Style Guides
Choose a thesis style guide approved by your supervisor or graduate program. Examples of common style guides: Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS); American Psychological Association (APA); Modern Language Association (MLA); Turabian Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations.
The style guide determines the format for the following:
- Headings and subheadings
- The referencing system throughout the thesis/project
- The list of references at the end of your work (bibliography, works cited, etc.)
- The formatting and labeling of tables
- The format for the captions for figures
If there is a conflict between the instructions in these guidelines and the style guide chosen, these guidelines must be followed.
You and your supervisor are responsible for ensuring that your thesis meets the formatting requirements.
Computer Tools
You may choose any computer program you like to write your thesis. Graduate Studies does not recommend, approve, or endorse any particular computer program.
It is your responsibility to learn how to use the computer program you choose. Graduate Studies is not able to offer technical assistance with computer programs.
IMPORTANT: USING MICROSOFT WORD
A Microsoft Word template created by the Koerner Library Research Commons is available below for use. Students are responsible for understanding how to use it and for troubleshooting if necessary.
Microsoft Word thesis/dissertation template: rc_thesis_template_rev9_may2021_v2.docx
The Word template above uses an outdated APA format (6th edition). There may be problems connecting with your citation manager if it only recognizes the APA 7th edition. This video link is offered without guarantees in case it may be useful: How to add APA 7th reference style to MS Word?
LaTeX
Note: the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies offers these links for information only. Requirements have changed since they were developed, and using one of the classes does not guarantee a successful submission. We are not able to offer technical assistance. Provision of this information does not constitute a recommendation to use LaTeX for your thesis.
Former UBC graduate students have developed LaTeX classes for UBC theses. To the best of our knowledge, these classes will assist in producing a correctly-formatted UBC thesis. However, be aware that there may be missing elements. You are responsible for ensuring that you modify the template appropriately.
Note: If you add "Parts" to your thesis, you will need to make sure that the listing in the table of contents has leader lines (dots). You do not need to use 1.5 or double line spacing if you are using these templates correctly.
Link to the LaTeX class developed by Michael McNeil Forbes:
https://alum.mit.edu/www/mforbes/projects/ubcthesis/
Link to an updated version of this class by Jeremy Wong:
Overleaf.com/read/zxbgknhvbsts#914fed
Link to the LaTeX class developed by Brian de Alwis:
https://github.com/briandealwis/ubcdiss
Many thanks to Michael McNeil Forbes, Brian de Alwis, and Jeremy Wong for creation and updating of these classes.
LyX
This template was also developed by a former UBC graduate student. It's different from the LaTeX packages because it is built for a forefront piece of software called LyX.
LyX is an open-source, full-featured document processor that has all the advantages of LaTeX (structured approach, seamless citations, cross-referencing, indexing, etc.) and is built closely on top of LaTeX but offers an easy to use, graphical interface. You don't need to know as much LaTeX code in order to use it.
Link to the LyX template developed by Christopher P. Barrington-Leigh:
https://cpbl.wordpress.com/2010/01/24/ubc-thesis-under-lyx-manuscript-based-thesis-under-latex/
Note: the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies offers this link for information only. Requirements have changed since the template was developed, and using it does not guarantee a successful submission. We are not able to offer technical assistance.
Many thanks to Christopher P. Barrington-Leigh for creation of the LyX template.
R-Markdown
This repository was developed by another former UBC graduate student. It is intended for people who already use the statistical software R and R-markdown, and includes some basic instructions. There is also a detailed operational instructions section (see the ReadMe section at the bottom of the link provided) and an example template.
Link to the R-Markdown template developed by Juliano Palacios Abrantes:
https://github.com/jepa/ubcdown
Link to the example template:
https://github.com/jepa/ubcdown/blob/main/dissertation_template.pdf
Note: the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies offers these links for information only. Requirements may have changed since the template was developed, and using it does not guarantee a successful submission. We are not able to offer technical assistance.
Many thanks to Juliano Palacios Abrantes for creation of the R-Markdown template.