Regulations For The Physical Format And Layout Of Dissertations And Theses
1. General
The term ‘document’ used in these regulations means a dissertation or thesis on a
project or research presenting the author’s findings and any conclusions reached,
submitted by the author in support of his/her candidature for a diploma, professional
qualification or other award.
2. Cover and Binding
The document shall be bound in book form in a fixed binding. The boards shall have sufficient rigidity to support the weight of the work when standing upon the shelf. The cover shall be black and full bound for postgraduate degrees and grey, quarter bound for undergraduate qualifications.
The spine of the volume shall bear in at least 24 pt. (8mm) type the qualification and the candidate’s surname and initials and the year of presentation in gold lettering, starting 40mm from the base. This information shall be printed along the spine in such a way as to be readable when the volume is lying flat with the back cover uppermost. If the document consists of more than one volume, the spine shall bear the number of each volume.
The front cover shall bear in at least 24 pt. (8mm) types the full title of the work.
3. Paper and Typographical Detail
The document may be either computer printed or typewritten or typewritten-cyclostyled; where the thesis is typewritten, it must be on one side of the paper only with 1.5 or double spacing; one of the copies must be the typescript (top copy). Character shall not be less than 8 pt. (2.75mm).
The size of the paper used shall be international A4 (300 x 210mm). Paper shall be of good quality and of sufficient capacity for normal reading. Margins at the binding edge shall be not less than 40mm and other margins not less than 20mm.
4. Pagination
Pages shall be numbered consecutively through the document commencing with the title page, including appendices.
Page numbers shall be located centrally at the bottom of the page, approximately 10mm above the edge.
If there is more than one volume, each volume shall have its own pagination.
5. Preliminaries
The title page of the document shall give the following information in order listed:
- The full title of the works:
- The full name of the author;
- The qualification for which the document is submitted;
- The name of the institution to which the document is submitted;
- The department or organisation in which the project or research was conducted; and
- The month and year of submission.
The table of contents shall follow the title page. It shall list in sequence with page numbers all subdivisions of the thesis.
The lists of tables and illustrations, if any, shall follow the table of contents.Any acknowledgement shall be on the page following the lists of tables and illustrations.
When submitting a document, the author shall indicate in a declaration any material in the document which s/he has used before in support of an application for another degree or qualification. If the document is based on joint research, the nature and extent of the author’s own contribution shall be indicated. The declaration shall follow the acknowledgements.
An abstract of the document shall follow this declaration.
Where symbols and/or abbreviations are used, a key shall be provided which shall
follow the abstract.