The following items represent technical formatting requirements you should check before submitting your thesis to the Office of Graduate and Undergraduate Programs for approval. Use this checklist to prevent delays in the approval of the manuscript and possible delays in the awarding of your degree.

Thesis Checklist

• Title page format conforms to guidelines in the specimen sheet in Appendix B of this guide.
• Type font of 12-point Times New Roman or Garamond is used.
• Type font for headings does not exceed 14-point.
• References and content footnotes conform to appropriate APA standard.
• Boldface type has not been used on the title page, in the table of contents or for headings of chapters and other major sections.
• There is a blank page or copyright page after the title page.
• There are no page numbers on the title page, the approval page, the blank or copyright page or appendix title pages.
• Numbering begins on the abstract page with the small Roman numeral “iii.”
• The abstract does not exceed 500 words and follows the format in Appendix B.
• The order of the front matter meets the following standard:
  • Title page
  • Blank page or copyright page
  • Approval page
  • Abstract
  • Table of contents
  • List of illustrations (if figures/graphs/etc. are used)
  • List of tables (if manuscript has tables)
  • Acknowledgements (if used)
  • Preface (if used)
  • Dedication (if used)
• Page numbers fall within the required page margins.
• The table of contents is NOT listed as an entry in the table of contents.
• The word “chapter” is not included before each chapter number in the table of contents but is placed once as a heading over the chapter numbers (see example in the specimen section).
• Chapter headings and/or subheadings listed in the table of contents match exactly the corresponding headings in the text.
• The list of tables and list of illustrations are not combined on the same page. In the list of tables and/or list of illustrations:
  • There are period leaders between table/figure titles and the page number.
• The word “table” and/or “figure” is not included before the table/figure number but is placed once as a heading over the table/figure numbers.
• Tables and figures are numbered consecutively throughout the thesis.
• The left margin is 1½ inches throughout the document.
• Bottom, right and top margins are 1 inch throughout the document.
• All over-sized material has been photo-reduced to fit margins; the page numbers have been added after reduction.
• The captions or legends of figures are below the figure if space allows. (For full-page figures, the legend may be placed on the facing page.)
• The captions or legends of tables are above the table, and follow the APA format.
• Levels of headings and subheadings are correct.
• Multiple appendices have title pages that are counted but not numbered.
• There are brackets around page numbers of photocopied materials in the appendices.
• The vita is included.