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The student and committee ensure quality of content and correctness of form of the thesis. The student may be given ongoing evaluations by the committee, but final approval may be given only on the completed document. The student must apply for graduation prior to the semester of graduation and be enrolled in the University

The finalized document must be submitted to the thesis or dissertation director a minimum of two weeks prior to the oral defense. If the director and committee agree that the document is in acceptable form for presentation at an oral defense, announcements will be published and distributed.

Theses/dissertations must be defended in front of designated examining committees. The decision as to whether a student has passed or failed the examination rests with the committee. A majority of the committee must approve the thesis or dissertation. A unanimous decision is not necessary.

Immediately following the examination, the chair of the committee shall communicate the results to the student. In some cases, further revision of the document may be required. The Thesis/Dissertation Acceptance form and the thesis or dissertation should be transmitted to the Graduate Program Director for review and approval.

The student is advised to begin the ProQuest ETD process but should not upload the pdf version of the thesis/dissertation at this point. The student may create the ProQuest account and familiarize themself with ProQuest publishing options and complete the contact information and graduate work details sections.

All theses and dissertations must be submitted electronically to ProQuest per above. Fees for registering with the U.S. Copyright Office or ordering bound copies of the thesis or dissertation – both of which are optional and not governed by ���Ϲ� - are payable directly to ProQuest.

The Dean's Office shall be responsible for review of the thesis/dissertation for final compliance with ���Ϲ� policies (including this guide). The Dean’s Office may delegate portions of these review responsibilities per policies specified by the college. If correction is necessary, the manuscript must be corrected and resubmitted as a new document, and the Dean’s Office review process begins anew. All original submission deadlines must be met during the re-submission process in order to graduate that semester. The student should not submit the thesis/dissertation to ProQuest until it has been approved by the Dean's Office. Note: Graduation will be postponed if corrections are not made on time.

The student must submit a final, error free pdf version of the document to ProQuest. Do not submit the pdf until all previous steps have been completed.

The student’s department must email Thesis/Dissertation Acceptance and Processing form (M3 or D5) and Result of the Master’s/Doctoral Examination (M2 or D3) form to the ETD Manager (etd@odu.edu). Forms emailed by students will not be accepted. Once all forms have been submitted and the complete ProQuest submission is uploaded and submitted by the student, the ���Ϲ� ProQuest Manager will approve the thesis/dissertation submission. After degree conferral, the ���Ϲ� ProQuest Manager will 8 submit the thesis/dissertation to ProQuest Dissertation Publishing. The student will receive an email confirmation after each event.

The following lists the contents in the proper order of presentation for narratives. All sections in italics are optional. 

• Preliminary Pages (with Roman numeral page numbers)
• Title/Approval Page (no page number – understood to be i)
• Abstract (no page number – understood to be ii)
• Copyright Notice
• Dedication
• Acknowledgements
• Nomenclature and/or Symbols (Optional)
• Table of Contents
• List of Tables (if two or more tables appear in the text)
• List of Figures (if two or more figures appear in the text)
• List of Graphs (if two or more graphs appear in the text)
• List of Plates (if two or more plates appear in the text)
• Main Body Text (with Arabic numeral page numbers)
• Introduction (as first chapter or section)
• Main body of text divided into various chapters or sections. See later sections for additional details.
• Summary or Conclusion (as last chapter or section)
• References and Supplemental Sections
• Reference section
• Appendix material (e.g., supplemental details, datasets, source code, copyrights, or journal articles if using manuscript-based document format)
• Vita

The document should be structured (overall) into chapters, with each new chapter starting on a new page. Chapter headers (e.g., CHAPTER I) should be upper case and centered at the top of the page. The chapter title should also be in upper case and centered at 1-2 double spaced lines below the chapter designation. Numbers for chapters or sections may use either a Roman or Arabic numeral. Within chapters, further organization of information can be achieved through the use of sections and subsections (etc.) labeled by headings. All headings must be consistent regarding point size and the use of bold type. The requirements for headings and subheadings are as follows:

1. All major headings (chapters, sections) must be centered at the top of a new page in all capital letters. Point size may be the same size as the body text or up to 2 points larger: e.g., use 12 point headers if body text is 10 point or 14 point if body text is 12 point.
2. Major headings in the text are bold if chapter headings or other major headings are bold. Boldface or italics may be used for subheadings.
3. Titles and subheadings more than one line in length must be double-spaced.
4. There is no punctuation after a heading or subheading that is on a line by itself.
5. Only major headings may be centered and in all capital letters. First level subheadings may be typed in all capital letters provided they are placed flush left.
6. Spacing before/after headings and subheadings must be consistent throughout.
7. The style used for subheadings must clearly show their various levels and must be consistent from chapter to chapter.
8. Subheadings do not begin on a new page. Text continues within a chapter or section.
9. A subheading at the bottom of a page must be followed by at least one line of text.

Font Face

The main text body narrative, regardless of which form of thesis being completed, must be of uniform font or typeface. Do not attempt to replicate a journal's use of varying sizes and styles of typeface or font. Any commonly accepted font (such as Times New Roman) may be used. An exception to the requirement of a uniform font or typeface throughout the document is in the case of inclusion of fragments of computer source code, which may be presented in a monospaced font for better legibility. The Graduate Program Director will make the final decision regarding the legibility and acceptability of fonts. Consult with your Graduate Program Director if there is doubt about the acceptability of the font(s) or typeface(s) within a document. 11 Italics or boldface print (in the same point size as the text) may be used for major headings, subheadings and for emphasis. Underlining is an acceptable alternative to italics, but do not use underlining and bold together.
Exceptions: tables, figures, and material in appendices may be in different fonts.

Font Size

The thesis must be of uniform font size (10 point minimum – 12 point maximum). Exceptions: 

• Tables, figures, and appendix material can vary in point size (with a 10 point minimum).
• Major headings may be up to two point sizes larger than the text (maximum suggested size is 14 point). If this option is chosen, it must be used for all headings throughout the entire manuscript.
• Point size reduction may be made in narrative text footnotes, tables, figures and appendix material only. The minimum size for numbers and upper-case letters is 1.5 millimeters; symbols must be large enough to remain legible. The font of the preliminary pages, narrative text, endnotes, reference section, and vita may not be reduced.

Margins

Margins are 1.0" on all sides – left side, right side, top, and bottom. All typing except page numbers must be within the area defined by the margins. 
Justified right-hand margins may be used in theses only with the approval of the Graduate Program Director.

Pagination

Every page in the thesis except the Title/Approval Page and the Abstract must be numbered. Preliminary pages are numbered with lower-case Roman numerals beginning with the Title/Approval Page, understood to be i (no page number appears on this page), and the Abstract, understood to be ii (no page number appears on this page). The text and supplementary pages are numbered with Arabic numerals beginning with the first page of text (numbered 1). Every page following will have a page number. The Vita is the last numbered page. 
Page numbers are placed in the upper right-hand corner of the page, one--half inch below the top edge of the paper and one inch from the right‐hand edge.

Spacing

The manuscript may be double spaced or one and one-half spaced. Mixing of spacing in the text is unacceptable. Single spacing is used only for long, blocked, and inset quotations; footnotes; endnotes; and itemized or tabular material. For spacing of specialized pages (Table of 12 Contents, List of Figures, etc.) 

Columns

All sections of the main body of the text should be single column. This restriction does not apply to appendices, which may follow alternative structures.

Equation Numbering

Numbering of equations must be consecutive. No two equations may be numbered the same unless identical term-for-term.

Page Fill

Each text page needs at least 4.5 inches of text on it unless the page contains a table or a figure or if the text completes a chapter or major section, where following text should start on a new page.

Citations of referenced material should be managed and formatted using a scheme commonly found within the field of study of the work (such as a common journal’s model), and should be approved by the student’s thesis/dissertation examining committee in compliance with any program or college policies. The following also apply: 

1. The title for the References section/chapter should follow the same format used in the journal model (REFERENCES, WORKS CITED, BIBLIOGRAPHY). The heading is in all capital letters and bold if major headings are bold.
2. The reference list must be consistent, accurate and complete.
3. A journal article or accepted style guide approved by the Graduate Program Director is used as a model for the reference list. Capitalization, punctuation and ordering (alphabetized, or alphabetized and numbered, or non-alphabetized and numbered) of information must follow this model.
4. The use of italics (or quotation marks) for book titles, journal names and article titles and the use of bold type must match the journal model.
5. In an alphabetized list, the system of ordering multiple entries must be consistent.
6. Citations should contain: volume number and page range for journal articles; publisher and city for books; city for universities, laboratories or corporations. Refer to the appropriate style manual for rules governing internet citations.
7. Unpublished material must contain sufficient information for acknowledgement and/or retrieval.
8. Designation of state names (abbreviated or not) should be consistent.
9. Single space within citations and between citations or use the spacing of text throughout the entire section.
10. All sources included in the references must also be cited in the text
11. All textual citations must be referenced and must be from sources the student has actually used.
12. General references consulted and used as background study may be listed under a separate subdivision of the reference section. A subheading such as "Supplemental Sources Consulted" should be added at the end of the sources cited section. Follow the same style used in the reference section.

General

All figures and tables should be sharp black and white, clearly legible, and of professional quality. Hand-drawn material must be of publishable quality. If color is used for tables and figures, a consistent color scheme should be used. For example, tables should not differ drastically from one another in form, color, or general appearance.

Titles

Each table and figure in the text must have a unique title (e.g. “Figure 12”). If a figure or table is reduced in size, the title must remain normal size (10-12 point or 12-14 point). Ensure consistent formatting of table/figure titles – capitalization, placement, use of a period at the end.

Numbering

Each table and figure in the text must have a unique number. Figures and tables are numbered consecutively throughout the text, and each table or figure must be mentioned by number in the text. When possible, first mention of each table or figure must be either within 1.5 pages before the table/figure or on the page immediately following the table/figure.

Font Size

The minimum font size within a table or figure is 10 point.

Placement

Tables and figures may be included on a page with text, or they may appear on separate pages. If a table or figure is placed on a page with other material, the table or figure should be separated from the text (or other materials) by a minimum of 2 double spaces (4 single spaces) at the top and bottom. 
Placement of titles on tables and figures (above or below) is determined by the style format chosen as a model. If the table or figure is placed lengthwise (landscape position), the top of the table or figure must be at the left-hand, binding side of the page. The caption is placed in the same direction as the figure or table. The page number stays in regular (portrait) position.

If Oversized

Tables or figures longer than one page in length must have the complete title and number of the table/figure on the first page only. Subsequent pages have the table or figure number and the word "Continued" and necessary column headings for ease of reading. The end line of a table appears only on the last page of the table.

Captions

Captions or titles on a facing page are to be used only when absolutely necessary. Facing page captions may be used for figures only, never tables. This format applies only when the caption cannot be placed directly onto the page on which the figure appears. If a facing page 14 caption is necessary, the facing page must face in the normal manner. The caption page comes first with only the page number on the front side of the page; (facing page is blank) the caption is placed on the back side of the page in the same direction as the figure. The facing page with the caption and the page with the figure are both numbered consecutively, with the page numbers in the standard position. The number of the page on which the figure itself appears is the only one recorded in the List of Figures.

Digitized Reproductions

Photographs or other digitized reproductions (bitmap drawings, etc.) may be used if there is sufficient resolution and contrast for viewing. The recommended minimum resolution for digitized images and/or photographs is 300dpi.

Appendices are used for supplementary material for the thesis or dissertation. There are two principal frameworks for formatting appendices. The first approach is used for manuscript-based theses or dissertations and is detailed in a later section of this document. The second approach is used for more “conventional” appendices found (for example) within monograph-format documents. Requirements for conventional appendices are as follows: 

1. Appendix headings may either be on a separate cover sheet before appendix material or at the top of the first page of each appendix. Be consistent from appendix to appendix. Appendix headings should be otherwise be considered as analogous to chapter headings and follow the major headings formatting guidelines outlined earlier for the main body of the documdent. Appendix titles should be centered, in all capital letters and appear at least one double space below the appendix heading.
2. Section heading(s) within an appendix should be bold if appendix headings are in bold.
3. Page numbering in the appendices should be continued from the last page of references.
4. All appendix material must be within margins.
5. Tables and figures in appendices may be numbered consecutively following the text, or they may be numbered with an appendix designation. If numbered consecutively from the text, they must be included in the List of Tables or List of Figures 15
6. Appendix material may have mixed fonts and point sizes and may be single spaced. Material may be reduced (with examining committee approval) but should (whenever possible) be legible and conform to minimum size and legibility requirements.

The requirements for the vita section are as follows: 

1. 1. The heading (VITA) is in bold if major headings are in bold.
2. 2. Wording of the student’s name must agree with the name on the first three thesis or dissertation pages.
3. 3. The vita should contain the address for department of study and a brief biographical sketch listing educational background (including background for all previous degrees: degree, major subject, university and date of graduation).
4. 4. Other information is optional but encouraged: professional experience, publications, business or academic information.
5. 5. The vita is limited to one page.
6. 6. Use either paragraph style with same spacing as text or resume style.

• Prefatory Material: Title page, abstract, dedication, table of contents, lists of figures/tables/equations, etc. Please refer to the end of this document for format examples of prefatory material.
• Introduction: Provide background information, frame the problem(s) being addressed, present research questions and objectives • Literature Review: Surveys the existing state of knowledge in the literature relevant to the project • Methodology: Describes the research design, methods, procedures, equipment, materials, etc.
• Results: Presents the findings of the research
• Discussion: Presents analysis and interpretation of results, discusses the implications and importance, and informs possible future research directions
• Conclusions: Summarizes key findings and their significance • References: Lists all sources cited in the document
• Appendices: Supplemental materials (raw data, procedure details, documentation, etc.) Monograph-format theses and dissertations have the benefits of a standardized format. The format also lends itself to providing more detailed information than is commonly possible in manuscript-based documents whose chapters are often subject to length constraints derived from external publishers.

• The student must be a key intellectual contributor of each re-used manuscript, including acting as a key contributing author of the manuscript(s). It is generally accepted that multi-author collaborative works may be incorporated but that when taken in whole, the thesis or dissertation should represent evidence of the student’s individual written communication skills. Determination of a sufficient level of authorship across the body of work should be made by the thesis or dissertation examining committee. The authorship contributions for all manuscripts must be explained in the prefatory material for each appendix (see below).
• It is mandatory that permission be obtained for all reuse of copyrighted material appearing in the document. It should be noted that the copyrights for many (if not most) published papers are typically owned by the publisher, not by the author. The student is responsible for formally obtaining permission to re-use the paper in its entirety as a component of a thesis/dissertation (with suitable acknowledgment). Proof of such permissions (ex: letters or email from the copyright holder) should be included as an appendix in the document.
• There is no formal ���Ϲ� requirement regarding the number of manuscripts (articles, chapters) that are required for a manuscript-based thesis or dissertation. This shall be at the discretion of the thesis or dissertation examining committee, but it is suggested that a thorough treatment of the subject matter will likely involve at least one manuscript for theses and at least two for dissertations.
• The general expectation is that manuscripts included in a thesis or dissertation should be of a quality suitable for publication in reputable peer-reviewed academic journals or other appropriate venues. Individual graduate programs and examining committees may have their own criteria regarding whether some or all of the manuscripts must have been published or at least submitted for 18 publication at the time of completion. For instance, in a four-manuscript dissertation, three manuscripts might already be published, while the fourth, although satisfactory to the examining committee, might not yet be submitted for publication. Examining committees should consider the added value of external peer evaluation when conducting their own reviews of the work.

Note: This section details the document structure for manuscript-based theses and dissertations and complements the instructions presented earlier for use in all documents, regardless of whether it uses a monograph or manuscript-based structure. 

A manuscript-based thesis or dissertation will generally follow most of the same formatting requirements as for monograph-based theses or dissertations, but with some key differences. In general, the manuscript-based approach will result in a document that uses the main body of the document to “piece together” several smaller studies (presented as appendices) that build towards the broad theme of the thesis or dissertation project. The smaller studies will often have been individually published in the peer-reviewed literature, and the main body of the thesis or dissertation will review the individual manuscripts as coherent components of the broader research effort. The thesis or dissertation document will have the following structure:

Prefatory Material

Title page, abstract, dedications, table of contents, lists of figures (etc.), and other prefatory material should be structured using the same guidelines as apply to monograph-style documents. Please refer to the end of this document for format examples of prefatory material.

Comprehensive Introduction & Background

Whereas individual manuscripts may include their own focused introductions and background material, the main body of the thesis or dissertation should include a comprehensive introduction and background that explains the initial overall state of knowledge in the field, the overarching problem(s) to be addressed in the work, and presents how these will be covered through the discrete studies in each manuscript. 
The formatting requirements of this section should generally follow the same guidelines as apply to monograph-style documents.

Main Body Narrative

Once the overarching introduction and background has been presented, the main narrative should present a critical and comprehensive review of the body of work and contributions represented by each of the individual manuscripts in the appendices. This narrative should clearly introduce how each manuscript advanced the project and the broader state of knowledge. The manuscripts 19 themselves will appear in the appendices. The narrative should provide the necessary connections for readers to appreciate how the individual manuscripts combine to form the overall body of work in the thesis or dissertation. 
The formatting requirements of the main body should generally follow the same guidelines as apply to monograph-style documents (see earlier sections of these instructions). 
At the conclusion of the main body of the narrative (which presents the manuscripts included in the appendices), a comprehensive discussion/summary/conclusion should be included that reviews the key components and findings of the overall thesis/dissertation project.

References

Citations within the individual manuscripts in the appendices should remain as originally published. Any additional references (such as those cited from within the main body of the thesis or dissertation) should appear as a bibliography or list of references and works cited, located after the summary and conclusions of the thesis or dissertation. References should follow a format approved by the examining committee (consistent with the discipline).

Manuscript Appendices

Each individual manuscript should be presented in its own appendix and should include its own prefatory material (such as a front page) that includes: 

1. Manuscript Title & Authors – should be identical to the original published manuscript
2. Presentation of context explaining the manuscript’s publication status, place of submission/publication, and a full citation with all co-authors listed. Manuscripts that are still under review at the time of defense of the thesis or dissertation should indicate this clearly.
3. Explanation of the contributions of all co-authors (for multi-author manuscript studies).
4. A brief narrative introduction that provides readers with the context of why the manuscript’s study was conducted, and (importantly) how it contributed to the theme of the overall dissertation/thesis. This may take the form of a brief summarization of the manuscript’s introduction presented in the narrative of the main body.
5. Statement of copyrights status for chapter, referring to written permission for re-use from the copyright 20 holder (include documentation of the written permission following the manuscript within the appendix).
6. The main body of the appendix should consist of a complete and unaltered copy of the manuscript, in the format presented by the publisher. I.e., the manuscript should appear in “as-published” form, with all original formatting and content as it appears in the publication. A common approach to implementing this is to insert a pdf of the original published paper into the appendix and discretely super-imposing the appendix page numbering onto the published copy of the manuscripts (which may also have the publisher’s page numbering present). If the manuscript has not yet appeared in print, it should be formatted as submitted for publication review (or as it would when submitted). Working drafts of manuscripts that are intended to be completed and published at some later time are not appropriate.

Additional Appendices

Additional appendices may be used to include further supplementary material or any other back matter.

Pagination

Page numbers should be continuous throughout thesis/dissertation and comply with the same requirements as monograph-style documents.

Figure/Table/Equation Numbering

Within the main body of the thesis/dissertation, numbering of figures, tables, equations (etc.) should follow the same guidelines as used for monograph-based thesis or dissertations. 
For the manuscripts within their own appendices, the numbering should be the same as used in the published version. I.e., the numbering will be consistent with the originally published work and independent from other appendices or the main body of the thesis/dissertation.

Citation Numbering

Numbering of references within the main body should be continuous throughout the whole thesis/dissertation document. 
Any numbering or labeling of references within the manuscripts located in the appendices should follow the same numbering scheme used in the original manuscript’s publication.

• The thesis or dissertation committee will be the primary authority concerning approval of the contents and quality of the thesis or dissertation documents.
• There are no formal requirements regarding the number of manuscripts necessary to be included in a manuscript-based thesis or dissertation. The intent is that the combined work represented by all the manuscripts addresses a coherent research topic and reflect the skills and knowledge expected in order to satisfy the degree requirements of the program. It is envisioned that theses will commonly consist of a minimum of 1 manuscript, but ideally would include 2-3. Similarly, the larger scope of a dissertation project should include a minimum of two manuscripts, but should typically take the form of 3-5 manuscripts. The judgment of the evaluating committee of the overall scope and depth of the combined project will be required to ensure performance standards are being met.
• There are no formal requirements regarding the page length of a manuscriptbased thesis or dissertation. For example, a 4-manuscript dissertation may (typically) incorporate 50-75 pages within the manuscripts themselves (appendices to the dissertation). The main body of such a dissertation is likely to warrant several dozen (or more) additional pages of high-level narrative covering the introduction, background, narrative, and conclusions that tie the individual manuscripts together.
• One intent of manuscript-based theses and dissertations is that the manuscript publication process commonly incorporates a deeper level of peer review than is often possible through only committee review of a thesis or dissertation. Ideally, all included manuscripts will fully complete the peer review and publication process and be accepted for publication. However, circumstances may lead to a situation in which one or more of the manuscripts has not fully completed an external peer review and publication process at the time of completion. For example, the last manuscript may have been submitted to a journal, but it is still under review for potential acceptance at the time that the dissertation is defended. In such cases, the discretion of the evaluating committee may deem that the submitted manuscript (at least) meets their standard of acceptability and permit such a manuscript to be included. Such a process may help ensure that the student will not be “held back” from defending while awaiting publication decisions.
• It is the student’s responsibility to secure re-use authorizations from the copyright holders of the manuscripts which have been published. If such authorization cannot be secured for a manuscript, it will not be permitted to include such manuscripts (or components thereof) in the thesis or dissertation. In such cases, the student should work with their committee and Graduate Program Director to outline a path forward that does not violate copyrights and avoids plagiarism concerns. This may involve restructuring the thesis or dissertation into a monograph format document.