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University of Bristol

Doctoral Thesis & Research Master's Thesis (M.Phil., M.Sc. by Research) Formatting Guidelines

Official layout specifications, binding margins, and document formatting requirements.

Governing Body: Academic Quality and Policy Office & Library Services (England, UK)

Degree Scope:🎓 Ph.D. / Doctoralℹī¸ Master's / M.Tech. format requires departmental / DPGC confirmation unless a central handbook is cited
Official Handbook:
University of Bristol Regulations on the Format of Theses (Annex 4)
View Official Handbook ↗
Paper Dimensions
A4 (210 mm × 297 mm)
Binding Margins
40 mm Left / 20 mm Right
Standard Typography
Times New Roman (12pt)
Line Spacing
1.5x

1. Page Setup & Geometry

Page dimensions, binding margins, and print/digital alignments

A4
Top: 20 mm
Binding: 40 mm
[Header]Page 1
[Front matter]
Right: 20 mm
Bottom: 20 mm
Left (Binding Gutter)
40mm
Right Margin
20mm
Top Margin
20mm
Bottom Margin
20mm
Margin Specification: Left: 35-40 mm; other margins: 20-25 mm. Double-sided printing is permitted and preferred.

2. Typography & Spacing Hierarchy

Font selections, heading styles, line spacing, and paragraph indentation

Times New Roman
Body Font
Times New Roman
Font Size
12pt
Line Spacing
1.5x
Paragraph Indent
0.5 in
Approved Typefaces:Times New RomanArialCalibri
Spacing Exceptions: Single spacing for indented quotations, footnotes, tables, and bibliography.

3. Technical & Archival Compliance

ETD ProQuest repository requirements, table spanning, and vector DPI rules

Institute ETD / library deposit
Tables Layout

Table captions: above.

Figures & Graphics

Figure captions: below. Colour photography minimum 300 DPI.

Math & Formulae

Right-aligned equation numbers (chapter.seq). Preserves native MathML and Word equation blocks.

Archival Preservation

Library ETD guideline: PDF/A-1b (Note: ScholarSpec formats submission-ready Word .docx documents; export to PDF/A upon final committee approval).

4. Preliminary Pages Checklist & Order

Strict graduate school ordering, title page numbering suppression, and Roman pagination

Mandatory Sequence
  1. 1
    Title PageMandatory
    Pagination: suppressed counted
  2. 2
    AbstractMandatory
    Pagination: roman visible
  3. 3
    Table of ContentsMandatory
    Pagination: roman visible

6. Academic Integrity, Similarity & AI Policy

Plagiarism threshold, similarity checking software, and Generative AI disclosure rules

Policy & Disclosure
Generative AI Policy
Disclosure Statement Required

University of Bristol guidance on Generative AI requires transparent disclosure in the statement of authorship.

Chapter Opening & Print Setup

Chapter start placement, top margin drops, single vs double-sided print, and paper weight

Layout
Printing Format
Single or Double-Sided

8. Institutional & Departmental Policies

Ai Declaration No Signatures:

AI declaration and author declaration with printed name rather than personal signature for privacy (Clause 18.32).

Title Page Word Count:

Title page must specify total word count conforming to Annex 1.

Abstract Limit:

Abstract must not exceed 300 words.

Repository Deposit:

Mandatory deposit in Pure Bristol repository.

Institutional Policy: Regulations and Code of Practice for Research Degree Programmes govern Ph.D., EngD, M.Phil., and MScR.

Notice a discrepancy in this 2026 handbook?

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*ScholarSpec is a pre-submission formatting assistant. Output is calibrated to official university graduate handbooks.
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  • Downgraded to partial 2026-10-13: the verification block cites a landing page without a page-level formatting source. Re-verify margins, typography, and pagination against the institution's thesis handbook before marking verified.