Preparation of thesis

1. Font not less than 12 point.
2. Spacing and line length appropriate to font size.
3. Margins – not less than 20mm on the binding side (the left side). The thesis will be printed on double sided paper if requested by the examiner. If an examiner requests a hard copy of your thesis, your thesis will be printed, bound and sent to them, therefore it must be formatted to allow for this.
4. Tables, diagrams and figures should be inserted in the text as close to the first reference to them as is convenient, with suitable captions.
5. Length - should not exceed 50,000 words for a masters thesis or 100,000 words for a doctoral thesis. This includes: the title page, contents page, abstract, bibliography, figures and tables, appendices and any notes.
6. The thesis title page must be inserted as page one of your thesis (not numbered). Please do not add any other information to the title page or change the layout. Please note there is a ten word limit on thesis titles and acronyms and abbreviations should be avoided. Failure to adhere to these guidelines could cause a delay in the progression of your thesis to examination.
7. The candidate declaration form must be signed electronically or printed and signed then scanned into electronic format. This must be inserted as the second page of your thesis (not numbered).
8. The Research Training Program (RTP)/Funding Acknowledgement must be inserted on the third page of your thesis (not numbered) if you have received any type of RTP Scholarship. If you have received any other financial support for your project you are also encouraged to disclose that in this section.
9. An authorship statement needs to be inserted into the thesis if you have included any multi-authored publications. There must be one form inserted for each multi-authored publication. This statement needs to describe clearly the contributions made by you and by every other author and must be signed by all authors.
10. The acknowledgement page (optional) should be inserted as the fourth page of your thesis (not numbered). If a professional editor has been used, editing assistance may be required to be acknowledged depending on the agreement between the candidate and the editor.
11. A list of publications (optional) should be inserted as the fifth page of your thesis (not numbered). Please indicate if each publication was submitted or accepted. A full version of your publication(s) may be included as an appendix to your thesis (not numbered).
    Note: this will be included in the word limit so you may prefer to provide a link to the publication as an alternative.
12. A COVID-19 Thesis Impact Statement (optional) explains the impact of the pandemic on your research. You may choose to include the statement as an additional page in your thesis (no more than 600 words) and/or address the impact within the content of the thesis.

Submission of thesis

Your thesis is submitted for examination via HDR examinations. It must be formatted to meet the guidelines as set out above.  To make sure you've met the formatting requirements, please refer to our Examination Copy - Thesis Formatting Checklist.

Your thesis must be uploaded as one single PDF document no greater than 100MB in size. To change your thesis into a PDF we recommend that you use a university computer and print to adobe PDF directly from Word. Please check the final document to ensure that all figures, tables and contents have converted correctly prior to submission.

At the time of submission you will asked to confirm that you have read and accepted the terms and conditions (PDF, 45.8KB) for submitting your thesis online. Please ensure that you have read these carefully before submitting your thesis.

If your document exceeds the size limit or you need to submit additional materials for examination, please email the Examinations Team for further information.

Course learning outcomes - On completion of your course you are required to reflect on your learning experience and provide a written statement of no more than one page demonstrating, with at least one example, how you have met the course learning outcomes (PDF, 88.2KB). This must be submitted into HDR examinations at the same time that you submit your thesis for examination. You can include evidence recorded in your candidature review or individual learning plan as a basis for this document (if applicable). To be awarded the degree your supervisor and head of academic unit must certify that you have met the relevant course learning outcomes (along with all other course requirements), in addition to your examiners certifying that you have satisfied the course learning outcomes related to your thesis.

iThenticate - At the time of submission you will be required to upload an iThenticate report. All HDR students have access to iThenticate throughout their candidature. It is available on HDR online forms, systems and apps page under 'Examination'.

iThenticate, similar to Turnitin, similar to Turnitin, is internet-based software used to detect plagiarism by comparing submissions to a content database. It is highly recommended that you utilise iThenticate to ensure your thesis complies with the Australian code for the responsible conduct of research and Deakin’s academic and research integrity policy.

The iThenticate report must be submitted to HDR Examinations simultaneously with your thesis and must match the submitted thesis document. Multiple reports can be uploaded if necessary. We recommend reviewing the report with your supervisor before submission to make any necessary amendments.

Further information on iThenticate.