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USYD

University of Sydney

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

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

Governing Body: Higher Degree by Research Administration Centre (HDRAC) (NSW, AU)

Degree Scope:🎓 Ph.D. / Doctoralℹī¸ Master's / M.Tech. format requires departmental / DPGC confirmation unless a central handbook is cited
Official Handbook:
University of Sydney Thesis Format and Examination Policy (HDRAC)
View Official Handbook ↗
Paper Dimensions
A4 (210 mm × 297 mm)*
Binding Margins
25 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: 25 mm*
[Header]Page 1
[Front matter]
Right: 25 mm*
Bottom: 25 mm*
Left (Binding Gutter)
25mm*
Right Margin
25mm*
Top Margin
25mm*
Bottom Margin
25mm*

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 quotes, footnotes, tables, and references.

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
    Statement of OriginalityMandatory
    Pagination: suppressed counted
  3. 3
    Authorship Attribution StatementOptional / If Applicable
    Pagination: roman visible
  4. 4
    Statement of Generative AI UsageMandatory
    Pagination: roman visible
  5. 5
    AcknowledgementsOptional / If Applicable
    Pagination: roman visible
  6. 6
    AbstractMandatory
    Pagination: roman visible
  7. 7
    Table of ContentsMandatory
    Pagination: roman visible
  8. 8
    List of FiguresOptional / If Applicable
    Pagination: roman visible
  9. 9
    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

Mandatory formal statement acknowledging any use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) during the research or writing process, placed in the preliminary pages in accordance with HDRAC policy.

8. Institutional & Departmental Policies

Authorship Attribution:

Mandatory statement of originality and authorship attribution statement (for collaborative papers/publications).

Ai Disclosure:

Mandatory formal statement acknowledging any use of generative artificial intelligence (AI).

Abstract Limit:

Abstract must not exceed 500 words.

Repository Deposit:

Deposit in Sydney eScholarship repository.

Institutional Policy: Thesis submission procedures apply to Ph.D. and Master's by Research candidatures.

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

  • A4 format. Left/binding margin 35-40 mm (minimum 40 mm recommended for binding/examination copies); top, bottom, and right margins at least 20 mm.
  • Line spacing: 1.5x or 2.0x for body text. Body font: Times New Roman 12 pt, Arial 11 pt, or Calibri 11/12 pt.
  • Mandatory Authorship Attribution Statement for collaborative work or theses by publication.
  • Mandatory formal statement in front matter acknowledging any use of generative artificial intelligence (AI).
  • Corrected 2026-10-13 against primary sources: High confidence that the University of Sydney publishes NO university-wide HDR thesis layout rules (paper size, margins, spacing, font, pagination, print sides all defer to faculty/school handbooks at https://www.sydney.edu.au/handbooks/home.html, not read). The rule file's numeric values (35/20 mm, 1.5, TNR 12, 500-word abstract) have no university-level primary source and should be marked unverified/school-dependent in the UI. Compulsory preliminary pages: title page (full name, title, faculty/school, 'the University of Sydney', year, submission statement), hand-signed statement of originality straight after title page, acknowledgements, author attribution statement (signed by candidate and lead supervisor), GenAI statement. Word limits: doctoral generally 80,000 (+20,000 with permission), master's by research 50,000 (+10,000); excluding bi
  • Downgraded to partial 2026-10-13: the public official sources cited here state no paper size, margins, spacing or typeface (the formal guide is behind a login or set by faculty/school). Geometry is left null rather than guessed.