Guide for writing a senior thesis

1. DOCUMENTATION

Documentation (footnotes, bibliography, etc.) of the thesis should follow whatever style is dictated by the department of the student’s major.

2. SPECIFICATIONS

A. Each copy of the thesis should have the following pages, in the following order, at the beginning of the thesis: title page, blank page (ii), approval page (iii), blank page (iv), table of contents (v). (See attached sample of title and approval pages.) All typed pages must bear a number except for the title page (counted, but not numbered.) The page number should be aligned with the right margin one inch from the top of the page or centered one inch from the bottom of the page.

B. All pages must have a left-hand margin of 1 ½ inches and other margins of one inch. Tables, figures, and graphs, whether one or several per page, must also be contained within these margins. Double-spacing should be used throughout the text, with the exception of footnotes, table titles, block quotations, and reference lists.

C. All copies of the thesis must be on white bond paper of 100% rag quality. The thesis may be reproduced by photo duplication provided that the paper regulations are followed and that the reproductions are of high quality. All signatures must be original. Because each thesis will become a part of the permanent collection of the library, certain specifications are necessary to ensure the durability of the thesis as well as to facilitate binding and microfilming.

D. Each copy should be placed in a manila envelope with an additional title page taped to the outside of the envelope. It is essential that the type on all copies of the thesis be clear, black, and neat. A letter-quality printer should be used.

3. BINDING

A. The student will pay a thesis binding fee of $20.00 per copy. Three copies will be bound; one for the department, one for McCain Library and Archives, and one for the student.

B. Because of the large number of graduate thesis/dissertation binding fees handled by the business office, it is imperative that those processing the fee payment be given the Science and Technology Binding Account name and number (401200-14H40-350001-01001- project code DE00158) when it is paid.

C. The Dean’s Office of the College of Science and Technology sends the completed theses and copies to a bindery. Students wishing to have their personal bound copy mailed to them must notify the Dean’s Office of an address to which the thesis should be sent if different from their permanent address.

The thesis title page will be as follows:

TITLE

A THESIS
Presented to
The College of Science and Technology
The University of Southern Mississippi

In Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree
Bachelor of ______
In the Department of _______

by
Name
Month, Year

The approval page will be as follows:

Approved by:

1st line – Signature of the thesis director
(Under that line, type name and title)

                                                      -----------------------
For example:                                   John A. Doe
                                                      Associate Professor of Mathematics

2nd line – Signature of the department chair
(Under that line, type name and title)

                                                     ----------------------
For example:                                 C.S. Chen, Chair
                                                     Department of Mathematics

3rd line – Signature of the dean
(Under that line, type name and title)


                                                     ----------------------
For example:                                 Rex F. Gandy, Dean
                                                    College of Science and Technology