The Division of Graduate Studies reviews all dissertations before they can be submitted for publication in ProQuest. All submissions must adhere to the formatting guidelines listed below. 

1. 1. For technical specifications for fonts, margins, line spacing, order of pages, pagination, and setup of preliminary pages, refer to the Guidelines for Preparing the Doctoral Dissertation, pages 5–11.
   2. For guidelines regarding writing style, grammar, citation, heading levels, tables, and figures, refer to disciplinary style manuals listed on p. 3 of the Guidelines for Preparing the Doctoral Dissertation.
   3. To download a thesis/dissertation template in Microsoft Word:
      • • • log into Canvas
          • click on any course on your dashboard
          • on the course menu, click on the Writing Center link
          • on the Writing Center course menu, click Modules, select the Writing in Graduate School module, and click on the JSU Thesis and Dissertation Template link to download the template.

Dissertations that deviate from these requirements will be returned for correction.

To avoid common formatting errors, please review sample dissertation pages and checklists for both manuscript submission and disciplinary style requirements before submitting your dissertation. 

Seeking a professional editor? Please visit this page.

For writing assistance with issues other than formatting, please schedule an appointment in the Richard Wright Center.