University of Cambridge
Ph.D. Thesis & Master's Thesis (M.Sc., M.Litt.) Formatting Guidelines
Official layout specifications, binding margins, and document formatting requirements.
Governing Body: Student Registry & Cambridge University Library (Cambridgeshire, UK)
1. Page Setup & Geometry
Page dimensions, binding margins, and print/digital alignments
2. Typography & Spacing Hierarchy
Font selections, heading styles, line spacing, and paragraph indentation
3. Technical & Archival Compliance
ETD ProQuest repository requirements, table spanning, and vector DPI rules
Table captions: above.
Figure captions: below. Colour photography minimum 300 DPI.
Right-aligned equation numbers (chapter.seq). Preserves native MathML and Word equation blocks.
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
- 1Title PageMandatoryPagination:
suppressed countedRequirement: Must state: 'This thesis is submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy' (or relevant degree), candidate's College, and date. - 2Declaration / PrefaceMandatoryPagination:
roman visibleRequirement: Mandatory statement: 'This thesis is the result of my own work and includes nothing which is the outcome of work done in collaboration or content generated by artificial intelligence, except as declared in the preface and specified in the text.' - 3AbstractMandatoryPagination:
roman visible - 4AcknowledgementsOptional / If ApplicablePagination:
roman visible - 5Table of ContentsMandatoryPagination:
roman visible - 6List of FiguresOptional / If ApplicablePagination:
roman visible - 7List of TablesOptional / If ApplicablePagination:
roman visible
6. Academic Integrity, Similarity & AI Policy
Plagiarism threshold, similarity checking software, and Generative AI disclosure rules
Mandatory verbatim statement in Preface: 'This thesis is the result of my own work and includes nothing which is the outcome of work done in collaboration or content generated by artificial intelligence, except as declared in the preface and specified in the text.'
Chapter Opening & Print Setup
Chapter start placement, top margin drops, single vs double-sided print, and paper weight
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- Mandatory signed declaration in the Preface explicitly covering AI generation.
- Left margin 40 mm, other margins 20 mm.
- Word limits strictly enforced by Degree Committees (standard PhD 60,000 words, maximum 80,000 words).
- Verified 2026-10-13 against primary sources: Student Registry live guidelines and PGR Thesis Submission Checklist (October 2026). Mandatory Preface declaration explicitly covering AI generation. Left margin 40 mm, other margins 20 mm. Header/footer margins unstated in official regulations and set to null.