III. Contents

 

a. Committee Certification on the Approval Page for Graduate

  • Committee members' signatures are required on the Approval Page for Graduate (the signature page), regardless of whether the members attend the final defense or not.
  • Committee members' names must be typed under the signature lines.
  • Educational or professional titles (Professor, Ph.D., or Dr.) are not included on the signature lines for committee members, but the titles of the committee supervisory status ("Chair" or "Committee Member") should follow names of committee members.

 

b. Abstract

  • The abstract is a concise statement of the content of the dissertation, indicating its research significance.
  • Recommended lengths are approximately 350 words for dissertations and 150 for theses.

 

c. Table of Contents & List of Figures/Tables/Abbreviations

  • The Table of Contents is placed in the dissertation immediately before any pretext lists of tables, figures, illustrations, etc.
  • The Table of Contents must include the chapter equivalent headings (see II.f, sections where pagination is displayed) and their page numbers.
  • All chapter titles and subheadings listed in the Table of Contents must exactly match the headings as presented in the text. For example, a chapter labeled "Chapter 3" in the Table of Contents should not appear as "Chapter III" within the text.
  • Major chapters and chapter equivalent sections within the dissertation should be displayed as left-justified headings with no indents.
  • Subheadings are to be indented 0.5 inches under the appropriate major section heading.
  • The page numbers of the Table of Contents & List of ______ should be right-justified and proceeded by a dot leader or equivalent spaces.
  • Table of Contents & List items are double-spaced. However, when chapter titles and subheadings are more than one line long, they should be single-spaced and indented half an inch after the first line.
  • Microsoft Word and other word processor applications will be able to automatically generate a table of contents. Here are some instructions for Word: Table of Contents. Single spacing and the half-inch indent of a long running heading with multiple lines can be added to a finalized table of contents manually.

 

d. Footnotes, Citations, References, and Bibliography

  • Each manuscript must include a reference or bibliography section, even when chapter end notes or references have been used.
  • This section may be called "Bibliography," "References," or "Works (or Sources) Cited" depending on the style of citation.
  • The bibliography must indicate materials actually used, including the edition number (when later than the first edition) so that the accuracy of citations may be verified.
  • Any standardized form for footnotes and bibliography is acceptable if it is used consistently and has been approved by the thesis/dissertation advisor.
  • The title of the reference section should be formatted like a chapter title.
  • Items listed in the bibliography should be single-spaced for Chicago style, but double-spaced for APA. Both styles should allow for a blank line space between each item.
  • In some scientific disciplines, the references may be placed at the end of the chapter instead of at the end of the manuscript. In this case, the heading "List of References" or "Literature Cited" is appropriate, but it should not begin on a new page because it is considered a subsection of that chapter.

 

e. Appendix (Optional)

  • The heading of the Appendix should be formatted like a chapter heading. If there is more than one appendix, they should be labeled as Appendix A, B, C, D, and so on.
  • Each appendix should be treated as a chapter equivalent and start on a new page.
  • Subheadings within the appendix should be formatted in a manner consistent with subheadings found in the main text.
  • Images and figures should be reduced in size to allow for a heading that is formatted in the same way as headings of the same level elsewhere in the work.

 

f. Index (Optional)

  • The heading of the index should be formatted like a chapter heading.
  • If there are multiple indices, they should be labeled as Index A, B, C, D, and so on.
  • Each index should be treated as a chapter equivalent and start on a new page.
  • Items listed in the index may be single-paced.
  • Index entries and their corresponding page numbers should be in alphanumeric order.