Quick Guide for Master’s Thesis Submission

Before You Submit

Review the key dates below. Make sure you’ve submitted your application for degree and Certification of Thesis Acceptance. Early submissions are welcome! GSAS has an accessible mailbox in Kutz Hall next to the entrance by the rear parking lot.

Degree Cycle	Type of Submission	Deadline
February 2020	Degree Application	November 1
	Certification of Thesis Acceptance	January 14
	Electronic Thesis Deposit	January 15
May 2020	Degree Application	March 2
	Certification of Thesis Acceptance	April 20
	Electronic Thesis Deposit	April 21
August 2020	Degree Application	June 19
	Certification of Thesis Acceptance	August 5
	Electronic Thesis Deposit	August 6

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Margins and Fonts

Margins

Top margin of the first page of each chapter/section of the body of your thesis: 2 inches

Left, bottom, and right margins: 1 inch

Top margin for all other pages of your thesis: 1 inch

Fonts

Times New Roman, Arial, Cambria, and Calibri are recommended fonts

Size 12, but longer quotations, references, and notes can be size 10 or size 11

Layout

Title Page, Abstract, and Copyright Page

Follow the templates, exactly, as they are shown.

Where there are parentheses, you will remove the parentheses and replace the text with your own text.

Include permission letters, if applicable, in your thesis.

Check the controlled vocabulary when listing your department or program.

(subheaders for this section as follows):

Spacing

Double-space all text, aside from the following exceptions:

Single space all notes, bibliographic references, and long quotations.

Orientation

No blank pages, all single-sided text.

Moving between and landscape and portrait is fine, but refer to pagination guidelines when doing so.

Pagination

Pay close attention to the transitions from Roman to Arabic numerals. All page numbers should be centered at the bottom of the page, when turned to portrait. Should you have any landscape pages in your thesis, the page number still needs to appear centered at the bottom of the page when in portrait orientation.

Section/Page	Page Numbering
Title Page	number not printed on the page, but is still considered page i
Copyright Page	number not printed on the page, but is still considered page ii
Acknowledgements (Optional)	number is printed on the page, start with iii or ii if no Copyright page is used
Abstract	Continue with Roman numerals, printed
Preface (Optional)	Continue with Roman numerals, printed
Table of Contents	Continue with Roman numerals, printed
List of Tables	Continue with Roman numerals, printed
List of Illustrations/Figures	Continue with Roman numerals, printed
Introduction	Start Arabic Numerals, beginning with page 1, printed on the page
Main Body, Appendices, Bibliography	Continue with Arabic numerals, printed

EXPLANATION OF PAGINATION—Printed v. Not-Printed: While page numbers are not printed on the Title and Copyright pages, these pages still count (they are pages i and ii), which is why your Acknowledgements page is page iii.

Submitting Your Thesis

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Submission to the IR

Naming

Name your file with your last name, thesis, and year of degree conferral. Example: PeckThesis2017.PDF

Your file should be a PDF when you submit it to the BIR. Embed all fonts when converting to a PDF.

IR Portal

Once your thesis is in a suitable PDF format for submission, go to http://bir.brandeis.edu and select “login” under My Account. Use your Unet ID and password to log in. Select the Submissions option under My Account. This will take you to the first step of the submission process.

Resources for Students

Are you struggling to keep up with your thesis writing?

There are tools to help you with your thesis writing. In this episode of the Highlights Podcast, Alyssa Stalsberg Canelli discusses tools to help students increase research and writing productivity and improve work-life balance. You will also learn how to connect with other students around the country writing theses and dissertations in your discipline.

Graduate School of Arts and Sciences