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Newcastle University

Ph.D. Thesis Formatting Guidelines

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

Governing Body: Doctoral College & Student Progress Service (Tyne and Wear, UK)

Degree Scope:🎓 Ph.D. / Doctoralℹī¸ Master's / M.Tech. format requires departmental / DPGC confirmation unless a central handbook is cited
Official Handbook:
Newcastle University Guidelines for the Submission and Format of Theses
View Official Handbook ↗
Paper Dimensions
A4 (210 mm × 297 mm)
Binding Margins
30 mm Left / 20 mm Right
Standard Typography
Arial (12pt)
Line Spacing
1.5x

1. Page Setup & Geometry

Page dimensions, binding margins, and print/digital alignments

A4
Top: 20 mm
Binding: 30 mm
[Header]Page 1
[Front matter]
Right: 20 mm
Bottom: 20 mm
Left (Binding Gutter)
30mm
Right Margin
20mm
Top Margin
20mm
Bottom Margin
20mm
Margin Specification: Inside margin (binding edge): 30 mm; all other margins: 20 mm (mirrored for double-sided).

2. Typography & Spacing Hierarchy

Font selections, heading styles, line spacing, and paragraph indentation

Arial
Body Font
Arial
Font Size
12pt
Line Spacing
1.5x
Paragraph Indent
0.5 in
Approved Typefaces:ArialTimes New RomanCalibriVerdanaTrebuchet MS
Spacing Exceptions: Quotations, footnotes, and captions may be single-spaced.

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
    Requirement: Must state full title, qualification (Doctor of Philosophy), School or Institute, and month and year.
  2. 2
    AbstractMandatory
    Pagination: roman visible
    Requirement: Summary not exceeding 300 words, suitable for publication.
  3. 3
    Declaration of AuthorshipMandatory
    Pagination: roman visible
    Requirement: Must certify original work and include explicit Generative AI acknowledgment statement if tools were utilized.
  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

Newcastle University requires an explicit AI acknowledgment statement accompanying the thesis.

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

Notice a discrepancy in this 2025 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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  • Inside margin (binding edge) 30 mm (3 cm), all other margins 20 mm (2 cm).
  • Line spacing: 1.5 spacing in a single column; single spacing for quotations, footnotes, and captions.
  • Page numbers placed centrally at the bottom in Arabic numerals starting from Introduction.
  • Verified 2026-10-13 against primary sources: Newcastle University Guidelines for the Submission and Format of Theses (2026/27). Inside margin 30 mm, other margins 20 mm (mirrored for double-sided). 1.5x spacing, single column. Header/footer margins unstated in handbook and set to null.