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1. Preliminary Information
2. General Specifications
3. Outline & Formatting Rules
4. Sample Pages
- 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 dissertations 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
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- General Specifications
Print:
- Choose an easy-to-read type. Use one typeface throughout; script or italic typefaces are not acceptable for the main text (10-12 pitch).
Page Format:
Spacing
- Double-space preliminary pages, appendices, and all text.
- Single-space all footnotes, endnotes, references, bibliographic material, 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: lowercase 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. Begin with the number one (1) on the first page of text.
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- 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:
II. Title page:
- Title should be a brief but meaningful and 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 double space all text and lines.
- The month and year entered at the foot of the page must be October, January, or May, the date of 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 350 words.
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. Photographs and other illustrative materials should be mounted with glue or reproduced onto 100% rag or cotton paper, within standard margins.
- Oversize pages should be avoided unless absolutely necessary. A copy may be folded and attached to regular 8 1/2" 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. Acknowledgment of Previous Publications
- It is a universal tenet in publishing that previously published work, or work pending publication elsewhere, be acknowledged. Academic fields vary in the degree to which they countenance re-use of material that has also appeared, or will appear, elsewhere. In those fields in which such practices are accepted the following guidelines should be adhered to:
- Without exception, previous and pending publications must be acknowledged in the thesis or dissertation. There are several ways in which this may be done.
- If a thesis or dissertation is composed in part or in full of whole chapters or independent articles or reports already published, the preface or acknowledgments page must indicate this and give citations to the earlier publications. Even if the portions of previous publications are more partial, such acknowledgment in the front matter is recommended.
- It is presumed that the previously published material used in the thesis or dissertation represents the original work of the student. In the event that that is not the case, it has no place in the thesis or dissertation. In those fields in which the student typically works alone on the research and writing of the thesis or dissertation, it is expected that the writing will be his or her own. In those fields in which it is conventionally the case that work is done in close collaboration with others this may not be the case, but material written by others as part of a joint project should be referenced as such. In the case of co-authored material, comparable acknowledgment must be supplemented by a clear indication of the contribution of the author of the thesis or dissertation. In all cases, the major substance of the thesis or dissertation must be the original work of the student submitting it.
- In the case of shorter passages written by others, they may be quoted with proper attribution and any necessary permissions.
IV. Bibliography*
V. 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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- Sample Pages
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This guide was prepared by members of the staff of the Graduate School-New Brunswick.
Return to Thesis and Dissertation Style Guide Main Page.
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