Formatting Your Document

The following resources will help you properly prepare and format your thesis or dissertation prior to its submission.

The final document you submit must follow the Graduate School’s formatting requirements to be accepted. The formatting and sample pages below demonstrate the proper formatting for your thesis or dissertation.

For general formatting questions, email msuetds.approval@grd.msu.edu. For department-specific formatting questions, please contact your faculty advisor.

Formatting Resources

Guides & Samples:
Tutorials
- Video Tutorial
- Tutorial Slides
Templates

Your name must be consistent throughout your submission. This includes the Title page, Copyright page (if applicable), Approval form, and ProQuest Account contact details.

You must list your legal name as it is recorded in the university’s official record. Nicknames and abbreviated versions of names are not allowed.

The same font must be used for page numbers and regular text in the document.

Page numbers are to be ½ inch to an inch from the bottom (in the footer) of the page regardless of page orientation (portrait or landscape).

Counted, but not numbered:
- Title Page
- Abstract
- Copyright Notice
Lower case Roman numerals (i, ii, iii, iv, etc.):
- Dedication
- Acknowledgements
- Preface
- Table of Contents
- List of Tables
- List of Symbols
- List of Abbreviations
Arabic numerals starting with number "1":
- Body of Document
- Bibliography
- Appendix/Appendices

Preliminary pages include the pages preceding the body of the thesis/dissertation, such as:

Title page (required)
Abstract page(s) (required)
Copyright page (if applicable),
Dedication (if applicable)
Acknowledgements (if applicable)
Preface (if applicable)
Table of Contents (required)
List of Symbols (if applicable)
List of Abbreviations (if applicable)

If you choose to bold any headings in the preliminary pages (i.e., ABSTRACT or TABLE OF CONTENTS) then all the headings in the preliminary pages should be in bold type to maintain consistency.

Title Page
Abstract
Copyright Notice (if applicable)
Dedication (if applicable)
Acknowledgements
Preface (if applicable)
Table of Contents
List of Tables (if applicable)
List of Symbols (if applicable)
List of Abbreviations (if applicable)
Body of Document
Bibliography
Appendix/Appendices (if applicable)

All regular margins must be between 1 and 1 ½ inches and consistent on all sides. The only text permitted to be in the margins are the page numbers.

All pages in the document are to be 8 ½ inches by 11 inches. There are to be no blank pages in the entire document.

The text of the Abstract, Acknowledgements, Preface, and general text of the body of the manuscript may be 1.5-spaced or double-spaced and must be consistent throughout the document.

Table of Contents: Single-space within chapters. Follow the spacing guidelines above for spacing between List of Abbreviations, List of Symbols, and between chapters.
List of Symbols and/or List of Abbreviations: single-space within multi-line entries.
Bibliography: Single-space within multi-line entries.

Single-spacing is acceptable for titles, headings, footnotes, endnotes, lengthy quotations, bulleted/numbered lists, figure/table captions, and/or material in an appendix.

Consistency is key. Your choice of font, font size, and font color MUST be consistent throughout the document.

A 12-point font is the norm for regular text. A 10-point font is the norm for superscripts, subscripts, and footnotes.

Headings and subheadings in the body of the document may be up to a 24-point font size.

Script, small caps, and ornamental fonts will not be accepted.

Fonts strongly suggested include Times New Roman, Calibri, Arial, Garamond, and Cambria.

All general text must be in black. Text within tables, figures, schemes, algorithms, and computer code may be any color. URLs or hyperlinks may be in blue.

The text must be divided into chapters or chapter equivalents (example: INTRODUCTION, MATERIALS AND METHODS, RESULTS, CONCLUSION, etc.).

Any of the methods recommended in professional style manuals may be used to divide or sub-divide your document, provided consistency is maintained throughout the entire document.

New chapters or chapter equivalents are to begin on a new page.

Michigan State University has no overall requirement beyond consistency and all footnotes must conform to margin requirements.

Footnotes should adhere to the standards and practices of the authors discipline.

Whatever formatting choices are made for one chapter must be followed in all chapters to maintain consistency.

As an example: If you bold the chapter heading in one chapter you must bold all chapter headings.

Do not end pages with headings or sub-headings. Move orphan headings to the top of the next page so they are with the text in that section.

English versions of the title page and abstract are to follow the title page and abstract in the foreign language.

The English version of the title page and abstract are not to be counted or numbered.

The student’s advisor must send an email to msuetds.approval@grd.msu.edu granting permission for the document to be in a foreign language.

Students using reprints of previously published copyrighted material must obtain permission from the appropriate publisher to use that material in their thesis or dissertation.

The permission letter/memo must be uploaded to the copyright section in the student’s ProQuest account.

Supplemental files may be included with the electronic version of the thesis or dissertation in the student’s ProQuest account ONLY if the files have been approved by the faculty advisor/guidance committee on the Approval Form.

Do not attach the Approval Form, Embargo Form, IRB letter or IACUC letter as supplemental files in your ProQuest account.

Supplemental files’ formatting WILL NOT be reviewed by the Graduate School.

Formatting Resources

Document Elements