Top 10 Mistakes Students Make Regarding Electronic Thesis/Dissertation Format and Submission

 

10. Exit Packet of Forms.  Doctoral students are required to submit all four forms of the Doctoral Dissertation Exit Packet. Masters students are required to submit both forms of the Masters Thesis Exit Packet. For Doctoral students, the ProQuest/UMI form is required even if you are not copyrighting the dissertation. Do not include any of the forms on the disc you submit; forms are only accepted in hard copy. 

9.  Margins. The 1 ½ inch margin requirement for the left side must be followed. All other sides may have a 1 inch margin.  

8.  Original Signature Page. 

• All signatures should be in permanent ink.
  
• Make sure you use the correct degree name, written out in full (use Doctor of Philosophy, not Ph.D.)
  
• Do not sign your name – only the committee members sign this page.
  
• The affiliation of all committee members needs to be listed.
  
• All signatures must be original – a committee member cannot sign for another committee member. If this occurs, the signature page will be rejected and a new original signature page will need to be provided.  

7.  Signature Page in Electronic File. Do not scan your original signature page into the dissertation files on your disc. The signature page that is in your dissertation files on your disc should not have any lines on it - this is basically the original signature page, but without the signatures and lines for signatures. It should also have the Dean’s name typed at the bottom, without a signature line.  

6.  Preliminary Page Numbers.  All signatures must be in black ink.  If your signature page has blue ink, it will be rejected and a new signature page will need to be provided.  Do not sign your name – only the committee members sign this page.  The affiliation of all committee members needs to be listed.  The page numbers for the preliminary pages must be lower-case Roman numerals, placed at the bottom center. The Dedication page, Acknowledgment page, and Preface page(s) (all optional) are the only preliminary pages that are not numbered on the page itself. However, they are counted in the page count. 

5.  University Name on Thesis/Dissertation.  On the Title page, Signature page, and Abstract page it must read Stony Brook University, not State University of New York at Stony Brook or State University at Stony Brook.

4.  Title and Abstract Page Text and Formatting. 

Degree and Program Name

• Use the full name of the degree – use Doctor of Philosophy, not Ph.D.
• Make sure you use the correct program name on your title and abstract pages.  Please use Appendix B of the Guidelines for this information.
• On the Title and Abstract pages, do not indicate “department of” before your program. Also, the word “Master” is singular when writing out the degree name in full.  Examples: 

Masters of Science

in

the Department of Chemistry

– Incorrect

 

Master of Science

in

Chemistry

– Correct

Month and Year

• On the Title page, the Month and Year refers to your Graduation date, not the date you defended your thesis/dissertation.  Also, do not use commas.

          May, 2007 – Incorrect

           May 2007 – Correct

Abstract

• For Doctoral Students – you only have to put your Advisor’s name on the extra abstract in the .abs file. The Advisor’s name should not appear on the abstract that is in the dissertation manuscript..

3.  Number of Files and File Naming Conventions. Masters theses need to have only one file on the disc, named with your ID#.sbu (example: 111222333.sbu). Doctoral dissertations need to have three files on the disc, with the following naming conventions: your ID#.sbu, your ID#.pro, your ID#.abs. The .sbu and .pro files should be the same, and contains your entire dissertation. The .abs file only contains your title page and abstract, with your advisor's name under the year on the abstract.

2. The Abstract (.abs) File. The .abs file only contains your title page and abstract, with your advisor's name under the year on the abstract. Make sure that the first page of the abstract still begins with page iii.

1. Not Reading the Guidelines.  Please be sure that you read the Guidelines carefully and use the most updated version, which can be found online at the Graduate School’s website (go to Graduation Information – Guidelines for the Preparation of Theses and Dissertations – Paper or Electronic Submissions).  You should not use a previously submitted thesis or dissertation as a guide for your work.  Follow the instructions set forth in the current Guidelines to ensure your work will be in the correct format.

 

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