Thesis and Dissertation Preparation

Common Questions/Suggestions

After having talked to your advisor and Graduate Program Director, you are encouraged to contact the Associate Dean with specific questions regarding your manuscript before final printing for review.

Notes on some common questions:

1. There are occasional updates to the Guide for Preparation of Theses and Dissertations and the date of the amendment is listed on the cover page of the Guide.The changes from the previous document will be noted on the cover page or in a separate document that will be downloadable from the same page as the complete Guide.All changes made during the year will continue to be listed in the addendum throughout the year.

2. Students must follow the copy of the Guide for Preparation of Theses and Dissertations that is in effect on the first day of the graduation semester.For students in the College of Sciences, changes will not become effective until the start of the next academic semester

3. The Model Journal requirement was implemented to allow more flexibility to the Thesis or Dissertation format and to allow students to use one of the styles common in their field of study.The format of references, tables and figures from a major journal in the subject area of the study, commonly one of the document citations, should be used for the thesis or dissertation.A copy of a reprint from the Model Journal should accompany the thesis for the Dean’s review.You should use an actual journal article as a style guide rather than Instructions to Authors for Preparation of a Manuscript.Please ensure that your submitted reprint contains both tables and figures if both are present in your thesis/dissertation.

4. NOTE:The APA Publication Manual, 5th Edition, is the required Model for the Psy.D. candidates in the Virginia Consortium Program in Clinical Psychology.These students should follow the instructions in Chapter 6, “Theses, Dissertations, and Student Papers.”

5. Please note carefully all margin requirements.Margin settings within the word processor program may have to be adjusted to attain required printed margins.

6. Students who use LaTeX should discuss allowable variances with their Graduate Program Director and the Associate Dean.They should obtain a copy of the approved LaTeX Template at:

   http://www.physics.odu.edu/~vanorden/thesisstyle.htm
   
   

   Please note that all students who do not use the LaTeX program must follow the standard guidelines.

7. Facing page captions are generally not acceptable.Please check with the Associate Dean before submitting your manuscript for the Dean’s review if facing page captions are contemplated.

8. If you wish to include color photographs or figures, please check with the Associate Dean before submission of the document for review.

9. Only the final original must be printed on 100% cotton paper; the copies may be printed on 25% cotton bond paper.

10. The Associate Dean will sign the Acceptance Form after all corrections are completed on the final original.

11. The only dates to be placed on the Title/Acceptance page are the graduation dates; these are May, August or December.

12. Please note all margin requirements as printed in the Thesis/Dissertation Guide text in case the Sample Pages do not print exactly as they should.

13. The paper type should match exactly for all pages in the final original copy.If the Title/Acceptance page is signed prior to printing the final copy, please ensure that the same paper is used.

Joseph H. Rule
March 25, 2005