X

Format, bind and submit your thesis: general guidance

Menu

You no longer need to submit a physical copy of your thesis. Please refer directly to the “Submit Your Thesis” section below.

This information is for research students submitting a thesis for assessment. It tells you how to:

  • format your thesis
  • submit your thesis
  • bind your thesis (if applicable) 
  • submit the final copy of your thesis

There are different requirements for students of fine arts, design, architecture or town planning.

Find out more about these requirements

Format your thesis

UCL theses should be submitted in a specific format, this applies to both the viva and final copies of your thesis. 

View the thesis checklist

File

Presentation

In the electronic version of your thesis, hyperlinks (including DOIs) should be functional and resolve to the correct webpage.

We would recommend using Arial or Helvetica fonts, at a size of no less than 12.

Find out more about the accessibility guidelines

If printed, please present your thesis in a permanent and legible format.

Illustrations should be permanently mounted on A4 size paper and bound in with the thesis; you may not use sellotape or similar materials.

A4 size paper (210 x 297 mm) should be used. Plain white paper must be used, of good quality and of sufficient opacity for normal reading. Both sides of the paper may be used.

Both sides of the paper may be used.

Margins at the binding edge must not be less than 40 mm (1.5 inches) and other margins not less than 20 mm (.75 inches). Double or one-and-a-half spacing should be used in typescripts, except for indented quotations or footnotes where single spacing may be used.

All pages must be numbered in one continuous sequence, i.e. from the title page of the first volume to the last page of type, in Arabic numerals from 1 onwards. This sequence must include everything bound in the volume, including maps, diagrams, blank pages, etc. Any material which cannot be bound in with the text must be placed in a pocket inside or attached to the back cover or in a rigid container similar in format to the bound thesis (see Illustrative material ).

The title page must bear the following:

  • the officially-approved title of the thesis
  • the candidates full name as registered
  • the institution name 'UCL'
  • the degree for which the thesis is submitted

The title page should be followed by a signed declaration that the work presented in the thesis is the candidate’s own e.g.

‘I, [full name] confirm that the work presented in this thesis is my own. Where information has been derived from other sources, I confirm that this has been indicated in the thesis.'

Please see the section below entitled ‘Inclusion of published works in doctoral theses’ for more information about how to indicate when you have re-used material that you have previously published.

The signed declaration should be followed by an abstract consisting of no more than 300 words.

Impact Statement

The abstract should be followed by an impact statement consisting of no more than 500 words. For further information on the content of the Impact Statement, please see the Impact Statement Guidance Notes for Research Students and Supervisors on the Doctoral School's website. 

Find out more about the Impact Statement

Inclusion of published works in doctoral theses

If you have included any work in your thesis that you have published (e.g. in a journal) previously, then you will need to insert a completed copy of the UCL Research Paper Declaration Form into your thesis after the Impact Statement. The form, and information about how to complete it is available on the Doctoral School’s website.

Find out more about the UCL Research Paper Declaration Form

Table of contents

In each copy of the thesis the abstract should be followed by a full table of contents (including any material not bound in) and a list of tables, photographs and any other materials. It is good practice to use bookmarking within the PDF of the thesis in electronic form to allow readers to jump to the relevant section, figure, table etc. from the table of contents.

Illustrative material

Illustrative material may be submitted on a CD-ROM. If you wish to submit material in any other form, your supervisor must contact Research Degrees well in advance of submission of the thesis.

Any material which cannot be bound in with the text must be placed either in a pocket inside or attached to the back cover or in a rigid container similar in format to the bound thesis. If it is separate from the bound volume it must be clearly labelled with the same information as on the title page. Each copy of the thesis submitted must be accompanied by a full set of this material.

Submit your thesis

Viva copies.

You must submit an electronic version of your thesis to via the UCL OneDrive . You no longer need to submit a printed copy unless your examiners ask for this. 

Find out more on how to submit via the UCL OneDrive

We will check your status and if your examiners have been appointed we will forward the thesis directly to them. They will then be able to download the copy of your thesis to prepare for your exam. 

If, following your submission, an examiner requests a hard copy of the thesis, you or your supervisor will need to arrange for this to be printed. Your supervisor or department can arrange for this to be sent directly to the examiner at their preferred postal address, or it can be handed to the  Student Enquiries Centre  during their walk-in operational hours. If submitted to the Student Enquiries Centre, the research degrees team will collect your thesis and post it on to the examiners, but please be aware that collections take place once per week and we cannot guarantee the physical copies will be posted within less than 8-10 working days    UCL’s standard submission of a thesis is electronic, in line with UCL’s sustainability strategy . If an examiner requests a physical thesis copy (this may be due to accessibility requirements of the examiner), you are responsible for making sure that your thesis is correctly printed and bound by the company you select. 

If your examiners have not been appointed, your thesis will be held securely until your examiners have been formally appointed by UCL.

Covid-19 Impact Form

We have developed a form for you to submit with your thesis if you wish to declare an impact on your research.   The form is optional and your choice to complete it or not will have no bearing on the outcome of your examination. It is intended to set the context of examination and is not a plea for leniency. Your examiners will continue to apply the standard criteria as set out in UCL’s Academic Manual and the joint examiners’ form. Please see the publication from the QAA on Advice on Doctoral Standards for Research Students and Supervisors for further support.

You must submit this form as a separate Word document or PDF when you submit your thesis via the UCL Dropbox as detailed in our guidance above.   We will only accept the form if you submit it at the same time that you submit your thesis.  This will apply if you are making an initial submission or a resubmission.

Download the Covid-19 Impact Form

Find out more about the Student Enquiries Centre

Your examination entry form must be received and logged by Research Degrees before you submit your thesis.

Find out more about examination entry

Re-submission

If you need to re-submit you must:

  • submit a new examination entry form to the Research Degrees office at least 4 weeks prior to the expected submission of the thesis
  • you must submit an electronic version of your thesis to via the UCL OneDrive . You no longer need to submit a printed copy unless your examiners ask for this.  Find out more on how to submit via the UCL OneDrive

We will check your status and confirm that your examiners are willing to review your revised thesis. We will then forward the thesis directly to them. They will be able to download the copy of your thesis for assessment. 

If an external examiner requests a hard copy of the thesis you will need to arrange for this to be printed and submitted to the Student Enquiries Centre during their walk-in operational hours. We will collect your thesis and post it on to the examiners.

Submitting as a Non-Registered Student

If you do not submit your thesis by the end of your period of Completing Research Status, your registration as a student will end at that point. Your supervisor will then need to apply for permission for you to submit your thesis in writing to the Research Degrees section, at least 3 weeks before your expected submission date. You will be charged a submission extension fee at the point you submit your thesis.

Bind your thesis

You no longer need to submit a printed copy unless your examiners specifically request this.

The thesis must be bound securely.  Both sides of the paper may be used.   Illustrations should be permanently mounted and bound in with the thesis.  Illustrative material may be submitted on a separate electronic storage device. If you wish to submit material in any other form, your supervisor must contact Research Degrees well in advance of submission of the thesis.   Any material which cannot be bound in with the text must be placed either in a pocket inside or attached to the back cover or in a rigid container similar in format to the bound thesis. If it is separate from the bound volume it must be clearly labelled with the same information as on the title page. Each copy of the thesis submitted must be accompanied by a full set of this material.  

You are responsible for making sure that your thesis is correctly bound by the company you select.

Final copies

UCL no longer requires a printed copy of your final thesis and we will award your degree once you have met the academic conditions and the Library have confirmed receipt of your e-thesis, the Deposit Agreement form, and you have cleared any outstanding fees.

You will need to deposit an electronic copy of your final thesis (and a completed E-Thesis Deposit Agreement form) via UCL's Research Publications Service (RPS). Please ensure that you remove, or blank out, all personal identifiers such as signatures, addresses and telephone numbers from the e-thesis (this does not include your own name on the title page).    Any photographs that you have taken should not show identifiable individuals without their permission and any you have taken of children should mask their faces.

If you do wish to deposit a hard copy you can do so by sending it directly to the Cataloguing & Metadata department of Library Services by post, or in person at the Main Library help desk.  You will find more information about the process on the existing webpage for e-thesis submission. 

Find out more about depositing an electronic and printed copy of your thesis

Related content

  • Research degrees: examination entry
  • Format, bind and submit your thesis: fine art, design, architecture and town planning
  • Viva examinations: guidance

Important Information:

The UCL Student Centre has now moved.  Details of their new location can be found here.  

Decorative - askUCL promotional image

Navigation Menu

Search code, repositories, users, issues, pull requests..., provide feedback.

We read every piece of feedback, and take your input very seriously.

Saved searches

Use saved searches to filter your results more quickly.

To see all available qualifiers, see our documentation .

  • Notifications You must be signed in to change notification settings

Latest commit

File metadata and controls, ucl latex thesis templates.

Build Status

This is a skeletal thesis template with a class and .sty file that you can use separately if you'd prefer.

To change the thesis type from PhD to MRes or MPhil, look for the setting in Main.tex .

The class needs some updating and could use a lot of commenting, and these are being worked on, but the files are perfectly usable right now with pdfLaTeX or lualatex. The repo is tested after each push with lualatex on Travis.

If you have suggestions for improvements, please do submit an issue, drop me a line ( [email protected] ), or throw me a pull request.

This work was previously available to be distributed and/or modified under the conditions of the LaTeX Project Public License (>=1.3), however, I realised that that doesn't make a lot of sense for a template.

Therefore, all files except ucl_thesis.cls are released into the public domain under CC-0-1.0, as described in the COPYING file.

The classfile ucl_thesis.cls may be distributed and/or modified under the conditions of the LaTeX Project Public License, either version 1.3 of this license or (at your option) any later version. The latest version of this license is in http://www.latex-project.org/lppl.txt and version 1.3 or later is part of all distributions of LaTeX version 2005/12/01 or later.

This work has the LPPL maintenance status `maintained'.

The Current Maintainer of this work is I. Kirker.

This work consists of all files listed in MANIFEST.md .

Known Issues

Citation links.

If you see this error while compiling:

and then get links that don't work in the PDF, try un-commenting the line below in MainPackages.tex even if you don't use that style of citation.

What should I use for editing .tex files?

If you're already comfortable with programming on the command-line, you can use whatever plain text editor you'd like.

If you're new to LaTeX, though, or want something to help you keep your files together, you may want TeXMaker or LyX (both available for Windows, Linux, or OS X), or TeXShop (for OS X).

TeXShop and TeXMaker are both oriented around helping you write plaintext .tex files, while LyX is more aimed at presenting a structured document with some of the formatting rendered, to make it a little less abstract to work with.

If you want something quick that runs entirely through a browser, so you don't even have to set up your own LaTeX installation, UCL also has a subscription for Overleaf , a service that does that. You'll have to register using your UCL email address to use the subscription. It's also good for working with someone else on a document, with live shared editing.

What is the Makefile for?

If you're using this from the Linux command-line, the Makefile defines a few things to make it easier to build the LaTeX document. If not, you can happily ignore it.

What graphics formats are good to include with this?

PNG and JPEG images work perfectly well, as do PDF files (including vector graphics). Vector graphics in PDFs will remain as vectors. Remember to produce higher-resolution images than you'd use online -- 300 or 600 dpi are typical print qualities, rather than the 72 dpi standard for websites. If you don't have control over this setting directly from whatever you're using to produce your images, a good rule of thumb is that you should aim to generate them 3 and a bit times larger on screen than you want them to be on paper.

Can I just make it produce one section in the PDF?

In the Main.tex file there are a list of \include statements. If you add an \includeonly statement to match those with one or more of the same labels, it'll just produce the content for those sections. (Labels, references, figures, and table numbers will be consistent as if you'd generated the whole document.)

Didn't there used to be different files for PhD, MRes, and MPhil dissertations?

Yes, but they only differed by 4 characters each, so it seemed silly to maintain them each separately. Change the setting in the Main.tex file to get the one you need.

Example of UCL Thesis format

Recent searches

Institutions, conferences, journals gallery.

40,000+ journal templates to choose from for your next paper

Flexible pricing plans that caters to everyone’s needs

Journal Submission

Get accepted in top journals.

For Publishers

Streamline publishing process with automated workflows

Client Stories

Read what our clients have yielded with our products and services

Convert from Word

Word file to JATS XML, PMC XML, DOAJ XML and more

Convert from PDF

PDF file to SciELO XML, CrossRef XML and more

Convert from JATS XML

JATS XML to Redalyc XML, DataCite XML and more

Adhere to standard of all global publishing bodies

Compliance for medical journals in PubMed database

Generate standardized XML for SciELO indexed journals

Example of UCL Thesis format

UCL Thesis — Template for authors

— or sign up using email —

last-updated-icon

Guideline source: View

All company, product and service names used in this website are for identification purposes only. All product names, trademarks and registered trademarks are property of their respective owners.

Use of these names, trademarks and brands does not imply endorsement or affiliation. Disclaimer Notice

University College London

Approved by publishing and review experts on SciSpace, this template is built as per for UCL Thesis formatting guidelines as mentioned in University College London author instructions. The current version was created on and has been used by 563 authors to write and format their manuscripts to this journal.

Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities template (Springer)

SciSpace is a very innovative solution to the formatting problem and existing providers, such as Mendeley or Word did not really evolve in recent years.

- Andreas Frutiger, Researcher, ETH Zurich, Institute for Biomedical Engineering

What to expect from SciSpace?

Speed and accuracy over ms word.

With SciSpace, you do not need a word template for UCL Thesis.

It automatically formats your research paper to University College London formatting guidelines and citation style.

You can download a submission ready research paper in pdf, LaTeX and docx formats.

Time comparison

Time taken to format a paper and Compliance with guidelines

Publisher Logos

Freedom from formatting guidelines

One editor, 100K journal formats – world's largest collection of journal templates

With such a huge verified library, what you need is already there.

publisher-logos

Easy support from all your favorite tools

Automatically format and order your citations and bibliography in a click.

SciSpace allows imports from all reference managers like Mendeley, Zotero, Endnote, Google Scholar etc.

Frequently asked questions

1. can i write ucl thesis in latex.

Absolutely not! Our tool has been designed to help you focus on writing. You can write your entire paper as per the UCL Thesis guidelines and auto format it.

2. Do you follow the UCL Thesis guidelines?

Yes, the template is compliant with the UCL Thesis guidelines. Our experts at SciSpace ensure that. If there are any changes to the journal's guidelines, we'll change our algorithm accordingly.

3. Can I cite my article in multiple styles in UCL Thesis?

Of course! We support all the top citation styles, such as APA style, MLA style, Vancouver style, Harvard style, and Chicago style. For example, when you write your paper and hit autoformat, our system will automatically update your article as per the UCL Thesis citation style.

4. Can I use the UCL Thesis templates for free?

Sign up for our free trial, and you'll be able to use all our features for seven days. You'll see how helpful they are and how inexpensive they are compared to other options, Especially for UCL Thesis.

5. Can I use a manuscript in UCL Thesis that I have written in MS Word?

Yes. You can choose the right template, copy-paste the contents from the word document, and click on auto-format. Once you're done, you'll have a publish-ready paper UCL Thesis that you can download at the end.

6. How long does it usually take you to format my papers in UCL Thesis?

It only takes a matter of seconds to edit your manuscript. Besides that, our intuitive editor saves you from writing and formatting it in UCL Thesis.

7. Where can I find the template for the UCL Thesis?

It is possible to find the Word template for any journal on Google. However, why use a template when you can write your entire manuscript on SciSpace , auto format it as per UCL Thesis's guidelines and download the same in Word, PDF and LaTeX formats? Give us a try!.

8. Can I reformat my paper to fit the UCL Thesis's guidelines?

Of course! You can do this using our intuitive editor. It's very easy. If you need help, our support team is always ready to assist you.

9. UCL Thesis an online tool or is there a desktop version?

SciSpace's UCL Thesis is currently available as an online tool. We're developing a desktop version, too. You can request (or upvote) any features that you think would be helpful for you and other researchers in the "feature request" section of your account once you've signed up with us.

10. I cannot find my template in your gallery. Can you create it for me like UCL Thesis?

Sure. You can request any template and we'll have it setup within a few days. You can find the request box in Journal Gallery on the right side bar under the heading, "Couldn't find the format you were looking for like UCL Thesis?”

11. What is the output that I would get after using UCL Thesis?

After writing your paper autoformatting in UCL Thesis, you can download it in multiple formats, viz., PDF, Docx, and LaTeX.

12. Is UCL Thesis's impact factor high enough that I should try publishing my article there?

To be honest, the answer is no. The impact factor is one of the many elements that determine the quality of a journal. Few of these factors include review board, rejection rates, frequency of inclusion in indexes, and Eigenfactor. You need to assess all these factors before you make your final call.

13. What is Sherpa RoMEO Archiving Policy for UCL Thesis?

SHERPA/RoMEO Database

Green Can archive pre-print post-print or publisher's version/PDF
Blue Can archive post-print (ie final draft post-refereeing) or publisher's version/PDF
Yellow Can archive pre-print (ie pre-refereeing)
White Archiving not formally supported
  • Pre-prints as being the version of the paper before peer review and
  • Post-prints as being the version of the paper after peer-review, with revisions having been made.

14. What are the most common citation types In UCL Thesis?

1. Author Year
2. Numbered
3. Numbered (Superscripted)
4. Author Year (Cited Pages)
5. Footnote

15. How do I submit my article to the UCL Thesis?

16. can i download ucl thesis in endnote format.

Yes, SciSpace provides this functionality. After signing up, you would need to import your existing references from Word or Bib file to SciSpace. Then SciSpace would allow you to download your references in UCL Thesis Endnote style according to Elsevier guidelines.

with UCL Thesis format applied

Fast and reliable, built for complaince.

Instant formatting to 100% publisher guidelines on - SciSpace.

ucl latex thesis template

No word template required

Typset automatically formats your research paper to UCL Thesis formatting guidelines and citation style.

ucl latex thesis template

Verifed journal formats

One editor, 100K journal formats. With the largest collection of verified journal formats, what you need is already there.

ucl latex thesis template

Trusted by academicians

ucl latex thesis template

I spent hours with MS word for reformatting. It was frustrating - plain and simple. With SciSpace, I can draft my manuscripts and once it is finished I can just submit. In case, I have to submit to another journal it is really just a button click instead of an afternoon of reformatting.

ucl latex thesis template

UCL Master's Thesis Template

UCL Master's Thesis Template

Get in touch

Have you checked our knowledge base ?

Message sent! Our team will review it and reply by email.

Email: 

COMMENTS

  1. Thesis Template for University College London - Overleaf

    Thesis Template for University College London. UCL Thesis LaTeX Template © Ian Kirker, 2014. This is a template/skeleton for PhD/MPhil/MRes theses. It uses a rather split-up file structure because this tends to work well for large, complex documents.

  2. UCL LaTeX Thesis Templates - GitHub

    UCL LaTeX Thesis Templates. This is a skeletal thesis template with a class and .sty file that you can use separately if you'd prefer. To change the thesis type from PhD to MRes or MPhil, look for the setting in Main.tex.

  3. Templates - Journals, CVs, Presentations, Reports and More

    UCL Bartlett MSc Thesis Template This is a latex template for a MSc Thesis document, based on the Microsoft Word template given by the UCL Bartlett Faculty of the Built Environment. Approved by the Dissertation Module Coordinator

  4. GitHub - pimmesselinkucl/UCL-thesis-template: A LaTeX ...

    This package provides all of the files needed to support the production and typesetting of a PhD thesis at UCL. For contributions, comments, and bug reports, please contact Pim Messelink at [email protected]. This template is essentially a modified version of Jordan Suchow's ([email protected]), all credits go to him.

  5. ucl-latex-thesis-templates/ucl_thesis.cls at master - GitHub

    UCL LaTeX thesis templates. Contribute to UCL/ucl-latex-thesis-templates development by creating an account on GitHub.

  6. Format, bind and submit your thesis: general guidance - UCL

    It tells you how to: format your thesis. submit your thesis. bind your thesis (if applicable) submit the final copy of your thesis. There are different requirements for students of fine arts, design, architecture or town planning. Find out more about these requirements.

  7. ucl-latex-thesis-templates/README.md at master - GitHub

    UCL LaTeX Thesis Templates. This is a skeletal thesis template with a class and .sty file that you can use separately if you'd prefer. To change the thesis type from PhD to MRes or MPhil, look for the setting in Main.tex.

  8. UCL Thesis Template - University College London

    With SciSpace, you do not need a word template for UCL Thesis. It automatically formats your research paper to University College London formatting guidelines and citation style. You can download a submission ready research paper in pdf, LaTeX and docx formats.

  9. UCL Master's Thesis Template - Overleaf, Online LaTeX Editor

    Master's thesis template for UCL Computer Science Thesis An online LaTeX editor that’s easy to use. No installation, real-time collaboration, version control, hundreds of LaTeX templates, and more.

  10. Ucl PHD Thesis Latex Template | PDF | Thesis | Te X - Scribd

    This document discusses a LaTeX template for writing PhD theses at University College London (UCL). It notes that writing a UCL PhD thesis with LaTeX presents several challenges, including strict formatting guidelines, the technical expertise required for LaTeX, and time constraints.