We’re excited to share some changes that the Graduate College is making to its formatting requirements and deposit process so that theses will better align with digital accessibility standards. We hope that these changes will help streamline the degree completion process and help students learn to make their work accessible, which is becoming a standard practice.
Below, we’ve highlighted some of the notable changes that we’ve made to the process. Students should familiarize themselves with all formatting requirements and the deposit process as early as possible in the semester that they intend to deposit.
Revised Templates
The Graduate College has created Microsoft Word and LaTeX templates that include the changes described in the “Revised Formatting Requirements” section. We strongly encourage you to download one of these templates and use it when writing and formatting your thesis. The template includes:
- Revised title page
- Updated page numbers
- Properly formatted Table of Contents
- Stylized headings already assigned
Students often want to customize elements of the thesis (such as heading format). Our format requirements page has links to tutorials to help you do this.
Revised Formatting Requirements
The Graduate College has revised portions of its format requirements to better align with accessibility standards. Students should begin implementing these changes during the Spring 2026 semester, though we will be flexible with students who are completing their deposits during the Spring 2026 semester.
These changes include:
- Adjusting the spacing and capitalization on the title page to increase ease of formatting and readability.
- There will be no longer be Roman numeral page numbers. The abstract will begin on Arabic numeral 2, and the numbering will continue in sequence throughout.
- Only chapter and first-level headings will be allowed in the Table of Contents.
- No List of Figures or List of Tables will be allowed, unless the student has an exception that they have discussed in advance with the Thesis Office.
- No text may be fully justified.
- Scanned documents (such as surveys, IRB letters, etc.) should not be included. We’ve included alternative ways to include this information in the document in our formatting requirements.
You can view the formatting requirements, as well as explanations for the changes and tutorials to help with formatting issues through the button below.
Additional Steps for Digital Accessibility
The Graduate College has worked with campus stakeholders to identify key areas students should address in order to ensure that their theses meet minimal digital accessibility standards. While we encourage students to incorporate these accessibility standards, they will become required beginning with the Summer 2026 deposit period.
These areas include:
- All figures and illustrative materials should have alt text.
- Tables should have a row and/or column header and simple structure.
- Heading styles should be used within the document to differentiate between heading levels.
The details of these requirements, as well as tutorials and help guides can be found in the “Figures” tab on the Formatting Requirements page.
During the deposit process, students will be asked to prepare the metadata of their PDF and upload a report that indicates that verifies that their document meets accessibility standards. The details of this process are outlined on the Depositing Your Thesis page.
Campus Support
In the coming months, the Graduate College will be adding additional resources to its website to help students navigate the accessibility requirements. There is also support on campus through trainings and accessibility guides. The Thesis Office is also available to answer questions and provide support.