Formatting Requirements
On this webpage, you will find the basic format requirements for theses and dissertations at the University of Florida. All UF thesis and dissertation students must follow these requirements. The links to samples on this webpage show examples of what pages within your thesis or dissertation should look like.
Questions? Consult the FAQ page or email gradedit@aa.ufl.edu. If you would like your thesis or dissertation reviewed ahead of your submission to our office, please reach out to our partners at the UFIT Help Desk’s Thesis & Dissertation Support Center.
THESIS/DISSERTATION DOCUMENT ORGANIZATION
Your thesis or dissertation should be integrated into a single document. Your document is allowed to have only one abstract, table of contents, and reference list. There must be an introductory chapter, a main body (including tables and figures), and a closing summary chapter of conclusions or findings. Generally speaking, Chapter 1 will be the introductory chapter (often titled “Introduction”), followed by the supporting main body chapters, and wrapped up with the closing summary chapter (usually titled something like “Conclusion”).
TEMPLATES
The UFIT Help Desk’s Thesis & Dissertation Support Center maintains templates for MS Word and LaTeX which you must use to format your thesis or dissertation to make adherence to our formatting requirements easier.
BASIC FORMAT REQUIREMENTS
- Margins: One inch (1") all around (top, right, bottom, left) on all pages
- Font: 12-point Times New Roman or Arial throughout, including tables and figures
- Alignment: Left-aligned text with ragged right-hand margin — do not justify text
- Page Numbering: Arabic numbers (1, 2, 3, and so on) centered at bottom of each page
- Page Order: Arrange pages in this order:
- Title page
- Copyright page
- Dedication (if any)
- Acknowledgements
- Table of Contents
- List of Tables (if any)
- List of Abbreviations (if any)
- Academic abstract
- Chapters
- Appendices (if any)
- List of References
- Biographical Sketch
- Spacing: Double-space paragraph text. Indent the first line of each paragraph. Single-space headings, table titles, and figure captions. The reference list is single-spaced with one blank line in between the references.
- Text Flow: Text must be continuous throughout the chapter. It’s best to place all tables and figures at the end of their chapter. Avoid inserting them into the chapter’s text unless you can do so without leaving blank gaps at the bottom of text pages.
- Headings: Format headings with this styling:
- All major division headings are in uppercase (capital) letters, not in bold: preliminary pages, chapters, appendices, reference list; and biographical sketch.
- All subheadings and paragraph headings are bold.
- First-level subheadings are centered and in title case.
- Second-level subheadings are flush-left and in title case.
- Third-level subheading are flush-left and in sentence case.
- Paragraph subheadings are indented and in sentence case.
- Paragraph headings end with a period or colon. Start the text on the same line as the paragraph heading.
- Paragraph headings also can be used with bulleted lists.
SAMPLES
For more helpful resources to complete and submit your thesis or dissertation, click here:
Graduate Student Success