United States - Thesis and dissertation
UCLA thesis formatting guidelines
This page helps UCLA students check Word/PDF formatting risks before submission. It summarizes what to verify and links back to the official source.
Official source
Official thesis or graduate-school guidance
Rules can change. The final audit uses the official guideline uploaded by the student or the current university source.
Formatting points to verify
- Source: Verify the current official guideline before final repair.
- Font and size: Check body font, heading styles, captions, and footnote styling.
- Spacing and margins: Compare margins, line spacing, indents, and page setup against the guide.
- Navigation: Check TOC, list of figures, list of tables, captions, and internal links.
- Page numbering: Check front matter, body start, appendices, footer/header placement, and PDF output.
- Delivery: DOCX is preferred for repair; PDF is useful for audit and comparison.
Common risks before submission
- Table of contents is empty, too deep, or not clickable.
- List of figures or list of tables is handmade instead of generated from captions.
- Margins, spacing, captions, or footnotes vary across sections.
- Page numbering restarts or changes after PDF export.
- Official guideline is missing or partial, requiring human review.