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McMaster University

Ph.D. Thesis & Master's Thesis Formatting Guidelines

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

Governing Body: School of Graduate Studies (SGS) (ON, CA)

Degree Scope:🎓 Ph.D. / Doctoral📚 Master's / M.Tech. (central handbook)
Official Handbook:
McMaster University Guide for the Preparation of Master's and Doctoral Theses
View Official Handbook ↗
Paper Dimensions
Letter (8.5 in × 11.0 in)
Binding Margins
1.5 in Left / 1 in Right
Standard Typography
Times New Roman (12pt)
Line Spacing
1.5x*

1. Page Setup & Geometry

Page dimensions, binding margins, and print/digital alignments

Letter
Top: 1.5 in
Binding: 1.5 in
[Header]Page 1
[Front matter]
Right: 1 in
Bottom: 1 in
Left (Binding Gutter)
1.5in(3.81 cm)
Right Margin
1in(2.54 cm)
Top Margin
1.5in(3.81 cm)
Bottom Margin
1in(2.54 cm)
Margin Specification: Top and left margins must be 3.8 cm (1.5 in) to accommodate binding; right and bottom margins 2.5 cm (1.0 in).

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-space block quotes, footnotes, tables, and bibliography items.

3. Technical & Archival Compliance

ETD ProQuest repository requirements, table spanning, and vector DPI rules

ETD / ProQuest Ready
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
    Descriptive NoteMandatory
    Pagination: roman visible
  3. 3
    AbstractMandatory
    Pagination: roman visible
  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

McMaster Academic Integrity Policy and MacPherson Institute GenAI Guidance.

8. Institutional & Departmental Policies

McMaster SGS requires 3.8 cm (1.5 in) top and left margins for binding clearance.
Descriptive Note page (listing degree, candidate name, supervisor, number of pages) must precede the abstract.
Final submission to MacSphere requires Library and Archives Canada (LAC) Non-Exclusive License.

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.

  • Top and left margins must be 3.8 cm (1.5 in) to accommodate potential binding; right and bottom margins 2.5 cm (1.0 in).
  • Descriptive Note page (listing degree, candidate name, supervisor, number of pages) must precede the abstract.
  • Corrected 2026-10-13 against primary sources: Dead URL gs.mcmaster.ca/current-students/completing-your-degree/thesis-preparation/ replaced by the guide PDF and the doctoral-degree checklist page. Required header on every page from Chapter 1: 'Ph.D. Thesis - J. Smith; McMaster University - Mechanical Engineering'. Also required: Half Title page, Descriptive Note (ii), lay abstract (<=150 words, iii), abstract (iv), Declaration of Academic Achievement. Guide cites 10-12 pt: Courier min 10. AI policy supporting pages: libguides.mcmaster.ca/acknowledge-gen-ai/mcmaster (HTTP 200) and the provost page above.
  • Downgraded to partial 2026-10-13: the cited official sources do not state every field required for 'verified'.