Completing Your Master’s Degree

Check with your department to find out which style they prefer.

Here are common style guides recommended by the American Library Association and used in different fields You can find these books at bookstores and Memorial Library’s General Reference Room.

• MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. 3d. ed. By Joseph Gibaldi and Walters S. Achtert. Modern Language Association, 1968. A style manual for the humanities.
• Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. 4th ed. American Psychological Assoc., 1994. Widely used as a reference for psychology, education, and other social science disciplines.
• CBE Style Manual. 5th ed. By the Council of Biology Educators, Committee on Form and Style. American Institute of Biological Sciences, 1983. The standard reference source for life sciences (biology, chemistry, biochemistry, geography, and geology).
• The Chicago Manual of Style. 14th ed. Univ. of Chicago, 1993. A comprehensive standard reference.
• A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations. 5th ed. theses, and is more affordable than Chicago Manual of Style.

Your completed thesis must meet accessibility standards so everyone can access these works quickly, easily, and independently. As you create graphics, write, and format your thesis, pay attention to the digital accessibility fundamentals and follow the document accessibility guide.

• Use titles and headings that are properly ordered.
• Use alt text and image descriptions. For complex images like graphics or charts, incorporate a long description into a caption or nearby text in your document.
• Use proper color contrast and text labels so that color is not the sole method of conveying information.
• Use table structure appropriately when presenting data.
• Pick text styling that makes your content easier to read and understand.

Using Microsoft Word

Use Microsoft Word’s built-in accessibility checker to fix any accessibility issues before you convert your thesis to a PDF. Use “export to PDF” (on Windows) or “save as PDF” (on Mac) rather than printing as a PDF.

Using LaTeX

LaTeX alone does not create an accessible PDF, but additional tools like PreTeXt or LaTeX extension packages can help. See the UW–Madison Libraries’ guide on Accessibility & LaTeX and the Michigan State University Libraries page on Creating Accessible LaTeX Documents.

Your program may require an abstract in your thesis. Follow your program’s requirements, and number these pages as part of the preliminary material.

• Put any supplementary materials (e.g., questionnaires, photos) into appendices. 
• Number them consecutively with the text of the dissertation. 
• Formatting must meet the thesis standards.

The bibliography should meet your major program’s style requirements.

• Superscripts and subscripts may be one size smaller than the text. 
• Isolate each equation with double spacing.

• Footnotes and endnotes can be single-spaced, with an extra space between each note.
• Number footnotes consecutively within each chapter. 
• Follow your program’s preferences when deciding where footnotes or endnotes should be placed.

You can include quotations in languages other than English in your thesis. However, the thesis itself must be in English unless your program confirms one or both of these conditions are met:

• the foreign language is the language of your intended readers, or
• translating into English could make your work unclear or inaccurate. 

If you are in a foreign language department, you may submit your thesis in that language.

• Maps, charts, etc. are acceptable.
• Figures and graphs must meet thesis standards.
• If graphics are in landscape mode, follow these instructions for page orientation and numbering. Note: If you do not rotate the landscaped pages, you want page numbers to appear in the same position as the highlighted number 3 in the second row of examples.

• Use a minimum of 1″ margin on all four sides.
• Page numbers must be in the upper right-hand corner at least a half inch from the top and one inch from the side of the page.

Do not use page headers (except for page numbers) or decorative borders.

• Verify your thesis includes all pages and that they are in numerical order.
• All pages must be numbered, except the title page.
• Preliminary pages (dedication, acknowledgments, table of contents, abstract): Use lower case Roman numerals (beginning with i) in the upper right corner, 1 inch from the top and side of the page.
• Main text: Start with Arabic numeral 1 in the same position as preliminary pages. Number pages in order and make sure none are missing.

Find directions about how to start page numbering later in your document.

Landscaped pages:

• Page numbers must appear in portrait position (same direction as other pages).
• If using Microsoft Word, create section breaks, then rotate page numbers using the Header & Footer Tools. Download instructions and visual examples. Note that if you do not rotate the landscaped pages, you want page numbers to appear in the same position as the highlighted number 3 in the second row of examples.

• Use at least 12 point type.
• Double-space the main text of the thesis.
• Lengthy quotations, footnotes, and bibliographies may be single-spaced with a double space between entries or paragraphs.

You are responsible for the appropriate use of copyrighted materials in your dissertation. Some material may be available for use without restriction, while others may require written permission from the rights holder. General guidance is available from the UW–Madison Libraries.

• All text is center aligned
• All text is double spaced
• Text is vertically centered on the page
• Text includes the following information:
  • Title in camel case. Long titles are broken into two or three lines.
  • One line of text with the word “by”
  • One line of text with your name, followed by additional space before the next item
  • One line of text reading “A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of”, followed by
  • One line of text reading “the requirements for the degree of”
  • An additional paragraph space, followed by
  • The name of the master’s degree you will earn, for example Master of Science.
  • The program in which your degree will be granted, for example Geography, surrounded by parentheses.
  • An additional paragraph space, followed by
  • One line of text reading “at the”, followed by
  • One line of text reading “University of Wisconsin–Madison” in all capital letters, followed by
  • The year in which you will receive your degree.

If you are depositing your thesis in the window period, your title page should reflect the year in which your degree will be granted.

Copyright pages are optional and, if used, should be included after the title page. If you include a copyright page, you will retain the copyright as the document’s author; you do not need to separately register for copyright.

Do not number the copyright page. Include the following text and center it in the bottom third of the page within the dissertation margins:

• On the first line, include the copyright symbol and “Copyright by” followed by your name and the year the university officially awards your degree
• On the second line, include “All Rights Reserved”