Paper Dissertation Submission Process

Quick Links:

Preparing the Doctoral Dissertation

Dissertation Writing Support
Templates and Page Numbering Instructions
Common Formatting Mistakes
ProQuest Publishing Agreement
Graduation Checklist
UMNSED Survey

PhD and EdD students are required to submit a paper copy of their final dissertation to the Graduate School in order to receive their degree. Doctoral students currently have the option to submit their dissertations to the Graduate School electronically or in hard copy, although the Graduate School strongly encourages students to submit their dissertations electronically. Information on the benefits to submitting online can be found at, http://www.grad.umn.edu/current_students/degree_completion/doctoral/ElectronicDissertationSubmission.html.

The dissertation is not only a representation of a student’s academic work, but also a reflection on the faculty adviser, the graduate program, the Graduate School, and the University of Minnesota. Once a student has submitted his/her dissertation to the Graduate School, it will be available for other scholars world-wide. Professional, consistent presentation of such work is essential. We have assembled information to assist students in their understanding of what the Graduate School requires in order to successfully present the culmination of their efforts as a doctoral student.

All dissertations must meet Graduate School formatting requirements. Please see the Preparing the Doctoral Dissertation to ensure the dissertation meets Graduate School Requirements.

GSSP Office staff is available in 316 Johnston Hall to review the dissertation to ensure that it conforms to the margin and formatting specifications prior to final submission. The GSSP office is open Monday-Friday, 8am-4:30pm.  We ask that students arrive no later than 4pm to allow sufficient time to review your dissertation.

Please contact, Stacia Madsen, Doctoral Clearance Coordinator, at gsdoc@umn.edu, for questions regarding formatting or dissertation submission

Dissertation Writing Support

The Graduate School Writer’s Nexus (http://www.grad.umn.edu/gradwriting/) is a valuable one-stop connection to a multitude of resources and support for graduate students’ thesis and dissertation writing.  Through the Writer’s Nexus, students can quickly link to resources to use the libraries, handle statistics, and write their thesis or dissertation.  The Writer’s Nexus also links students to support groups and other useful information to help them stay on track during the writing stage.  A section devoted to unique issues for international students is also included.

Templates and Page Numbering Instructions

For the convenience of our dissertation writers, The Graduate School is pleased to provide dissertation "templates" for doctoral candidates working in either Microsoft Word or LaTex. Students using the templates remain responsible for ensuring that their dissertations meet The Graduate School formatting guidelines as well as the requirements of their graduate programs and field-specific guidelines.

For MS Word

Dissertation Templates Instructions MS Word
Dissertation Template Instructions Multivolume for MS Word

Page number in header
Page number in footer

For La Tex

La Tex Template Instructions
La Tex Zip Files

(Students using La Tex must include the Bibliography or Reference in the Table of Contents)

Signature Pages

Signature Page Instructions
Single Advisor Signature Page Template
Two Advisors Signature Page Template

Page Numbering Using Microsoft Word (PC)
The following instructions are compatible with Office suites 2003 or earlier.

• Formatting page numbers within margins

1. Go to “File”.
2. Choose “Page Setup”.
3. Click on the “Layout” tab.
4. If page numbers are placed at the top of the page, change the “Header” field to at least 1 inch (2.6cm). If page numbers are placed at the bottom of the page, change the “Footer” field to at least 1 inch (2.6cm).

• Formatting using both Roman and Arabic Numerals

1. Keep both the introductory material and the body in one document.
2. Click on the first page of the document and go to: Insert>Page Numbers>Format. Change number format to "i, ii, iii...”. This will number your entire dissertation with lower case Roman numerals.
3. Click on the first page of the body of the dissertation, before the first letter on that page and go to: Insert>Break>Section Break Types. Click on "Continuous" and “Okay”.
4. Keeping your cursor on the same page, go back to Insert>Page Numbers>Format. Change number format to "1, 2, 3..." and click on "Start at 1". This will keep the preliminary pages numbered with lower case Roman numerals and the rest of the dissertation numbered with Arabic numerals.

 

Page Numbering Using a Mac

• Formatting page numbers within margins

1. Go to “File”.
2. Choose “Page Setup”.
3. In the “Page Settings” list select Microsoft Word.
4. Then click on “Margins”.
5. If page numbers are placed at the top of the page, change the “Header” field to at least 1 inch (2.6cm). If the page numbers are placed at the bottom of the page, change the “Footer” field to at least 1 inch (2.6cm).

• Formatting using both Roman and Arabic numerals

1. Keep both the introductory materials and body in one document.
2. Click on the first page of the document and go to: Insert>Page Numbers>Format. Change number format to "i, ii, iii...”. This will number your entire dissertation with lower case Roman numerals.
3. Click on the first page of the body of the dissertation, before the first letter on that page and go to: Insert>Break>Section Break (continuous).
4. Keeping your cursor on the same page, go back to Insert > Page Numbers > Format. Change number format to “1, 2, 3…” and click on “Start at 1”. This will keep the preliminary pages numbered with lower case Roman numerals and the rest of the dissertation numbered with Arabic numerals.

The Graduate School cannot provide technical support. Should technical questions arise, please contact the University’s technology helpline at 612-301-4357 (1-HELP) and select option 1 or 2.

Common Mistakes to Avoid:

Please read all of this information carefully.  Students submitting electronically are expected to review the Preparing the Doctoral Dissertation as well, for information about formatting and submission requirements.

• Margins: Every page of the dissertation, including all appendices, notes, and the bibliography, must have a LEFT margin of at least 1.5 inches (3.9cm) and, TOP, RIGHT, and BOTTOM margins of at least 1 inch (2.6cm).

• Nothing can appear in the margins, which means that no page numbers, text, tables, graphs, charts, parts of illustrations, etc., can appear in the margin area.

• Pagination: Students are responsible for correctly numbering and organizing sections in their dissertation. Page numbers cannot be placed on the left hand side of the dissertation.

• The title page and copyright page must not be numbered or counted. Page numbering for the rest of the introductory material is required, and expressed in lower case Roman numerals, beginning with page “i”.
• The main text, illustrations, bibliography, and appendices are considered the body of the manuscript.
• Every page in the body of the text, through the bibliography and appendices, must be numbered in Arabic numerals starting with page 1.

• Color photographs and images are allowed. ProQuest/UMI distributes electronic PDFs of dissertations by request; color images are preserved in these versions of the dissertation. However, students should be aware that requested paper copies of the dissertation will be reproduced in black and white only; thus the reproduced black and white images of color originals may not be clearly visible or may not convey information adequately.

• Tables, charts, and graphs: Color may be used in tables, charts or graphs, however, references to color may not be made as reproductions will be in black and white. Identification of lines and figures on graphs and charts must be made clear by the use of line symbols rather than variation in color. Captions may be single-spaced.

• List of figures/list of tables pages: A list of figures page is required if you include figures and a list of tables is required if tables are included in the dissertation. Each list must contain the page number of where each figure or table can be found in the dissertation.

• Bibliography: The bibliography may be single-spaced and should appear before the appendix (if applicable). It is not acceptable to include separate references after each chapter in lieu of a single cumulative bibliography at the end of the dissertation.

• Formatting: Students are required to adhere to all formatting guidelines set by the Graduate School. Please do not use dissertations found in your department or in the Library to format your dissertation. They may not meet current formatting guidelines.

Materials Submitted to GSSP

Students submitting a paper dissertation must submit the following materials to GSSP, 316 Johnston Hall, on or before the last working day of the intended month of graduation.  The quick reference guide below outlines what materials need to be submitted. More detailed information regarding each item can be found in Preparing the Doctoral Dissertation,

The University of Minnesota Survey of Earned Doctorates (UMNSED)

The University of Minnesota is committed to maintaining both high quality graduate programs and a high quality student experience. Your responses to this survey will be used to assess and improve the graduate education experience at the University of Minnesota and beyond.

• The UMSED is a reporting tool used by the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) and the University of Minnesota to improve graduate education.
• Responses to the survey will be kept confidential.
• To access the survey, please go to the following link: https://www.grad.umn.edu/umnsed.
• The survey requires the X.500 ID and password.
• Technical questions can be forwarded to bostr007@umn.edu. All other questions may go to gsdoc@umn.edu.