ETD Templates, Links and Tools

These PDF resources detail the six steps of the thesis and dissertation process.

Step 1: Format (PDF)
Step 2: Defend (PDF)
Step 3: Convert (PDF)
Step 4: Submit (PDF)
Step 5: Revise (PDF)
Step 6: Finish (PDF)

Final ETD Checklist (PDF)
Condensed checklist version of the main steps of the formatting process.

ETD Quick Links (PDF)
Single-page PDF with active links to the most-used ETD references.

GS7M PDF (Master’s) and GS7D PDF (Doctoral)
Form(s) on which your advisor and committee indicate that you have passed your final comprehensive exam and have successfully defended your thesis or dissertation (if a thesis or dissertation is required).

GRAD 360° Turnitin® for Graduate Researchers
Self-enroll in a non-credit, ungraded Canvas course to use a leading anti-plagiarism app to check your citations. In the search field, type in “grad 360” to locate the current semester’s course.

Best Practices: ETD Embargoes (PDF)
PDF guides you through why and how to request an embargo (delay of publication) on your manuscript, and describes benefits and limitations.

Survey of Earned Doctorates
The NSF’s Survey of Earned Doctorates is a nationwide statistics-gathering tool (just for doctoral candidates).

Tab/Ellipses Leader Instructions (PDF)
PDF instructions for using tabs to make perfect indents and rows of leader dots in your table of contents and lists of figures/tables.

Title Page Template (DOCX)
ETD title page template in Microsoft Word format (Mac/Windows).

Full Formatting Template (DOCX)
ETD template in Microsoft Word .docx format (MacOS/Windows). On the title page, you will need to replace the instructions in [square brackets] with your own information and delete the brackets.

Full Sample Manuscript (PDF)
PDF example of a complete ETD for your reference.

Front Matter Sample (PDF)
PDF example of title page, abstract, content pages. Matching title page layout and order of your front matter sections is important.

Body Text Sample (PDF)
PDF example of body chapter.

Back Matter Sample (PDF)
PDF example of appendices and references.

LaTeX Formatting Package
ETD template in LaTeX format (code-based, open-source) customized for the Graduate School’s formatting preferences, available in a compressed archive.

Campus Map
Webpage showing the layout of main campus; the Manuscript Review Office is located in the Graduate School, E-106 Martin Hall.

Graduation Deadlines
Table of the relevant deadlines for those who plan to graduate at the end of the current academic semester.

FAQs
Answers to commonly asked questions about the formatting and submission process.

Clemson OPEN ETD Submission Portal
Link to the University’s Clemson OPEN Digital Commons ETD submission portal, powered by bepress™, where you’ll create your secure personal account and upload your manuscript for both format review and publishing/archiving.

Clemson OPEN ETD Repository
Link to the Clemson OPEN ETD repository in the Clemson University Libraries, where your manuscript will be posted and archived a few weeks after your graduation.

ETD Editing Tips
Hosted by GlobalEnglishEditing.com, this “ultimate self-editing guide” for student authors was written by Brendan Brown, a professional editor with 15 years of academic editing experience. Covers every editing technique a Clemson student needs to edit and proofread your own thesis or dissertation.

Typist/Editor List (PDF)
While research and writing for your manuscript must be your own, you may engage help with preparing your document(s). Typists/formatters are not employed by the University nor officially endorsed by the Graduate School. The list is maintained as a service to students. Typists’ and editors’ fees vary and must be arranged directly with them. Their schedules get full near the end of each semester, so investigate this option as early as possible. Keep in mind that not all typists/formatters are professional editors and not all editors/proofreaders are typists. Ultimately, you the author are still responsible for your ETD’s content.

University-Licensed Software
As a graduate student with a Clemson XID#, username and password, you can get the latest Microsoft Office (including Word) and Adobe (including Acrobat) software through CCIT.

Microsoft Word: Centering Text Vertically (PDF)
PDF Tutorial for both Mac and PC users that shows how to center text vertically for manuscript title pages in Microsoft Word.

Microsoft Word: Rotating a Page Within a Document
Microsoft Help menu page that guides you through the process of rotating a page or pages from portrait to landscape orientation and maintaining your page numbering.

Microsoft Word: How to Restart Page Numbering Using a Section Break
Microsoft Help menu page that explains how to restart page numbering within a document; helpful if you are following traditional book pagination style.

Microsoft Word: How to Create and Update a Table of Contents
Video how-to created and hosted by ErinWrightWriting.com.

Microsoft Word: How to Create and Update a List of Tables or Figures
Video how-to created and hosted by ErinWrightWriting.com.

Ellipses “Cheat Sheet” (PDF)
PDF instructions for using tabs to make perfect indents and rows of leader dots in your table of contents and lists of figures/tables.

TeX - LaTeX Stack Exchange
Online user community for LaTeX support