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IITD

Indian Institute of Technology Delhi

Ph.D. Thesis Formatting Guidelines

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

Governing Body: Central Library (Theses Section) and PG Programme Rules (Delhi, IN)

Degree Scope:🎓 Ph.D. / Doctoralℹī¸ Master's / M.Tech. format requires departmental / DPGC confirmation unless a central handbook is cited
Official Handbook:
Guidelines for Ph.D. Thesis Submission and No Dues — Central Library, IIT Delhi
View Official Handbook ↗
Paper Dimensions
A4 (210 mm × 297 mm)*
Binding Margins
38 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: 38 mm*
[Header]Page 1
[Front matter]
Right: 25 mm*
Bottom: 25 mm*
Left (Binding Gutter)
38mm*
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
12.7 mm*

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*.

4. Preliminary Pages Checklist & Order

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

Mandatory Sequence
  1. 1
    Cover PageMandatory
    Pagination: unspecified
    Requirement: BOLD LETTERS: (a) title at the top (b) author's name in the middle (c) IIT Delhi Logo (d) department/centre with INDIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY DELHI (f) MONTH YEAR at the bottom.
  2. 2
    Title PageMandatory
    Pagination: unspecified
    Requirement: TITLE OF THE THESIS at the top; by author's name; department/centre; Submitted in fulfillment of requirements of degree of Doctor of Philosophy to the IIT Delhi Logo / INDIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY DELHI / MONTH YEAR.
  3. 3
    Dedication pageOptional / If Applicable
    Pagination: unspecified
  4. 4
    CertificateMandatory
    Pagination: roman visible
    Requirement: Certificate with the date signed by the supervisor. Roman numbering starts here.
  5. 5
    AcknowledgmentMandatory
    Pagination: roman visible
    Requirement: Signed by the researcher with the date.
  6. 6
    Abstract (English)Mandatory
    Pagination: roman visible
  7. 7
    Saar (Hindi)Mandatory
    Pagination: roman visible
  8. 8
    Table of ContentsMandatory
    Pagination: roman visible
  9. 9
    List of Figures and List of TablesMandatory
    Pagination: roman visible
  10. 10
    List of SymbolsOptional / If Applicable
    Pagination: roman visible
  11. 11
    List of acronyms/abbreviationsOptional / If Applicable
    Pagination: roman visible

5. Physical Binding & Cover Specifications

Official cover colors, lettering, spine text, and archival copy binding

Final Archival Copy
Cover Color
Maroon

Golden tooling in BOLD LETTERS matching the cover-page content specified by the library.

Lettering & Tooling
Gold

Spine Lettering: Year of publication at top; author's name in the middle; 'Ph.D. IITD'.

Examination Copy
soft bound
Final Archival Copy
hard bound
Note: PG Rules: normally three soft-cover copies at first submission (four if joint supervision). After viva: two hard-cover copies (department/centre library and Central Library) plus a soft copy to Central Library.

6. Academic Integrity, Similarity & AI Policy

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

Policy & Disclosure
Generative AI Policy
Disclosure Statement Required

In accordance with UGC (Promotion of Academic Integrity) regulations and Institute Senate resolutions, students must disclose all generative AI assistance.

7. Institutional Declarations & Certificates

Signed certificates, declarations, and copyright statements named in the handbook

Forms
CertificateRequired

Signatories: Supervisor

8. Institutional & Departmental Policies

Hard Copy Binding:

Maroon cover, golden tooling. Spine: year, author, 'Ph.D. IITD'.

Mandatory Preliminaries:

Certificate signed by supervisor, Acknowledgment, English Abstract, and mandatory Hindi Saar.

Institutional Policy: No official public source located on iitd.ac.in states body font, point size, line spacing, or margin millimetres. Those fields are null.
Institutional Policy: M.Tech. / M.Des. report format is not covered by the Ph.D. library checklist.
Institutional Policy: Currency check 2026-09-19: still partial. Central Library Ph.D. submission/No Dues PDF (Feb 2026; now also at https://library.iitd.ac.in/GuidelinesPhDThesisSubmission.pdf) and Courses of Study 2025-26 PG Programme Rules (https://home.iitd.ac.in/uploads/PG%20Programme%20Rules/CoS-2025-26__PG-Programme-Rules__03-02-2026.pdf) still do not publish margins, font, or spacing. No newer millimetre handbook found on iitd.ac.in.
Hindi Saar (summary)

A Hindi Saar is a required preliminary. PG Rules also require a Hindi translation of the thesis abstract as part of final submission (Hindi Cell assistance is available). ScholarSpec does not generate the Hindi text.

Copyright on the left-hand page

Hard-bound copies after viva must contain the appropriate copyright certificate in the beginning of the thesis, on a separate page on the left side (PG Programme Rules).

Maroon cover with gold spine lettering

One hard copy at Central Library with maroon cover and golden tooling. Spine: (a) Year of publication at top (b) Author's name in the middle (c) 'Ph.D. IITD'.

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.
Editorial Tutorials & Standards

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

  • Currency check 2026-09-19: still partial. Central Library Ph.D. submission/No Dues PDF (Feb 2026; now also at https://library.iitd.ac.in/GuidelinesPhDThesisSubmission.pdf) and Courses of Study 2025-26 PG Programme Rules (https://home.iitd.ac.in/uploads/PG%20Programme%20Rules/CoS-2025-26__PG-Programme-Rules__03-02-2026.pdf) still do not publish margins, font, or spacing. No newer millimetre handbook found on iitd.ac.in.
  • The library PDF is a submission/no-dues checklist, not a margin/font handbook.
  • Do not copy 35/25 mm or 1.5x from another IIT.
  • Verified 2026-10-13 against primary sources: confirmed active central library thesis portal and CoS PG Programme Rules on iitd.ac.in; geometry remains null with named provisional overlay and mandatory Hindi Saar section; GenAI policy configured.