Graduate Studies

Guidelines for Preparation and Submission of Theses and Dissertations

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(Note: These guidelines are for theses and dissertations only.  Other papers (research, action research, etc.) must be submitted in paper form directly to Malpass Library. Guidelines for research papers can be found at wiu.edu/graduate_studies/current_students/Guidelines-Research.pdf.


Format, style, method of presenting bibliographies, etc., vary in departments depending on the subject matter field of the thesis/dissertation. In spite of differences, however, some uniformity is expected in all theses/dissertations submitted in partial fulfillment of requirements for advanced degrees. The following are certain points of information which may be useful to students in preparing theses/dissertations. Along with certain requirements are suggestions which should be followed, unless the student is otherwise directed by his departmental thesis/dissertation committee and/or his Advisor.

The thesis or dissertation is a final document and not a copy document for submission to a journal. The Graduate School Guidelines, which reflect the formatting recommendations of ProQuest as well as many of the recent advancements in publication technology, specify these important differences. They are:

1. The thesis or dissertation must not carry running headings;
2. Tables and figures are placed where they belong in the dissertation and no notation is placed in the text as "Table 1 here".

General Instructions
Responsibility for Preparation and Evaluation
Suggested Writing Style
Formatting Guidelines
Graduation Information
ETD Submission Process
FAQs Regarding Electronic Submission
Checklist

Sample pages