The final step in earning a graduate degree is generally the completion of the master’s thesis or doctoral dissertation. The Formatting Guide is designed to help the student present the results of graduate study and research for the use and interest of the academic community and the public. This guide contains format requirements for:
The Submission Guide is designed to help you through the submission and publication process.
Download the Guides below:
Spring 2023 Dissertation and Thesis FORMATTING Guide (.pdf) (updated 1/3/2023)
Spring 2023 Dissertation and Thesis SUBMISSION Guide (.pdf) (updated 1/3/2023)
These guides were prepared by the Office of the Dean of Graduate Education. Questions concerning these guidelines or any aspect of manuscript preparation for the thesis or dissertation should be directed to the Office of Graduate Education, FA3.104, (972) 883-2234, [email protected] Revised December, 2022
Final Oral Examinations can be held remotely or in person. Please see the FAQs for information about remote defenses. If you have any questions regarding your defense, please email [email protected]. We look forward to working with you!
Students are responsible for working with their thesis/dissertation committee to schedule the defense date/time and determine modality (in-person or virtual). Master's requests for final oral exams should be directed to the program. PhD request for final oral exams should be submitted to our office.
Doctoral Defenses: Once your supervising committee agrees that your doctoral dissertation is ready to be defended, an appropriate time and place must be determined for your defense. Consult the deadlines page for scheduling a defense, holding a defense, and submitting a final document for the desired graduation semester. Refer to the checklist to make sure you have filled out all of the required forms.
Master's Defenses: Master’s defenses are scheduled through each program, so please reach out to your committee and your program contact for help scheduling the defense. Master’s students do not need to use or submit the Request for Final Oral Exam form. This is a PhD form only, but please check with your program to see if they have any additional defense paperwork you need to submit to them directly. Refer to the deadlines page and checklist to make sure you have completed all the required steps. Please submit the Report of Final Examination for Master’s Thesis as an admin file to your online submission after your defense.
Virtual Defenses: Since some defenses are remote, we have put together a list of Frequently Asked Questions for defenses. Our office can help host master’s defenses as needed through our Zoom accounts but the defenses are still scheduled through each program. Your department is the best point of contact for information about how your program schedules and structures master’s defenses.
As a reminder, our office accepts digital signatures on all administrative files. Digital signatures must use a Digital Certificate. For information on how to enroll for a Digital Certificate and instructions on how to digitally sign a PDF, please see OIT's page.
The Examining Committee Chair is only assigned for PhD defenses. This is not a requirement for master’s defenses. The Examining Committee Chair (ECC) is not the same as your Committee Chair (Supervising Professor). The Examining Committee Chair is a non-voting representative appointed by the Dean of Graduate Education to ensure that university policies and procedures are being followed during the final oral examination. The process to assign an Examining Committee Chair begins after you apply to graduate. You will receive the ECC assignment via email from [email protected], and the ECC assignment will remain in effect until you graduate. It is your responsibility to work with the Examining Committee Chair and members of your Supervising Committee to find a time and date for your examination, and to collect their signature on the Request for Final Oral Examination form.
Deadlines
Master's and Doctoral Deadlines
Priority Deadlines and FAQs
Thesis/Dissertation Templates
Windows Thesis/Dissertation Template (updated 2/16/2018)
LaTeX Template (updated 10/27/2021)
For LaTex technical questions, you may contact Dr. Kevin Hamlen
Resources
Sample Pages (.pdf)
How to create a TOC in MS Word
(.pdf)
Margins Watermark Template and Guide
(.zip)
Administrative Form Examples
(.pdf)
Checklists
Checklist for Final Submission of Doctoral Dissertation
Checklist for Final Submission of Master’s Thesis
Turnitin
All graduate students have access to Turnitin. To access, sign into eLearning, go to ORGANIZATIONS and open GRADUATE STUDENT CITATION CHECK. If you do not see this, email us for access.
Doctoral Hooding Ceremony
The Spring Hooding Ceremony will be on May 12, 2023. All Hooding Ceremony information and deadlines to order regalia can be found on the hooding FAQ page. The RSVP will be sent via email from The Office of Graduate Education early in the semester.
Upcoming Workshops
See Spring 2023 workshops and events!Workshop Recordings
Recordings of past workshops can be found on the Office of Graduate Education Workshop Recordings folder on Box. A UTD NetID and password are required to access these recordings.
Policy
Detailed information concerning the procedures for completing a graduate degree at The University of Texas at Dallas is contained in the Policy Memorandum “Policy on Procedures for Completing a Graduate Degree - UTDPP1052”
For questions about defenses, formatting the dissertation and thesis manuscript, and the electronic submission process, please contact Alyssa Grimley, Allison Nepomnick, or Bradley Samore.