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RUTGERS

 

The Graduate School Of New Brunswick

Thesis and Dissertation Style Guide

1. Preliminary Information
2. General Specifications
3. Outline & Formatting Rules

1. Preliminary Information

Committee Composition

Ph.D. Committee:

• A minimum of four members.
• Chair must be a full member of the Graduate Faculty.
• One committee member, chosen in consultation with the Program Director, from outside the program.

Master's Committee:

• A minimum of three members or associate members from the Graduate Faculty; one non-program member is permitted with the approval of the Program Director.

Before You Begin

• Attend a dissertation workshop; for details and dates, call (732-932-7034).
• Ask advisor for the preferred style guide (APA, MLA, etc.) for the discipline. If there is no guide, consult the leading journal in the field for models to follow. The precise form of all matters of style should be consistent throughout and conform to generally accepted practice in the discipline.
• Sample dissertation are available for review at the Graduate School-New Brunswick, 25 Bishop Place, CAC.
• Please consult with Barbara Sirman (732-932-8122) if you need more details about a particular type of formatting or if you have formatting questions not addressed in this guide.

 When you submit

• Two unbound copies of the dissertation that adhere strictly to the format described in this guide must be submitted.

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2. General Specifications

 Paper:

• 8 1/2"x11" sheets. 100% rag or cotton content paper, such as Crane's or Southworth, Co.'s thesis bond. Rag content should be indicated in the watermark.

 Print:

• Choose an easy-to-read type. Use one typeface throughout; script or italic typefaces are not acceptable for the main text.

 Copies:

• Typed, photocopied, or computer-printed copies are acceptable.
• Both copies must be of excellent quality on the proper 100% rag or cotton content bond paper.
• Light, broken, or unreadable print is not acceptable.
• Print on one side of the page only.

Page Format:

Spacing

• Double-space preliminary pages, appendices, and all text.
• Single-space all footnotes, endnotes, references, bibliographic materials, and curriculum vita.
• Quotations of four or more lines of prose should be single-spaced and indented five spaces from the left margin. No indentation on right.
• Verse quotations of two or more lines should be single-spaced and centered.
• Footnotes and endnotes should be single-spaced.

 Margins

• Left margins must be 1 and 1/2" inches.
• Top, right, bottom margins must be 1 inch.

 Numbering

• Preliminary pages: lower-case Roman numerals, centered 1/2 inch from the bottom of the page.
• Text: Arabic numerals, upper right-hand corner, exactly 1 inch from the right-hand edge of the page and 1/2 inch from the top.

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3. Outline & Formatting Rules

 Preliminary pages

Note: Formal headings must be used on the sections marked with asterisks*. Some dissertations will not have: Copyright page, preface, acknowledgements and/or dedication, list of tables, list of illustrations, appendices.

I. Copyright page:

• Must be included if statutory copyright in the dissertation has been or will be claimed. For details, see Copyright Law and the Doctoral Dissertation: Guidelines to Your Legal Rights and Responsibilities, Kenneth D. Crews, UMI, 1996.

II. Title page:

• Title should be a meaningful, accurate description of the content of your research.
• Avoid oblique references; substitute words for formulae, symbols, superscripts, Greek letters, etc.
• Your full, legal name, as it appears on registrar's records, must be on the title page.
• Provide the appropriate number of lines needed for the approval signatures.
• The title page of the original copy must contain the original signatures of the research director and all committee members in BLACK INK.
• Center and doublespace all text and lines.
• The month and year entered at the foot of the page must be October, January, or May, the date the degree is to be conferred, not the date of the defense.

III. Abstract:*

• Provides a succinct summary of the dissertation, summarizing clearly the problem or problems examined, the methods employed, and the major findings.
• The abstract must be in English and may not exceed 2,450 typewritten characters (350 words).

IV. Preface*

V. Acknowledgement and/or Dedication*

VI. Table of contents (with page reference):*

• Includes all preliminary and concluding sections.

VII. List of tables (with titles and page references)*

VIII. List of illustrations (with titles and page references)*

Text

I. Introduction*

II. Main body:

• Divided into chapters or sections, each having a title and each beginning on a new page. As needed, chapters or sections are further divided into one or more series of subsections, each preceded by a subtitle.
• Graphs, Figures, Tables, Charts, Maps, and Photographs must be suitably sharp and clear for reproduction on microfilm and must be suitable for binding. Shaded areas on graphs should be cross-hatched. Photographs and other illustrative materials should be mounted with rubber cement or reproduced onto 100% rag or cotton paper, within standard margins.
• Oversize Pages. Avoid unless absolutely necessary. Copy may be folded and attached to regular 8 and 1/2 inch sheets of dissertation quality paper, within standard margin requirements, using permanent bonding glue.

References, Citations, and Bibliography

I. Appendices*

II. References or Footnotes:*

• Footnotes at the bottom page, endnotes at the ends of chapters or at the end of manuscript. Number notes consecutively. When notes are at the end of chapters, each chapter's notes should begin with the number one (1). Be consistent throughout and conform to generally accepted practice in the discipline.

III. Bibliography*

IV. Curriculum Vita* (required for Ph.D., optional for master's candidates):

• A brief vita, in outline form, containing the following information in chronological order: colleges attended, with dates, subjects pursued, and degrees earned; principal occupations and positions held during the period between the conferral of the baccalaureate and the doctorate; publications, if any.

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The contents of this guide were prepared by members of the staff of the Office of the Graduate Dean, The Graduate School-New Brunswick, 25 Bishop Place, CAC.

• Barbara E. Bender, Associate Dean
  Linda G. Schulze, Assistant Dean
  Barbara Sirman, Administrator

October 1997.

NOTE:This Web Page was designed and is maintained by the New Brunswick Computing Services Information Center

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