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ETH Zurich

Doctoral Thesis (Dr. sc. ETH Zurich) Formatting Guidelines

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

Governing Body: Doctoral Administration Office & ETH Library (Zurich, CH)

Degree Scope:🎓 Ph.D. / Doctoralℹī¸ Master's / M.Tech. format requires departmental / DPGC confirmation unless a central handbook is cited
Official Handbook:
ETH Zurich Ordinance on Doctoral Studies: Formal Thesis Requirements
View Official Handbook ↗
Paper Dimensions
A4 (210 mm × 297 mm)*
Binding Margins
25 mm Left / 25 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: 25 mm*
Binding: 25 mm*
[Header]Page 1
[Front matter]
Right: 25 mm*
Bottom: 25 mm*
Left (Binding Gutter)
25mm*
Right Margin
25mm*
Top Margin
25mm*
Bottom Margin
25mm*

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 RomanArialComputer Modern
Spacing Exceptions: Single spacing (1.0) for indented block quotations, footnotes, tables, and bibliography items.

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

ETH Zurich Scientific Integrity policy requires transparent attribution of all AI tools used in research.

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

Statutory Title Page:

Title page must specify statutory DISS. ETH NO. [number] imprint, candidate name, and ETH Zurich faculty.

Bilingual Abstract:

Mandatory bilingual abstract in English and one Swiss official language (German, French, or Italian).

Curriculum Vitae:

Curriculum Vitae mandatory at the end of the thesis in printed deposit copies.

Repository Deposit:

Electronic PDF/A deposit to ETH Research Collection.

Institutional Policy: Regulations strictly calibrated for Doctorate (Dr. sc. ETH Zurich). Master theses are governed departmentally.

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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* Provisional ScholarSpec layout used where the cited handbook does not specify this value. Confirm with your thesis office before submission.

  • 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.
  • Margins, typeface, and spacing are departmental at ETH Zurich. The previous 30/25/25/25 mm values were "common practice", not a stated rule, and were removed.