uf dissertation guidelines

• Purpose & Values
• Thesis, Dissertation, and Publication
• Submission Process

Formatting Requirements

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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 [email protected] . 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”).

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.

• Thesis & Dissertation Templates

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:
• Copyright page
• Dedication (if any)
• Acknowledgements
• Table of Contents
• List of Tables (if any)
• List of Abbreviations (if any)
• Academic abstract
• 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.
• Copyright Page
• Acknowledgments Page
• List of Tables
• List of Figures
• Academic Abstract
• Block Quotes
• Short Bulleted List
• Long Bulleted List

For more helpful resources to complete and submit your thesis or dissertation, click here:

University of Florida Gainesville, FL 32611 UF Operator: (352) 392-3261 Website text-only version

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LibAnswers: Electronic Theses & Dissertations (ETD) @ UF

How do i submit my electronic thesis or dissertation @uf.

After  consultation  with the support center,  review of the submission tutorials , and the  Doctoral Dissertation and Master's Thesis Checklists , within all  published deadlines  and during the intended term of degree award, students must  submit the thesis/dissertation  via the easy-to-use online portal found within  GIMS: The Graduate Information Management System.   Each term, once the editorial process is complete and the degrees have been awarded, the lead of the Editorial Office will catalog the ETDs, generate and validate the associated XML, and transfer the entire cohort of graduating students' theses and dissertations electronically to the UF Libraries for subsequent publication within the  library’s thesis and dissertation portal . 

• Last Updated Jul 24, 2023
• Answered By Peter Z McKay

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• Purpose & Values
• Thesis, Dissertation, and Publication
• Submission Process
• Formatting Requirements
• Prestigious Funding
• Student Organizations
• Gators Volunteer
• Intramural Sports
• Accommodations
• Emergency Services
• Financial Support
• Health & Wellness
• Campus Recreation
• Transportation
• Local Resources
• Graduate School

These resources can help you write, finish, and submit your thesis or dissertation by your last semester at UF, on your way to graduation with your master’s or doctoral degree.

TEMPLATES & FORMATTING

• Thesis & Dissertation Templates
• Guide for Preparing Theses and Dissertations (PDF file) - REVISING - Be Back Soon!

FINAL SEMESTER CHECKLISTS

• Final Semester Checklist: Dissertation (PDF File)
• Final Semester Checklist: Thesis (PDF File)

SUBMITTING TO GIMS: VIDEO TUTORIALS

• How to Submit Your Thesis or Dissertation to GIMS: First Submission
• How to Submit Your Thesis or Dissertation to GIMS: Final Submission (or Re-Submission)

FORMATTING: VIDEO TUTORIALS

• How to Download & Use Microsoft Word Thesis/Dissertation Template
• How to Update Your Table of Contents
• How to Update Your List of Tables/Figures
• How to Format Figures
• How to Format Tables

OTHER LINKS

• Grad Talk! Episode: Nearing the Finish Line
• UFIT Help Desk’s Thesis & Dissertation Support Center
• Copyright and Fair Use Guidance
• Critical Dates and Deadlines: Graduate Academic Calendar
• ETD (Electronic Theses and Dissertations) Publishing Restrictions
• ETD (Electronic Theses and Dissertations) Submission of Supplemental Materials and Data
• UF Library: Search UF Theses and Dissertations
• Outside Editors and Formatters for Hire (PDF file)
• Publishing and Printing Options for Your Thesis or Dissertation
• UF Smathers Libraries Subject/Area Specialists
• Writing Studio: In-Person and Online Tutoring and Workshops for Academic Writing

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• Search Search

Formatting Help for Theses, Dissertations

The UF Computing Help Desk provides support for graduate students when they are ready to format their thesis or dissertation. The electronic thesis and dissertation (ETD) staff at the Help Desk offer one-to-one consultations and adhere to all Graduate Editorial Office guidelines. The Help Desk also provides and maintains templates for the production of their document in both MS Word and LaTeX formats.

Taking advantage of UFIT’s expertise with electronic thesis or dissertation formatting is free . Technical consultations take place in the Hub, room 132. Appointments are preferred (call 352-392-HELP/4357) but walk-ins are also welcome if staff are available and physical distancing can be achieved. Business hours for the ETD service are the same as the Help Desk’s.

Let UFIT relieve some of the stress that comes with preparing a thesis or dissertation. Schedule a staff consult or review online tutorials by visiting the Electronic Support Page .

Find: Search UF Theses and Dissertations

Search options for uf theses, dissertations, and other graduate projects.

• Search library catalog for all formats (print and online)
• Due to technical issues, the bulk search for online theses and dissertations lists only around 50% of the works that are online
• Search the IR@UF for online only
• Browse by UF departments

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Electronic Thesis and Dissertation: Microsoft Word

Are you preparing your thesis or dissertation for electronic submission? The UF Computing Help Desk provides support for the preparation of your thesis and dissertation prior to submission to the Graduate Editorial Office.

You can download a copy of Thesis/Dissertation Template for Microsoft Word here, Microsoft Word Thesis/Dissertation Template . 

For more information on editing theses and dissertations, please go to Guide for Preparing Theses and Dissertations and visit Thesis/Dissertation Support .

Related Training

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation: LaTeX

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Dissertations and Theses: A Finding Guide: Cornell Dissertation Guidelines

• Introduction
• Cornell Theses
• Non-Cornell Theses
• Open Access, etc.
• Cornell Dissertation Guidelines

Cornell Dissertations Guidelines

General guidance on dissertations and theses is available from the Cornell University Graduate School Thesis & Dissertation web page . For more detailed guidance, see Guide on Writing Your Thesis/Dissertation .

Note that in the Bibliography (or References or Works Cited) section of the Required Sections, Guidelines, and Suggestions page , the following advice is offered.

Required? Yes.

• A bibliography, references, or works cited is required for your thesis or dissertation. Please conform to the standards of leading academic journals in your field.
• As a page heading, use “BIBLIOGRAPHY” (or “REFERENCES” or “WORKS CITED”) in all capital letters, centered on the page. The bibliography should always begin on a new page. Bibliographies may be single-spaced within each entry but should include 24 points of space between entries.
• << Previous: Open Access, etc.
• Next: Help >>
• Last Updated: Sep 18, 2024 1:17 PM
• URL: https://guides.library.cornell.edu/dissertations

Copyright on Campus: Theses & Dissertations

• Introduction
• Copyright Law Basics
• Public Domain
• Theses & Dissertations
• Author Rights
• Showing Movies in Class and on Campus
• Copyright & Data Management
• Copyright in Special Collections
• Open Education

Publisher Policies

Students often receive mixed messages when it comes to including a published paper in a dissertation, or publishing from the dissertation beyond graduation. Both of these scenarios are common and familiar to publishers, but there might be specific guidelines or requirements such as:

• Be transparent. Include a brief explanation when you submit your publication. More often, journals use plagiarism detection software; letting them know your work is out there and publicly available will help sidestep any questions.
• Include a citation to the published work in your thesis or dissertation, and/or a citation to the thesis/dissertation in the resulting publication.
• Specific rules for formatting.
• Resource: Publisher Policies MIT Libraries has compiled a list of major publishers with links to relevant policies

Reusing Material

Theses and dissertations often use charts, graphs, images, and quotes from other journal articles, books, or websites. When doing this, be aware that most content is protected by copyright, though it's likely fine for you to use these materials if you can do one of the following:

• Use public domain content. If you are including factual data presented in a straightforward way (e.g., a simple bar graph or pie chart showing the results of an experiment), it's very likely the figure does not meet the minimum threshold for creatively and is not protected by copyright.
• Use openly licensed content. Open access journal articles and books, as well as other media labeled with a Creative Commons license, 
• Decide your use is "fair." Fair use is a specific provision within U.S. Copyright Law that allows for limited use of in-copyright material without seeking permission. In general, quotations from the work of others should be no longer than is necessary to support the scholarly point you wish to make. In the case of images, you should be sure that the pictures you reproduce are closely tied to your research goals and are each made the subject of specific scholarly comment. More on fair use .
• If you're not sure about relying on fair use, you can often seek permission. Most of the time, this means navigating to the publisher's website or a journal article page and finding a link to "rights" or "permissions." Many publishers allow graduate students to use content without charge, with the understanding that if you publish your work formally in future, you may need to obtain permission again and pay a fee. It's a good idea to get permission in writing, but even an email is sufficient.

From Dissertation to Publication - FAQ on Your Rights as Author

Who owns the copyright of a thesis or dissertation?

You do! The copyright of a thesis or dissertation belongs to you as the author. Under the U.S. Copyright Act, works are automatically copyrighted at the moment they are fixed in a tangible form, including residing on your computer's hard drive. You continue to own that copyright until you transfer it to another party.  A transfer of copyright must be in writing.  If parts of a work have already been published and copyright in those other works was transferred to someone else (e.g. a publisher), copyright of those parts remains with whom it was transferred to.

Who owns copyright in work produced as part of a team or in a lab?

Whenever a group undertakes a project or research, it is best to have a discussion up front, including the faculty advisor or chair, to clarify how copyright, patents and other intellectual property will be managed and who will retain and manage rights for all portions of the project. Be sure to consider not only publications arising from the project, but also data sets, software, websites, user interfaces, specifications, and any other outputs. It is always best to make sure that faculty make clear to graduate students and others working for them how research outputs will be owned or used in order to avoid confusion. In circumstances where grant funds or University funding is significantly invested in the project or research, other ownership interests may be at play, which should be discussed and understood.

Do I need to register my copyright?

You do not need to register with the Copyright Office in order to enjoy copyright protection. Such protection is automatic, coming into effect at the moment a work is fixed in a tangible form. However, registration has certain advantages.  First, if your work is registered you have strong evidence that you are the author of the work and the owner of its copyright. Also, registration is necessary to enforce a copyright against an infringer or plagiarist. For full detail, read the U.S. Copyright Office circular " Copyright Basics ". The benefits of registration are outlined on Page 7.

Registration can be completed online directly (for a fee of $45) through the Copyright Office website  or through ProQuest (for a fee of $55) who will register the copyright for you and in your name.

Can I use previously published articles of my own in my work?

It depends. You will need to review the agreement you signed with the publisher of our previously published article. Most agreements require you to transfer your copyright to the publisher. If this is the case, you must request permission from the publisher to "reprint" the article as a chapter in your dissertation. However, some agreements specify that you retain the right to reprint the article in your dissertation. The chart below details several publishers' policies with respect to reusing your own previously published work in a thesis or dissertation; however, you should always review the terms of any agreement you signed.

Why do I have two publishing agreements to review and sign, and what do I need to understand about them?

University of Florida dissertations are distributed by both ProQuest/UMI and the UF Libraries. Both will make your work available and preserve it for the future (ProQuest through its Dissertations and Theses database and print sales if you choose to allow that, and the UF Libraries through its institutional repository, the IR@UF ). In return for those services, both ProQuest and the UF Libraries require you to certify that the work is your own and that you are not infringing the rights of others. These agreements also provide a mechanism for all parties to recognize your rights as an author.  

Please note, by signing these agreements you still retain copyright, including the right to publish your work; the licenses you give to ProQuest/UMI and to the UF Libraries does not preclude publishing any part of your dissertation in another form or prevent you from transferring your copyright to some other party at a later date. A license is a permission you give to others to use your work in ways that would otherwise not be permitted by copyright law; they are not a transfer of your copyright.

The agreement with UF Libraries requires that you give a license to UF to put your dissertation in the IR@UF and distribute it in a way that allows other scholars to read it and use it for non-commercial purposes, as long as they do not make changes to your work and always give you credit. This license is designed to enable scholarship and to protect you from plagiarism. The agreement with ProQuest/UMI  grants ProQuest the non-exclusive right to reproduce and disseminate your work according to the conditions you elect in the agreement, including whether to make your work available after a specified embargo period and whether to make it available open access. 

Both publishing agreements allow students to elect to make their dissertations available immediately or after a specific limited period of time known as an embargo. An embargo may be appropriate and desired when a student wants to allow time to explore publishing part of it in other forms, if the dissertation contains material for which a patent might be sought, or if it includes other sensitive or confidential information.

What is open access, and how does it apply to my thesis or dissertation?

Articles, books, theses and dissertations are said to be "open access" when they are "digital, online, free of charge, and free of most copyright and licensing restrictions." By making publications open access, the widest sharing of ideas and research results is made possible, which is generally done either by publishing in open access journals or depositing them in open access repositories such as PubMed Central, arXiv, or the IR@UF. University of Florida policy is for all new dissertations to be available open access through the IR@UF, either immediately or after an embargo period. 

Will journal or book publishers consider publishing my work if it is based on an open access thesis or dissertation?

Recent surveys  show that a majority of journal editors and university presses would accept submissions of articles and book manuscripts that were based upon theses or dissertations, even if they are available in an open access repository. This is in part because most publishers consider theses and dissertations to be "student work" that will require substantial editing and revision before being published in article or book form. The chart below summarizes the policies of some publishers regarding the publication of new works from a thesis or dissertation.

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• Next: Author Rights >>
• Last Updated: Jan 30, 2024 4:37 PM
• URL: https://guides.uflib.ufl.edu/copyright