Office of Graduate Studies Thesis and Dissertation Formatting Guidelines
These rules are taken from the KU Office of Graduate Studies Thesis or Dissertation Formatting Guidelines. To see the full thesis or dissertation formatting requirements, visit https://graduate.ku.edu/submitting
Fonts
Fonts
- Students should use the same font size (11- or 12-point) and style (typically Times New Roman) through the thesis, including labels and references.
- Tables, captions, and footnotes should use the same font style but may be smaller in size (usually 10-point).
- Chapter and section headings may be bold and no more than 2 points larger than the text size.
- Non-standard typefaces, such as script, are generally not acceptable except for commonly used symbols.
- The Office of Graduate Studies recommends that students get their font choice approved by their department and their graduate division before the thesis defense.
- Lettering and symbols in tables and figures should be no less than 10 points.
Spacing
Spacing
- Normally theses and dissertations use double-spaced formatting.
- Single-spaced formatting is acceptable in the table of contents, footnotes, end notes, charts, graphs, tables, block quotations, captions, glossary, appendices and bibliography.
- Students may use singe- or one-and-a-half-spacing for the body of the text with prior written approval of their thesis committee and graduate division.
