ACADEMICS

Graduate School guidelines for formatting thesis or dissertation

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Students pursuing degree programs should check with their college to determine the specific style format (i.e., APA, IEEE, MLA, etc.) required for a thesis or dissertation within the college.  It is the responsibility of the student to ensure that the appropriate style has been applied to the document before it is submitted to the Graduate School prior to the posted Graduate School Deadlines. Students should also read and follow the Graduate School Guidelines for Submission, Policy 2312 carefully.

Documents deemed by the Graduate School to be inadequately prepared for the format check will not be checked thoroughly by the Graduate School and will be returned to the student as “incomplete.” The Graduate School staff will check 25 pages at random in the document-if these pages contain significant errors numerous enough to demonstrate that little or no effort has been made to format the document, it will be deemed “incomplete” by the Dean of the Graduate School. These incomplete documents will not be considered “on time” to meet the posted deadlines for submission. Posted deadlines are not negotiable.

Students are advised to submit their completed theses/dissertations to the Graduate School before the posted deadlines to facilitate the formatting process and to avoid the last-minute rush at the end of each quarter. Students are also advised to make the corrections noted on the thesis/dissertation before returning the document for a subsequent check. If corrections have not been made, the document will be returned to the student. Graduate School Guidelines for Submission, Policy 2312

The College of Engineering & Science has developed COES Equation Guidelines to assist students in the proper format of equations appearing in a thesis or dissertation.

The College of Education & Human Sciences Guidelines are additional formatting requirements of students in a degree program in the College of Education & Human Sciences.

The general Graduate School Guidelines, Policy 2132 for the Preparation and Submission of Your Thesis or Dissertation can be accessed by clicking on the link.