Title Page

The Title page should appear as the first page of the document.

If you are using one of our templates, change only the text that is enclosed in brackets. The brackets indicate fields you must fill with your own information: the title of your disquisition, the type of disquisition you've authored, your name, the name of your degree, your preference to indicate either your Major Department or Major Program, the name of said department or program (and an option within that program, if you had one), and the month and year of your final defense.

You may bold all of the text on the Title page, or none of it.

Guidelines: Title Page

The Title page is the first page of your disquisition, and has specific requirements for spacing, alignment, and phrasing.

  • Alignment – All content on the Title page should be center-aligned. Do not indent any of the text on the title page.
  • Font – The font on the Title page should use the same typeface and size as the rest of your disquisition. You may use bold font for all of the text or none of it.
  • Page numbers – Do not include a page number on the Title page.
  • Spacing – Some sections are single-spaced whereas others double-spaced, as diagrammed below. There should be 48 pts of line spacing between each segment (roughly four blank lines). Set line spacing under paragraph settings; do not use line breaks or carriage returns to space this content.

Requirements:

  1. When viewing the Tags Pane, tags are visible.
  2. Content is tagged correctly
  3. The document is bookmarked in a logical reading order

Resolution:

The title of your disquisition should be tagged H1. Since neither the title of your disquisition nor the Table of Contents major heading should have entries in the Table of Contents, use our template style "NDSU X" for these two headings.

A breakdown of the title page elements with segment numbers referenced on this page.

Quick Answers

If you are using one of our templates, there are several parts of the title page that you must edit, and there are several parts that should appear exactly as they are presented in our templates. The parts you need to edit are enclosed in square brackets. Segment numbers correspond to the numbers in the image above.

  1. In segment 1, you must change the title of your disquisition.
  2. In segment 2, you must change the name of your disquisition to match the type of document it is--dissertation, thesis, or paper.
  3. In segment 3, you must include your name.
  4. In segment 4, you must edit the name of your degree.
  5. In segment 5, you should decide whether you want to include the name of your major department or program, and change the text accordingly. Additionally, you should include the name of your major department or program.
  6. In segment 6, you must include the month and year of your final defense.

Issue: Disquisition Title

Requirements:

  • The title of your disquisition should be aligned to the center of the page, use ALL CAPS, and begin flush with the top of the page.
  • The title of your disquisition should be set to "outline level 1" in its paragraph settings.
  • The title of your document should be the same as your disquisition title.

  • If your title is indented using spaces or tab spaces, remove them. Set the title's alignment to centered.
  • If your title is not in ALL CAPS, select the text and use the Change Case tool (Aa) under the Home tab -> Font group to change its case to ALL CAPS or manually retype the title. Do not use the "ALL CAPS" font setting.
  • If your title is not flush with the top of the page, open the title's paragraph settings and set them to be double-spaced with no line spacing before or after. Additionally, remove any extra line breaks or carriage returns preceding the title. Check the page margins for the document; they should be set to 1" on all sides.
  • When creating your ETD on ProQuest, use title case (Only Capitalize Major Words) when entering your title; do not enter your title in ALL CAPS. Similarly, copy your title (in title case) into your document's metadata. See our knowledge base entry on digital accessibility for more information on setting your document's title.

Issue: Phrasing or Spacing

Requirements:

  • The phrasing of your title page should follow our guidelines exactly.
  • The line spacing within a segment should be followed exactly, and there should be 4 lines of space (~48 pts) between each segment.

Follow the requisite phrasing of our title page exactly, as demonstrated in the example above or in the 5500+ examples of NDSU disquisitions on ProQuest. A single-page template Title page is available on our Templates and Forms page to use as a reference or replacement. Segment numbers referenced on this page correspond to the numbers in the image above.

  • The title of your disquisition should be aligned to the center of the page, use ALL CAPS, and begin flush with the top of the page.
  • The title of your disquisition should be set to "outline level 1" in its paragraph settings.
  • The title of your document should be the same as your disquisition title.

In this segment, edit the first line to reflect the type of your disquisition: paper, thesis, or dissertation. For example:

A Dissertation
Submitted to the Graduate Faculty
of the
North Dakota State University
of Agriculture and Applied Science

Do not change the phrasing, spacing, or alignment of lines 2-5 of this segment. The text should be single-spaced. There should be ~48 pts of line spacing before and after this segment; this line spacing should be set under paragraph settings--do not use carriage returns to space this or any other content. (Note: a single-spaced line is equivalent to 1 line of space; a double-spaced line is equivalent to 2 lines of space.)

In this segment, edit the text for your name. Your name should be as it appears in NDSU's records; this might be your full legal name, or your preferred name. For example:

By

Drew Filpović York

The by-line should be double-spaced, and your name should be single-spaced. There should be 48 pts of line spacing before and after this segment; if necessary, set line spacing under paragraph settings--do not use carriage returns to space this or any other content. (Note: a single-spaced line is equivalent to 1 line of space; a double-spaced line is equivalent to 2 lines of space.)

In this segment, only change the name of your degree; do not change the spacing or alignment. The name of your degree should appear in ALL CAPS. For example:

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
for the Degree of
MASTER OF SCIENCE

The text should be single-spaced. There should be 48 pts of line spacing before and after this segment; if necessary, set line spacing under paragraph settings--do not use carriage returns to space this or any other content. (Note: a single-spaced line is equivalent to 1 line of space; a double-spaced line is equivalent to 2 lines of space.)

In this segment, choose to display either your department or program--not both. Edit the text on the first line accordingly: "Major Department" or "Major Program", with a colon after this text. On the second line, include the name of your department or program. For example:

Major Program:
Entomology

If your degree or program has an option, you may include it below the name of your major department or program along with the text "Option:". Most departments and programs do not have options. (Plan B Master's Degrees, a.k.a. master's papers, are not options.) For example:

Major Department:
Health, Nutrition, and Exercise Science
Option: Exercise/Nutrition Science

The text should be single-spaced. There should be 48 pts of line spacing before and after this segment; if necessary, set line spacing under paragraph settings--do not use carriage returns to space this or any other content. (Note: a single-spaced line is equivalent to 1 line of space; a double-spaced line is equivalent to 2 lines of space.)

In this segment, include only the month and year of your final defense, using the full name of the month as shown below. Do not change the name of our fair city. For example:

November 2046




Fargo, North Dakota

The text should be single-spaced, with 48 pts of line spacing between these two lines. There should be 48 pts of line spacing before this segment; if necessary, set line spacing under paragraph settings--do not use carriage returns to space this or any other content. (Note: a single-spaced line is equivalent to 1 line of space; a double-spaced line is equivalent to 2 lines of space.)

Resources

You can find templates for your title page on the Guidelines, Templates, and Forms page.

Center for Writers

Email: ndsu.cfw@ndsu.edu Phone: (701) 231-7927 Campus location: Library 16 Contact Page Manager