Thesis and Dissertation Guidelines and Approval

Please check with your individual program and school for instructions if you need to print out your document and have it reviewed by the library. 

Typically librarians are available 9am-4pm M-Th in-person, but we might have meetings, so we recommend appointments or checking that someone will be available. Chat us from this page.

Thesis and Dissertation Approval

Check Moodle for the most current student forms and guidelines, including the thesis and dissertation formatting guidelines. Be sure to use the approved paper and double-check your margins. Note:

  • The formatting instructions apply to theses/dissertations for all programs in the GTU consortium, except degree programs specific to JST-SCU. (JST-SCU students must refer to the Submissions Guidelines for all Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations on the JST Registrar's page.)
  • The filing instructions are for the GTU Common M.A. and Ph.D. programs only. Once the Reference Librarian approves the formatting and paper of a GTU Common M.A. or Ph.D. student’s work, the student must take the final product and completed Graduation Check Sheet to the Student Services office on the second floor of the Hewlett building to complete the filing process.
  • Students filing their Common M.A. and Ph.D. projects must provide them in two separate envelopes (M.A.) or boxes (Ph.D.) when they turn them into Student Services (see filing instructions). 
  • Please contact Student Services with questions about the thesis/dissertation filing process.
Frequently Asked Questions

When you are completely finished, we will check that you are using the correct paper, have 1.5 inch margins on the left, and that your committee has signed and dated all copies of the title pages. 

No, sorry. We only have one printer, so we do not allow students to put in differerent paper, as we wouldn't be able to prevent other print jobs from being sent to the printer. Please visit a local print shop. 

We reject theses or dissertations most often for not having a left margin of 1.5 inches. All other margins should be 1 inch. Because the final document is bound, the extra space is needed so it is still readable without the text running into the gutter. 

If your document has a left margin that is 1 inch only, you will need to reprint it. 

Yes! We are happy to answer specific questions about Turabian, but we don't have enough staff to proofread your document, or look through the footnotes to see if it's cited correctly. 

All content decisions are between you, your advisor, and your committee. 

No, but you can send PDFs for your personal copies through the U.C. Berkeley Library Bindery's ordering system. You can customize the way they bind it, and they will mail the finished product to you. You can see examples of their products here. This is the same bindery that the library uses for bound copies of theses, dissertations, and periodicals.

 

Thesis/Dissertation Binding

The GTU Library contracts with the U.C. Berkeley Library Bindery for all its books and periodicals, as well as the theses/dissertations submitted to the library.  The library does not send personal thesis/dissertation copies for binding.  Students wanting personal copies bound can contact the bindery directly for cost and instructions.