Is there one set of UK thesis formatting rules you can follow? No. The UK has no national thesis template: each university publishes its own presentation policy, and the details change from one institution to the next. A left margin that passes at Leeds, a font accepted at Manchester or a line spacing that is fine at Oxford Brookes may not match what your own registry asks for.
This article is part of our guide How to Write a Master’s Thesis by the Mastermind PhD team and relates to our Thesis & Research Formatting service. Sources last checked: November 2026.
This guide compares the official UK thesis formatting rules of five universities in one table, explains where they agree and where they differ, and ends with a checklist you can use against your own handbook. All figures come from the policies listed in the sources (checked November 2026).
What are UK thesis formatting requirements? They are the presentation rules a university sets for a thesis submitted for examination: page size, margins, font and type size, line spacing, page numbering, the order of the preliminary pages (title page, abstract, declaration, contents), word limits and the file format for electronic deposit. They are set in a research degree policy or handbook, and a thesis that ignores them can be returned before it reaches the examiners.
Why does UK thesis formatting differ between universities?
UK universities award their own degrees and write their own regulations, so UK thesis formatting rules are local. The Quality Assurance Agency sets expectations for the level of a master’s or doctoral degree, not for margins or fonts. In practice the rules sit in three places:
- A university-wide policy for research degrees (PhD, MPhil, MSc by Research), usually issued by the doctoral college or registry.
- A school or department handbook for taught master’s dissertations, which often adds a word count, a referencing style and a cover sheet.
- Your supervisor’s guidance on conventions in your discipline, such as footnote style in history or numbered references in engineering.
When the three disagree, the higher-level regulation usually wins, but the department handbook is what your markers will apply in practice.
UK thesis formatting compared: five official policies
The table below sets out what each policy actually states. “Not stated” means the policy page we checked does not give a figure.
| Rule | Leeds | Manchester (March 2026) | Edinburgh | Dundee | Oxford Brookes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paper size | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Equivalent to A4 | A4 portrait |
| Margins | Left (binding) at least 40mm, others at least 20mm | Binding edge recommended no less than 40mm, others no less than 15mm | Not stated | Left at least 40mm, others at least 20mm | Electronic: all at least 15mm; hard copy: left at least 40mm |
| Font | Clear, standard font | Readable font, for example Arial, Calibri, Times New Roman, Garamond | Sans serif preferred, for example Helvetica or Arial | Arial, Times New Roman or approved equivalent | Not specified by name |
| Type size | 11 to 12pt | 12 point recommended | 12 points | 12pt text, 10pt for captions and footnotes | Not less than 10pt capitals and 9pt lower case |
| Line spacing | Double or one and a half | Double or 1.5 | Not stated | 1.5 throughout | Double or one and a half |
| Page numbering | Consecutive on every page, preferably top centre | One sequence of Arabic numerals from the title page | Not stated | Consecutive, centred at the top | Consecutive through the main text |
| Abstract | No more than 300 words | No more than one page | Abstract plus a required lay summary | About 300 words | About 300 words |
| PhD word limit | 100,000 words | 80,000 words of main text | Set in the degree regulations | Not stated on the page | 40,000 (science, engineering) or 100,000 (humanities, social sciences, business) |
Two lessons about UK thesis formatting stand out. First, the binding margin of 40mm survives even in an era of electronic submission, because examiners still print and bind copies. Second, word limits vary by a factor of more than two, so a figure quoted on a forum is useless until you check it against your own regulations.
📱 Get your formatting checked before submission — Send your faculty’s style guide with the file; we apply it to the front matter, tables, margins and references.
Margins and page layout: where the policies agree
On margins, UK thesis formatting is closer to a consensus than it first looks. Leeds and Dundee require a left margin of at least 40mm and at least 20mm elsewhere. Manchester’s March 2026 policy recommends no less than 40mm at the binding edge and no less than 15mm on the other sides, because examiners may print and bind the thesis. Oxford Brookes separates the two cases: all margins at least 15mm for an electronic copy, and at least 40mm on the left for a hard copy.
A safe UK thesis formatting default is therefore 40mm on the binding side and 20mm on the others, unless your own policy says something different. Set the margins once in the page setup and apply them to the whole document, including landscape pages for wide tables, where the binding edge moves to the top or bottom of the page.
Fonts, type size and line spacing
In UK thesis formatting, most policies ask for a readable font at around 12 point and double or one-and-a-half spacing for the main text:
- Leeds asks for a clear, standard font of 11 to 12pt in double or one-and-a-half spacing, with single spacing allowed for indented quotations and footnotes.
- Manchester recommends 12 point in fonts such as Arial, Verdana, Calibri, Times New Roman, Palatino or Garamond, and allows single spacing for quotations, footnotes, references and preliminary pages.
- Edinburgh prefers a sans serif font such as Helvetica or Arial at 12 points, avoids hyphenation at line ends and expects accessible formatting, including alternative text for images.
- Dundee names Arial or Times New Roman at 12pt, with 10pt for charts, captions and footnotes, and 1.5 spacing throughout.
The common trap is inconsistency rather than the choice itself. A thesis that switches fonts between chapters, or uses a different spacing for chapters pasted from older drafts, looks careless to an examiner even when each choice is allowed. Define one set of Word styles for body text, headings, captions and quotations, and apply them everywhere.
Page numbering and the order of preliminary pages
Page numbering is one area where UK thesis formatting rules genuinely conflict. Manchester asks for one single sequence of Arabic numerals starting with the title page as page 1. Many other universities and most style guides use Roman numerals for preliminary pages and Arabic numerals from Chapter 1. Leeds and Dundee both prefer numbers at the top centre of the page.
The order of the front matter is another part of UK thesis formatting that varies. Dundee lists the title page, contents and list of illustrations, acknowledgements, declarations, a data access statement where relevant, and then the summary. Manchester places the abstract before the declaration. Edinburgh requires the abstract and a lay summary straight after the title page, with the lay summary excluded from the word count.
| Element | What to check in your policy |
|---|---|
| Title page | Exact wording of the degree, the faculty or school, and whether the year of submission or award is shown |
| Abstract | Word or page limit (300 words or one page are common) and its position |
| Lay summary | Required at Edinburgh; optional or absent elsewhere |
| Declaration | Required wording on originality and prior submission; some policies add a supervisor or data declaration |
| AI statement | Whether a generative AI disclosure is expected and whether it counts toward the word limit |
| Contents and lists | Whether lists of tables, figures and abbreviations are required, with page numbers |
Word limits and what counts toward them
Word limits are the rule students break most often, and the definitions matter as much as the numbers. Leeds sets 100,000 words for a PhD, 60,000 for an MPhil and 30,000 for an MA, MSc or MEd thesis, and counts appendices and footnotes while excluding the bibliography. Manchester sets 80,000 words of main text for a PhD and 50,000 for an MPhil, counting footnotes and endnotes but excluding preliminary pages, the bibliography and appendices.
Oxford Brookes sets different PhD limits by discipline: 40,000 words in science, engineering, art and design, and 100,000 words in humanities, social sciences, health, psychology, business and economics. Its handbook states that no application to extend the maximum will be considered.
For taught master’s dissertations, UK thesis formatting and length rules come from the module or programme handbook rather than the university policy, and the word count is typically between 10,000 and 20,000 words. Our guide to the master’s thesis in the UK lists examples from Edinburgh, York and Warwick.
Electronic submission and file format
UK thesis formatting now extends to the digital file, because almost all UK universities now take the final thesis electronically. Leeds publishes final theses through White Rose eTheses Online, normally as a PDF, asks for the thesis to be digitally accessible and strongly recommends depositing the Word or LaTeX source alongside it. Dundee deposits the final thesis in its research portal in an approved electronic format, while examiners may still request a printed copy. Before you deposit, check:
- Fonts are embedded in the PDF, and the file opens correctly on another computer.
- Headings use real heading styles, so the PDF has bookmarks and a navigable structure.
- Images carry alternative text where your university expects accessible formatting.
- The file name and any embargo request follow the repository’s instructions.
A UK thesis formatting checklist you can use today
Use this sequence with your own handbook open beside you:
- Find the current policy for your degree type and note its date; Manchester’s version, for example, was updated in March 2026.
- Copy the margin, font, size and spacing rules into a single Word template before you write more text.
- Decide the page numbering scheme the policy requires (one Arabic sequence or Roman then Arabic).
- List the preliminary pages in the required order, including any lay summary, declaration and AI statement.
- Check what the word limit includes and run a count on the main text only.
- Export a test PDF early and check bookmarks, embedded fonts and image quality.
- Ask your supervisor about discipline conventions the policy leaves open, such as citation style.
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Frequently asked questions
Do UK universities require Times New Roman?
Not usually. Manchester lists several acceptable fonts, Edinburgh prefers a sans serif such as Arial, and Dundee accepts Arial or Times New Roman. What all of them require is a readable font used consistently throughout.
Is double spacing compulsory for a UK thesis?
Most policies accept either double or one-and-a-half spacing for the main text, and allow single spacing for long quotations, footnotes and references. Dundee asks for 1.5 throughout, so check your own rules.
Do the margin rules still apply if I submit electronically?
Usually yes. Leeds and Dundee state a 40mm left margin regardless of format, and Manchester recommends one because examiners may print and bind copies. Oxford Brookes allows 15mm margins for an electronic copy.
Are the references included in the word limit?
In the policies compared here, no: Leeds and Manchester both exclude the bibliography. Footnotes are a different matter, because both universities count them, so heavy footnoting can push you over the limit.
Do taught master’s dissertations follow the same formatting rules?
Not always. Research degree policies cover PhD, MPhil and research master’s theses, while taught dissertations follow the programme or module handbook, which often sets its own word count, cover sheet and referencing style.
Sources
- University of Leeds. Format and presentation requirements for research degree thesis submissions. https://students.leeds.ac.uk/postgraduate-research-during-research/doc/format-presentation-requirements-thesis (accessed November 2026)
- University of Manchester. (2026). Presentation of Theses Policy (March 2026). https://documents.manchester.ac.uk/display.aspx?DocID=7420 (accessed November 2026)
- University of Edinburgh, Registry Services. Postgraduate Research Thesis Guidance. https://registryservices.ed.ac.uk/sites/default/files/2026-08/Postgraduate%20Research%20Thesis%20Guidance.pdf (accessed November 2026)
- University of Dundee. Form and presentation of theses for higher degrees. https://www.dundee.ac.uk/corporate-information/form-and-presentation-theses-higher-degrees (accessed November 2026)
- Oxford Brookes University. Research Degrees Handbook, section 19: Format of the thesis. https://brookes.ac.uk/students/research-degrees-team/current-students/regulations/research-degrees-handbook/format-of-the-thesis (accessed November 2026)
- Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education. (2020). Characteristics Statement: Master’s Degree (3rd ed.). https://www.qaa.ac.uk/docs/qaa/quality-code/master’s-degree-characteristics-statement.pdf (accessed November 2026)
Sources last checked: November 2026. This article is general educational guidance and does not replace your university regulations or your supervisor’s instructions. How we prepare our content.