bsc dissertation guidelines

/images/cornell/logo35pt_cornell_white.svg" alt="bsc dissertation guidelines"> Cornell University --> Graduate School

Required sections, guidelines, and suggestions.

Beyond those noted on the Formatting Requirements page , the Graduate School has no additional formatting requirements. The following suggestions are based on best practices and historic requirements for dissertations and theses but are not requirements for submission of the thesis or dissertation. The Graduate School recommends that each dissertation or thesis conform to the standards of leading academic journals in your field.

For both master’s and doctoral students, the same basic rules apply; however, differences exist in some limited areas, particularly in producing the abstract and filing the dissertation or thesis.

• Information in this guide that pertains specifically to doctoral candidates and dissertations is clearly marked with the term “ dissertation ” or “ doctoral candidates .”
• Information pertaining specifically to master’s candidates and theses is clearly marked with the term “ thesis ” or “ master’s candidates .”
• All other information pertains to both.

Examples of formatting suggestions for both the dissertation and thesis are available as downloadable templates .

Required? Yes.

Suggested numbering: Page included in overall document, but number not typed on page.

The following format for your title page is suggested, but not required.

• The title should be written using all capital letters, centered within the left and right margins, and spaced about 1.5 inches from the top of the page. (For an example, please see the template .)
• Carefully select words for the title of the dissertation or thesis to represent the subject content as accurately as possible. Words in the title are important access points to researchers who may use keyword searches to identify works in various subject areas.
• Use word substitutes for formulas, symbols, superscripts, Greek letters, etc.
• Below the title, at the vertical and horizontal center of the margins, place the following five lines (all centered):

Line 1: A Dissertation [or Thesis]

Line 2: Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School

Line 3: of Cornell University

Line 4: in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of

Line 5: Doctor of Philosophy [or other appropriate degree]

• Center the following three lines within the margins:

Line 2: Primary or Preferred Name [as registered with the University Registrar’s Office and displayed in Student Center]

Line 3: month and year of degree conferral [May, August, December; no comma between month and year]

Copyright Page

Suggested numbering: Page included in overall document, but number not typed on page

The following format for your copyright page is suggested, but not required.

• A notice of copyright should appear as the sole item on the page centered vertically and horizontally within the margins: © 20__ [Primary or Preferred Name [as registered with the University Registrar’s Office]. Please note that there is not usually a page heading on the copyright page.
• The copyright symbol is a lowercase “c,” which must be circled. (On Macs, the symbol is typed by pressing the “option” and “g” keys simultaneously. If the font does not have the © symbol, type the “c” and circle it by hand. On PCs, in the insert menu, choose “symbol,” and select the © symbol.)
• The date, which follows the copyright symbol, is the year of conferral of your degree.
• Your name follows the date.

Required?  Yes.

Suggested numbering: Page(s) not counted, not numbered

Abstract formats for the doctoral dissertation and master’s thesis differ greatly. The Graduate School recommends that you conform to the standards of leading academic journals in your field.

Doctoral candidates:

• TITLE OF DISSERTATION
• Student’s Primary or Preferred Name, Ph.D. [as registered with the University Registrar’s Office]
• Cornell University 20__ [year of conferral]
• Following the heading lines, begin the text of the abstract on the same page.
• The abstract states the problem, describes the methods and procedures used, and gives the main results or conclusions of the research.
• The abstract usually does not exceed 350 words in length (about one-and-one-half correctly spaced pages—but not more than two pages).

Master’s candidate:

• In a thesis, the page heading is simply the word “ABSTRACT” in all capital letters and centered within the margins at the top of the page. (The thesis abstract does not display the thesis title, author’s name, degree, university, or date of degree conferral.)
• The abstract should state the problem, describe the methods and procedures used, and give the main results or conclusions.
• The abstract usually does not exceed 600 words in length, which is approximately two-and-one-half to three pages of correctly spaced typing.
• In M.F.A. theses, an abstract is not required.

Biographical Sketch

Suggested numbering: iii (may be more than one page)

• Type number(s) on page(s).

The following content and format are suggested:

• The biographical sketch is written in third-person voice and contains your educational background. Sometimes additional biographical facts are included.
• As a page heading, use “BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH” in all capital letters, centered on the page.
• Number this page as iii.

Required? Optional.

Suggested numbering: iv (may be more than one page)

The dedication page is not required and can contain whatever text that you would like to include. Text on this page does not need to be in English.

Acknowledgements

Suggested numbering: v (may be more than one page)

The following content and format are suggested, not required.

• The acknowledgements may be written in first-person voice. If your research has been funded by outside grants, you should check with the principal investigator of the grant regarding proper acknowledgement of the funding source. Most outside funding sources require some statement of acknowledgement of the support; some also require a disclaimer from responsibility for the results.
• As a page heading, use “ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS” in all capital letters, centered on the page.

Table of Contents

Suggested numbering: vi (may be more than one page)

The following are suggestions.

• As a page heading, use “TABLE OF CONTENTS” in all capital letters and centered on the page.
• List the sections/chapters of the body of the dissertation or thesis. Also, list preliminary sections starting with the biographical sketch. (Title page, copyright page, and abstract are not listed.)
• For theses and dissertations, the conventional format for page numbers is in a column to the right of each section/chapter title. The first page of each chapter/section is stated with a single number. Table of contents usually do not include a range of page numbers, such as 7-22.
• The table of contents is often single-spaced.

Two-Volume Theses or Dissertations

If the dissertation or thesis consists of two volumes, it is recommended, but not required, that you list “Volume II” as a section in the table of contents.

List of Figures, Illustrations, and Tables

Suggested numbering: vii (may be more than one page)

• If included, type number(s) on page(s).

As described in the formatting requirements above, figures and tables should be consecutively numbered. The Graduate School recommends that you conform to the styles set by the leading academic journals in your field. The items below are formatting suggestions based on best practices or historic precedents.

Table of contents format:

• As a page heading, use “LIST OF FIGURES,” “LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS,” or “LIST OF TABLES” in all capital letters, centered on the page.
• There should be separate pages for “LIST OF FIGURES,” “LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS,” or “LIST OF TABLES” even if there is only one example of each.
• The list should contain enough of the titles or descriptions so readers can locate items using the list. (It may not be necessary to include entire figure/illustration/table captions.)
• The list should contain the page number on which each figure, illustration, or table is found, as in a table of contents.
• The list of figures/illustrations/tables may be single-spaced.

Page format:

• Figures/illustrations/tables should be placed as close as possible to their first mention in the text. They may be placed on a page with no text above or below, or placed directly into the text. If a figure/illustration/table is placed directly into the text, text may appear above or below the figure/illustration/table; no text may wrap around the figure/illustration/table.
• If a figure/illustration/table appears on a page without other text, it should be centered vertically within the page margins. Figures/illustrations/tables should not be placed at the end of the chapter or at the end of the dissertation or thesis.
• Figure/illustration/table numbering should be either continuous throughout the dissertation or thesis, or by chapter (e.g. 1.1, 1.2; 2.1, 2.2, etc.). The word “Figure,” “Illustration,” or “Table” must be spelled out (not abbreviated), and the first letter must be capitalized.
• A caption for a figure/illustration should be placed at the bottom of the figure/illustration. However, a caption for a table must be placed above the table.
• If the figure/illustration/table, not including the caption, takes up the entire page, the figure/illustration/table caption should be placed alone on the preceding page and centered vertically and horizontally within the margins. (When the caption is on a separate page, the List of Figures or List of Illustrations or List of Tables can list the page number containing the caption.)
• If the figure/illustration/table, not including the caption, takes up more than two pages, it should be preceded by a page consisting of the caption only. The first page of the figure/illustration/table must include the figure/illustration/table (no caption), and the second and subsequent pages must also include, at the top of the figure/illustration/table, words that indicate its continuance—for example, “Figure 5 (Continued)”—and on these pages the caption is omitted.
• If figures/illustrations/tables are too large, they may be reduced slightly so as to render a satisfactory product or they must either be split into several pages or be redone. If a figure/illustration/table is reduced, all lettering must be clear, readable, and large enough to be legible. All lettering, including subscripts, must still be readable when reduced 25% beyond the final version. All page margin requirements must be maintained. Page numbers and headings must not be reduced.
• While there are no specific rules for the typographic format of figure/illustration/table captions, a consistent format should be used throughout the dissertation or thesis.
• The caption of a figure/illustration/table should be single-spaced, but then captions for all figures/illustrations/tables must be single-spaced.
• Horizontal figures/illustrations/tables should be positioned correctly—i.e., the top of the figure/illustration/table will be at the left margin of the vertical page of the dissertation or thesis (remember: pages are bound on the left margin). Figure/illustration/table headings/captions are placed with the same orientation as the figure/illustration/table when they are on the same page as the figure/illustration/table. When they are on a separate page, headings and captions are always placed in vertical orientation, regardless of the orientation of the figure/illustration/table. Page numbers are always placed as if the figure/illustration/table was vertical on the page.

Photographs should be treated as illustrations. To be considered archival, photographs must be black-and-white. (If actual color photographs are necessary, they should be accompanied by black-and-white photographs of the same subject.) Color photos obtained digitally do not need to be accompanied by a black-and-white photograph. Make a high-resolution digital version of each photograph and insert it into your electronic document, following the guideline suggestions for positioning and margins.

Optional Elements

List of abbreviations.

As a page heading, use “LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS” in all capital letters, centered on the page.

List of Symbols

As a page heading, use “LIST OF SYMBOLS” in all capital letters, centered on the page.

Suggested numbering: xi (may be more than one page)

As a page heading, use “PREFACE” in all capital letters, centered on the page.

Body of the Dissertation or Thesis: Text

Suggested numbering: Begin page number at 1

• Text (required)
• Appendix/Appendices (optional)
• Bibliography, References, or Works Cited (required)

Please note that smaller font size may be appropriate for footnotes or other material outside of the main text. The following suggestions are based on best practice or historic precedent, but are not required.

• Chapter headings may be included that conform to the standard of your academic field.
• Textual notes that provide supplementary information, opinions, explanations, or suggestions that are not part of the text must appear at the bottom of the page as footnotes. Lengthy footnotes may be continued on the next page. Placement of footnotes at the bottom of the page ensures they will appear as close as possible to the referenced passage.

Appendix (or Appendices)

An appendix (-ces) is not required for your thesis or dissertation. If you choose to include one, the following suggestions are based on best practice or historic precedent.

• As a page heading, use “APPENDIX” in all capital letters, centered on the page.
• Place in an appendix any material that is peripheral, but relevant, to the main text of the dissertation or thesis. Examples could include survey instruments, additional data, computer printouts, details of a procedure or analysis, a relevant paper that you wrote, etc.
• The appendix may include text that does not meet the general font and spacing requirements of the other sections of the dissertation or thesis.

Bibliography (or References or Works Cited)

A bibliography, references, or works cited is required for your thesis or dissertation. Please conform to the standards of leading academic journals in your field.

• As a page heading, use “BIBLIOGRAPHY” (or “REFERENCES” or “WORKS CITED”) in all capital letters, centered on the page. The bibliography should always begin on a new page.
• Bibliographies may be single-spaced within each entry but should include 24 points of space between entries.

Suggested numbering: Continue page numbering from body

If you choose to include a glossary, best practices and historic precedent suggest using a page heading, use “GLOSSARY” in all capital letters, centered on the page.

Suggested numbering: Continue page numbering from glossary

If you choose to include one, best practices and historic precedent suggest using a page heading, use “INDEX” in all capital letters, centered on the page.

Font Samples

Sample macintosh fonts.

• Palatino 12
• Garamond 14
• New Century School Book
• Helvetica 12 or Helvetica 14
• Times New Roman 12
• Times 14 (Times 12 is not acceptable)
• Symbol 12 is acceptable for symbols

Sample TeX and LaTeX Fonts

• CMR 12 font
• Any font that meets the above specifications

Sample PC Fonts

• Helvetica 12

• Office of Graduate and Professional Studies
• Thesis and Dissertation

Contact the NAU Office of Graduate & Professional Studies

Graduate thesis and dissertation.

All NAU theses and dissertations are published electronically through ProQuest . The Office of Graduate & Professional Studies partners with Cline Library to make all NAU theses and dissertations accessible through our institutional repository.

Electronic Thesis & Dissertation (ETD) Deadlines

*Please note that final submission deadlines are not flexible; students who upload their thesis or dissertation to ProQuest after 11:59pm MST on the term deadline will not be approved for the term conferral date.

ETD Information and Guidelines Accordion Closed

• Thesis dissertation processes and deadlines: Students
• Thesis and dissertation processes and deadlines: departments
• Thesis and Dissertation Committee Roadmap
• ETD information
• Log into ProQuest
• ProQuest contact information

Graduate & Professional Studies Formatting Guidelines Accordion Closed

• ETD Format-Checklist
• Sample Dissertation Title Page
• Sample Thesis Title Page
• Journal format guidelines

ProQuest Copyright Resources Accordion Closed

• Copyright and Your Dissertation or Thesis
• Copyright Laws Around the World

Office of Graduate & Professional Studies

Mailing address, social media.

Library Services

UCL LIBRARY SERVICES

• Guides and databases
• Library skills

Support for dissertations and research projects

• UCL dissertations & theses
• Literature searching
• Resources for your discipline
• Primary sources
• Can't access the resource you need?
• Research methods
• Referencing and reference management
• Writing and digital skills
• Further help

UCL dissertations and theses

The Library holds a copy of most research degree theses completed by students registered at UCL. Print copies of research theses are catalogued by author in  Explore ; electronic versions are in many cases available on open access in  UCL Discovery .

The Library does not normally have copies of UCL:

• MA, MSc, MRes, LLM theses
• Diploma theses
• Undergraduate dissertations

However the following libraries have small local theses collections covering their own subject areas, please contact the relevant library directly for more information:

• Bartlett Library : select exemplars of Masters dissertations are available through UCL's Open Educational Repository .
• Ophthalmology Library  has a very small collection of PhD, MD and MSc dissertations.
• Institute of Orthopaedics Library  has BSc and MSc theses.
• School of Pharmacy Library  has a small collection of MRes theses which date from 2011 – 2014  for reference use in the library. 
• UCL Institute of Education Library  has selected masters dissertations, which are findable in  Explore . Those published after 2000 are openly accessible in the library. All others must be requested in advance. 
• Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health Library has examples of past MSc and MRes dissertations.
• The UCL Institute of Archaeology make some available on the dissertation module page in their Moodle.

Some departments may also maintain their own collections. For further details, please contact your departmental administrators. 

• Theses Further Information on repositories and databases for accessing theses held by other institutions.
• << Previous: Primary sources
• Next: Can't access the resource you need? >>
• Last Updated: Aug 22, 2024 3:08 PM
• URL: https://library-guides.ucl.ac.uk/dissertations

• How to Contact Us
• Library & Collections
• Business School
• Things To Do

CHEM3161: CHEMISTRY BSC DISSERTATION

Please ensure you check the module availability box for each module outline, as not all modules will run in each academic year. Each module description relates to the year indicated in the module availability box, and this may change from year to year, due to, for example: changing staff expertise, disciplinary developments, the requirements of external bodies and partners, and student feedback. Current modules are subject to change in light of the ongoing disruption caused by Covid-19.

Prerequisites

• Core Chemistry 2 (CHEM2012).

Corequisites

• Core Chemistry 3 (CHEM3012) OR Bioactive Chemistry 3 (CHEM3211) or Chemical Physics 3 (CHEM3411)

Excluded Combinations of Modules

• To provide a research-led capstone module in Chemistry, where BSc students in their final year can demonstrate the development of their own research and independent study skills, and expertise in chemistry through a literature survey.
• To provide students with an opportunity to collect, read and analyse data from primary sources
• To enable students to develop the transferable skills of critical analysis, advanced literacy and presentation
• Dissertation allocated to the student in Year 2 by a member of the Board of Studies in Chemistry.
• Progress is monitored by the Dissertation Supervisor through a series of tutorials.

Learning Outcomes

Subject-specific Knowledge:

• describe and critically analyse the topic of their dissertation at an advanced level

Subject-specific Skills:

• produce a scholarly and critical review of the relevant literature
• show relevance and depth in their study of a topic
• produce a critical summary of their review

Key Skills:

• enhanced skills in chemical information retrieval, scientific writing, editing and proof-reading, oral presentation and discussion of scientific results;
• self-motivation, in self-guided learning.

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• During year 3 students will meet with their dissertation supervisor, as needed, to discuss the student's progress.
• A draft chapter must be submitted during Michaelmas term

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment

More information.

If you have a question about Durham's modular degree programmes, please visit our  FAQ webpages , Help page or our glossary of terms . If you have a question about modular programmes that is not covered by the FAQ, or a query about the on-line Undergraduate Module Handbook, please contact us.

Prospective Students: If you have a query about a specific module or degree programme, please Ask Us .

Current Students: Please contact your department .

Academia.edu no longer supports Internet Explorer.

To browse Academia.edu and the wider internet faster and more securely, please take a few seconds to  upgrade your browser .

Enter the email address you signed up with and we'll email you a reset link.

• We're Hiring!
• Help Center

Guidelines For Bsc (Hons) Dissertations

Related Papers

carthik raja

Stan Kurkovsky

ABSTRACT The proportion of female students studying Computing related subjects at undergraduate-degree level is decreasing. This decline in the number of female applicants for Computer Science (CS) degree programs is undoubtedly worrying. In the early 1980s some 35% of applicants for CS degrees at UK Universities were women, but now the figure is closer to 10%; this statistic is not confined to one country.

Bernd Carsten Stahl

ABSTRACT This paper identifies both a conceptual and policy vacuum with regards to ethics reviews before, during and after research in Information and communications Technology (ICT). It describes the findings of an HEA development project that undertook to determine the state of the art of ethics reviews in UK higher education institutions. The paper presents a survey that indicates the current ethics review procedures that currently exist across UK computing departments.

10 th Annual Conference of the Subject Centre for …

Thomas Lancaster

ABSTRACT This paper examines automated essay spinning, where a new variant of an essay can be easily produced by a student for them to submit for academic credit. This new essay represents plagiarism. Four spinning processes are tested to generate new versions of three corpora of documents. The originality of documents in the new corpora are assessed using three plagiarism detection tools, Turnitin, TRanker and Ferret.

Armoogun Mayen

The aim of this study is to investigate the use of digital games as alternative mode of formative assessment in the prevocational stream.

Basama Chinayah

Heritage is contested on all grounds, right from selection, to inscription and management. This dissertation is aimed at outlining an understanding of the politics of Mauritius World Heritage Sites, which are the Aapravasi Ghat and Le Morne Cultural Landscape. Various sets of literatures have been examined to narrow down on an understanding of how national and international politics play an important role in the nominations of World Heritage Sites. Moreover, this study concludes that rather than being perceived as symbols of nationalism, Mauritius World Heritage Sites are still perceived as ethnic symbols due to the strong memories attached to them, despite the efforts of various institutions maintaining the sites. To this end, research was conducted by interviewing officers working for these World Heritage Sites and historians who work on the aspects of identity in Mauritius, pertaining to heritage and politics, and cultural identity. According to analysis done, the various literature works examined in the beginning claim their stand, since it has been seen that heritage is indeed politics in the sense that political entrepreneurs play an important role in the inscription of World Heritage Sites. One of the core ideas of the World Heritage Convention has been to create unity among people by identifying outstanding examples of heritage that are universal to humankind. However, by looking at the conflicted and contested World Heritage Sites in Mauritius, it is possible to understand the degree of success and failure of this premise. The analysis also shows that these World Heritage Sites are promoted on a nationalist basis, but people still attach ethnicity to them, and nothing can be done since heritage was created first in an aspect of ethnicity. As a result of this research, there are several implications involved with the concept World Heritage. Heritage looks to the past, but it is something that is produced in the present for a particular purpose within human groups and societies by the State. Heritage is also about power to control the past and to produce it in the present.

Legal Research Compendium

Hamudi Majamba , Esther Mlingwa

Faisal Anwar

Loading Preview

Sorry, preview is currently unavailable. You can download the paper by clicking the button above.

RELATED PAPERS

Raelene Galea

Moon Remysa

Ahmed OUARET

Pleasery Myman

zhang wenxin

Felix Kibet Rop

Jose Abdelnour Nocera

Esther White

Mohammed Farghaly

Jun Quan Ng

Mick Healey

James Derounian

Jelle Janssens

African Journal of Primary Health Care & Family Medicine

Jacqueline Van Wyk

World Scientific News

Godwin U Chikwere

Dr.Narendranath Guria

RELATED TOPICS

•   We're Hiring!
•   Help Center
• Find new research papers in:
• Health Sciences
• Earth Sciences
• Cognitive Science
• Mathematics
• Computer Science
• Academia ©2024

Dissertations and projects

Student dissertations and projects that have been provided by the colleges as examples of good practice.

The Library holds selected student dissertations and projects from the past five years that have been provided by the colleges as examples of good practice (the actual grades awarded are confidential).

Browse electronic dissertations

The dissertations are stored on Blackboard and arranged alphabetically by award title.

For example, to access BA (Hons) History dissertations, click on the BA link below, then look for H istory dissertations in the H-O list. You will be asked to log into Blackboard after making a selection.

Undergraduate dissertations

Postgraduate dissertations, search for student dissertations and projects.

You can search for all electronic dissertations held by the library using the search function in Blackboard – the search bar is available in the left hand navigation bar. Try searching for a particular title, author or topic.

Connect to Blackboard Dissertation Store

Searching for PhD theses?

Search for PhD theses in print format, included those awarded by other universities.

Search for PhD theses

You may also be interested in

Critical thinking and writing

Support to help you think critically about information, question assumptions and evaluate evidence.

Support to help you improve your essays, reports, projects and dissertations.

Research skills

Online advice and tutorials to help you develop your research skills.

Time management

View guidance to help you manage your time effectively and sort out your priorities.