Formatting Your Thesis or Dissertation
The Graduate School has strict guidelines for formatting your thesis or dissertation document. Be sure to follow all formatting requirements or you will have to make changes and resubmit.
Prepare Your Document
Follow these steps to meet consistent form and appearance guidelines for all your thesis and dissertation documents.
Every thesis and dissertation must conform to the requirements in this guide to be accepted. If your thesis or dissertation document is not accepted on the first try, you will be required to make the necessary changes and resubmit. Read the Formatting Guide [PDF].
Detailed policies and procedures for your thesis or dissertation are in the Degree Requirements section of the Graduate Studies Bulletin.
Graduate students are invited to attend free in-person or virtual formatting workshops to help format your thesis or dissertation. Visit the thesis and dissertation workshop calendar for a list of events and registration links. The Graduate School also offers a Dissertation Writing Academy to support students in the final stages of writing their dissertation.
The Graduate School offers a variety of video presentations that demonstrate how to format your thesis or dissertation. Choose a video topic and always refer to the Thesis and Dissertation Formatting Guide [PDF].
Use these PDFs as your guides when you need to refer to a properly formatted document.
- Dissertation Sample with Notes [PDF]
- Dissertation Sample without Notes [PDF]
- Thesis Sample with Notes [PDF]
- Thesis Sample without Notes
- Preliminary Format Check Sample without Notes [PDF]
- Preliminary Format Check Sample with Notes [PDF]
- Manuscript Style Final Submission without Notes [PDF]
- Manuscript Style Final Submission with Notes [PDF]
You are not required to use a template to format your thesis or dissertation but if you do, these MS Word templates have been formatted to conform with our requirements. Enter your information wherever you find red text. Use these templates and their instructions in conjunction with the Formatting Guide [PDF].
NEW as of September 2024! Thesis and Dissertation files have been redesigned as template [dotx] files. The redesign is more intuitive and structured for better integration between sections. Download the ETD Template zip folder of [dotx] files. After working with the new .dotx template, please share about your experience on this short survey.
Prior to September 2024, files were basic document files. If you need access to the older files, they are available here:
You are not required to use the preformatted templates, but if you do, follow these instructions in conjunction with the Formatting Guide [PDF].
Enter Your Information
Wherever you find red text, enter in your information. Don’t forget to change all
red text to black before submitting.
Refer to the Formatting Guide
Our templates are designed to be used in conjunction with the Formatting Guide [PDF] and not as your only point of reference when formatting your document. You’ll still
need to understand all formatting requirements and ensure your document complies with
them.
Address Optional Content Appropriately
Some content or pages in the templates may not be required in your document. For example,
the template includes an optional Dedication. If you decide not to include any of
the optional content in your document, remove those pages from your template and adjust
both your table of contents and page numbers accordingly.
Ensure Formatting Doesn’t Change As You Edit
Take care that you don’t accidentally alter template formatting as you edit your document. For example, the templates are divided into multiple sections and if you’re not careful, you may end up deleting section breaks, throwing off the template formatting. You can avoid this by paying careful attention as you make changes so everything stays where it needs to be.
Enable Formatting Indicators
One helpful way to keep track of formatting in Microsoft Word is to show the paragraph and formatting indicators that are usually hidden.
How to Enable Indicators
- Navigate to the “Home” tab.
- Click the paragraph symbol (¶) in the upper right corner of the “Paragraph” section.
- Hold the “Ctrl” key and the “Shift” key, then press “8”, or “*”. This is a useful tool because it shows you where invisible things like tabs and section breaks have been inserted.
Do Not Use Templates as a Style Manual
Do not use the template to determine which style to apply in your document (such as APA, Chicago, MLA, etc). You should refer to the style manual approved by your department as you write your thesis or dissertation. This is especially important for things like in-text citations, footnotes, endnotes, bibliography, etc.
LaTeX is a typesetting system that gives users simple commands for formatting complex text, such as long formulas and foreign languages.
Download the LaTeX Files [zip]
You will need a LaTeX distribution. The distribution contains files that are needed to process your file into a presentable document. Options are freely available on the internet.
- MiKTeX - works on most Windows operating systems.
- TeXLive - works on Windows, Mac and most Unix-based operating systems.
Follow the LaTeX Instructions. Download these instructions to use with your new LaTeX files.
Summer 2024 Deadlines & Commencement
July 5: Format Check Deadline for Thesis/Dissertation
July 15: Graduation Application Deadline
July 15: Defense Deadline
July 22: Final Submission Deadline
August 15: Official Date of Graduation*
*Summer 2024 graduates will participate in commencement ceremonies December 16,
2024 at 10 am
Fall 2024 Deadlines & Commencement
August 26: Last day to change/drop a course without a grade of "W" being recorded
September 20: Graduation Application Deadline
October 8: Format Check Deadline for Thesis/Dissertation
October 25: Defense Deadline
October 26: Doctoral Hooding Program Information Deadline
November 6: Last day to change/drop a course without a grade of "WF" being recorded
November 8: Final Submission Deadline
November 17: Final day to submit RSVP and Name Pronunciation for Doctoral Hooding
December 16: Doctoral Commencement, 10:00 a.m., Koger Center
December 16: Master's and Certificate Commencement, 2:00 p.m., Colonial Life Arena
Spring 2025 Deadlines & Commencement
January 21: Last day to change/drop a course without a grade of "W" being recorded
March 8: Format Check Deadline for Thesis/Dissertation
March 14: Graduation Application Deadline
March 27: Defense Deadline
March 28: Doctoral Hooding Program Information Deadline
March 31: Last day to change/drop a course without a grade of "WF" being recorded
April 10: Final Submission Deadline
May 8: Doctoral Commencement, 9:00 a.m., Koger Center
May 9: Master's and Certificate Commencement by College, 9:00 a.m., Colonial Life Arena
May 9: Master's and Certificate Commencement by College, 3:00 p.m., Colonial Life Arena
May 10: Master's and Certificate Commencement by College, 11:00 a.m., Colonial Life Arena
May 10: Master's and Certificate Commencement by College, 4:00 p.m., Colonial Life Arena
The Graduate School has expert staff dedicated to help you with formatting questions. Contact us.
Office hours: Monday - Friday, 8:30 am - 4:30 pm.
Phone: 803-777-4243 | Fax: 803-777-2972 | Email: gradapp@mailbox.sc.edu
Location: Close-Hipp building, Suite 552 | 1705 College Street | Columbia, SC 29208
Submission Instructions
Learn how to submit your thesis or dissertation before the deadline and prepare for the steps after you submit. Remember to check the Thesis and Dissertation calendar to stay on track for commencement.