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✓ Verified 2026
NUS

National University of Singapore

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

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

Governing Body: NUS Graduate School (NUSGS) (Singapore, SG)

Degree Scope:🎓 Ph.D. / Doctoralℹī¸ Master's / M.Tech. format requires departmental / DPGC confirmation unless a central handbook is cited
Official Handbook:
National University of Singapore Thesis Preparation and Format Guidelines
View Official Handbook ↗
Paper Dimensions
A4 (210 mm × 297 mm)
Binding Margins
38 mm Left / 25 mm 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: 25 mm
Binding: 38 mm
[Header]Page 1
[Front matter]
Right: 25 mm
Bottom: 25 mm
Left (Binding Gutter)
38mm
Right Margin
25mm
Top Margin
25mm
Bottom Margin
25mm
Margin Specification: Left: 38-40 mm (1.5 in); Top, Bottom, Right: >= 25 mm (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 spacing for block quotes, footnotes, tables, and bibliography items.

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
  2. 2
    Declaration of AuthorshipMandatory
    Pagination: roman visible
  3. 3
    Gen-AI Usage DeclarationMandatory
    Pagination: roman visible
  4. 4
    AcknowledgementsOptional / If Applicable
    Pagination: roman visible
  5. 5
    AbstractMandatory
    Pagination: roman visible
  6. 6
    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
Disclosure Statement Required

NUS policy on AI in Teaching & Learning and Graduate School guidelines require a mandatory Gen-AI Usage Declaration in the front matter specifying tools and purposes used.

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

8. Institutional & Departmental Policies

Registrar Form:

Title page must conform strictly to Registrar Form RO.117/10.

Authorship Declaration:

Signed declaration of authorship, originality, and Gen-AI disclosure table.

Abstract Limit:

Summary/Abstract must not exceed 500 words.

Repository Deposit:

Electronic deposit to ScholarBank@NUS.

Institutional Policy: Unified Registrar guidelines govern Ph.D. and Master's by Research theses.

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.
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  • Downgraded to partial 2026-10-13: the verification block cites a landing page without a page-level formatting source. Re-verify margins, typography, and pagination against the institution's thesis handbook before marking verified.