Requirements for format and final production of the dissertation and thesis, as specified below, meet UMI standards and American Library Association (ALA) suggestions for preserving archival copies of the dissertation and thesis.
1. Language
The dissertation or thesis must be written in English.
2. Page Size and Specifications
- Page size must be 8.5 x 11 inches (or 216 x 279 millimeters), also known as “letter” size in U.S. standards. (ISO standard paper sizes, such as A4, are not allowed.)
- The inclusion of oversized pages or sheets of paper larger than 8.5 x 11 inches (known as “foldouts”) is discouraged. When necessary, 11 x 17 inch pages may be used for large tables, illustrations, etc.
3. Font
- Text must be embedded, 11-point or larger font.
- Smaller font size may be appropriate for footnotes or other material outside of the main text.
- Black text is recommended; although, color may be appropriate in some limited parts of the document.
- Font requirements apply to all text, including captions, footnotes, citations, etc.
4. Margins
Margins should be at least 1 inch with page numbers at least 3/4 inch from the edge of the page. The templates use 1.6 inches for the left margin and 1.1 inches for the right.
5. Spacing
Document must be double-spaced with the exception of quotations as paragraphs, captions, lists, graphs, charts, footnotes/endnotes, bibliographic entries, items within tables, and lists in appendices.
Exceptions may include the following:
- Quotations and footnotes may be single-spaced within each entry.
- Lengthy tables may be single-spaced.
- Irregular spacing may be used to accommodate poetry or other creative writing.
6. Tables
Tables should be consecutively numbered.
7. Figures
Figures should be consecutively numbered.
