Our thesis formatting tutorial steps you through the process of formatting your thesis from our template file. Note: Rules/guidelines for thesis formats are developed by the Graduate School. Questions about the guidelines, or interpretation of them, should be directed to the Office of Degree Requirements at (413) 545-0025.
Tutorial
Download a PDF version of the thesis-formatting workshop OIT offers each semester.
- Typing Dissertations for UMass Amherst in Word XP for Windows XP [PDF, 2.2 MB]
- Importing Excel Tables in Word XP [PDF, 398 K]
Using Template & Example Files
OIT provides a template for creating your thesis and an example of what a final thesis should look like. The Graduate School rules permit three different formats of headings and Table of Contents. To provide support for the greatest possible number of students, these files help you use either of the two most-frequently-used formats. Please see the tutorial before deciding which format you want to use.
Simple Formatting |
Numeric Formatting |
Details |
Preliminary pages for your thesis. Download all .doc files to your hard drive. Save them with your other Word documents (e.g., My Documents). |
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Template files. Download the template files to your hard drive and save them in the My Templates folder.* |
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Example thesis. Use it as a reference for your work. |
* To download template files to your hard drive:
- Right click the link and select Save target as ... (if you use Internet Explorer) or Save Link As ... if you use Netscape.
- Save umassXPsimple.dot (or umassXPnumeric.dot) in the \Microsoft Office\Templates folder. Where this folder is depends on how your system is set up. If you need help finding it, see the tutorial.
- Select umassXPsimple.dot (or umassXPnumeric.dot) as the template to create your thesis Word file.
Need Help?
If you encounter problems, submit an online Help Request.
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Contact the OIT Help Desk at 545-9400.
