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Academic Year 2026-2027✓ Updated Next Review: Fall 2027 (Annual Academic Review)
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Yale University Ph.D. Dissertation Formatting Guidelines

Formatting Guidelines & Submission Standards

Governing Body: Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (CT, US)

Official Handbook:
Yale GSAS Preparation and Submission of the Ph.D. Dissertation
View Official .edu Source ↗
📐
Paper Dimensions
Letter (8.5 in × 11.0 in)
📏
Binding Margins
1 inches Left / 1 inches Right
🔤
Standard Typography
Times New Roman (12pt)
📜
Line Spacing
Double Spaced (2.0x)

1. Page Setup & Geometry

Verified page dimensions, binding margins, and print/digital alignments

Letter Standard
Top: 1 inches
Binding: 1 inches
[Header Area — top right]Page 1
[Front Matter: bottom center]
Right: 1 inches
Bottom: 1 inches
📐Left (Binding Gutter)
1in(2.54 cm)
➡️Right Margin
1in(2.54 cm)
⬆️Top Margin
1in(2.54 cm)
⬇️Bottom Margin
1in(2.54 cm)
Margin Specification: 1.0 inch (2.54 cm) on all four sides for digital ETD submission.

2. Typography & Spacing Hierarchy

Font selections, heading styles, line spacing, and paragraph indentation

Times New Roman
🔤Body Font
Times New Roman
📏Font Size
12pt standard
📜Line Spacing
Double(2.0x spacing)
⇥Paragraph Indent
0.5 inches (1.27 cm)
Approved Typefaces:Times New RomanArialCalibriGaramondGeorgiaComputer Modern
Spacing Exceptions: Single-space block quotations (over 4 lines), footnotes, table entries, and individual bibliography items (with double-spacing between entries).

3. Technical & Archival Compliance

ETD ProQuest repository requirements, table spanning, and vector DPI rules

ETD / ProQuest Ready
📊 Tables Layout

Captions strictly above table. Multi-page tables must repeat headers (<w:tblHeader>) and prohibit row breaks (<w:cantSplit>).

🔬 Figures & Graphics

Captions strictly below figure. Min 300 DPI for photography; min 600 DPI for vector line art.

📐 Math & Formulae

Right-aligned equation numbers (chapter.seq). Preserves native MathML and Word equation blocks.

🏛️ Archival Preservation

PDF/A-1b compliant with 100% full font embedding and digital PDF navigation bookmarks.

4. Preliminary Pages Checklist & Order

Strict graduate school ordering, title page numbering suppression, and Roman pagination

Mandatory Sequence
  1. 1
    Title PageMandatory
    Pagination: suppressed counted

    Counted as page i, but page number must not appear on the page.

  2. 2
    Copyright NoticeMandatory
    Pagination: suppressed counted

    Unnumbered or roman numeral ii depending on department registration.

  3. 3
    Signature / Approval PageOptional / If Applicable
    Pagination: roman visible

    Most universities now require unsigned placeholders in public PDFs for privacy; signatures submitted digitally via Graduate Portal.

  4. 4
    AbstractMandatory
    Pagination: roman visible

    Typically maximum 350 words for PhD dissertations.

  5. 5
    DedicationOptional / If Applicable
    Pagination: roman visible
  6. 6
    AcknowledgementsOptional / If Applicable
    Pagination: roman visible
  7. 7
    Preface / Co-Authorship StatementOptional / If Applicable
    Pagination: roman visible

    Mandatory for manuscript-based / multi-author paper dissertations.

  8. 8
    Table of ContentsMandatory
    Pagination: roman visible

    Must include page numbers for all preliminary and body sections.

  9. 9
    List of TablesOptional / If Applicable
    Pagination: roman visible

    Required if 5 or more tables exist in document.

  10. 10
    List of Figures / IllustrationsOptional / If Applicable
    Pagination: roman visible

    Required if 5 or more figures exist in document.

  11. 11
    List of Abbreviations / SymbolsOptional / If Applicable
    Pagination: roman visible

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