Disquisition Templates and Forms

Your disquisition must meet the Graduate School’s requirements for formatting and construction in order to be approved and published. These requirements maintain a consistent standard of quality among all published NDSU disquisitions and to make sure that your disquisition reflects well upon your work as a student. In addition, they ensure your document meets NDUS and federal requirements for digital accessibility.

On this page, you'll find Word and LaTeX templates you can use to draft your disquisition and a PDF with our formatting guidelines. This page also has links to the forms for your Disquisition Approval page and to request a delayed release.

NDSU Disquisition Templates

Our Word and LaTeX disquisition templates are designed to minimize the work you need to do to complete your dissertation, thesis, or paper. Our templates use preset styles that can be used to quickly format your content and produce a document that complies with our formatting and accessibility requirements. If you have received a template from your department, advisor, or colleague, we recommend downloading a new template from this page and transferring your content into it before you begin formatting, as the template may be out-of-date or non-conformant; additionally, the Center for Writers offers only limited support for documents created with non-CFW templates.

While our templates have been designed to help you format your disquisition, they are complex documents with interconnected settings and may use features you are not familiar with. You can find our manual that explains how to use the styles and automated features of our templates below, as well as a style cheat sheet. Before you begin formatting your document, we highly recommend reviewing these.

You can also find a video demonstration of the templates and related topics in our Word Crash Course video series.

If you have any questions or would like further assistance with formatting, please reach out to the disquisition coordinator through the link at the bottom of this page. The graduate consultants at Center for Writers and the Instructional Design Center offers one-on-one meetings and workshops to help you with formatting; you can schedule an appointment and find more information through their respective pages.

Use the Word templates below to get started with a document that complies with the Graduate School Publication Guidelines. You are welcome to modify the existing settings and styles according to the conventions of your discipline or to your own preference, within the constraints of our Publication Guidelines.

We strongly recommend using desktop version of Word 365 to develop your disquisition, as alternative versions of Word, including Office LTSC, cannot produce PDFs that meet our formatting and accessibility requirements. See our knowledge base entry on converting your document to PDF for more information, including how to identify the version of Word you're using and install Word 365.

Our LaTeX template is under pilot deployment until the end of Summer 2026. If you encounter issues while using our template, would like to request a feature, or require general assistance, please contact the Disquisition Coordinator or make an appointment with our LaTeX specialist, Rabeya.

Use the LaTeX template from our GitHub repository to get started with a document that complies with the formatting and accessibility requirements of the Graduate School Publication Guidelines. You are welcome to modify the existing settings and styles according to the conventions of your discipline or to your own preference, within the constraints of our Publication Guidelines.

We recommend MikTek and Overleaf as platforms to develop your disquisition. The former is free and open-source, whereas the latter will require a subscription ($10/mo for students).

GitHub: https://github.com/ndsu-disq-coordinator/NDSU-Disquisition-Template

Forms

The forms below are specifically for your disquisition. See our pre-submission requirements and the Graduate School's graduation requirements for other forms you need to submit before your defense or as part of your graduation requirements.

You'll need to submit two separate copies of the Disquisition Approval page: one for the Graduate School files (Copy 1) and one to include in your disquisition (Copy 2).

Copy 1: For Graduate School Files ONLY

This copy requires original signatures from your committee and department chairperson, along with your student ID number. Submit it to the Graduate School before your disquisition review.

  1. Initiate the Disquisition Approval Page form on DocuSign.
  2. Type in the necessary information.
  3. Collect original signatures from your committee members and department chair.
  4. After all signatures are completed, the form will route to the Graduate School to add to your file.
Copy 2: Included in Your Disquisition

This copy has the same information as Copy 1, but no signatures or student ID number. Instead, type the names of your committee members, department chairperson, and the approval date. Do not submit a scanned image of Copy 1.

The NDSU template includes this page, but you may need a different copy if you have a co-chaired committee.

  1. Download the appropriate Copy 2 version based on your degree type (Ph.D., M.S., etc.).
  2. Type in all required information, including names and the approval date.
  3. Insert this page as the second page of your disquisition, directly after the Title page. This page should not have a page number.

You may wish to delay the release of your disquisition if your work:

  • is under a patent application review or requires protection of proprietary material,
  • contains sensitive information provided by a data source, or
  • pending publication with another publisher.

NDSU allows for a delayed release period of six months, one year, or two years. This period will begin on the final day of the semester in which you graduate, and will extend for the period requested. During this time, your disquisition will not be available to the public, including employers and other researchers, for the time requested. Additionally, if you have ordered printed copies through ProQuest, they will not be delivered until the embargo expires.

To request a delayed release of your disquisition:

  1. submit your disquisition, then
  2. complete our Delayed Release form.

You are welcome to begin the delayed release form before you submit your disquisition, but it will not be processed until you have submitted your disquisition. The completed form must be approved and signed by your adviser, your department chair or program director, and the graduate dean. While obtaining these signatures, consult with your adviser and your department to make sure a delayed release is necessary.

You will not be contacted regarding the expiration of your delayed release, and you are solely responsible for requesting any extensions to an approved delayed release.

Extending a Delayed Release

If you have a delayed release already in place, you may request an extension by contacting filing a Delayed Release Extension Form. Delayed release extensions may only be approved by the Dean of the Graduate School. You will not be contacted regarding the expiration of your delayed release, and you are solely responsible for requesting any extensions to an approved delayed release.

Center for Writers

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