Information
Preparation
The basic guide for matter of style in preparing the final copy of the Masters Thesis or Doctoral Dissertation should be determined in consultation with your Major Advisor and the Department Chairman.
The following stipulations must be met to achieve the format required for final copies of theses and dissertations submitted in fulfillment of degree programs in the Graduate School.
Copies should be given to the Advisory Committee no less than 30 days before the oral defense.
Complete Directions
Click here for the pdf version of thesis/dissertation instructions.
Be sure to include the Thesis Approval form.
COPYING/BINDING
Three bound copies of a thesis or dissertation are required (one each to: you, your advisor, and BMS). Bound copies submitted by the candidate become the property of Creighton University. Binding services are available through the office of the Graduate School. For a full description of the copying/binding process, please see the Binding page.
Helpful Tips
Printable version of helpful tips is available here
Margins
1.5 inch on the left, and 1 inch for top, right, and bottom.
To change margins, in Word click on File - Page Setup - Margins, and change the margins (see picture).
Font
At least size 10 (but we recommend 12), type should be Times New Roman.
To change the font, simply click on 
OR Click on Format - Font and select the settings
Page Numbering
There are three numbered sections in the thesis/dissertation:
1st Section: No page numbers - blank cover page and the approved by page
2nd Section: Lower case Roman numerals (i, ii, x) - All preliminary pages, including
1. Title page (this is the first counted page, number not printed)
2. A blank page or the Copyright page
3. Abstract (not to exceed 350 words)
4. Optional preface, dedication, acknowledgements, and (if applicable) permissions to quote from unpublished materials.
5. Table of Contents
6. List of graphs, charges, tables.
7. List of illustrations.
3rd Section: Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3) - main section, including text composed of:
1. Introduction
2. Main body
3. Back matter, composed of appendix, endnotes, glossary, and bibliography or references.
It is possible to break up each part into a section. One Word document can have an unlimited number of sections. Each section can have different properties.
Your Word document will already be in one section, and for your thesis you will need to insert two section breaks, so each section can have a different numbering scheme. To insert section breaks (dividers between sections):
After the 1st section, and before the what is to be the 2nd section (which will probably start with the abstract), place the cursor at the very bottom of the last page of this first section and click Insert on the menu bar, select Break. You should get a menu like this:
Under Section Break types select Continuous break. This will insert a section break without forcing a new page in your document. If you would like to force a new page, you would click on Next Page break instead.
Look at the bottom left corner of your Word screen and you will see information that says which page you are currently on, as well as which section the page is located in.
Repeat this process on the last page of your 2nd Section to create a break between the preliminaries and the rest of the document.
You should have 3 sections in your document and can now start to number the pages.
To start numbering pages:
1. Go to the first page of your document (the top). Click Insert - Page numbers.
2. Choose the page location of your page numbers - bottom (footer) center.
3. Click OK.
Your entire document should now be numbered. Don't stop now! Keep going...
Unlinking Each Section
1. Go to the beginning of your 2nd section. Click View - Headers and Footers. Your document should go gray, and you'll see text boxes at the top and bottom of the screen.
2. What the Header / Footer view also shows is the linked status of the Header / Footer—on the top right corner of each Header / Footer box, you should see “Same As Previous.” This is the icon that is two pages with an arrow going from one to the next.
This indicates that the Header/Footer format is linked to the previous section's format. When you activate the Header and Footer menu, you also activate the Header and Footer toolbar—from this toolbar, you can turn “Same as Previous” formatting off, and unlink the header / footer. The Same As Previous button should be depressed by default when you bring up the Header / Footer view; click on it to un-select it. Your section 2 page numbers will now be disconnected with the first section's formatting.
3. Repeat this action on the first page of your 3rd section; disconnect the header of Section 3 from that of Section 2.
Format Each Section
1. Now change the format of each section's page numbers. For Section 1, on the first page of the section, go to Header / Footer view, and simply delete the page number from the Header or Footer. There will be no page numbering on these pages.
2. For Section 2 (Preliminary pages). While on the first page of Section 2, click Insert - Page Numbers. Deselect Show Number on First Page.
3. Then select Format from this menu. For this section, select the Roman Numerals from the drop-down Number format menu. Then select “i” from the Start at menu. This will re-start the page numbering from the first page of Section 2, starting at i.
4. For Section 3, the Main Body Text, do the same thing. Go to the first page of your main body text (the first page of Section 3), click Insert - Page Numbers - Format, and change the format to Arabic Numbers, starting at 1.
That's it! Your document should now be properly numbered.
