Thesis and Dissertation Guide

Graduate Studies at the University of Wyoming

Revised Spring 2020

Office of the Registrar

A GUIDE TO THE PREPARATION AND SUBMISSION OF THESIS AND DISSERTATION

MANUSCRIPTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WYOMING

FOREWORD

The ProQuest Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETD) project is an online resource for

collecting theses and dissertations. The ETD should be fully readable and remain completely

usable over time. To accomplish this, you should adhere to the standards of form and

organization in the preparation of the manuscript.

It is important to submit an ETD that has a consistent and readable appearance. Departments

have many of the rules for writing their own discipline already established by academic journals

and international organizations. As a graduate student, you need to abide by these rules if you

wish to publish in your field.

To assure standardization, there are a few University requirements regarding the submission of

dissertations and theses which must be adhered to. Additionally, title and signature page

information must conform to the record-keeping system of the University, so certain dates and

signatures must appear.

It is your responsibility as a student to understand the program you choose for editing your thesis

or dissertation. Technical support for Word or LaTeX or any other word processing software is

not available through the Office of the Registrar.

ABOUT PUBLISHING YOUR THESIS/DISSERTATION AND PROQUEST

The University of Wyoming is obligated to ensure that all theses and dissertations produced at

this institution are published. Rather than requiring each of you to arrange for publication of your

thesis/dissertation, the university has arranged with ProQuest to handle the publication. Visit

ProQuest on the web at www.proquest.com. Format review and final approval will be completed

after the submission.

EMBARGOES (SEQUESTERING)

An embargo on a thesis/dissertation is an intentional delay in the publication of its results.

Because the University places high value on the open dissemination of knowledge and the

professional advancement of its graduates, such embargos are strongly discouraged. Any

embargo request must include compelling written justification and a proposed embargo period

not to exceed one year. All embargo requests are subject to approval by the Office of Graduate

Education. In cases where justification involves intellectual property or prior contractual

agreement, embargo requests also require approval by the Office of Research and Economic

Development.

THESIS AND DISSERTATION PREPARATION

A thesis is required for all graduate programs leading to a Plan A master's degree, and a

dissertation is required for the doctor of philosophy and doctor of education degrees. In general,

a single set of guidelines regarding form and organization may apply to both. In setting out

these guidelines, this document uses the word "thesis" for simplicity. It should be taken,

however, to refer to either a thesis or dissertation.

The Committee

While your committee chair serves as a mentor for your research and thesis, you are primarily

responsible for the content, quality, and format of the thesis. However, your committee must

approve the final content and format of your thesis before it is submitted to the Office of the

Registrar for formatting review.

The Student

You are responsible for making all arrangements for the preparation of the thesis as well

as its reproduction. This includes the following:

1. Consult department regarding any style manuals approved or required by the department.

2. Refer to this guide for guidelines regarding the correct format for the thesis.

3. Edit the draft manuscript for proper sentence structure and grammar, paragraph and page

breaks, punctuation, and spelling.

4. Proofread the final manuscript copy and check to see that corrections are made accurately.

5. Present a copy of the manuscript to your graduate committee for their review.

6. Incorporate any changes required by your graduate committee. These changes must be

completed before the thesis can be considered “accepted.”

7. A bound, hardcopy is not required by the University of Wyoming. Any other copies of your

thesis – including those required by the department or advisor – are considered to be

“personal” copies. The arrangements for binding these copies must be made independently.

8. Upload an electronic copy of your thesis to the ProQuest website. A format check will then

be completed to verify that the committee, abstract, title page, and all other format

information conforms to the requirements of the University.

REGARDING PLAGIARISM

Please see UW Regulation 2-114.

FORMAT AND REQUIREMENTS

Other than the specifications listed below, determinations of style and format are made by your

department or program and your graduate committee. Check with your committee chair or

graduate program coordinator for guidelines recommended or required by your department or

program.

A typical thesis is made up of three main parts – preliminary, text, and supplementary pages. At

UW, these parts may be organized as shown below:

Preliminary Pages:

 Committee page

 Abstract

 Title page

 Copyright page (optional)

 Acknowledgments (optional)

 Dedication (optional)

 Table of Contents

 List of Tables (optional)

 List of Figures (optional)

 Other (optional)

Text – specifically beginning with Chapter One

Supplementary Pages:

 References or bibliography

 Appendices (optional)

Preliminary Pages

These pages are numbered with both Roman and Arabic numbers. Check the individual

descriptions for specific details.

Committee Page

Each thesis will have a committee page. The committee page is not assigned a page number and

is not signed. A sample committee page is shown in the appendix. The committee page contains

the following statement:

To the University of Wyoming: The members of the Committee approve the [thesis or

dissertation] of [insert your name here] presented on [insert actual defense date - month, day, and

year]

The statement is followed by a listing of the names of each committee member. Below the names

is the statement “APPROVED:” (all upper-case); followed by the department

head/interdisciplinary program/division chair’s name, title, and department; then followed by the

Dean of the [College], identified with the dean’s name followed by “Dean, College of

[College].”

Abstract

Because the abstract is, in effect, a separate document that is included with your thesis, it has a

separate page numbering system from that of the thesis. Arabic numerals are used (e.g., 1 and 2),

and the numbers are centered at the bottom of the page above the margin you choose, the

minimum being 1 inch. A sample abstract is shown in the appendix. The word limit is a

maximum of 250. It should include your name (last name, followed by a comma, then first name

and, if desired, middle name or middle initial followed by a comma), the title of your thesis (in

title case and in italics), the degree you are seeking, your department, and the month and year of

your intended graduation (not the date of your thesis or dissertation defense). The second and

succeeding lines of the heading use a hanging indent.

Title Page

The title page is assigned page number one in lower-case Roman (i), but that number does not

appear on the page. A sample title page is shown in the appendix. The title must be the same on

the title page and the abstract.

 The title page must contain:

 the title of your thesis or dissertation (in title-case)

 “by” [your name]

 the statement “A [thesis or dissertation] submitted to the University of Wyoming in

partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of”

 [here you insert the name of your degree, such as Master of Science]

 Laramie, Wyoming

 the month and year of your intended graduation (not the date of your thesis or dissertation

defense)

The arrangement and spacing of this information are shown in the appendix.

All other preliminary pages

Beginning with the page immediately following the title page, all introductory materials (pages

for copyright declaration, dedication, acknowledgments, table of contents, list of tables, list of

figures, list of appendices, etc.) must be numbered, consecutively, with lower-case Roman

numerals (beginning with ii). A page number must appear at the bottom center on each of these

pages.

preserve copyright that might be invalidated because of the omission of a copyright notice).

Registration may protect against copyright infringement and is a prerequisite to the

commencement of a copyright infringement action. Should you seek to enforce the protection

given to your work under the copyright law, you could later register the copyright at any time

during the copyright term (the life of the author plus fifty years).

The copyright notice is made up of three components: 1) the symbol ©, 2) the year of first

publication (the year of distribution of copies of the work to the public for sale or lending, i.e.,

when your thesis is approved by the Office of the Registrar, and 3) the name of the owner of the

The notice should be placed in a location to give reasonable notice of the claim to copyright

protection. The page immediately following the title page is the suggested position for placement

of the copyright notice.

If you believe any of the work you have done for your thesis will lead to an invention that could

be patentable, you should contact the University’s Office of Research and Economic

Development Office (766-5353, research@uwyo.edu) to learn about disclosure forms and when

the disclosure form should be completed.

Table of Contents

A table of contents is required; its format is determined by your department or program.

Text

Beginning with the first page of your text starting with Chapter 1, all pages (including regular

text pages, all tables, figures, figure caption pages, appendix materials, and bibliography pages)

must be numbered, consecutively, with Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3, etc.). A page number must

appear on each of these pages.

Typeface

For the main text font, any legible black font except script, italic, or ornamental fonts equivalent

in scale to 10 pt. Arial or 12 pt. Times New Roman is acceptable. For example, the default

typeface for LaTeX manuscripts is typically 12 pt. Computer Modern font, which is very similar

to Times New Roman. Footnotes, legends, captions, etc. may be in a smaller font. Italicized font

may be used for non-English words, quotations, and mathematical variables.

Margins

All margins must be at least 1 inch. These same margins are to be observed for tables, illustrative

materials, bibliographies, and appendices, as well as in the text. Large maps should be

considered for inclusion as a supplementary file.

Line Spacing and Justification

 Double-space: abstract, dedication, acknowledgments, table of contents, and body of the

manuscript, except for quotations as paragraphs, captions, items in tables, lists, graphs,

and charts.

 Single-space: footnotes/endnotes, bibliographic entries, and lists in appendices.

 Text should not be fully justified.

Page Numbering

Page numbers must be located at the bottom center of the page.

Landscape Tables and Figures

To fit large tables and figures on a page, it is sometimes necessary to place them in a landscape

orientation.

Supplemental Pages

References or Bibliography

Reference citations are required. The style of reference citations in the text and of the

bibliography or list of references is determined by your committee or department. The style for

references should follow the format appropriate for the field of study.

Appendices

Quality and format should be consistent with requirements for other parts of the thesis, including

margins and reproduction. Reductions must be clear and readable. In addition, a separate

appendix may be provided for the use of third-party content.

Use of Third-Party Content

Permission from the copyright holder for third party content, such as a figure or diagram, must

be included.

PROCEDURES FOR UPLOADING YOUR THESIS

Refer to the ProQuest website for instructions to upload to ProQuest. For specific instructions for

formatting, please go to Preparing your Manuscript for Submission.

Fees

You will pay the publication fee directly to ProQuest.

ELECTRONIC SUBMISSION

As a thesis and dissertation candidate, you are required to electronically submit the completed

and approved thesis and/or dissertation. The Report on Final Examination form must be signed

and submitted to the Office of the Registrar prior to electronic submission. This document

certifies that you have committee approval of the document to be electronically submitted.

File size limits

Your thesis must be uploaded to the ProQuest site per the ProQuest guidelines.

CHECKLIST OF FINAL REQUIREMENTS FOR THESES & DISSERTATIONS

Order

The manuscript is in order: Committee page, Abstract, Title Page, Other supportive

documents, Text (Body, usually the Chapters)

Margins

Margins are at least 1 inch on all sides.

Tables, figures, and appendices do not extend into any margin. Page numbers should be

included in the footer section.

Visual Quality

Uniform style (font and size) has been used throughout.

Figures, tables, etc. are clear, easy to read, and in high resolution.

Text is double-spaced.

Pages

Copy has been checked page by page.

All pages are present and in the correct order.

All pages are numbered correctly.

Abstract begins as page 1 in Arabic numerals.

Preliminary pages have lower-case Roman numerals. The title page does not show a

page number and the next preliminary page should be ii.

The text (body) of the thesis is numbered with Arabic numerals. The count restarts

again with the first page of Chapter 1 being Arabic numeral page 1.

Submission

Report on Final Examination Form submitted to Office of the Registrar

All signatures have been obtained.

Electronic copy submitted to ProQuest.

Prior to submission, all committee recommended changes have been made.

Date on the committee page is the actual date of the defense.

Date on the abstract and title page is the same as the month and year in which you are

officially graduating.

Appendix: Template for Preliminary Pages

To the University of Wyoming:

The members of the Committee approve the [either thesis or dissertation] of [Student

Name] presented on [Select Date of Presentation].

[Enter name of Chairperson], Chairperson

[Enter name of Outside Member], Outside Member

[Enter name of third committee member]

[Enter name of fourth committee member]

[Enter name of fifth committee member]

[Enter name of sixth committee member]

[Enter name of external member]

APPROVED:

[Enter name of Dept Head], Department, Division, or Program Chair, [Enter Department or

Division or Program name].

[Enter name of College Dean or Provost], College Dean/Provost

[Enter Last Name, First Name, MI], [T/D Title], [Degree Name], [Department], [Month of

Graduation, Year].

This is where your abstract will go. You must include an abstract as part of the thesis.

The maximum number of words is 250 and it should be double spaced. The abstract begins with

page 1 (in Arabic).

[Enter Document Title in Bold Type and Title Case]

[Enter Student Name]

A [thesis or dissertation] submitted to the [Dept or Division or Program]

and the University of Wyoming

in partial fulfillment of the requirements

for the degree of [Enter Degree in Bold Type and Title Case]

[Enter Major in Bold Type and Title Case]

Laramie, Wyoming

[Enter Last month of semester/year]

(Or you may delete this page)

iii

DEDICATION PAGE

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Word can assist you in generating a table of contents.

LIST OF TABLES/FIGURES