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University of New Mexico

Ph.D. Dissertation & Master's Thesis Formatting Guidelines

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

Governing Body: Graduate Studies Manuscript Office (NM, US)

Degree Scope:🎓 Ph.D. / Doctoralℹī¸ Master's / M.Tech. format requires departmental / DPGC confirmation unless a central handbook is cited
Official Handbook:
UNM Graduate Studies Manuscript Preparation and Formatting Manual
View Official Handbook ↗
Paper Dimensions
Letter (8.5 in × 11.0 in)
Binding Margins
1.5 in Left / 1 in Right
Standard Typography
Times New Roman (12pt)
Line Spacing
Double Spaced (2.0x)

1. Page Setup & Geometry

Page dimensions, binding margins, and print/digital alignments

Letter
Top: 1 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
1in(2.54 cm)
Bottom Margin
1in(2.54 cm)
Margin Specification: Left margin 1.5 in (for binding/archival copy); top, bottom, and right margins 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
Double Spaced (2.0x)
Paragraph Indent
0.5 in
Approved Typefaces:Times New RomanArialCalibri
Spacing Exceptions: Single-space block quotes, footnotes, tables, and bibliography items.

3. Technical & Archival Compliance

ETD ProQuest repository requirements, table spanning, and vector DPI rules

ETD / ProQuest Ready
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
    AbstractMandatory
    Pagination: roman visible
  3. 3
    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

AI cannot replace student scholarship. Confidential research data must not be input into open platforms.

Chapter Opening & Print Setup

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

Layout
Printing Format
Single-Sided

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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  • Left margin set to 1.5 in (or 1.25-1.5 in for binding); top, right, and bottom margins set to 1.0 in.
  • Header and footer margins are 0.5 in.
  • Double-spaced body text; 12pt body font.
  • Lowercase Roman numerals for preliminary pages; Arabic numerals starting at 1 for main body.
  • Corrected 2026-10-13 against primary sources: Brief's dead URL (/resources/gs-manuscripts/) replaced by the current guidelines page. Official guidance states front matter order: title page (page i), optional dedication/acknowledgements, abstract, TOC, lists; 'No more approval page!' (workshop). Rule-file abstract limit of 350 words is not supported; source says one page, suggested 150 words. Accessibility: manuscripts must pass the Adobe Acrobat accessibility checker starting for Spring 2027 graduates (recommended for Fall 2026; Summer 2026 notice on the page). Final submission is PDF to UNM Digital Repository and ProQuest (PhD). Older 'manuscript-prep-guide.pdf' says left 1.5 in; superseded.