Scribendi in-house editor, Anthony is happily putting his BA in English from Western University to good use with thoughtful feedback and incisive editing. An avid reader and gamer, he can be found during his off hours enjoying narrative-driven games and obscure and amusing texts, as well as cooking for his family.

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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.

Contact Info

Graduate School Heckart Lodge 2900 SW Jefferson Way Oregon State University Corvallis, OR 97331-1102

Phone: 541-737-4881 Fax: 541-737-3313

• Programs - Majors, minors and certificates
• Academic Progress
• Student Success
• Faculty Support
• Staff Directory
• Graduate Catalog

What’s Included: The Dissertation Template

If you’re preparing to write your dissertation, thesis or research project, our free dissertation template is the perfect starting point. In the template, we cover every section step by step, with clear, straightforward explanations and examples .

The template’s structure is based on the tried and trusted best-practice format for formal academic research projects such as dissertations and theses. The template structure reflects the overall research process, ensuring your dissertation or thesis will have a smooth, logical flow from chapter to chapter.

The dissertation template covers the following core sections:

• The title page/cover page
• Abstract (sometimes also called the executive summary)
• Table of contents
• List of figures /list of tables
• Chapter 1: Introduction  (also available: in-depth introduction template )
• Chapter 2: Literature review  (also available: in-depth LR template )
• Chapter 3: Methodology (also available: in-depth methodology template )
• Chapter 4: Research findings /results (also available: results template )
• Chapter 5: Discussion /analysis of findings (also available: discussion template )
• Chapter 6: Conclusion (also available: in-depth conclusion template )
• Reference list

Each section is explained in plain, straightforward language , followed by an overview of the key elements that you need to cover within each section. We’ve also included practical examples to help you understand exactly what’s required in each section.

The cleanly-formatted Google Doc can be downloaded as a fully editable MS Word Document (DOCX format), so you can use it as-is or convert it to LaTeX.

FAQs: Dissertation Template

What format is the template (doc, pdf, ppt, etc.).

The dissertation template is provided as a Google Doc. You can download it in MS Word format or make a copy to your Google Drive. You’re also welcome to convert it to whatever format works best for you, such as LaTeX or PDF.

What types of dissertations/theses can this template be used for?

The template follows the standard best-practice structure for formal academic research projects such as dissertations or theses, so it is suitable for the vast majority of degrees, particularly those within the sciences.

Some universities may have some additional requirements, but these are typically minor, with the core structure remaining the same. Therefore, it’s always a good idea to double-check your university’s requirements before you finalise your structure.

Will this work for a research paper?

A research paper follows a similar format, but there are a few differences. You can find our research paper template here .

Is this template for an undergrad, Masters or PhD-level thesis?

This template can be used for a dissertation, thesis or research project at any level of study. It may be slight overkill for an undergraduate-level study, but it certainly won’t be missing anything.

How long should my dissertation/thesis be?

This depends entirely on your university’s specific requirements, so it’s best to check with them. As a general ballpark, Masters-level projects are usually 15,000 – 20,000 words in length, while Doctoral-level projects are often in excess of 60,000 words.

What about the research proposal?

If you’re still working on your research proposal, we’ve got a template for that here .

We’ve also got loads of proposal-related guides and videos over on the Grad Coach blog .

How do I write a literature review?

We have a wealth of free resources on the Grad Coach Blog that unpack how to write a literature review from scratch. You can check out the literature review section of the blog here.

How do I create a research methodology?

We have a wealth of free resources on the Grad Coach Blog that unpack research methodology, both qualitative and quantitative. You can check out the methodology section of the blog here.

Can I share this dissertation template with my friends/colleagues?

Yes, you’re welcome to share this template. If you want to post about it on your blog or social media, all we ask is that you reference this page as your source.

Can Grad Coach help me with my dissertation/thesis?

Within the template, you’ll find plain-language explanations of each section, which should give you a fair amount of guidance. However, you’re also welcome to consider our dissertation and thesis coaching services .

Graduate Education

Office of graduate and postdoctoral education, thesis templates.

The following thesis format templates should help you get started with formatting your thesis or dissertation. Georgia Tech provides free Overleaf Professional accounts for all students, faculty, and staff who would like to use the collaborative, online LaTeX editor for their projects.

• LaTeX Template (.zip) - updated May 2020
• Featured LaTeX templates on Overleaf
• Word Thesis Template (.docx) - updated August 2016
• Georgia Tech Engineering Reference Management System (GTERMS)

LaTeX Resources

• LaTeX Project
• Set the Quick Build command configuration to: “PdfLaTeX + Bib(la)tex) + PdfLaTeX (x2) + View Pdf”.
• Use the Quick Build command to compile and view your .pdf file.
• If you decide to use a “build” subdirectory for output files, you must point BibTeX to the proper subdirectory.

LaTeX is a powerful text processing and formatting tool that produces clean, consistent results. This high-quality typesetting system is a free service provided by Georgia Tech. It is available on many platforms and can be used with the editor of your choice. LaTeX is the de facto standard for the communication and publication of scientific documents.

Although Graduate Education does not offer direct technical support, Tech does provide help via campus partners such as the Library and Overleaf (online LaTeX editor). Please check the Library events page for courses on LaTex, or contact Overleaf directly.

Many students have also found useful tips for dealing with specific problems by entering keywords such as "LaTeX formatting table captions" in their favorite search engines.

Most Common LaTeX to PDF Problem

The most common problem we see with Electronic Theses & Dissertations (ETDs) created in LaTeX is the altering of the page size, particularly an increase of the bottom margin to more than one inch, and sometimes an accompanying decrease in the top and/or right margins to less than the requisite one inch. Less frequently, there will also be problems with figures disappearing or changing appearance. The sizing error may be introduced inadvertently during the conversion from .dvi to .pdf or .ps when the program doing the converting defaults to the A4 European page size. Always check your PDF file after conversion, even if your source file looked perfect.

The following fixes have been found by your fellow Tech graduate students and passed along to the Graduate Thesis Office. We hope they help you:

• First, before converting the .tex file to .dvi, make sure the class header file in your .tex file says something like "\documentclass[12pt, letter]{article}".
• If you are converting the resulting .dvi file to a .ps file, be sure the dvips options specify "-P pdf -t letter".
• When you are converting to .pdf from either the .dvi file directly or from a .ps file, locate the C:\texmf\dvipdfm\config\config\ or analogous folder for PDFs in your system. Replace the line "p a4" with "p letter".

Check our frequently asked questions (FAQ) to see if your question has already been answered. Else, contact Graduate Education at [email protected] .

Accessibility Information

Download Microsoft Products   >      Download Adobe Reader   >

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.

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Publishing a Master’s Thesis: A Guide for Novice Authors

Robert g. resta.

1 Swedish Cancer Institute, Swedish Medical Center, Seattle, WA USA

Patricia McCarthy Veach

2 Department of Educational Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN USA

Sarah Charles

3 Jefferson Kimmel Cancer Center, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Philadelphia, PA USA

Kristen Vogel

4 Center for Medical Genetics, NorthShore University HealthSystem, Evanston, IL USA

Terri Blase

5 Department of Maternal Fetal Medicine, Advocate Christ Medical Center, Oak Lawn, IL USA

Christina G. S. Palmer

6 Department of Psychiatry & Biobehavioral Sciences, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA USA

7 Department of Human Genetics, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA USA

8 UCLA Semel Institute, 760 Westwood Plaza, Room 47-422, Los Angeles, CA 90095 USA

Publication of original research, clinical experiences, and critical reviews of literature are vital to the growth of the genetic counseling field, delivery of genetic counseling services, and professional development of genetic counselors. Busy clinical schedules, lack of time and funding, and training that emphasizes clinical skills over research skills may make it difficult for new genetic counselors to turn their thesis projects into publications. This paper summarizes and elaborates upon a presentation aimed at de-mystifying the publishing process given at the 2008 National Society of Genetic Counselors Annual Education Conference. Specific topics include familiarizing prospective authors, particularly genetic counseling students, with the basics of the publication process and related ethical considerations. Former students’ experiences with publishing master’s theses also are described in hopes of encouraging new genetic counselors to submit for publication papers based on their thesis projects.

Introduction

Scholarship is important for growth of a profession and for clinical care. For these reasons, the American Board of Genetic Counseling (ABGC) endorses scholarly activities through Practice Based Competency IV.5 (American Board of Genetic Counseling 2009 ). Boyer ( 1990 ) describes four types of scholarship (Scholarship of Discovery, Scholarship of Integration, Scholarship of Application, and Scholarship of Teaching), all of which are endorsed by ABGC and required of accredited genetic counseling training programs. The first three types of scholarship, which involve generating new knowledge or applying existing knowledge to an important problem, are the basis of the ABGC’s requirement that students in accredited programs engage in scholarship and complete a scholarly product. The ABGC defines a scholarly product to include: a master’s thesis, an independent research project, a literature review/case report, a formal needs assessment, design and implementation of an innovative patient, professional, or community educational program, and/or preparation of a grant proposal.

The purpose of this article is to encourage students to disseminate their scholarly work (except grant proposals) through a journal publication. This article was developed from an Educational Breakout Session (EBS) at the 2008 National Society of Genetic Counselors (NSGC) Annual Education Conference and draws upon the experiences of a past editor and current assistant editor of the Journal of Genetic Counseling ( JOGC ), a student mentor, and recent genetic counseling graduates who successfully turned their student thesis projects into peer-reviewed publications.

Engaging in scholarship is important for increasing genetic counselors’ self-knowledge, but dissemination of scholarship is essential for the growth of the genetic counseling field. McGaghie and Webster ( 2009 ) identify a wide range of types of scholarly products that promote broad dissemination of information, including peer-reviewed journal articles (e.g., original research, case reports, review articles), book chapters, books or monographs, edited books, essays, editorials, book reviews, letters, conference reports, educational materials, reports of teaching practices, curriculum description, videos, simulations, simulators, and web-based tutorials. As evidence of the importance of disseminating scholarship to the field of genetic counseling, dissemination of scholarly products is actively promoted by the NSGC, the major professional organization for the genetic counseling profession. A prominent example of NSGC’s commitment to dissemination is the JOGC , a professional journal devoted to disseminating peer-reviewed information relevant to the practice of genetic counseling. The success of this journal over nearly two decades is a strong indicator of the value genetic counselors place on publishing journal articles as an essential product of scholarship.

Individuals who have completed a master’s thesis or equivalent should consider publication. This “call to publish” student work is based on evidence that a large proportion of students engage in a scholarly activity with publication potential. A recent survey of 531 genetic counselors suggests that 75% of respondents fulfilled their scholarly activity requirement via a master’s thesis (Clark et al. 2006 ). Among this group, 21% classified their thesis as “hypothesis driven” and 20% classified it as a “descriptive study.” Although the research may be relatively small scale given the time and resource constraints of short training programs (≤2 years), it nonetheless offers a rich and varied source of information about the practice of genetic counseling that could be shared with the broader community through publication. Yet Clark et al. ( 2006 ) found that only 21.6% of respondents who completed a master’s thesis had submitted a manuscript for publication in a peer-reviewed journal. It appears that many students do not submit their research for professional publication, perhaps due to a combination of time constraints, lack of mentoring and support, unfamiliarity with the publication process, lack of professional confidence, and fear of rejection (Clark et al. 2006 ; Cohen et al. 2008 ; Driscoll and Driscoll 2002 ; Keen 2006 ). Because this is one aspect of scholarship that has received limited attention, guidance regarding the details and vicissitudes of the publication process, and acknowledgement that master’s theses can be successfully published, are needed.

Of course, one might question why students should or would publish the results of their graduate work. The answer is complex, without a “one size fits all,” because scholarship can be intrinsically and/or extrinsically motivated. McGaghie and Webster ( 2009 ) describe intrinsic motives as including sharing knowledge, career advancement, status improvement, collegial approval, personal pleasure, and response to challenge; extrinsic motives include academic pressure, commitment to patient care, practice improvement, and promoting the use of new technologies. Although the reasons genetic counselors publish articles have not been empirically evaluated, Clark et al. ( 2006 ) (i) concluded that a substantial number of genetic counselors consider active involvement in research (a form of scholarship and precursor to publication) to be a core role, and (ii) found that respondents endorsed a range of intrinsic and extrinsic motives for their involvement in research. These reasons included interest in the subject, contributing to the field, personal development/satisfaction, diversifying job responsibilities, job requirements, lack of existing research on a particular topic, and career advancement. It is reasonable to infer that these reasons would extend to publication as well.

The work that culminates in a master’s thesis provides the basis for a professional journal article. However, writing a professional journal article differs from writing a master’s thesis. This article, therefore, provides practical ideas and considerations about the process for developing a master’s thesis into a peer-reviewed journal article and describes successful case examples. Research and publication occur in stages and include many important topics. Previous genetic counseling professional development articles have partially or comprehensively addressed the topics of developing and conducting a research project (Beeson 1997 ), writing a manuscript (Bowen 2003 ), and the peer-review process (Weil 2004 ). This paper expands on previous articles by describing the publication process and discussing publication ethics, with emphasis on aspects pertinent to publishing a master’s thesis. It is hoped that this article will encourage genetic counselors to publish their research.

The primary audience for this article is genetic counselors who are conducting a master’s thesis or equivalent or who completed a thesis in the last few years which remains unpublished. The secondary audience is other novice authors and affiliated faculty of genetic counseling training programs. Although the focus of this paper is on journal publications which are subject to a peer-review process (e.g., original research, clinical reports, and reviews), some of the basic information applies to a variety of publishing forms.

The Publication Process

Publish before it perishes.

Like produce and dairy products, data have a limited shelf life. Research results may be rendered marginal by new research, social changes, and shifts in research trends. For example, a study of patient reluctance to undergo genetic testing due to concerns about health insurance discrimination conducted in December 2007 would have been obsolete when the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (Pub.L. 110–233, 122 Stat. 881, enacted May 21, 2008) was enacted 5 months later. Or studies of whether patients think they might undergo testing if a gene for a particular condition were identified become less relevant once the gene is actually mapped and sequenced.

The hardest part about writing is actually writing. Making the time to sit down and compose a report of research findings is a very difficult first step. As noted in the three case examples, this is particularly true for a recent graduate whose time is occupied with searching for a new job, moving to a new city, and learning the details of a new job. However, the longer you wait, the more difficult it becomes, and the greater the risk that your data will grow stale. If you do not write it, the paper will likely not get written. The three case examples identify strong mentorship, ongoing communication with co-authors, constructive criticism, and commitment to publication by every author as key elements for successfully preparing a manuscript. The following sections describe basic processes for preparing a paper. See also Table  1 for helpful references about technical aspects of manuscript preparation.

Table 1

Selected Resources For Manuscript Preparation

Choosing a Journal

Research delivered to an inappropriate audience is ignored. Many journals publish genetic counseling research—as demonstrated by the three case examples—and therefore, choosing the right journal is critical (Thompson 2007 ). The first step is to decide who the audience should be. Is it important to reach genetic counselors? Medical geneticists? Or is the audience outside of the genetic counseling community? Some genetic counseling research is of interest to researchers in patient education, decision-making, or the social sciences. Clinicians such as surgeons, radiology technicians, psychologists, and family practice physicians might benefit from a greater understanding of genetic counseling and how it interfaces with their specialties.

The next step is to decide whether the journal is interested in the type of research conducted. For example, does the journal publish articles mostly on medical and clinical issues? Does it publish qualitative research? A description of the scope, aims, and types of research that are published is located in the “Instructions to Contributors” section on the web page of most journals. A look at the journal’s editorial board might also provide a good idea of a journal’s theoretical approaches, philosophical orientation, and research interests. Another strategy is to contact the journal’s editor or a member of the editorial board prior to submitting a manuscript to discuss the appropriateness of the manuscript for the journal. Many editors welcome such pre-submission contact since it reduces their workload of reading inappropriate manuscripts.

A journal’s “impact factor” may be important to some authors when considering where to publish a manuscript. The impact factor is a—perhaps imperfect—statistical measure of a journal’s importance. The impact factor was developed in the early 1960s by Eugene Garfield and Irving Sher and is technically defined as A/B, where A = the number of times articles published in that journal were cited and B = the number of citable articles published by the journal (letters and editorials are not usually citable articles) (Garfield 1994 ). An impact factor of one indicates that on average, articles published in the journal were cited once by other authors.

A journal’s impact factor can vary greatly from year to year, and its practical utility is widely debated (Andersen et al. 2006 ; Chew et al. 2006 ; Greenwood 2007 ; Ha et al. 2006 ; The PLoS Medicine Editors 2006 ). Genetic counselors often publish small studies and case reports. The journals that might publish such papers usually have impact factors of ten or less. Thus the impact factor may be a less important consideration for many genetic counselors when deciding where to publish.

A publisher’s copyright policy may also influence the choice of where to publish. The majority of publishers own the copyright (United States Copyright Office 2008 ) and authors do not have the right to copy, re-use, or distribute their own publications without buying reprints, which can be a significant source of income for publishers. Some journals, like the Public Library of Science (PLoS), are completely Open Access and make all articles fully available online. Other journals have Delayed Open Access, which makes articles publicly available after a specified period of time, often a year or two. Many journals, such as the JOGC , promote Hybrid Open Access in which authors, for a fee, can make their articles publicly available. Some journals will make select articles publicly available, usually those that attract media attention. For grant-funded research, consider the requirements of the funding source; some granting agencies require that the research results be made publicly available at some point.

Peer Review

Peer review is the process in which two or three experts evaluate a manuscript to determine whether it is worthy of publication. Peer review is the backbone of scholarly publishing; no research manuscript gets published until a team of reviewers and journal editors vets it. Ideally, reviewers are objective, constructively critical, open-minded, fair, and insightful. Some journals blind the reviewer to the author’s identity, in hopes that the authors’ reputations or professional relationships will not influence the review. Some journals will let authors suggest reviewers or request that certain people not review a manuscript. A journal’s peer review policies may be another important consideration in choosing where to submit a manuscript.

In practice, peer review is not always ideal (Benose et al. 2007 ; Curfman et al. 2008 ; Hames 2007 ; Wager et al. 2006 ). Nonetheless, no better or viable alternative has been proposed. Reviews may sometimes appear to be arbitrary, unfair, and poorly performed. Reading such reviews can be very difficult and frustrating, even for experienced authors. However, it is a reviewer’s job to be critical, and there may be elements of truth in even the most negative reviews. Some editors may be willing to send a manuscript to another reviewer if an original reviewer produces a harshly critical or poorly thought out critique. Some journals have a formal appeals process if a manuscript is rejected or an author feels a review is inaccurate, inappropriate, or biased. However, sometimes it is simply easier to submit the manuscript to a different journal. Case # 2 describes a successful example where submitting a manuscript to a different journal led to publication.

The manuscript rejection rate varies widely across journals, but about half of all manuscripts are rejected or require significant revisions (Armstrong et al. 2008 ; Hall and Wilcox 2007 ; Liesegang et al. 2007 ). About half of rejected manuscripts are published in other journals (Armstrong et al. 2008 ; Hall and Wilcox 2007 ; Liesegang et al. 2007 ). Even among articles that are accepted for publication, the vast majority will require significant revisions. All three case examples describe manuscripts that underwent significant revision. Thus, prospective authors should not be disheartened if a manuscript is rejected or needs extensive re-writing; this is the rule rather than the exception . Many editors are willing to work with authors who have questions about specific comments or how best to incorporate the reviewers’ suggestions. Busy journal editors would rather answer questions up front than have to laboriously edit a revised manuscript and send it back for further revisions.

Peer review, and the subsequent manuscript revisions, along with the number of manuscripts submitted to the journal, are probably the most critical bottlenecks in determining how long it takes before a manuscript appears in print. Typically, a year or more may pass from the time of submission to the publication date. The three case examples include their timeframes to highlight the need for perseverance and patience with the publication process.

The clearest way for authors to respond to editors’ and reviewers’ comments is to prepare a table that lists each comment and how the authors addressed them, item by item. Some reviewers’ comments may be inaccurate or simply unrealistic (e.g. “The authors should re-do the entire research study...”); these can be discussed in the table or in the cover letter that accompanies the table. Additional information about the peer-review process can be found in Weil ( 2004 ).

Acceptance!

Once a manuscript is accepted for publication, the publisher or the journal editor will send a copyright transfer statement that spells out ownership of the article. This statement must be signed and returned in short order before the manuscript will be published. The corresponding author will receive page proofs, usually electronically, which must be read by the author for accuracy and returned fairly quickly (usually 2–3 days). Many publishers are reluctant to make significant changes in the page proofs, and they may charge for substantial revisions. Thus, the version of the manuscript that is submitted to the journal before the page proofs are generated should be very close to what the author wishes to see in print. Usually at this time publishers will offer the author the option to purchase reprints to allow the author to share the publication with other researchers, co-authors, and colleagues. Some journals will provide a limited number of free reprints or a complimentary copy of the issue of the journal in which the paper appears. The steps in the publication process are summarized in Table  2 .

Table 2

Steps in the Publication Process

a ∼50% of manuscripts are rejected or require significant revision before being accepted for publication

Ethics of Publishing

“Scholarship (like life) is not always fair or precise.” (Thompson 1994 )

Manuscript preparation and submission for publication can be complicated by ethical issues. Many authors may not be aware of these ethical conundrums, let alone have a plan for addressing them. Ethics is not a stagnant concept. As research methodologies and research questions evolve, new ethical issues in publishing arise. This section contains a description of several issues broadly relevant to the publishing practice of genetic counselors, particularly as students or recent graduates. However, it is important for genetic counselors-as-authors to keep abreast of ethical issues relevant to their own work.

“Ethics” are principles that govern the behavior of individuals or groups (Merriam-Webster 1974 ). Ethical codes of conduct exist in order to preserve the integrity of a profession, ensure the public’s welfare, and protect scholars. Ethical issues particularly relevant to writing for publication, include: (1) authorship determination, (2) disclosure and conflicts of interest, (3) plagiarism, (4) subject confidentiality, (5) accuracy of information, and (6) publishing in multiple sources.

Authorship Determination

Consider the following situation: A student conducted an excellent study for her master’s thesis project. At the beginning of the project, her supervisor promised her that she would have first authorship on any manuscripts based on the project. However, when the time came to write the paper, the student procrastinated. Finally, after the supervisor repeatedly “nagged” her, she submitted a draft to her, but it was very poorly written. The supervisor decided the only way to salvage the paper was to totally rewrite it herself. Now the supervisor thinks that she deserves to be the first author. Is this ethical? Does it matter if the project was the student’s master’s thesis rather than a project in which she was voluntarily involved? Are there guidelines that might be implemented in advance to handle this kind of situation?

This complex situation may be all too familiar for many supervisors and students. It raises issues about valuing contributions to the publication process, the power differential between supervisors and students, determining when renegotiation of authorship is warranted, and setting expectations and priorities up front. Whenever manuscripts are authored by more than one individual, order of authorship should be negotiated as early in the process as possible. Only individuals who have actually contributed to the work should be listed as authors. Their order should indicate “...the relative scientific or professional contributions of the individuals involved, regardless of their status” (Shadish 1994 ) (p. 1096). In the sciences, the first and last authors typically are the individuals that made the greatest contributions to the project (Laflin et al. 2005 ). Many journals require a listing of each author’s contribution to the manuscript in order to make sure each person meets the journal’s requirements to be listed as an author.

Student authors pose a special situation. Doctoral students usually are the first authors of papers based on their dissertation research (Nguyen and Nguyen 2006 ). Authorship order is less clear for masters’ projects because masters’ students may lack sufficient knowledge and skills to conduct a project and prepare a manuscript of publishable quality without considerable input from their supervisor (Shadish 1994 ). Thompson ( 1994 ) recommends that when there is any question as to who made the primary contribution, the student should receive higher authorship. His recommendation helps to protect the person who has less power in the situation. Often students are involved in studies that are not based on their own master’s or doctoral research, but rather are connected to an existing research program, such as case examples 1 and 2. In those situations, some authors contend that their involvement should be creative and intellectual in order to warrant authorship; otherwise, student input can be credited in an acknowledgement section (Fine and Kurdek 1993 ; Holaday and Yost 1995 ; Thompson 1994 ).

Negotiating authorship is an important step that should begin in the initial stages of a project. This step usually involves assessing and agreeing upon each person’s tasks, contributions, and efforts. The amount of supervision required for an individual’s contributions is usually considered as well (Fine and Kurdek 1993 ). Sometimes renegotiation of authorship order is necessary due to unexpected changes and/or substantial revision of the manuscript. The key is to remember that authorship is negotiated. Questions to consider throughout this negotiation process include: Who had the original idea for the basis of the publication? Who designed and conducted the study that generated the data? Who will write most of the first draft of the paper? Is the study part of someone’s research lab? Students should maintain early and on-going communication with their co-authors about their investment of time and efforts and the outcomes of those efforts (Sandler and Russell 2005 ). However, scholarly contribution is more important than actual time and effort expended when determining authorship. For more information regarding authorship determination, it may be useful to review guidelines for discussing and clarifying authorship order (Gibelman and Gelman 1999 ) or developing individualized contracts for research collaboration (Stith et al. 1992 ). These guidelines also may be useful for initiating discussion of authorship as part of the curriculum in genetic counseling training programs.

Take another look at the authorship scenario. At the time of the original negotiation of authorship, it is likely that the supervisor (and other parties) believed the student warranted first authorship due to her creative contributions and time allotted to the study. In most authors’ minds, first authorship is equated with substantial contribution to writing the manuscript, usually the first draft, so it is important the student understand this is part of the responsibilities of being first author. Typically students have no experience writing a journal article, and so some procrastination is likely. In this scenario, the authorship dilemma may have been averted by having in place a plan to mentor the student, providing support, and delineating a specific process for writing the first draft of the manuscript.

Manuscripts invariably undergo substantial revision as co-authors and reviewers weigh in, so it is not unusual that the supervisor would revise the student’s first draft. This activity does not prima facie warrant a change in authorship order. However, by developing a specific plan to support the student’s writing, it may minimize the extent of the supervisor’s revisions. It is possible, though, that the student’s procrastination and poor writing should initiate a renegotiation of authorship order because the level and nature of her contributions to the work may be changing. The supervisor and student should discuss the reasons for changing authorship order; the supervisor should not unilaterally make this change without discussion. Keep in mind that the bar for changing authorship should be much higher if the paper is based on the student’s master’s thesis than if it is based on a project in which she was voluntarily involved. It is also important to inform students early in the process that most research is a collaborative effort, requiring time, energy, and sometimes funding, and therefore their collaborators have expectations that their contributions will be rewarded through publication. Developing an a priori policy for renegotiation may often reduce misunderstandings and minimize conflict.

Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest

Consider the following situation: A student conducted a study to evaluate a new program that her clinic is offering to its patients. She interviewed ten patients who participated in the program about their experience. Nine of these patients were in general agreement about the value of the program, while the 10th patient was quite negative about her experience. The student’s impression of this patient is that she is a generally negative person. The student believes that the patient came into the program expecting not to like it. Furthermore, the student is concerned her clinic will lose funding for this program if she reports this patient’s responses. The student decides to exclude her data from the paper. Is this decision ethical? Why or why not?

One ethical issue raised in this scenario involves determining when it is appropriate to exclude data points. Data collected from research can be messy, and it is not unusual for some data points to be excluded from analyses. However, there must be an explicit methodology for excluding data points or subjects, and this information usually is reported in the manuscript. Examples for exclusions include: missing data (e.g., a participant did not complete a majority of the items on a questionnaire); measurement error (e.g., the recorded measurement of a biological process or part of the anatomy is simply impossible); small sample sizes (e.g., an insufficient number of individuals from a minority group participated in the research resulting in numbers too small for meaningful analysis). In the scenario described above, the rationale provided for excluding the 10th patient’s experience is not sufficient to warrant exclusion. Instead, it appears that exclusion of this individual is based on a desire to promote the new program in the student’s clinic. In order to eliminate this form of conflict of interest, one could consider involving a clinic outsider in the analysis and interpretation of the data. By including a clinic outsider in the project, editor and reviewer concerns about the integrity of the data, analyses, and conclusions will be allayed.

Most journals provide another “safeguard,” by requiring a statement about possible conflicts of interest. A conflict of interest statement requires the author to acknowledge in writing the nature of any circumstances that might bias the process and/or outcome of their work. For example, any project and published report that might result in direct financial gains for an author(s) should be disclosed to a journal’s editor and to the readership. Examples of possible conflicts of interest include conducting a study of the effectiveness of a genetic test funded by the company that developed and is marketing the test, or a program evaluation study whose outcome would determine the continuation of the investigators/authors’ jobs.

Plagiarism is a familiar concept to most people. Everyone generally understands the importance of “giving credit where credit is due.” Yet, the National Science Foundation estimates that the prevalence of plagiarism may be as high as 50% (Roig 2001 ). Probably many of these incidents are unintentional and/or occur because the authors were unaware of some of the nuances regarding plagiarism. Although there is some variability within and across disciplines about the specific behaviors that constitute plagiarism, there is general agreement about two broad types (Roig 2001 ): cryptamnesia -an individual thinks their idea is original when it actually was presented by someone else previously; and inappropriate paraphrasing —an individual uses another person’s published text without properly citing that use, and/or using their statements with little or no modification. Specific examples of inappropriate paraphrasing include: (1) publishing another person’s work as one’s own; (2) copying part of another author’s paper and claiming it as one’s own; (3) copying text from another source without using quotations marks and without citing that source in the text; (4) paraphrasing text from another source without providing an in-text citation; (5) summarizing material from another source without clearly connecting the summary to that source; and (6) using copyrighted materials without author/publisher permission (East 2006 ; Lester and Lester Jr. 1992 ).

Additional types of plagiarism include ambiguous use of citations. For instance, an individual includes a citation in a paragraph but does not clearly indicate which content in the paragraph is from the cited work. Another type of plagiarism is self-plagiarism . Self-plagiarism occurs when an individual includes published work of their own for which they do not own the copyright (e.g., reprinting a table from one of their previously published papers); repeating verbatim text from a previously published article. Permission to reprint material from the publisher must be obtained.

Plagiarism is a serious ethical breach which can result in a legal penalty. Strategies for avoiding plagiarism include limiting the use of direct quotes; avoiding the use of secondary sources—it is always better to read and cite an original source when available; and restating ideas in one’s own words while providing in-text citation of the work that contains the original ideas (East 2006 ; Lambie et al. 2008 ; Lester and Lester Jr. 1992 ). When in doubt regarding the originality of one’s words, it is best to cite the source(s) on which they are based. In this regard, it may help to bear in mind that readers will assume all words in the paper are the author’s unless the source(s) are cited.

Subject Confidentiality

Published papers must be written in a way that no subjects can be recognized by others without their written consent (Gavey and Braun 1997 ). Given the unique nature of genetics, family members may also need to provide written consent (McCarthy Veach et al. 2001 ). When possible, identifying information should be removed or disguised (e.g., use of pseudonyms) and data based on multiple subjects should be reported in aggregate (group) form. Institutional review boards (IRBs) play a critical role in assuring protection of subject confidentiality. Many journals require authors to indicate either in the paper or a cover letter that they have obtained institutional review board approval to conduct their animal or human subjects study. In some cases, an ethics board may have been consulted regarding ethical dilemmas reported in a clinical paper and this should be acknowledged in the paper.

Accuracy of Information

Authors are responsible for rigorously checking the accuracy of their facts, data, and conclusions. However, despite one’s best efforts, substantial errors sometimes are not discovered until after a paper is published. In that case, the corresponding author should contact the journal immediately and ask that an erratum be published. On a related note, authors have a professional responsibility to make data sets reported in published papers available to other professionals. This practice allows for verification of the findings and conclusions, and it also makes possible research replications and extensions of the original study. The length of time for retaining research records depends on institutional policy and sponsor policy, so it is important to be aware of how these policies apply to the research generated by a master’s thesis. Often institutional review boards require researchers to state how long they will maintain a data set, and the researchers must adhere to that time frame.

Another accuracy issue concerns modifying and reporting the use of published material (e.g., an interview protocol, psychological instrument, curriculum) without clearly describing the precise nature of the modifications. Interpretation of findings and their comparison to other studies using the “same” instrumentation may be severely compromised when an author fails to report modifications. Further, professional courtesy suggests that permission be sought from the author before changing her or his material. Also, use of published material requires crediting the author(s) of that material by including relevant citations.

Publishing in Multiple Sources

In the sciences, a manuscript should not be under review by more than one journal at a time. It is, however, acceptable to submit material for presentation at a conference prior to its actual publication in a journal, as the authors in case examples 1 and 3 did. Some conferences publish proceedings , and some journals will not publish work that is already published in a Proceedings unless the two papers differ substantially. When in doubt, it is good practice to contact a journal’s editor to determine the journal’s policy. Journals typically only publish original work, but on occasion there may be interest in reprinting an article. Reprinting a previously published paper requires written permission from the owner of the publication copyright. As a matter of courtesy, one should also seek the corresponding author’s permission, even if the author does not own the copyright.

Examples of Success

The benefits of sharing knowledge within the medical community and with the public via publication have been delineated. The publication of original work contributes to the advancement of the genetic counseling field overall, and at the individual level, authorship establishes a level of professional credibility, enhancing opportunities for future employability, funding and job satisfaction. The opportunity to develop a genetic counseling master’s thesis into a manuscript should therefore not be overlooked. Below are the personal accounts of three recent graduates who successfully transformed their individual master’s theses into published manuscripts. These examples were not systematically ascertained, and as such, do not necessarily represent all experiences with trying to publish a master’s thesis. These stories provide “first-hand accounts” of the authors’ experiences and, while acknowledging the challenges, demonstrate commitment to publishing their own projects throughout their careers. Table  3 contains a list of helpful hints gleaned from these cases.

Table 3

Helpful Hints for First Time Authors

Case 1: Consider Writing Your Thesis and Journal Article Concurrently

As a result of personal determination, and above all, strong mentorship, I was able to turn my master’s thesis work into a manuscript published in Patient Education and Counseling , titled “Satisfaction with genetic counseling for BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations among African American women” (Charles et al. 2006 ). My work was a small component of an existing research project being conducted within a university academically affiliated with my genetic counseling training program. The project was an evaluation of the overall effects of “Culturally Tailored vs. Standard Genetic Counseling Protocol” among African American women.

I started by reviewing previous publications this group of researchers had produced and using these as a guide for my first draft, followed by multiple revisions. Approximately 17 months elapsed between first submission and publication. We submitted the manuscript in its original form in May 2005. We received the reviewers’ comments later that summer, and submitted revisions five months later. The article was accepted in that same month, published online five months later and in print seven months after the online version appeared. Shortly after graduating from my program I submitted an abstract of the work to NSGC for presentation at the 2005 Annual Education Conference, and subsequently learned that it was selected for the NSGC Beth Fine Student Abstract award.

My experience may be unusual because I worked on the manuscript and thesis project concurrently. Composing separate but related documents while still juggling second year genetic counseling student responsibilities was certainly a challenge. Preparing a comprehensive thesis project is a very different task than manuscript composition, the latter of which is more focused and narrow in scope. Challenges posed by this concurrent approach included ensuring that text requirements and deadlines specific to each document were met, as well as incorporating and addressing the reviews of both the training program and peer-reviewers. The main benefits of this approach were that I was still in school and therefore geographically close to my mentors, which facilitated ongoing communication throughout the process, and that the manuscript was under review by a journal before I started my new job.

Factors contributing to the successful publication of this project include mentorship, accountability, and commitment to publication by every author. Supportive, constructively critical, and well published, my mentors had high standards and knew the process. Frankly, I did not want to disappoint them. I found setting deadlines and meeting them, along with the accountability of in-person meetings (as opposed to email), to be effective approaches. Finally, publishing the project was a stated goal of the authors at the initiation of the project. I will not claim that the process was easy, but the goal is certainly attainable and worthwhile.

Case 2: You Need Not Publish Every Thesis Finding—Pick The Most Interesting and Relevant

As is the case for many graduate students, the first time I attempted to publish was after I completed my thesis. My thesis concerned the development of a minority research recruitment database and was the result of my graduate research on underserved populations.

Following graduation, I started my first job as a genetic counselor in a new city. During the overwhelming process of adjusting to “my new life,” my thesis advisor asked me to submit a manuscript to the American Journal of Public Health in response to a call for abstracts on genetics topics. Unfortunately, the deadline was only one week away. I scrambled to cut down my lengthy thesis to a reasonable length and submitted it, knowing that it was not my best work given the time constraint. Needless to say, it was rejected.

I decided that before resubmitting the manuscript to a different journal, I would need to take a different approach to the paper, more or less starting over. While my research results were interesting, they were limited in their application. I decided to publish instead on the success of our research initiative, as other researchers could learn from our process. Since I was changing the focus of the manuscript, I had to do an additional literature search and produce much of the writing from scratch. Most of this work had to be completed in my free time. While it was difficult to stay motivated, working on my manuscript when first starting a job was manageable as my caseload was lightest in the beginning. After several weeks of hard work, I submitted the manuscript to Health Promotion Practice .

About one month later, the editor contacted me and asked me to resubmit my manuscript with revisions. Three different reviewers provided feedback. Initially, it was overwhelming to read through their comments and frustrating, particularly when the reviewers contradicted each other. Despite my frustration, with my co-authors’ guidance I forged ahead and resubmitted, only to have the editor and reviewers ask for additional revisions. There were comments from the same three reviewers, however, far fewer in number. Still, I was beginning to think they would never accept the manuscript. I once again called upon my co-authors for guidance and was able to address the reviewers’ comments and resubmit the manuscript once again.

This time when I heard from the editor, the manuscript was finally accepted. What started out as a 120 page thesis ended up being published as an eight page paper (Vogel et al. 2007 ). It took approximately 8 months of writing and revising before the manuscript was finally accepted and an additional year before it came out in print. While the entire process was a true test of patience and determination, it was ultimately worth it. The experience gave me the foundation to carry on my research career and continue to publish successfully.

Case 3: Expectations and Mentorship are Crucial

I defended my thesis, received my Master’s degree, and was about to move back to the Midwest to start my new job as a genetic counselor, but my long “To-Do” list had one remaining item: Publish master’s thesis. I started the initial master’s thesis process with the expectation from one of my thesis advisors, and now a co-author, that research is not “put down and set aside” until published. I never questioned the process; if I was going to work with this advisor, I would be publishing. I was excited to undertake this challenge and impressed by my thesis advisor’s dedication, mentorship, and desire to see our hard work recognized. Nearly two years later, I could proudly say that this expectation, held by all of my thesis advisors and me, was accomplished. The manuscript, published in the JOGC , describes qualitative research regarding communication of genetic test results within a family (Blase et al. 2007 ).

In the beginning, I was unfamiliar with the publication process, but because of the support and guidance of my advisors, I began to learn the process, and so the frustrations and uncertainties were minimal. I also had a great working relationship with my co-authors that included communicating regularly and setting and meeting deadlines. After deciding the JOGC was the most appropriate venue for my research, I spent a good deal of time reducing and reformatting the 80 page thesis to a 20–25 page manuscript to meet the journal’s guidelines. Given the page constraints, this process necessitated determining which data to focus on and re-framing some information to appropriately fit the readers of my selected journal. Conversations with my advisors were instrumental in this phase.

There was nothing quick about publishing my master’s thesis. I graduated in June 2005, received an email shortly thereafter from one of my advisors about how to begin constructing a first draft of a manuscript, and began working on the manuscript in July 2005. I submitted the manuscript to JOGC in May 2006 and subsequently was informed by the editor that based on the reviews, revisions were required before the manuscript could be considered for publication. In September 2006, after two rounds of revisions, my manuscript was accepted, and by June 2007 it was published in the journal.

Although ultimately I was successful in publishing my master’s thesis, the process had its moments of frustration. I remember getting my first round of comments from the reviewers; I thought I was never going to get to the point of publication. My co-authors supported and encouraged me by explaining that revisions are truly part of the process. I was overwhelmed by the reviewers’ list of questions and changes after my initial submission, followed by additional reviews and revisions. Not only did I have to figure out how to keep the manuscript a priority in light of my new job, but I had to weed through and address the reviewers’ comments, and the suggestions of each co-author. The guidance of my thesis advisors, now co-authors, helped me navigate this process.

I have gained much through this experience. The process has opened doors for me including opportunities to work with other professionals with impressive publishing experiences, as well as speaking and poster presentation opportunities at national conferences. I also have greater confidence about the publishing process. What seemed like such a daunting and impossible task is now an attainable outcome. Although my master’s thesis was my most recent publication, the thought of taking on the publication process again is not nearly as intimidating as I once thought.

Publication of original research, clinical experience, and literature reviews are vital to the growth of the genetic counseling field and to the delivery of genetic counseling services. Publishing also promotes personal growth by counting toward maintenance of ABGC-certification as well as establishing the author as a credible and respected authority both within and outside the genetic counseling field. This professional recognition in turn can lead to employment opportunities, speaking engagements, research funding, and career advancement.

Submitting a manuscript for publication also can be an intellectually challenging, emotionally trying, and time-consuming task. But similar to life’s other difficult tasks, the rewards and satisfaction are commensurately great—to see your name in print, have your work cited by other authors, and know that you have contributed in a meaningful way to the practice and understanding of genetic counseling. Transforming a master’s thesis into a journal article is an obvious first step in developing and sustaining a commitment to publishing for our genetic counseling profession. Common themes in the three success experiences include the importance of mentorship and clear expectations for publishing, recognition of the length of the process and concomitant need for perseverance in the face of revisions, awareness of personal and professional benefits in terms of presentations at national meetings, awards, and motivation to continue publishing. Hopefully the information provided in this article will help to de-mystify the publishing process, promote consideration of ethical issues in publishing, and stimulate genetic counseling students and new graduates to embrace a “Publish for Success” philosophy.

Acknowledgments

This paper was developed from an Educational Breakout Session (EBS) sponsored by the Jane Engelberg Memorial Fellowship Advisory Group at the 2008 NSGC Annual Education Conference.

Open Access

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial License which permits any noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and source are credited.

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Manuscript-Style Theses and Dissertations

Before you begin, what is a manuscript-style thesis.

A manuscript-style thesis is a document that includes one or more scholarly manuscripts written in a manner suitable for publication in appropriate venues. A manuscript-style thesis allows a student to prepare and present his or her graduate research work in a format that facilitates publication.

A manuscript-style thesis is not, however, merely a collection of published or publishable papers. It must meet the principles and objectives required of a thesis .

Who can submit a manuscript-style thesis?

Number and focus of manuscripts.

Although the Advisory Committee will discuss and approve the number and focus of manuscripts at the proposal stage, this may be modified by agreement of the committee as the research progresses. Such revisions must be approved by the supervisor and Advisory Committee.

Principles of Manuscript-Style Thesis Writing

Consistent with CGPS Policies and Procedures , all theses and dissertations must be written in good scholarly style and conform to the requirements approved by the academic unit. The following are intended to act as guidelines for minimum requirements in the creation of a manuscript-style thesis. Academic units may choose to provide additional discipline-specific instructions.

Choosing the format

The format and style of a thesis may differ from department to department, and from discipline to discipline. The student’s academic unit will identify an acceptable format for the thesis and communicate it to the student, and the style selected must be maintained throughout the thesis.

Consistency

Consistency of format and style is essential in a manuscript-style thesis to produce a coherent and defendable document which will satisfy the principles of a thesis. Consistency will help maintain the integrity of the document as a cohesive whole and sustain the clarity required to facilitate the review of the thesis by the Advisory Committee and Examining Committee. 

Grammar, spelling and punctuation

Accepted rules of grammar must be followed, and forms of spelling and punctuation must be used with consistency.

Previously published manuscripts

Even if a manuscript was published in a particular format, when included as a chapter in a thesis, it will match the formatting standard of the thesis. For example, it is expected that the numbering of tables and figures within chapters should be done for the thesis as a whole, which means that there should not be two tables or two figures in the thesis with the same number. Previously published manuscripts should not simply be inserted into the thesis as copies of journal pages.

To ensure consistency and clarity in presentation, previously published materials should be assigned page numbers that are sequential within the thesis, and page numbers as they may have been assigned within the publication must be removed. The page numbers assigned within the publication will be included in the citation.

Chapter layout

Chapters of the thesis need to be numbered sequentially. Subsections, tables, figures and equations within each chapter will be assigned a unique number, (for example, use the chapter number followed by a sequentially increasing number, separated by a period, i.e. 1.1, 1.2, 1.3…), with no two elements of the same type having the same number. This will help ensure the clarity of the document and ease of navigation for the Examining Committee.

These can either be listed chapter-by-chapter, or be presented in a single list at the end of the thesis. If the chapter-by-chapter approach is adopted, each chapter, including chapters that are not manuscripts (such as the introduction and concluding chapters), requires a list of references.

If a single list appears at the end of the thesis, all references cited in the component manuscripts must be included in the list of references at the end of the thesis.

Getting Started

The thesis is a single cohesive document that presents and describes the entirety of the research work that was conducted as part of the graduate degree. Individual manuscripts in a manuscript-style thesis should fit together into a single body of work to achieve the goals of the thesis.

The manuscript-style thesis, as with any thesis, will develop a general theme that presents the candidate’s research work; it must include an introduction that outlines the theme and objectives of the research, and a conclusion that draws out its overall implications. The different chapters or sections will contribute to the general theme, but the substance of each chapter should focus on a different aspect of the research.

 As the thesis needs to be a single body of work, there needs to be some content of the thesis that deals with the thesis as a whole and unifies it into a single document. How this content is arranged may vary from discipline to discipline, and from thesis to thesis.

Introduction and Literature Review

The purpose of the introduction and review of literature is to

establish the student’s familiarity with relevant work in the field;

establish the purpose and objectives of the research;

place the research within the larger context of the discipline;

and provide overall context for the research manuscript(s).

The introduction should establish the central aim and themes of the research and explain how these are addressed in the various manuscripts making up the thesis. In some disciplines, a separate literature review (possibly as a distinct manuscript) will be a stand-alone chapter, rather than be included in the Introduction; while in other disciplines, the literature review may be incorporated as part of the manuscripts.

Methods (optional)

If appropriate to the discipline, a discussion of methodology, either as its own chapter, a section in the Introduction or, depending on the context, a section in each individual manuscript can be a necessary part of the thesis.

The manuscripts should fit together in the thesis much as chapters would normally fit together in any thesis. Specifically, it needs to be clear to the reader how each manuscript included in the thesis contributes to the overall objectives of the thesis outlined in the abstract and introduction, and should tie each manuscript to the overall aims of the research project.

There needs to be a clear and logical progression from one chapter to the next, so that the thesis functions as a complete and unified whole with a clear singular research project as its focus. How the author of the thesis accomplishes this task is at the discretion of the author, the Advisory Committee and, if available, the policies of the academic unit.

It may be useful to have short transition sections appended either to the beginning or end of appropriate manuscripts that explain the progression from one manuscript to the next; however, this transition may also be accomplished in the introductory and concluding chapters.

Manuscript(s)

Each manuscript should have its own chapter. While the manuscript may be a published document, the format of the document in its role as a component of the thesis must be consistent with the thesis as a whole, regardless of the format in which the document was published (see comments on formatting above).

The manuscript content may also differ from the published version, and may include additional tables, figures or text, as required to ensure clarity. The format of the manuscript would normally include a brief introduction and statement of the research problem; synthesis of the literature; description of research methods and study area (if applicable); analysis, and presentation and discussion of results.

Manuscript length may vary and is at the discretion of the Advisory Committee, although the intent is to emulate the norms of publication or presentation in the discipline.

Discussion and Conclusions

The final chapter revisits the main contributions or findings of the research manuscript(s) within the broader context of the literature and discipline, linking the findings of each manuscript back to the literature  identified  in the introduction. Directions for future research are normally identified in this section, as well as any limitations to the research overall.

Each thesis is required to contain a concluding section that relates the individual manuscripts, and the conclusions drawn in those manuscripts, to the overarching goal of the thesis.

Appendices and Supporting Documentation

Material that is not part of the research manuscript(s) but deemed necessary by the student’s Advisory Committee as supporting documentation (e.g. research instruments; raw data summaries; copyright permissions, additional site descriptions, etc.) should be included in Appendices.

If there are changes suggested to published manuscripts (i.e., chapters of the thesis) through the defence process, these changes may be addressed and included in a separate appendix at the end of the thesis, if copyright issues are a concern, or if it disrupts the flow of a published manuscript to make the changes within the published chapter itself. This consideration is for published manuscripts only.

Co-authored Manuscripts

These can be included in the thesis, if acceptable to the student’s Advisory Committee and approved by the academic unit. The Advisory Committee will confirm that the student has made a substantial contribution to each of the manuscripts, and determine that the paper merits inclusion in the thesis.

There is no limit to the number of co-authors.

Expectations

In a manuscript-style thesis, it is expected that the author of the thesis will be the lead author on at least one manuscript included in the thesis.

The manuscript-style thesis may include both published and unpublished manuscripts. However, the publication status of each manuscript should be clearly indicated.

For each published article, a complete citation, including first and last page numbers and recognition of the copyright holder, should be printed at the beginning of the manuscript.

To assist the Examining Committee in assessing work involving multiple authors, the student should include an explicit statement in the thesis describing his/ her original contributions to the paper in detail, and justifying the inclusion of the paper in the thesis. Individual disciplines and academic units may require further acknowledgment of contributions.

Where there may be two students who will include the same manuscript in two separate theses, each student should acknowledge the existence of the other thesis, and the fact that the manuscript appears in both theses.

Co-authors should understand obligations prior to thesis preparation

There may be cases when the student, supervisor(s) and other research collaborators are co-owners of the intellectual property presented within the thesis, and they may also be co-authors of the manuscript(s). Prior to preparing the thesis, all associated individuals should understand their respective obligations related to data confidentiality (if applicable), copyright, and authorship. The nature of these obligations will vary with discipline and with the specific policies of the academic unit.

With the approval of the academic unit, the same manuscript may appear in more than one thesis if multiple students are co-authors on the manuscript, and each made a significant contribution to the research and preparation of the manuscript.

Unpublished papers

For a paper that has been submitted but not yet published, a statement concerning the status of any dealing or contemplated dealing with the copyright or the auspices under which the work was prepared should be printed at the beginning of the manuscript.

Changes to original manuscript

Review of the thesis.

The merits of the manuscript-style thesis will be judged on the criteria outlined at the beginning of this guide and by the defence processes outlined for all theses. The judgement of the thesis rests with the Examining Committee (Advisory Committee plus the External Examiner) and is independent of, and separate from, any judgement (favourable or unfavourable) related to the acceptance of individual papers for publication or presentation within the relevant discipline.

Similar to all other theses, everything in the thesis is subject to review, criticism and possible revision following the oral defence.

Notwithstanding the status of a manuscript considered for publication by other means, the form and content of the thesis must be deemed acceptable by the External Examiner and a majority of  the Examining Committee in order for the student to complete the degree requirements.

It is the responsibility of the student and any co-authors of material included in the thesis to obtain from all copyright holders written permission to include copyrighted material in the thesis. Written permission must be obtained from any co-author who retains copyright, or from the person to whom the co-author has assigned copyright.

Any payment which might be required by the rights holder(s) is the responsibility of the student. The thesis should indicate that copyrighted and/or co-authored material have been printed either “with permission” or “under license” (either by a statement in the preface or on the first page of each article).

Copies of the letters of permission or licenses must be available upon request and may be included within the thesis as appendices. Given this, it would be good practice for students to inform the journals to which they submit manuscripts that these manuscripts may eventually be included within a manuscript-style thesis.

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• Publication Process

How to Write a Journal Article from a Thesis

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Table of Contents

You are almost done with your PhD thesis and want to convert it into a journal article. Or, you’re initiating a career as a journal writer and intend to use your thesis as a starting point for an article. Whatever your situation, turning a thesis into a journal article is a logical step and a process that eventually every researcher completes. But…how to start?

The first thing to know about converting a thesis into a journal article is how different they are:

Thesis Characteristics:

• Meets academic requirements
• Reviewed by select committee members
• Contains chapters
• Lengthy, no word limits
• Table of contents
• Lengthy research of literature
• IRB approval described in detail
• Description and copies of tools used
• All findings presented
• Verb tenses may vary

Journal Article Characteristics:

• Meets journalistic standards
• Reviewed by a panel of “blind” reviewers
• Word limits
• Manuscript format
• Succinct research of literature
• IRB described in 1 to 3 sentences
• Essential and succinct tool information
• Selected findings presented
• Verb tenses are fairly consistent

Converting your thesis to a journal article may be complex, but it’s not impossible.

A thesis is a document of academic nature, so it’s more detailed in content. A journal article, however, is shorter, highlighting key points in a more succinct format. Adapting a thesis for conversion into a journal article is a time-consuming and intricate process that can take you away from other important work. In that case, Elsevier’s Language Editing services may help you focus on important matters and provide a high-quality text for submission in no time at all.

If you are going to convert a thesis into a journal article, with or without professional help, here is a list of some of the steps you will likely have to go through:

1. Identify the best journal for your work

• Ensure that your article is within the journal’s aim and scope. How to find the right journal? Find out more .
• Check the journal’s recommended structure and reference style

2. Shorten the length of your thesis

• Treat your thesis as a separate work
• Paraphrase but do not distort meaning
• Select and repurpose parts of your thesis

3. Reformat the introduction as an abstract

• Shorten the introduction to 100-150 words, but maintain key topics to hold the reader’s attention.
• Use the introduction and discussion as basis for the abstract

4. Modify the introduction

• If your thesis has more than one research question or hypothesis, which are not all relevant for your paper, consider combining your research questions or focusing on just one for the article
• Use previously published papers (at least three) from the target journal as examples

5. Tighten the methods section

• Keep the discussion about your research approach short

6. Report main findings in the results

• Expose your main findings in the results section in concise statements

7. Discussion must be clear and concise

• Begin by providing an interpretation of your results: “What is it that we have learned from your research?”
• Situate the findings to the literature
• Discuss how your findings expand known or previous perspectives
• Briefly present ways in which future studies can build upon your work and address limitations in your study

8. Limit the number of references

• To choose the most relevant and recent
• To format them correctly
• Consider using a reference manager system (e.g. Mendeley ) to make your life easier

If you are not a proficient English speaker, the task of converting a thesis into a journal article might make it even more difficult. At Elsevier’s Language Editing services we ensure that your manuscript is written in correct scientific English before submission. Our professional proofers and editors check your manuscript in detail, taking your text as our own and with the guarantee of maximum text quality.

Language editing services by Elsevier Author Services:

• Research Process

How to Choose a Journal to Submit an Article

• Publication Recognition

How to Submit a Paper for Publication in a Journal

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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