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Durham University

Doctoral Thesis & Master's by Research Thesis Formatting Guidelines

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

Governing Body: Durham Doctoral College & Academic Support Office (England, UK)

Degree Scope:🎓 Ph.D. / Doctoralℹī¸ Master's / M.Tech. format requires departmental / DPGC confirmation unless a central handbook is cited
Official Handbook:
Durham University Core Regulations for Research Degrees: Rules for the Form of Theses
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 binding edge: not less than 40 mm; other margins: 20 mm.

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, figures, 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
    Declaration of AuthorshipMandatory
    Pagination: roman visible
    Requirement: Must confirm work is candidate's own and include explicit declaration of any AI assistance or joint work.
  3. 3
    AbstractMandatory
    Pagination: roman visible
    Requirement: Abstract must in all cases be written in English (typically up to 300 words).
  4. 4
    AcknowledgementsOptional / If Applicable
    Pagination: roman visible
  5. 5
    Table of ContentsMandatory
    Pagination: roman visible
  6. 6
    List of FiguresOptional / If Applicable
    Pagination: roman visible
  7. 7
    List of TablesOptional / If Applicable
    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

Durham University policy requires explicit declaration of any generative AI assistance in the front matter; unacknowledged AI generation is academic misconduct.

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

Repository Deposit:

Mandatory deposit in Durham e-Theses repository.

Signed Declaration:

Statement confirming that the work submitted is the candidate's own and has not been submitted for any other degree.

Institutional Policy: Core regulations apply to Ph.D. and Master's by Research degrees.

Notice a discrepancy in this 2025 handbook?

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*ScholarSpec is a pre-submission formatting assistant. Output is calibrated to official university graduate handbooks.
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  • Binding edge margin must not be less than 40 mm; other margins not less than 20 mm.
  • Character size between 10pt and 12pt; line spacing 1.5x or double.
  • Electronic copy deposit via Durham e-Theses.
  • Verified 2026-10-13 against primary sources: Durham Doctoral School Core Regulations and e-Theses formatting specifications. Binding edge margin minimum 40 mm, other margins 20 mm. Body font 10–12pt, line spacing 1.5x or double. Mandatory GenAI declaration in front matter. Header/footer margins unstated in official regulations and set to null.