PSU Fox Graduate School Thesis Template - Thesis and dissertation submission format

Sep 1, 2026

Pennsylvania State University J. Jeffrey and Ann Marie Fox Graduate School thesis template provides a structured layout for drafting a graduate thesis, including required front matter, abstract, table of contents, lists of figures and tables, acknowledgments, and multiple chapter sections. It specifies formatting guidance for headings, spacing, figure and table caption styles, and the correct handling of page and section breaks to preserve pagination. The template also includes a committee approval review section placeholder and optional VITA instructions for compliant submission preparation.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryPaper Templates

FormatDOCX

Pages17

Reading Time6 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Table of Contents

List of Figures

List of Tables

Acknowledgments

Chapter 1

1.1 Replace with subheading

1.1.1 Replace with subheading

1.2 Page Breaks and Section Breaks

Chapter 2

2.1 Figure Example

2.2 Table Example

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Appendix A

References

VITA (OPTIONAL)

The Pennsylvania State University The J. Jeffrey and Ann Marie Fox Graduate School enter your title here (heading 1) A Thesis in Enter your Graduate Major by Enter your Name © 2026 Enter your Name [Optional] Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Choose your Degree Choose your Graduation Date The thesis of (enter your name) was reviewed and approved by the following: Professor’s Name (Do not use designations such as “Professor” or “Dr.” for committee names) Title(s) Thesis Advisor Chair of Committee Professor’s Name Title Professor’s Name Title Professor’s Name Title(s) Head of the Department or Director of Graduate Studies ABSTRACT Enter text here. TABLE OF CONTENTS TOC \h \z \t "Heading 2,1,Heading 3,2,Heading 4,3,Heading 5,4,Heading 0 (in TOC),1" HYPERLINK \l "_Toc226620805" LIST OF FIGURES PAGEREF _Toc226620805 \h v HYPERLINK \l "_Toc226620806" LIST OF TABLES PAGEREF _Toc226620806 \h vi HYPERLINK \l "_Toc226620807" ACKNOWLEDGMENTS PAGEREF _Toc226620807 \h vii HYPERLINK \l "_Toc226620808" Chapter 1 Replace with Title (Heading 2) PAGEREF _Toc226620808 \h 1 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc226620809" 1.1 Replace with subheading (Heading 3) PAGEREF _Toc226620809 \h 1 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc226620810" 1.1.1 Replace with subheading (Heading 4) PAGEREF _Toc226620810 \h 1 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc226620811" 1.1.1.1 Replace with subheading (Heading 5) PAGEREF _Toc226620811 \h 1 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc226620812" 1.2 Page Breaks and Section Breaks (Heading 3) PAGEREF _Toc226620812 \h 1 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc226620813" Chapter 2 Replace with Title (Heading 2) PAGEREF _Toc226620813 \h 2 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc226620814" 2.1 Figure Example (Heading 3) PAGEREF _Toc226620814 \h 2 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc226620815" 2.2 Table Example (Heading 3) PAGEREF _Toc226620815 \h 3 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc226620816" Chapter 3 Replace with Title (Heading 2) PAGEREF _Toc226620816 \h 4 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc226620817" Chapter 4 Replace with Title (Heading 2) PAGEREF _Toc226620817 \h 5 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc226620818" Chapter 5 Replace with Title (Heading 2) PAGEREF _Toc226620818 \h 6 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc226620819" Chapter 6 Replace with Title (Heading 2) PAGEREF _Toc226620819 \h 7 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc226620820" Appendix A Appendix Title PAGEREF _Toc226620820 \h 8 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc226620821" References PAGEREF _Toc226620821 \h 9 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1.1: Show/Hide ¶ 1 Figure 2.1: The Nittany Lion 2 LIST OF TABLES Table 2.1: Front Matter Requirements 3 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS If you have received federal funding, please include an acknowledgment in this section. Be sure to list all relevant award numbers and include the following disclaimer: “Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the [name(s) of awarding agency(ies)].” Chapter 1 Replace with Title (Heading 2) Please remove this instructional text and replace it with your work. This text uses the “Normal” style. Please use “Normal” for the body of your work. Text styles are located in the style gallery above (in the menu under Home). Text in the body of your work may be single, double, or one-and-a-half spaced. All Chapter Headings should use “Heading 2” style. Subheadings should begin with “Heading 3” style and go in numerical order. 1.1 Replace with subheading (Heading 3) 1.1.1 Replace with subheading (Heading 4) 1.1.1.1 Replace with subheading (Heading 5) 1.2 Page Breaks and Section Breaks (Heading 3) When you replace sample text, figures and tables with your own work, please make sure you do not delete the page breaks. Page breaks and section breaks allow the chapter formatting and pagination to remain in place. You can view the page and section breaks in this template by clicking the Show/Hide ¶ button on the Home menu (Fig. 1.1). Figure 1

FAQs

What sections are included in the thesis front matter template?

The template includes a title page area, degree and graduation date placeholders, committee approval placeholders, an ABSTRACT section, and a TABLE OF CONTENTS setup with optional lists for figures and tables.

How should heading styles be applied in the chapters?

Chapter headings should use “Heading 2”, subheadings should use “Heading 3” in numerical order, and deeper subheadings should continue with “Heading 4” and “Heading 5” as needed.

What guidance does the template give for figures, tables, and references?

Figures and tables must be properly referenced in the text, with figure captions placed directly beneath figures and table captions placed directly above tables, using the specified caption styles.

Sep 1, 2026

Upload by Emma Mercer