THE RICHARD WRIGHT CENTER

Format Requirements for Theses and Dissertations

Crafting academic excellence: explore our guide to thesis and dissertation formats, ensuring your research shines in the right structure and style.

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Mastering the format

Your guide to theses and dissertations

The Division of Graduate Studies reviews all dissertations before they can be submitted for publication in ProQuest. All submissions must adhere to the formatting guidelines listed below.

Dissertations that deviate from these requirements will be returned for correction. To avoid common formatting errors, please review sample dissertation pages and checklists for both manuscript submission and disciplinary style requirements before submitting your dissertation.

Seeking a professional editor? Please visit this page. For writing assistance with issues other than formatting, please schedule an appointment in the Richard Wright Center.

Students working with a writing advisor at the Richard Wright Center in the H. T. Sampson Library. — The Richard Wright Center for Writing, Rhetoric, and Research

Reviewed By: Division of Graduate Studies
Submitted To: ProQuest, after review
Location: H. T. Sampson Library, 1st Floor — Digital Intellectual Commons
Email: wrightcenter@jsums.edu
Phone: (601) 979-0694 · (601) 979-0989
Appointments: jsums.mywconline.com

Before you submit

Formatting guidelines

All submissions must adhere to each of the following.

Step 1 — Technical specifications

Fonts, margins, spacing and pagination

For technical specifications for fonts, margins, line spacing, order of pages, pagination, and setup of preliminary pages, refer to the Guidelines for Preparing the Doctoral Dissertation, pages 7–8.

Open the guidelines →

Step 2 — Writing style

Grammar, citation, headings, tables and figures

For guidelines regarding writing style, grammar, citation, heading levels, tables, and figures, refer to the disciplinary style manuals listed on p. 4 of the Guidelines for Preparing the Doctoral Dissertation.

See disciplinary styles →

Step 3 — Word template

Download the template from Canvas

To download a thesis/dissertation template in Microsoft Word:

Log into Canvas.
Click on any course on your dashboard.
On the course menu, click the Writing Center link.
On the Writing Center course menu, click Modules, select the Writing in Graduate School module, and click the JSU Thesis and Dissertation Template link to download the template.

Go to Canvas →

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