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MSU

Michigan State University

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

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

Governing Body: The Graduate School Formatting Office (MI, US)

Degree Scope:🎓 Ph.D. / Doctoralℹī¸ Master's / M.Tech. format requires departmental / DPGC confirmation unless a central handbook is cited
Official Handbook:
MSU The Graduate School ETD Formatting Guide
View Official Handbook ↗
Paper Dimensions
Letter (8.5 in × 11.0 in)
Binding Margins
1 in Left / 1 in Right
Standard Typography
Times New Roman (12pt)
Line Spacing
Double Spaced (2.0x)

1. Page Setup & Geometry

Page dimensions, binding margins, and print/digital alignments

Letter
Top: 1 in
Binding: 1 in
[Header]Page 1
[Front matter*]
Right: 1 in
Bottom: 1 in
Left (Binding Gutter)
1in(2.54 cm)
Right Margin
1in(2.54 cm)
Top Margin
1in(2.54 cm)
Bottom Margin
1in(2.54 cm)
Margin Specification: 1.0 in margins on top, bottom, left, and right.

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
Double Spaced (2.0x)
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
    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
Standard Academic Policy

Checked 2026-10-13: the cited source does not make a declaration compulsory. Brief deadUrl https://grad.msu.edu/formatting-your-document returns 404; working replacement is under /academics/theses-and-dissertations/formatting-your-document. A dated PDF copy (etd-formatting-guide-august-2026.pdf on MSU's sitecorecloud CDN) surfaced in search but was not HTTP-verified by me so it is not listed as a source. Guide covers Master's Plan A theses and doctoral dissertations together. Footnote size norm 10 pt; headings may be up to 24 pt; title page has its own template.

Chapter Opening & Print Setup

Chapter start placement, top margin drops, single vs double-sided print, and paper weight

Layout
Printing Format
Single-Sided

Notice a discrepancy in this 2025 handbook?

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Pre-Submission Baseline Assistant

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Don't spend days manually tweaking Microsoft Word margins, Roman numeral page breaks, and table headers. ScholarSpec prepares your raw draft to official Michigan State University guidelines in seconds.

Format with this Template ➔
✓High-Confidence Letter Margin & Gutter Setup
✓Automated Roman & Arabic Pagination Structure
✓Multi-Page Table Spanning & Header Protection
✓24-Hour Secure Storage & Instant Deletion (Strict Academic Privacy)
*ScholarSpec is a pre-submission formatting assistant. Output is calibrated to official university graduate handbooks.
Editorial Tutorials & Standards

Essential Formatting Guides for Ph.D. Dissertation & Master's Thesis Writers

Step-by-step tutorials to master academic typography, line numbers, APA tables, and citation integrity.

Formatting4 min read

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APA 7th Edition rules for borderless data presentation without breaking across page splits.

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Peer Review3 min read

How to Insert Continuous Line Numbers in Word

Turn on continuous line numbering for advisor review while suppressing them on the title page.

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Troubleshooting5 min read

Fix EndNote & Zotero Field Code Corruption

Safely refresh your bibliography without crashing Word or losing formatted reference markers.

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Comparison6 min read

Best Thesis Formatting Tools in 2026

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

  • Verified against MSU Graduate School Formatting Your Document Guide and ETD guidelines: 1.0 in margins all sides, double spacing, Roman numeral preliminary numbering.
  • Corrected 2026-10-13 against primary sources: Brief deadUrl https://grad.msu.edu/formatting-your-document returns 404; working replacement is under /academics/theses-and-dissertations/formatting-your-document. A dated PDF copy (etd-formatting-guide-august-2026.pdf on MSU's sitecorecloud CDN) surfaced in search but was not HTTP-verified by me so it is not listed as a source. Guide covers Master's Plan A theses and doctoral dissertations together. Footnote size norm 10 pt; headings may be up to 24 pt; title page has its own template.