Instructions for Formatting the MS or Doctoral Thesis
The thesis formatting requirements provided below are common to all schools at Tufts University as well
as among universities across the U.S. A thesis is not short and concise like a manuscript. Instead, you are
to present the details of your research so the reader has insight into the step-by-step process of your
project.
The final thesis must be formatted in the following manner. Other formats will not be accepted.
Spacing and Margins
All text material and preliminary pages, including the abstract, should be double-spaced. Bibliographic
references and long quotations may be single-spaced. The left margin should be 1½ inches wide. The
right margin, as well as top and bottom margins should be one inch.
Page Numbers
The title page does not have a page number. All of the page numbers before the beginning of thesis text
including the Abstract, Acknowledgements, Table of Contents, List of Tables, List of Figures, and
Abbreviations should be lower case Roman numerals (“i”, “ii,” etc.). Beginning with Introduction, the
page number should change to Arabic (“1”, “2”, etc.) and be used for the rest of the thesis.
Main Body of the Thesis
1. Title Page
A template for the title page is provided at the end of this document.
2. Abstract
The thesis will be prefaced by an Abstract of about 350 words (1-2 pages) that presents the essential
elements of the thesis in a short and concise statement. Abstracts include the key terms found in the
longer work, the hypotheses that were tested, the rationale for the research methods, and the main
arguments and conclusions from the studies. Abstracts should never include headers such as
background, methods, results, and conclusions.
3. Acknowledgements
Acknowledgements start a new page and are optional. This is where students thank the people who
have helped and mentored them through the research process, and the family and friends who have
provided personal support.
4. Table of Contents
The Table of Contents also starts a new section. Each of the thesis components and appropriate subcomponents should be listed with a page number. See the example on the next page.
Abstract ………………………………………………………………………………………………. i
Acknowledgements ……………………………………………………………………………………ii
Table of Contents …………………………………………………………………………………... iii
List of Tables ………………………………………………………………………………………… v
List of Figures …………………………………………………………………………………..........vi
List of Abbreviations ………………………………………………………………………………. vii
Introduction …………………………………………………………………………………............. 1
1.1 Sub-topic …………………………………………………………………………………..........1
1.2 Sub-topic………………………………………………………………………………….......... 3
Materials and Methods ……………………………………………………………………………... 5
2.1 Sub-topic …………………………………………………………………………………..........5
2.2 Sub-topic…………………………………………………………………………………......... 8
2.3 Sub-topic………………………………………………………………………………….........12
Results ………………………………………………………………………………………………. 15
3.1 Sub-topic…………………………………………………………………………………........ 15
3.2 Sub-topic…………………………………………………………………………………........ 21
3.3 Sub-topic………………………………………………………………………………….........26
Discussion ………………………………………………………………………………………….. 30
4.1 Sub-topic…………………………………………………………………………………........ 30
4.2 Sub-topic…………………………………………………………………………………........ 33
References ………………………………………………………………………………………….. 35
No Appendices or “Expanded” sections may be included in the thesis or the Table of Contents. All of
your information must be woven into the text of the section in which it belongs.
5. List of Tables
The List of Tables starts a new page and includes the title of the table and the page number on which
it is found in the thesis.
Example:
Table 1: Search strategy ………………………………………………………………… 13
Table 2: Characteristics of included trials from English-language journals ……………. 18
6. List of Figures
The List of Figures starts a new page and includes the title of the figure and the page number on which
it is found in the thesis.
Example:
Figure 1: Flow diagram………………………………...................................................... 16
Figure 2: Summary forest plot for asthma exacerbations………….……………………. 31
7. List of Abbreviations
This List should start a new page. This section should include an alphabetical list of abbreviations you
use regularly in your thesis with the definitions.
8. Introduction
The first chapter of the thesis is the Introduction, which should include a scholarly and critical
literature review. It is a comprehension background and context for the thesis project. This chapter
should include previous work done in the field of study and information that is relevant to your
hypothesis, research question, and research/investigation. It will include a number of references to the
literature in your chosen area. It should also include a summary of the contents and main arguments in
the dissertation. This is the only place in the thesis that an Introduction should appear.
9. Materials and Methods*
This section should include an account of the research questions and/or hypotheses you investigated,
the relevant materials and methods of research you used, and an argument for why you think these
methods are the most appropriate ones for the question you posed. You should consider the benefits of
your chosen method as well as identifying any problems and how you overcame them. This section
should also discuss any variations from the original plan.
If you have a paper/s in press or already published, this information may form the foundation of this
section but must be expanded to include all of the information about the methods you employed in
your research.
Figures and Tables must be inserted into the text at the point in which they are discussed.
10. Results*
In this section, you should present the main findings of your research. If you have more than one
significant result, you may have more than one Results chapter. With your findings, include an
account of the strengths and weaknesses of your data relative to your research question/hypothesis.
Please include an evaluation of any difficulties you encountered in collecting and analyzing data,
together with an assessment of how this affected your plan of research.
If you have a paper/s in press or already published, this information can form the foundation of this
section but must be expanded to include all of the information about your results.
Figures and Tables that support your results must be inserted at the point in which they are presented.
11. Discussion and Future Directions
In this chapter, students relate the findings of their research to the theoretical/policy discussion in their
introduction. It is an overall assessment of what you found out, how your thesis research may have
impacted the field, and suggestions for future research.
12. References
All references should be assembled in a single, alphabetical list at the end of the thesis document and
may not be included in any other thesis chapters, except as citations.
* The Methods and Results Chapters may be combined and defined by topic.
Sample Title Page
(Title of Thesis)
A thesis
submitted by
(Name)
In partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of
Master of Science or Doctor of Philosophy
in
(Program)
TUFTS UNIVERSITY
Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences
Date
(August, February, or May), 20xx
(Specify the actual month and year the degree will be awarded, not the date of your defense.)
Advisor:
( CTS Students may list multiple mentors.)
Thesis Chair: add name
Project Mentor: add name
Statistical Mentor: add name
Project Mentor: add name
Embedding Fonts to Preserve your Thesis Format
To ensure that theses retain their original appearance, no matter what kind of computer or browser is used
to view them, students who use a PC must follow the instructions below. If you are using a Mac, similar
guidance can be found in help files.
Create your manuscript using a TrueType font—NOT a scalable font. See below for a list of
recommended TrueType fonts and point sizes. Then:
1. On the Tools menu, click Options, and then click the Save tab.
2. Select the Embed TrueType fonts check box.
3. Save the document.
Alternatively, if you have Acrobat Professional available to you, you can follow the excellent instructions
provided by the Graduate Thesis Office at Iowa State University:
1. Open your document in Microsoft Word.
2. Click on the Adobe PDF tab at top. Select "Change Conversion Settings."
3. Click on Advanced Settings.
4. Click on the Fonts folder on the left side of the new window. In the lower box on the right, delete any
fonts that appear in the "Never Embed" box. Then click "OK."
5. If prompted to save these new settings, save them as "Embed all fonts."
6. Now the Change Conversion Settings window should show "embed all fonts" in the Conversion
Settings drop down list and it should be selected. Click "OK" again.
7. Click on the Adobe PDF link at the top again. This time select Convert to Adobe PDF. Depending on
the size of your document and the speed of your computer, this process can take 1-15 minutes.
8. After your document is converted, select the "File" tab at the top of the page. Then select "Document
Properties."
9. Click on the "Fonts" tab. Carefully check all of your fonts. They should all show "(Embedded
Subset)" after the font name.
10. If you see "(Embedded Subset)" after all fonts, you have succeeded.
Some recommended TrueType fonts and point sizes
Arial
10pt
Century
11pt
Microsoft Sans Serif
Tahoma
10pt
10pt
*Courier New
10pt
Garamond
12pt
*Times New Roman
12pt
Lucida Bright
10pt
*Georgia
11pt
*Trebuchet MS
*Verdana
10pt
10pt
* Web font. Designed for easy screen readability. Since many readers are likely to view or use your thesis
onscreen, you may wish to improve the readability of your text by using one of these fonts.
Copyrighted Material
To republish someone else’s work (even your own work that has been published in a journal), students must
obtain permission from the author or the copyright owner. While it is appropriate to include material
produced by others in theses, it is important to avoid infringing on their copyrights.
Thus, students must request permission from the author/s and include the Permission Letter at the end of the
thesis. ProQuest/UMI provides more copyright information on their website
(http://media2.proquest.com/documents/copyright_dissthesis_ownership.pdf).