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Format of a Dissertation

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Style and Format

  • the dissertation, apart from quotations and recognised technical formulae, must be written in English
  • typescript on A4 paper
  • portrait format is expected, but landscape format may exceptionally be allowed by some degree committees
  • double-sided printing is permissible for both soft and hard-bound dissertations
  • one-and-a-half spaced type
  • minimum font size for text is 11pt (12pt is preferred) and 10pt for footnotes. Easily readable fonts are preferred for example, Arial, Times New Roman
  • the dissertation must include a title page giving the candidate's full name, their college, the full title of the dissertation, and the degree for which it is submitted. It should also include a summary, a declaration of originality and a statement of length if a word limit has been set by the degree committee.

Care should be taken to ensure that the text is legible. The quality of printing should allow for copying; manuscript or similar entries should be of an ineradicable nature.

Photographs and other illustrations should be scanned or printed into the text. Where this is not the case, they must be originals, not photocopies, and securely fixed. Sticky tape is not acceptable as an adhesive.

The form in which the dissertation is presented, and the care with which it has been prepared and illustrated, are in themselves evidence of the candidate's capabilities and will receive consideration as such. Candidates are strongly advised to check carefully for typing errors, spelling mistakes and poor English. The correction of such errors may be a condition of approval for the degree. Care must be taken to ensure that the correct version of text appears in the copies of the dissertation submitted for examination.

Submitting a soft-bound dissertation in the first instance must not be viewed as a means of submitting a provisional, unpolished version.

Examiners are not expected to copy edit work, although, of course, they will deal with errors of fact and typographical errors that affect the meaning, as well as larger issues. The extent to which the text has or has not been properly prepared may influence their recommendation concerning the award of the degree.

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Binding

Two bound copies of the dissertation are to be submitted for examination; these copies may be hard or soft-bound.

Hard-bound means permanently stitched and bound in stiff covers with the title of the dissertation and the candidate's name clearly inscribed on the spine.

Soft-bound must be bound in such a way for the contents to be securely fixed within the covers, which must bear the title and candidate's name.

It is a condition for proceeding to the degree that candidates submit a hard-bound copy to the Board of Graduate Studies for deposit in the University Library.

If candidates submit a soft-bound copy in the first instance, they should produce the final hard-bound copy only after receiving a letter of approval for their degree from the Secretary of the Board of Graduate Studies. This will almost certainly delay the date by which the candidates can graduate. Board meetings take place a week or so before graduation days and this time interval is generally too short for the production of a hard-bound dissertation in time for approval being given for admission to the degree.

If a soft-bound copy is submitted, it will certainly be necessary to provide a new copy for hard binding as most methods of soft binding (e.g. comb/wire binding) create holes that would weaken conventional binding and will lead to an unacceptable loss of the margin. Also, it makes it impossible to trim the book, head and tail, as the holes will appear.

Thesis binding expenses up to £30 are available for students registered for an PhD, MSc, MLitt. Forms are available from your graduate tutor; please note that students must be able to demonstrate financial hardship.

For advice on binding contact the Graduate Union.

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Including Other Written Material

Candidates may submit with their dissertation other unconnected or unrelated work which they have published; such work may, at the discretion of the examiners, be taken into consideration.

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Including a CD-Rom (or Other Item)

If candidates wish to include an audio or videotape, a film, computer programmes or a CD-Rom in an Appendix she/he will need to make an application to the Board of Graduate Studies before submitting the thesis. The Board of Graduate Studies may, on the recommendation of the degree committee, allow candidates to do this provided the material is presented either in slip envelopes within the binding of the dissertation or, for more bulky items, gathered into a supplementary volume of similar format to the bound dissertation. Nothing should be attached to the outside of the cover of the dissertation.

Please note that the inclusion of a CD does not provide a means of escaping the constraints of word limits.

Application forms are available from the candidate's Self-Service pages.

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Word Limits and Stylistic Conventions: Requirements of the Degree Committees

Candidates should write as concisely as is consistent with clear and adequate exposition. The following degree committees have prescribed the limits of length or stylistic requirements given below. If candidates have been working under any one of these degree committees, they must submit a certificate stating their dissertation does not exceed the prescribed limit when the dissertation is submitted.

These limits and requirements are strictly observed by the Board and the degree committees and, unless approval to exceed the prescribed limit has been obtained beforehand (see: 'Extending the Word Limit' below), a dissertation that exceeds the limit may not be examined until its length complies with the prescribed limit.


Word Limit by Department (relevant to PhD, MSc, MLitt degrees only)


Archaeology and Anthropology: not to exceed 80,000 words (or 350 pages) for the PhD degree and 60,000 words for the MSc or MLitt degree. These limits include all text, figures, tables and photographs, but exclude the bibliography, cited references and appendices. More detailed specifications should be obtained from the department concerned. Permission to exceed these limits will be granted only after a special application to the degree committee. The application must explain in detail the reasons why an extension is being sought and the nature of the additional material, and must be supported by a reasoned case from the supervisor containing a recommendation that a candidate should be allowed to exceed the word limit by a specified number of words. Such permission will be granted only under exceptional circumstances. If candidates need to apply for permission to exceed the word limit, they should do so in good time before the date on which a candidate proposes to submit the dissertation having regard to the dates of degree committee meetings. For this reason candidates are advised to present the typed manuscript of the dissertation to the Academic Secretary of the Department for preliminary checking prior to binding.

Architecture and History of Art:

Architecture: not to exceed 80,000 words for the PhD and 60,000 words for the MSc or MLitt degree. Footnotes, references and text within tables are to be counted within the word-limit, but captions, appendices and bibliographies are excluded. Appendices should be confined to such items as catalogues, original texts, translations of texts, transcriptions of interview, or tables.

History of Art: not to exceed 80,000 words for the PhD and 60,000 words for the MLitt degree. To include footnotes, table of contents and list of illustrations, but excluding acknowledgements and the bibliography. Appendices (of no determined word length) may be permitted subject to the approval of the candidate's Supervisor (in consultation with the Degree Committee); for example, where a catalogue of works is germane to the work. Permission to include such appendices must be requested from the candidate's Supervisor well in advance of the submission of the final dissertation. NB: Permission for extensions to the word limit for most other purposes is likely to be refused.

Asian and Middle Eastern Studies: for the PhD degree not to exceed 80,000 words exclusive of footnotes, appendices and bibliography but subject to an overall word limit of 100,000 words exclusive of bibliography. For the MLitt degree not to exceed 60,000 words inclusive of footnotes but exclusive of bibliography and appendices.

Biology: not to exceed 60,000 words (80,000 by special permission) excluding bibliography, figures, appendices etc. Double spaced or one-and-a-half spaced, single or double-sided.

Business and Management: not to exceed, without the prior permission of the degree committee, 80,000 words, EXCLUDING bibliography, but including tables, footnotes, and appendices. Each page of statistical tables, charts or diagrams shall be regarded as equivalent to a page of text of the same size.

Classics: not to exceed 80,000 words including footnotes, references, and appendices but excluding bibliography; a page of statistics shall be regarded as the equivalent of 150 words. Only under exceptional circumstances will permission be granted to exceed this limit. Candidates must submit with the dissertation a signed statement giving the length of the dissertation.

Clinical Medicine and Clinical Veterinary Medicine: for the PhD degree, not to exceed 60,000 words (or 80,000 by special permission of the Degree Committee), and for the MSc degree, not to exceed 40,000 words. These limits exclude figures, photographs, tables, appendices and bibliography. Lines to be double or one-and-a-half spaced; pages to be double or single sided.

Computer Laboratory: not to exceed, without the prior permission of the degree committee, 60,000 words including tables and footnotes, but excluding appendices, bibliography, photographs and diagrams. Any dissertation which without prior permission of the degree committee exceeds the permitted limit will be referred back to the candidate before being forwarded to the examiners.

Divinity: not to exceed 80,000 words for the PhD degree and the MLitt degree, including footnotes, references and appendices but excluding bibliography. Only under exceptional circumstances will permission be granted to exceed this limit. Candidates must submit with the dissertation a signed statement giving the length of the dissertation. If, under exceptional circumstances, candidates wish to apply for permission to exceed this limit, they should do so at least three months before the anticipated submission date. Permission may be granted for the inclusion of an appendix of a substantial quantity of text which is necessary for the understanding of the dissertation. Permission may also be given if a candidate's application is supported by a letter from the supervisor certifying that such exemption from the prescribed limit of length is absolutely necessary in the interests of the total presentation of the subject.

Department of Geography: not to exceed, without the prior permission of the degree committee, 80,000 words for the PhD degree and 60,000 words for the MSc or MLitt cegree, both excluding appendices and the bibliography. Footnotes for both will not be included in the word limit where they are a necessary part of the referencing system used.

Department of Earth Sciences: not to exceed, without prior permission of the degree committee, 275 numbered pages of which not more than 225 pages are text, appendices, illustrations and bibliography. A page of text is A4 one-and-a-half-spaced normal size type. The additional 50 pages may comprise tables of data and/or computer programmes reduced in size.

Scott Polar Research Institute: if a candidate's work falls within the social sciences, candidates are expected to observe the limit described in the Department of Geography above; if, however, a candidate's work falls within the physical sciences, a candidate should observe the limit described in the Department of Earth Sciences above.

Applications for the limit of length of the dissertation to be exceeded must be made as early as possible and in any case not later than the time when the application for the appointment of examiners and the approval of the title of the dissertation is made. Any dissertation which, without the prior permission of the degree committee, exceeds the permitted limit of length will be referred back to the candidate before being forwarded to the examiners.

Economics: not to exceed, without the prior permission of the degree committee, 60,000 words including tables, footnotes, bibliography and appendices. The degree committee points out that some of the best dissertations extent to only half this length. Each page of statistical tables, charts or diagrams shall be regarded as equivalent to a page of text of the same size.

Education: not to exceed 80,000 words for the PhD Degree and 60,000 words for the MSc and MLitt degrees, in all cases excluding appendices, footnotes, reference list or bibliography. Only in the most exceptional circumstances will permission be given to exceed the stated limits. In such cases, you must make an application to the degree committee as early as possible and in any case no later than three months before it is proposed to submit the dissertation, having regard to the dates of the degree committee meetings. Your application should (a) explain in detail the reasons why you are seeking the extension and (b) be accompanied by a full supporting statement from your supervisor showing that the extension is absolutely necessary in the interests of the total presentation of the subject.

Engineering: PhD dissertations not to exceed, without prior permission of the degree committee, 65,000 words, including appendices, bibliography, footnotes, tables and equations not to contain more than 150 figures. A candidate must submit with their dissertation a statement signed by the candidate themself giving the length of the dissertation and the number of figures. Any dissertation which, without the prior permission of the degree committee, exceeds the permitted limits, will be referred back to the candidate before being forwarded to the examiners.

English: not to exceed 80,000 words for the PhD degree and 60,000 words for the MLitt degree, both including all notes and appendices but excluding the bibliography. A candidate must add to the preface of the dissertation the following signed statement: "The dissertation does not exceed the regulation length, including footnotes, references and appendices but excluding the bibliography."

In exceptional cases (when, for example, a candidate's dissertation largely consists of an edition of a text) the degree committee may grant permission to exceed these limits but in such instances (a) a candidate must apply to exceed the length at least three months before the date on which a candidate proposes to submit their dissertation and (b) the application must be supported by a letter from a candidate's supervisor certifying that such exemption from the prescribed limit of length is absolutely necessary.

It is a requirement of the degree committee for the Faculty of English that dissertations must conform with either the MHRA Style Book or the MLA Handbook for the Writers of Research papers, available from major bookshops. There is one proviso, however, to the use of these manuals: the Faculty does not normally recommend that students use the author/date form of citation and recommends that footnotes rather than endnotes be used. Bibliographies and references in dissertations presented by candidates in ASNaC should conform with either of the above or with the practice specified in Cambridge Studies in Anglo-Saxon England.

Dissertations presented by candidates in the Research Centre for English and Applied Linguistics must follow as closely as possible the printed style of the journal Applied Linguistics and referencing and spelling conventions should be consistent.

A signed declaration of the style-sheet used (and the edition, if relevant) must be made in the preliminary pages of the dissertation.

History: not to exceed 80,000 words for the PhD degree and 60,000 words for the MLitt degree in each case including appendices but excluding footnotes, references and bibliography. Statistical tables should be counted as 150 words per page of tables. Only under exceptional circumstances will permission be granted to exceed this limit. A candidate must submit with the dissertation a signed statement signed giving the length of their dissertation. Any dissertation which exceeds the limit will be referred back to a candidate for revision before being forwarded to the examiners. An exception is made of dissertations based in part on oral evidence. If a candidate has prior consent of the degree committee, such a dissertation may include in it a methodological essay, not more than 10,000 words in length, discussing the oral evidence, without this counting towards the normal word limit. With the prior approval of the degree committee, a candidate may also submit typed transcripts of oral evidence, totalling not more than 80,000 words in length, to be bound and deposited with the dissertation in the University Library. Each transcript should state whether it is verbatim, precis, or edited.

History and Philosophy of Science: not to exceed 80,000 words for the PhD degree and 60,000 words for the MLitt degree, in all cases including footnotes and appendices but excluding bibliography. Permission to submit a dissertation falling outside these limits, or to submit an appendix which does not count towards the word limit, must be obtained in advance from the degree committee.

Land Economy: not to exceed 80,000 for the PhD degree and 60,000 words for the MSc or MLitt degree, both including footnotes, references and appendices but excluding bibliographies. One A4 page consisting largely of statistics, symbols or figures shall be regarded as the equivalent of 250 words. A candidate must add to the preface of their dissertation the following signed statement: "This dissertation does not exceed the regulation length, including footnotes, references and appendices".

Law: For the PhD degree not to exceed 80,000 words exclusive of footnotes, appendices and bibliography but subject to an overall word limit of 100,000 words exclusive of bibliography. For the MLitt degree not to exceed 60,000 words inclusive of footnotes but exclusive of bibliography and appendices.

A candidate must add to the preface of the dissertation the following signed statement: "This dissertation, including footnotes, does not exceed the permitted length."

Modern and Medieval Languages: not to exceed 80,000 words for the PhD degree and 60,000 words for the MLitt degree, including footnotes, references and appendices, but excluding bibliographies. The degree committee point out that some very successful doctoral dissertations have been submitted which extend to no more than three-quarters of the maximum permitted length. Only under the most exceptional circumstances will permission be granted to exceed the limit. In such cases (a) a candidate must give notice of their application to exceed the prescribed maximum length at least three months before the date on which a candidate proposes to submit their dissertation and (b) the application must be accompanied by a full supporting statement from the candidate's supervisor showing that such exemption from the prescribed limit of length is absolutely necessary.

It is a requirement of the degree committee for the Faculty of Modern and Medieval Languages that dissertations presented must conform with the advice concerning abbreviations, quotations, footnotes, references, and other matters published in the "Style Book of the Modern Humanities Research Association (Notes for Authors and Editors)".

Music: not to exceed 80,000 words for the PhD degree and 60,000 words for the MLitt degree, both excluding notes, appendices, and bibliographies, musical transcriptions and examples, unless a candidate make a special case for greater length to the satisfaction of the degree committee.

Philosophy: dissertations must be not less than 50,000 and not more than 80,000 words for the PhD degree, and not less than 30,000 and not more than 60,000 words for the MLitt degree, in all cases including appendices and notes of reference. Permission to submit a dissertation falling outside these limits must be obtained in advance from the degree committee.

Physics and Chemistry: not to exceed, without prior permission of the degree committee, 60,000 words, including tables, footnotes, bibliography and appendices, but excluding photographs and diagrams. The degree committee points out that some of the best dissertations extend to only half this length. Any dissertation which, without prior permission of the degree committee, exceeds the permitted limit in length will be refused.

Politics, Psychology, Sociology & International Studies: A PhD dissertation must not exceed 80,000 words, and will normally be near that length. The word limit includes appendices but excludes footnotes, references and bibliography. Footnotes should not exceed 20% of the dissertation. Discursive footnotes are generally discouraged, and under no circumstances should footnotes be used to include material that would normally be in the main text, and thus to circumvent the word limits. Statistical tables should be counted as 150 words per table. Only under exceptional circumstances, and after prior application, will the degree committee allow a student to exceed these limits. A candidate must submit, with the dissertation, a statement signed by her or himself attesting to the length of the dissertation. Any dissertation that exceeds the limit will be referred back to candidate for revision before being forwarded to the examiners.

All of the above applies to MLitt dissertations, except that these should reflect six terms of research. Here the upper limit is 60,000 words, and most MLitt dissertations will be near that length.

A candidate may submit with the dissertation unconnected or unrelated work only if this has been published. This work may be taken into consideration at the discretion of the examiners.

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Extending the Word Limit

Dissertation word limits are set by degree committees. If candidates need to increase their word limits they will need to apply for permission.

Application forms are available from candidates' Self-Service pages.

  • Further information

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