GUIDELINES FOR COMPLETING GRADUATE THESES AND REPORTS

Final approval of your thesis or project report involves two steps: (1) committee approval for content, and (2) Graduate Programs Office approval for format.

Format for both theses and project reports must follow Form and Style: Theses: Reports, Term Papers, by Campbell, Ballou, Slade. This guide can be purchased at El Corral or other local bookstores. Copies are also available in the Reference section of the Library. This guide provides information on APA, MLA, and Chicago styles for referencing and bibliographical entries. If your department requires an alternate style, you may use it for referencing and bibliographical entries. Regardless of what style sheet you use for bibliography and documentation, however, all questions concerning format must follow Form and Style.

Chapters 2 and 6-8 of Form and Style focus on format. Chapter 2 gives samples for key elements of the paper. Use all capitals for your initial headings. For the title page, use example "B" (substituting "Thesis" for "Dissertation" and deleting "the graduate school." For the required APPROVAL and AUTHORIZATION pages, see the attached samples (Form and Style gives no examples). 

ORGANIZATION OF MANUSCRIPT

The completed thesis or project report should include: (1) preliminaries; (2) the chapters (text); and (3) the bibliography. The preliminaries should be arranged in the following sequence with pagination in lower‑case roman numerals centered at the bottom: 

a) Title Page (p. i, counted, NOT NUMBERED)	(Required)
b) Copyright or Authorization Page (p. ii)	(Required)
c) Approval Page (p. iii)	(Required)
d) Abstract Page (p. iv)	(Required)
e) Preface or Acknowledgments Page	(Optional)
f) Table of Contents	(Required)
g) List of Tables	(If Appropriate)
h) List of Figures	(If Appropriate)

The text follows in chapters with Arabic numerals, followed by bibliography, then any appendix materials.

i) Chapters (text)	(Required)
j) Bibliography or List of References	(Required)
k) Appendix(es)	(If Appropriate)

Pagination should be consistent throughout the thesis, either top right-hand corner or bottom center (it is optional to preface page numbers with your last name).

Throughout thesis (including Abstract), text should be double-spaced. Appendix material may be single-spaced.

TYPISTS

 If you do not have the time or skills to process a thesis or project report, consider employing a typist, most of whom use word processors with up-to-date software and printers. Use of word processing does not exempt you from Cal Poly format requirements. 

ACCOMPANYING MATERIAL

Contact the Graduate Programs Office if you have questions regarding accompanying material such as video tapes, cassettes, blueprints, maps, floppy disks, manuals, oversize photos, printouts, etc. Normally, one copy is required to be submitted with your paper.

COMMON PROBLEMS

Proofread your paper carefully prior to submission to the Graduate Programs Office. It is suggested that you use a spell checker and that you ask someone to read it who has never seen it before to check it for problems. The following are the most common problems found in theses and project reports submitted for the first review: 

1.	Missing or incorrectly formatted preliminary pages.
2.	Major headings starting at different lines down on page.
3.	Pagination erratically or incorrectly located on pages.
4.	Figures or Tables missing captions; captions in the wrong place; captions not agreeing with the  List of Tables or Figures.
5.	References given in the text, but not found in the Bibliography.

THESIS/PROJECT REPORT REVIEW FOR FORMAT

After committee approval, and not without it, the thesis or project report should be submitted to the Graduate Programs Office (M&HE 154). It will then be checked for compliance with Cal Poly format requirements. All theses and project reports are reviewed in the order in which they are received. The amount of time required for a review depends upon the backlog of papers in the Graduate Programs Office, and normally takes approximately one week. Re‑checks of papers take precedence over new readings and are done the day they are received.

Usually some adjustments will be needed as a result of the review. Corrections needed will be outlined in a detailed memo; no marks are made on the paper. If you live in the county, you will be called to pick up your paper. If out of the county, you will have the choice of picking it up or having it sent to you by certified mail at University expense.

DUPLICATION

Upon completion of the necessary corrections, the final copy of your paper must be submitted on 100% cotton, 20 or 24‑lb. bond paper. Before leaving a copy center, make sure that: (1) you have all of your original paper; (2) it is duplicated without flaws, slippage, or skipped pages; and (3) it is on the required paper. Information on the required binding instruction sheet and binding fees will be provided to you when you submit your thesis or report.

GRADUATION

If your master's program requires a thesis or project report, your degree work will not be complete and you will not graduate until the Graduate Programs Office has approved your thesis or report, and the Library has accepted it. The quarter in which all corrections are completed is the quarter of graduation if all other academic requirements for the degree have been met. An application for graduation is available at the Evaluations Office. The diploma is ordered through El Corral Bookstore.

QUESTIONS

A thesis editor is available daily to answer thesis questions. The office is in Building (38), Room 154; phone number (805) 756‑2328 or e‑mail: bpowell@calpoly.edu

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