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National Institute of Technology Karnataka, Surathkal

Ph.D. Thesis Formatting Guidelines

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

Governing Body: Dean (Academic) / DRPC (Karnataka, IN)

Degree Scope:🎓 Ph.D. / Doctoral📚 Master's / M.Tech. (central handbook)
Official Handbook:
PG Curriculum 2025 — Ph.D. Thesis Format (Forms & Formats, NITK-PG&R-Forms & Formats 2025)
View Official Handbook ↗
Paper Dimensions
A4 (210 mm × 297 mm)
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

A4
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: Odd pages: left 1.5 in, top 1.5 in, right 1 in, bottom 1 in. Even pages: left 1 in, right 1.5 in, top 1.5 in, bottom 1 in. Printed back-to-back.

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
12.7 mm*
Approved Typefaces:Times New Roman
Spacing Exceptions: Abstract is 1.5-spaced on a maximum of one A4 page.

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 SheetMandatory
    Pagination: suppressed not counted
  2. 2
    DeclarationMandatory
    Pagination: unspecified
    Requirement: Includes mandatory student declaration on original research conduct and disclosure of Generative AI tools usage.
  3. 3
    CertificateMandatory
    Pagination: unspecified
  4. 4
    AcknowledgementMandatory
    Pagination: suppressed not counted
  5. 5
    AbstractMandatory
    Pagination: unspecified
    Requirement: Maximum one A4 page at 1.5 spacing; keywords on the bottom line.
  6. 6
    ContentsMandatory
    Pagination: roman visible
  7. 7
    NomenclatureMandatory
    Pagination: roman visible

5. Physical Binding & Cover Specifications

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

Final Archival Copy
Cover Color
Black

Examination copies: temporary soft binding, white cover, black font. After defence: black rexin. Front cover gold: title 22 pt at top; full name 16 pt in the middle; department, Institute, month and year 16 pt capitals at the bottom.

Lettering & Tooling
Gold

Spine Lettering: Ph.D., full name of the candidate, and the year in 16 pt gold letters.

Examination Copy
soft bound
Final Archival Copy
hard bound
Note: One hard copy and a CD go to the library after defence.

6. Academic Integrity, Similarity & AI Policy

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

Policy & Disclosure
Similarity Check Tool
Turnitin
Plagiarism Certificate Required
Required with Submission

Central Library certifies similarity for the final Ph.D. thesis. A plagiarism report is enclosed at thesis submission (Ph.D. Regulations 2025).

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
DeclarationRequired

Signatories: Research Scholar

CertificateRequired

Signatories: Guide, Chairman DRPC

Chapter Opening & Print Setup

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

Layout
Chapter Start
New Page

First page of each chapter including conclusions need not carry a typed page number.

Printing Format
Double-Sided Printing (Mandatory)

8. Institutional & Departmental Policies

Hard Copy Binding:

White soft cover for exam; black rexin gold after defence; spine Ph.D., name, year.

Mandatory Preliminaries:

Title sheet, declaration, guide/DRPC certificate, acknowledgement, one-page abstract with keywords, contents, nomenclature.

Institutional Policy: Ph.D. thesis format in PG Curriculum 2025 is independent of the M.Tech. format in the same PDF.
Institutional Policy: Currency check 2026-09-19: PG Curriculum 2025 v4 is the hosted file.
Mirrored margins for double-sided copies

Odd-page left 1.5 in / right 1 in; even-page left 1 in / right 1.5 in. Top is 1.5 in on both sides.

White soft cover, then black rexin

Temporary white soft binding for examination. After defence, black rexin with gold lettering; one hard copy and CD to the library.

M.Tech. format is a separate section

The same curriculum PDF has a distinct M.Tech. thesis format (blue cover). Do not apply that cover colour or treat it as the Ph.D. geometry source.

Notice a discrepancy in this 2025 handbook?

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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: PG Curriculum 2025 v4 is the hosted file (document/attachments/9556). Ph.D. thesis format is a labelled section, not the M.Tech. format.
  • Do not use the 2016 Infotech Ph.D. rules PDF as the millimetre source; it only says 'prescribed format'.
  • 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: confirmed active NITK PG Curriculum 2025 v4 for mirrored 1.5/1.0 in margins, Times New Roman 12pt at 1.5x line spacing, 1-page abstract limit, 0.5 in header/footer margin, and GenAI preliminary declaration.