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Completing Your Degree

Completion Checklist

Theses: Getting Started

Theses: Submission & Completion

Of Interest

Graduate School Formatting Resources

Thesis Guidelines

Your final thesis or dissertation must follow specific formatting guidelines and be submitted electronically for approval by the Graduate School. As you begin the process of formatting your thesis, be sure to review the Graduate School Thesis Guidelines and reference the document frequently as you format your paper.

Manuscript Formatting

See page 9 in the Graduate School Thesis Guidelines for more information on submitting a manuscript thesis.

Thesis Accessibility Guidelines

As of spring 2026, the Graduate School requires the implementation of the following five criteria for theses and dissertations published in ProQuest, in compliance with Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act:

Microsoft Word Template includes full text
Microsoft Word accessibility assistant check has been run and issues resolved
Microsoft Word document is saved with a title related to the content
Text language of the document is specified (use the “set proofing language feature” of Microsoft Word)
Alt Text is established in Microsoft Word: Images, figures, and tables have descriptive captions and/or alt tags explaining content

Guidelines for meeting accessibility standards

Step 1: Adopt the basic template in Microsoft Word provided by the Graduate School

When creating a dissertation or thesis there are several tools that could be used as word processing or content creation software. The Graduate School recommends using Microsoft Word but specific fields of study may have other applications that would be preferable. The current version of Microsoft Word is available for students for free as part of the University license. Either way, the Graduate School provides a basic template for students to use for their dissertation and thesis. This template attempts to serve as a starting point for formatting guidelines which will also help with digital accessibility guidelines. The template is not exhaustive, and it will require students to verify that their content is digitally accessible using some of the tools provided within Microsoft Office or other applications used to create content. If you need support with Microsoft Office software, please contact SIUE’s Information Technology Services (ITS).

Step 2: Specific Criteria to Double Check

ALT TEXT in Microsoft Word

One of the most valuable tools for Microsoft Office is the “Alt Text” checker which can be found in the same accessibility checker menu. This checker will look at images in a document and provide the user the ability to add descriptive text to each image. This is one of the most important elements of making a document accessible to others and it can also be the most time consuming. SIUE IDLT also guides students to utilize an Image Accessibility Creator in ensuring image accessibility in their submissions. There is information below that provides resources for helping write alternative text image descriptions. It is recommended that when you insert an image into your dissertation or thesis, you immediately right click, select “Alt Text” and input a description of the image. If a dissertation or thesis has several hundred pages and several images, creating alt text for all images after the document is complete can be a time-consuming process and create additional work at the final stages of dissertation and thesis approval and submission.

Text Language is Specified

To ensure that your document’s accessibility meets this criteria, go to the “review” tab in Microsoft Word. Select the “Language” group there and “set proofing language” to “English (United States)” if it is not already identified as the proofing language.

Additional guidance from SIUE on accessibility checks in Microsoft Word:

More information and links to resources to support students, advisors and programs with implementing digital accessible practices into the creation of electronic theses and dissertations can be found in the ITS Knowledge Base.

Step 3: Run the Digital Accessibility Checker in Microsoft Word

The Graduate School requirements for digital accessibility are based on the five criteria listed above and can be checked in Microsoft Word prior to saving as a PDF. Once you have checked your document for the specifics required of the five criteria, you can run the digital accessibility check available in Microsoft Word. When in Microsoft Word, a user can navigate to the “review” tab in the main navigation on the top of the screen and then select “Check Accessibility”. If you check accessibility, the software will provide you with multiple checks, some of which fall outside of the minimum standards required. Prior to converting to PDF, students must resolve any accessibility issues pertinent to the five criteria listed above. It is recommended that you attempt to resolve the majority of these accessibility issues regardless as it will provide a smoother transition to PDF. If you are unable to resolve an accessibility criteria, please contact SIUE’s IDLT team: idlt_center@siue.edu.

SIUE Graduate School Commitment to Accessibility

Due to the large size of our campus community, the Graduate School currently focuses its accessibility implementation efforts on ensuring that Graduate Student thesis and dissertation submissions meet the above criteria and that we are making every effort to comply with updates to Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Upon the establishment of an SIUE campus policy on digital accessibility, the Graduate School commits to working closely with all stakeholders to ensure adherence to university policy. The Graduate School will review its practices to ensure adherence to Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act and university policy on an annual basis.

Student Responsibility

Students are responsible for meeting all requirements for preparing theses and dissertations. They are expected to confer with their advisors about disciplinary and program expectations and to follow Graduate School procedure requirements. This includes student responsibility for adopting the appropriate Microsoft Word thesis template provided, running the Microsoft Word Accessibility Assistant to check for digital accessibility flags, and submitting their thesis or dissertation to the Graduate School via the ProQuest system for review by the appropriate deadline.

Graduate School Responsibility

The Graduate School certifies that theses and dissertations have been prepared as required. Graduate School staff members are available to provide information and to review documents at any stage of the planning or writing process. The Graduate School will not accept documents if required items are missing. The Graduate School cannot provide hands-on training or editing of a document to meet formatting and digital accessibility standards.

Thesis Formatting Videos

The below videos focus on formatting requirements that often require revisions. Watch each short clip to save yourself time and energy in the revision process!

Formatting your Title Page:

Formatting the Table of Contents:

Formatting the List of Figures & List of Tables:

Formatting Page Numbering throughout the Thesis:

Formatting the Thesis Body:

Additional Formatting Help

The following resources may also be helpful as you implement the thesis guidelines in your paper:

Graduate School Sample Thesis - This is an example of a condensed thesis formatted according to the Graduate School thesis guidelines. Refer to the thesis guidelines for more expansive formatting help.
Graduate School Preliminary Formatting Review- If you would like the Graduate School to provide general guidance on your thesis formatting, you can send your thesis for a preliminary review before you submit your thesis to ProQuest. Please note that this submission does NOT satisfy the initial submission deadline requirement.
LaTeX SIUE Thesis Template – If you are familiar with LaTeX formatting, here is a template you can access.
LaTeX Resources - Link from Professor Jireh Loreaux to help with LaTeX
SIUE Microsoft Office License- SIUE has licensed Microsoft Office365 for students, faculty, and staff. Students are eligible to download and use Microsoft Office on personal computers to ensure access to the latest version of Microsoft Word.

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