Documentation:Research Commons/Thesis Formatting/Templates and Guides/Templates
Thesis Template
Research Commons Thesis Template
(Revised March 4, 2014 to make heading styles easier to use)
What is a template? Why should you use one for your thesis?
A template is a collection of pre-set style and formatting choices. The blank Research Commons Thesis Template was developed by members of the Research Commons and the Chapman Learning Commons, and has been checked and approved by the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies (G+PS). It is an MS Word .docx document that will work on both PCs and Macs. It has been pre-formatted to adhere to the G+PS requirements, and includes an automatic table of contents, as well as appropriately formatted headings, fonts, and page margins. The Thesis Template Guides, in PDF format, provide instructional tools to navigate through each formatting component required for G+PS approval, with separate PC and Mac guides designed to walk you through MS Word features. These guides are available through the Guides tab above.
Using the template and the support materials will help you format your thesis and dissertation documents with greater consistency and ease. It will also reduce the amount of time you have to spend searching for information on the G+PS formatting requirements or looking for Word support on the Internet.
Please note that using this template is not a guarantee that your thesis will be formatted properly, particularly if you make changes to any of the formatting. Make sure to review your final product carefully before submitting it to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies.
For information on how to use the template, please visit the Research Commons Help Desk located on the second floor of Koerner Library, book an appointment with one of our staff members, or come to one of our weekly thesis formatting workshops.
Practice Thesis Template for Workshop Use
This practice thesis template is for use in Research Commons thesis formatting workshops. It is not the template you should use for actually working on your thesis. If you are interested in attending a thesis formatting workshop, please visit the Library's events page.