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Dissertation & Thesis Template

As a resource for graduate students, sample Word templates are available to assist with the initial formatting of doctoral dissertations and master's theses. Students are expected to fully format their dissertation/thesis according to the  "Preparation and Submission Manual for Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses".

  • This template is a starting point and students may have to add or remove sections/text to accurately reflect their document and adhere to all requirements in the manual.
  • Graduate Education and Postdoctoral Affairs (GEPA) does not provide technical support for any of the templates below.
  • If using these templates, students must still refer to the formatting manual for full instructions.

The below templates are in Word. If you prefer to use LaTeX or Overleaf, here is a recommended unofficial template. Also available is a how-to guide for the unofficial template.  Both the unofficial template and how-to guide are not created by GEPA and we cannot provide technical support.

Note: opening the Word template in Google Docs may cause auto-formatting features to be lost or auto-formatting features may appear differently.

Templates

Master’s Degree Thesis

Download template

Doctoral Degree Dissertation

Download template

Doctoral Degree Dissertation (JDP with SDSU / CSUSM/ UCI)

Download template

Co-Author Cover Letter and Permission Letters

For complete information on submission of permission letters, please review the Dissertation & Thesis Manual webpage or formatting manual PDF.

Download template

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