MSU Thesis and Dissertation Formatting: What the Graduate School Asks For
Michigan State’s rules are flexible, and that is the trap
Most schools hand you a single number: one inch, twelve point, done. Michigan State University (MSU) does something different. The Graduate School gives ranges for margins and font sizes, then expects every choice you make inside those ranges to be applied the same way from the first page to the last. Two things catch people out more than anything else: the legal-name rule and the way the public abstract is handled in page numbering.
Help Me Bro is not affiliated with Michigan State University (MSU), East Lansing. This page summarizes the Graduate School’s published requirements so you know what to look for in your own file. The official guide always wins. Guides change, so open the current version and check it before you submit.
Which document this guide covers
The ETD (electronic thesis and dissertation) Formatting Guide applies to Master’s Plan A theses and doctoral dissertations. It supersedes earlier Graduate School and department guidance, so an old template from your lab or a former student is not a safe reference. The Graduate School reviews formatting only. It does not review your discipline’s content, and spelling and grammar remain your responsibility as the author. Submission goes through ProQuest, with a signed electronic Approval Form, and any IRB or IACUC letters are uploaded to the Approval Form.
Official sources:
- ETD Formatting Guide (web version)
- Formatting resources hub, which lists the printable guide, sample pages, page-numbering guides for PC and Mac, a video tutorial and title-page templates
- Latest printable guide (August 2026)
Your legal name has to match in four places
Use your legal name as it appears on MSU records. It must be identical on the title page, the copyright page, the Approval Form and your ProQuest account. Nicknames are not accepted. This sounds trivial, but it is the kind of mismatch that happens when a title page was typed years ago from a draft and the ProQuest account was created later, quickly, with a shortened first name.
Before you finalize, open all four and compare them character by character, including middle names and initials.
Source: MSU ETD Formatting Guide.
Margins, page size and spacing
Margins
Margins must fall between 1 and 1.5 inches and be consistent on all sides. The page is 8.5 x 11 inches. Only page numbers may sit in the margins, so no running headers, section labels or stray figure edges.
Spacing
The abstract, acknowledgements, preface and body text are 1.5-spaced or double-spaced, and you pick one and keep it. Other parts follow their own pattern:
- The table of contents is single-spaced within chapters.
- The bibliography, and lists of symbols or abbreviations, are single-spaced within entries.
- Single spacing is allowed for titles, headings, footnotes, long quotations, lists, captions and appendix material.
Source: MSU ETD Formatting Guide.
Fonts: a range, then discipline
Text, page numbers, captions, and the preliminary and reference or appendix pages use 10 to 12 point type, kept consistent. Headings can go up to 24 point, also consistent. In practice, 12 point is the norm for body text, and 10 point is typical for footnotes and for superscripts and subscripts.
Script, small-caps and ornamental fonts are not allowed. The guide suggests Times New Roman, Calibri, Arial, Garamond and Cambria. Page numbers must be in the same font and size as your text.
A common slip is a document where chapters pasted from older files keep their original font. Select all, then check the font and size box, and look for a blank or mixed reading.
Source: MSU ETD Formatting Guide.
Page numbering and the public abstract
This is the section where Word files most often go wrong, so read it slowly.
- Numbering begins at the Dedication, or on the next page if you have no dedication.
- Earlier pages are counted but not numbered.
- The public abstract is neither counted nor numbered, which is different from the earlier pages.
- Preliminary pages use lower-case roman numerals.
- The body, from the Introduction or Chapter 1, switches to Arabic numerals starting at 1 and continues through the bibliography and appendices.
That means your document has at least three numbering zones plus one page that sits outside the count entirely. In Word, that usually means separate sections with their own number formats and start values. The Graduate School’s resources hub includes page-numbering guides for both PC and Mac, and they are worth following step by step rather than improvising.
Sources: ETD Formatting Guide and formatting resources hub.
Most-missed points at a glance
| Where students slip | What the guide says |
|---|---|
| Name on documents | Legal name as on MSU records, identical on title page, copyright page, Approval Form and ProQuest |
| Public abstract | Not counted and not numbered |
| Margins | 1 to 1.5 inches, the same on all sides; only page numbers in margins |
| Fonts | 10 to 12 point text, consistent; no script, small-caps or ornamental fonts |
| Spacing | 1.5 or double in body and front matter, consistent; single only where allowed |
Pre-submission checklist for MSU
Every item below comes from the Graduate School guidance summarized above. Confirm each against the current official guide.
- My name is my legal name as on MSU records, with no nickname.
- That name matches on the title page, copyright page, Approval Form and ProQuest account.
- The page is 8.5 x 11 inches.
- All four margins are between 1 and 1.5 inches and identical to each other.
- Nothing but page numbers appears in the margins.
- The abstract, acknowledgements, preface and body are all 1.5 or all double-spaced.
- The table of contents is single-spaced within chapters.
- The bibliography and any lists of symbols or abbreviations are single-spaced within entries.
- Text, captions, page numbers and preliminary and appendix pages are 10 to 12 point and consistent.
- Headings are no larger than 24 point and consistent.
- No script, small-caps or ornamental fonts are used.
- Page numbering starts at the Dedication (or the next page if none), and earlier pages are counted but not numbered.
- The public abstract is neither counted nor numbered.
- Preliminary pages use lower-case roman numerals.
- The body begins with Arabic numeral 1 and runs through the bibliography and appendices.
- Page numbers match the text in font and size.
- The signed electronic Approval Form is ready, with any IRB or IACUC letters uploaded to it.
- I have proofread spelling and grammar myself, since the Graduate School does not.
- I have checked the Graduate School’s current deadlines page for submission timing.
If you also use APA
MSU’s guide controls the layout of the document, but your department may require a citation style on top of it. If yours uses APA, the reference formatting questions are covered in the APA 7 dissertation format guide. Where the two ever seem to conflict on layout, follow the Graduate School’s guide and ask your committee or the Graduate School.
Do MSU’s margins have to be exactly one inch?
No. The Graduate School allows margins between 1 and 1.5 inches. What matters is that you choose one value and apply it consistently on all sides. Only page numbers may sit in the margins. Check the current ETD Formatting Guide before you finalize, since the guide is the final authority.
Why does my public abstract not get a page number?
Under the guide, the public abstract is neither counted nor numbered. That is different from the pages before the Dedication, which are counted but left without a number. Numbering starts at the Dedication, or the next page if you have none, in lower-case roman numerals.
Can I use a nickname on my title page?
No. MSU requires your legal name as it appears on MSU records. It has to match on the title page, copyright page, Approval Form and ProQuest account. Compare all four before submitting, because a mismatch between them is an easy and avoidable problem.
Does the Graduate School check my grammar and content?
No. Its review covers formatting only, not the content of your discipline, and spelling and grammar are the author’s responsibility. Proofread carefully on your own or with help before you submit, and confirm details in the current official guide.
Which font should I choose for an MSU dissertation?
Text can be 10 to 12 point, with 12 point as the norm. The guide suggests Times New Roman, Calibri, Arial, Garamond or Cambria, and bans script, small-caps and ornamental fonts. Whatever you pick, keep it consistent across body, captions and page numbers.
Can Help Me Bro guarantee my formatting will be approved?
No. Ahsan Irfan can check your file against the MSU guide and leave comments and tracked changes for you to act on, but Help Me Bro is not affiliated with the university and cannot promise Graduate School approval. The official guide and the Graduate School decide.
Having your file checked against the MSU guide
I’m Ahsan Irfan, and I run Help Me Bro on my own. If you’d like a second pair of eyes before you submit, I can check your document against the MSU guide and leave comments and tracked changes in your Word file. You then make the changes yourself, so the document stays yours. Formatting is checked at the same per-1,000-word rates as editing, and live sessions are quoted once the scope is agreed.
Two limits to be clear about: I am not affiliated with the university, and I cannot guarantee Graduate School approval. The final decision is theirs. For a quote, send your word count, deadline and file through the quote form. You can also see the wider formatting service or read about dissertation editing and thesis editing.