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NITC

National Institute of Technology Calicut

Ph.D. Thesis Formatting Guidelines

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

Governing Body: Academic Section (Kerala, 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 Preparation and Submission of PhD Thesis — Academic Section, NIT Calicut
View Official Handbook ↗
Paper Dimensions
custom (7.2 in × 10.1 in)
Binding Margins
1 in Left / 0.8 in Right
Standard Typography
Times New Roman (11pt)
Line Spacing
1.5x

1. Page Setup & Geometry

Page dimensions, binding margins, and print/digital alignments

custom
Top: 0.8 in
Binding: 1 in
[Header]Page 1
[Front matter]
Right: 0.8 in
Bottom: 0.8 in
Left (Binding Gutter)
1in(2.54 cm)
Right Margin
0.8in(2.03 cm)
Top Margin
0.8in(2.03 cm)
Bottom Margin
0.8in(2.03 cm)
Margin Specification: Left means odd-side left (1.0 in); right means odd-side right (0.80 in). Even side is the reverse. Top and bottom 0.80 in. Header and page number 0.5 in from the paper edge.

2. Typography & Spacing Hierarchy

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

Times New Roman
Body Font
Times New Roman
Font Size
11pt
Line Spacing
1.5x
Paragraph Indent
12.7 mm*
Approved Typefaces:Times New Roman
Spacing Exceptions: Abstract at 1.5 spacing, TNR 11, not exceeding two pages.

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
    Title pageMandatory
    Pagination: roman visible
  2. 2
    Copyright statementMandatory
    Pagination: roman visible
  3. 3
    DedicationOptional / If Applicable
    Pagination: roman visible
  4. 4
    AcknowledgementsOptional / If Applicable
    Pagination: roman visible
  5. 5
    Declaration by the authorMandatory
    Pagination: roman visible
    Requirement: Includes mandatory student declaration on original research conduct and disclosure of Generative AI tools usage.
  6. 6
    Certificate from supervisor(s)Mandatory
    Pagination: roman visible
  7. 7
    Thesis Evaluation certificateMandatory
    Pagination: roman visible
    Requirement: Final copy only; signed at open defence.
  8. 8
    AbstractMandatory
    Pagination: roman visible
  9. 9
    ContentsMandatory
    Pagination: roman visible
  10. 10
    NomenclatureMandatory
    Pagination: roman visible

5. Physical Binding & Cover Specifications

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

Final Archival Copy
Examination Copy
soft bound
Final Archival Copy
hard bound
Note: Four soft-bound B5 copies at first submission. After defence: one hard-bound copy and a CD.

6. Academic Integrity, Similarity & AI Policy

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

Policy & Disclosure
Generative AI Policy
Disclosure Statement Required

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.

7. Institutional Declarations & Certificates

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

Forms
Copyright statementRequired

“© FULL NAME OF THE AUTHOR, (year). NIT Calicut has the sole ownership of Patents and Software Copyrights resulting out of this Thesis work.”

Declaration by the authorRequired

Signatories: Author

Certificate from supervisor(s)Required

Signatories: Supervisor, Head of Department

“Bonafide record of research work; contents not submitted elsewhere for a degree.”

Chapter Opening & Print Setup

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

Layout
Printing Format
Double-Sided Printing (Mandatory)

8. Institutional & Departmental Policies

Hard Copy Binding:

Four soft-bound B5 copies first; one hard-bound plus CD after defence.

Mandatory Preliminaries:

Copyright statement, author declaration, supervisor certificate countersigned by the HoD, 1000-word abstract.

Institutional Policy: B5 (JIS) and 11 pt body type are Calicut-specific. Do not assume A4 or 12 pt from another NIT.
Institutional Policy: Currency check 2026-09-19: Academic Section guidelines PDF remains linked from Forms for download.
B5 (JIS) paper, not A4

The handbook requires B5 (JIS) 7.2 in × 10.1 in. ScholarSpec stores this as custom paper and does not convert it to ISO A4.

English (United Kingdom) language setting

The language setting for the thesis should be English (United Kingdom).

Figure and table lists for Architecture only

List of figures and list of tables are stated as applicable to theses in Architecture only.

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: Forms for download still lists PhD Thesis format Guidelines as the Academic Section PDF.
  • Paper is B5 (JIS) 7.2 in × 10.1 in, not ISO A4. Do not normalise to 210 × 297 mm.
  • 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 NIT Calicut official PhD format guidelines confirming B5 JIS 7.2x10.1 in, Times New Roman 11pt, mirrored 1.0/0.8 in margins with 0.5 in header/footer distance, 1000-word abstract, and GenAI student declaration.