Thesis and Dissertation Submission Checklists

Use the steps below to successfully prepare your thesis or dissertation for submission. Please note that this is not a comprehensive set of graduation requirements; check with your graduate program or refer to our graduation checklist page for more information.

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Master's Theses
Doctoral Dissertations
Formatting Checklists

Master's Thesis Checklist

Review the formatting requirements for Penn State theses, listed in the Thesis and Dissertation Handbook.
Submit your thesis for format review by the deadline.
Discuss the options for release of the document with your thesis adviser (Open Access, Restricted (Penn State Only), and Restricted).
Verify that the Author Information (update alternate email address), Committee Information, and Title are all correct on the ETD submission.
Per federal guidelines, all federal funds used for the work in the thesis must be acknowledged in the document, along with a disclaimer indicating that the findings and conclusions do not necessarily reflect the view of the funding agency.
Pay your thesis fee.
Upload your final thesis to the ETD website by the final submission deadline.

Doctoral Dissertation Checklist

Review the formatting requirements for Penn State dissertations, listed in the Thesis and Dissertation Handbook.
Submit your dissertation for format review by the deadline.
Work with your program staff to complete and submit the Examination Request Form to Graduate Enrollment Services.
Upload your final dissertation to the ETD website. Verify that the Author Information (update alternate email address), Committee Information, and Title are all correct on the ETD submission.
Pay your dissertation fee.
Complete your final doctoral defense and have your program send the results to Graduate Enrollment Services by the deadline.
Discuss the options for release of the document with your dissertation adviser (Open Access, Restricted (Penn State Only), and Restricted).
Per federal guidelines, all federal funds used for the work in the dissertation must be acknowledged in the document, along with a disclaimer indicating that the findings and conclusions do not necessarily reflect the view of the funding agency.
The final dissertation must be reviewed and approved by all committee members before it is uploaded to the ETD site for committee approval. Formatting changes requested by the Office of Theses and Dissertations will be the only changes permitted after the final dissertation is uploaded.
Upload your final dissertation to the ETD website by the final submission deadline.
Pass the final performance (D.M.A. students) or final oral presentation (D.N.P., D.Eng., D.B.A., and Dr.P.H.) prior to the final deadline.
If you are a Ph.D. candidate, complete the Survey of Earned Doctorates.

Formatting Checklists

Title Page

Type thesis/dissertation title in all upper-case letters
Double space thesis/dissertation title
The title on the title page must match the title listed on the eTD
Master's title page should say "A Thesis in"
Doctoral title page should say "A Dissertation in"
Your name must be as it appears on your student record in LionPATH
Confirm that the name of your program in the middle of the page is correct
The copyright year must be the year that your degree will be conferred
The title page does not have a page number
On the date line, indicate the month and year of degree conferral, not the date of the defense

Committee Page

The names/titles on the committee page must match exactly those on the committee form previously submitted to the Fox Graduate School. They must also match the names listed under "Committee Information" on the eTD site. Make sure that the correct person is listed in the role of head/chair of the graduate program.
Indicate the committee chair under the appropriate name (doctoral only). If there are two committee chairs, both must be listed as "Co-Chair of Committee."
Indicate the adviser under the appropriate name
If there are two or more advisers, they must be listed as "Master's Co-Adviser" or "Dissertation Co-Adviser"
Add department head or graduate program chair to this page
The committee page is page ii and appears immediately before the Abstract
Do not use the designations "Ph.D." or "Dr."
Master's candidates should use "thesis" and "Thesis Adviser" and doctoral candidates should use "dissertation" and "Dissertation Adviser"

Front Matter

Front Matter must be numbered with lower-case Roman numerals, starting with page ii on the Committee Page
Do not list Abstract or Table of Contents in the Table of Contents
Do not list the vita in the Table of Contents
The Abstract must begin on page iii
Include a list of figures and a list of tables if you have one or more items in these categories (also include lists for abbreviations, nomenclature, maps, etc.)
Double-check all page numbers listed in the Table of Contents
Titles and page numbers of appendices must be listed in the Table of Contents
Include "References" or "Bibliography" in the Table of Contents

Main Body, Appendices, References, Vita

Text must begin on page 1 (Arabic numbers) and be numbered from the beginning to end without breaking sequence
Do not use running headers or embellish page numbers
Page numbers should not be placed on the left side of the page
All page numbers positioned consistently throughout the document
Chapter titles and numbers must match the Table of Contents
One appendix, call it "Appendix," not "Appendix A"
Appendices designated as A,B,C (not 1,2,3 or I,ll,lll)
A one-page vita is required for doctoral dissertations as the last page of the document, unnumbered. Vitas are optional for master's theses

Additional Requirements

Final version must be a PDF file
When naming the file, do not use special characters or make the file name extremely lengthy by using the entire title
No blank pages or missing pages
For additional information, please refer to the Thesis and Dissertation Handbook