Skip to Main Content

Theses: Templates

Information about theses at Southampton: thesis templates, guidance on e-theses, how to find theses

Contact Us

For open access and institutional repository enquiries eprints@soton.ac.uk

For research data management queries please email ResearchData@soton.ac.uk

Need further help? Use our Library Research Skills support service  

Thesis Templates

The University provides templates in Word and LateX which meet the requirements set out in the Regulations.
 

Training: iSolutions also offer sessions on using Word to work with text, graphics and page layout in your thesis and turning your thesis into a PDF/A. The full course schedule and booking links can be found in the PGR Development Hub

Word or LaTeX?

LaTeX is extensively used by engineers and scientists because it handles maths and equations brilliantly, and by linguists because it can cope with multiple (and obscure) languages.  The University now offers Professional Accounts via Overleaf. Sign up for an account via the University of Southampton portal.

Word is the most widely used word processing software in the university. Unless you will be including lots of special character sets or equations, we would recommend using Word.

Whole thesis template

Use this to produce the whole thesis in one long Word document. It contains all of the required sections from title page to bibliography, with refreshable Tables of Contents, Table of Figures and Table of Tables.

Separate Chapter, Front Matter & End Matter templates for Word & Mac

If you don’t wish use the whole document template then use these to create each chapter of the thesis and the front matter. It comes ready made with usable styles that meet the University’s thesis Guidance requirements

  • Chapter template for Word 2007 /2010 /2013 /2016 (PC) or 2008 /2011 /2016 (Mac)
  • Front matter template for Word 2007 /2010 /2013 /2016 (PC) or 2008 /2011 /2016 (Mac)
  • End Matter for Word 2007 /2010 /2013 /2016 (PC) or 2008 /2011 /2016 (Mac)

Copyright Statement coversheet

All e-theses require the University thesis copyright statement is included in front of the main title page in the final e-version submitted.  The wording of the statement should not be altered in any way. 

The Word template (PC or Mac) above has the statement included but earlier versions did not. Should the statement be missing from your file it should be:

  • added before creating the final pdf version 
  • located in front of the main title page using the document below 
  • should not be included in the numbering of the thesis.

LaTeX templates currently do not include instruction on how to add the statement so it will need it to be added individually as a single double-sided page. Alternatively, add the pdf version into your final pdf file using Adobe Acrobat Pro.

The statement is not required in the print copies submitted for examination or as a final copy.

The following guides outline how this can be done in Word documents. 

Visual guides are also available on YouTube:

Using UoS Thesis Templates

 Microsoft Word Word Template Help

iSolutions have created a training guide to introduce the Word template for theses and show you how to use a range of useful Word features to make creating and working with your thesis easier. These also direct you to relevant LinkedIn Learning.com videos on the use of features in Word.

iSolutions also offer sessions on using Word to work with text, graphics and page layout in your thesis. The full course schedule and booking links can be found in the PGR Development Hub

LaTeX Templates

Support for the use of LaTeX can be found on the Overleaf website. LaTeX is  also supported by a wide online community - see LaTeX Project.

How to make sure your thesis is an archival PDF/A

Your final University e-thesis must submitted in an accessible and archival format so that it will be readible in years to come, currently this format is PDF/A-3.

Checking you PDF/A accessibility:
You can check how well your PDF meets the PDF/A accessibility standards using the Abode Acrobat Pro preflight checker and the accessibility checker.

How to download Abode Acrobat Pro:
Details of how to access or download Adobe Acrobat Pro DC can be found at iSolutions' How to install Adobe Acrobat DC Advice page.