Indian Institute of Technology Patna
Ph.D. Thesis Formatting Guidelines
Official layout specifications, binding margins, and document formatting requirements.
Governing Body: Academic Affairs (Bihar, IN)
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*.
5. Physical Binding & Cover Specifications
Official cover colors, lettering, spine text, and archival copy binding
Checklist: front cover white; all cover text embossed or printed; title capitalised and centre-justified; scholar name bottom-right in capitals; MONTH YEAR of viva-voce as on the template; copyright line © YEAR OF VIVA VOCE by IIT PATNA including student and supervisor names.
6. Academic Integrity, Similarity & AI Policy
Plagiarism threshold, similarity checking software, and Generative AI disclosure rules
Mandatory student declaration regarding Generative AI tools usage in preliminary pages per UGC guidelines and Institute Senate academic integrity circulars. Uncredited AI text generation is subject to plagiarism penalties.
Chapter Opening & Print Setup
Chapter start placement, top margin drops, single vs double-sided print, and paper weight
New chapters always start on an odd-numbered page. If a chapter ends on an odd page, the next even page is left blank.
8. Institutional & Departmental Policies
21.5 cm wide × 28 cm long (manual §3.3), stored as custom paper.
Use 21.5 cm × 28 cm as stated. Do not substitute ISO A4 210 × 297 mm even though the manual calls the sheet 'A4'.
Thesis should not exceed 200 pages excluding prefacing materials.
Final hardbound cover is white, with spine name/title/year and the copyright line specified in the checklist.
Notice a discrepancy in this 2026 handbook?
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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: previously blocked (no public handbook located). Academic Affairs now publishes the Synopsis & Thesis Manual and Ph.D. checklist on academics.iitp.ac.in. The checklist file was Last-Modified 9 Sep 2026.
- Manual §3.3: paper is 21.5 cm (8.5 in) wide and 28 cm (11 in) long, 'commonly known as A4'. Those millimetre/inch figures are not ISO A4 (210 × 297 mm) and are stored as custom paper — not normalised to 210 × 297.
- Checklist parenthetical 'A4 (21.5 cm × 28 cm) (8.5 inches × 11 inches)' is internally inconsistent with ISO A4 and with US Letter; numbers are taken from Manual §3.3, not from converting to ISO A4.
- October 2026 circular audit: verified against current academic circulars; updated header/footer margin parameters where centrally prescribed; added mandatory Generative AI disclosure policy in preliminary pages per UGC and Senate academic integrity regulations.
- Verified 2026-10-13 against primary sources: re-verified active IIT Patna PhD thesis manual for custom 21.5x28 cm paper, 3.75 cm binding margin, 2.5 cm outer margin, 1.5x line spacing, and GenAI compliance declaration in preliminary pages.