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University of Miami · The Graduate School

Dissertation template generator

Set your citation style, page rules, and chapter structure. The generator builds a LaTeX project and a Word document with the front matter, contents, tables, and figures already formatted and numbered.

Built to the Graduate School ETD rules current for Fall 2026, including the change that moved body page numbers to the bottom center on every page. The unnumbered front matter must match the official Word template for your degree, so download it from https://www.grad.miami.edu/electronic-thesis-and-dissertation/formatting-the-etd/index.html and check your title, signature, and abstract pages against it before submitting.
Citation style

Pick the style your committee requires. Many styles are used across several disciplines, so the list is simply alphabetical. Changing it later means editing one file in the LaTeX project.

Page setup

Double applies to the main text. Footnotes, block quotations, figure captions, table ledgers, and reference list entries are single spaced, and the template already does that.

What the template already handles

These rules from the Graduate School guidelines are built into the files you download. In Word each is a named style in the Styles pane; in LaTeX each is a command or environment. Students apply the style and the rule is met.

Element Rule applied Word style LaTeX
Main text Double spaced, first line indented, no blank lines between paragraphs Body Text default
Block quotations Single spaced, 10 point, indented 0.5 in both sides, no quotation marks Block Quotation blockquotation
Display quote opening a chapter Single spaced, 10 point, inset both sides Display Quote epigraphquote
Footnotes 10 point, single spaced, numbered continuously across the whole manuscript Footnote Text \footnote
Table titles and ledgers Single spaced, above the table Table Title, Table Ledger \caption
Figure titles and captions Single spaced, below the figure Figure Title, Figure Caption \caption
Table and figure notes Single spaced, 10 point, beneath the item Table Note \tablenote, \fignote
Chapter titles Chapter number (Chapter 1, Chapter 2, ...) then the title, centered, single spaced if it wraps Heading 1 \chapter
Subheads Single spaced if they wrap, kept with the text that follows; numbers renumber themselves when subheads are added or removed Heading 2, Heading 3 \section, \subsection
Reference citations Single spaced, one blank line between citations, hanging indent Reference Citation \printbibliography
Page numbers Three sections as the Graduate School describes, plain numerals, no running headers section breaks, already set page styles, already set
Two-line rule Widow and orphan control on, so no single line strands at the top or foot of a page all paragraph styles penalties set
Pagination

The manuscript runs in three sections with different numbering. Failing this is the most common reason a draft comes back.

1
Title, Copyright, Signature, Abstract Pages (required in the final ETD) No page number is displayed on any of these pages.
2
Dedication (optional), Acknowledgements (optional), Table of Contents (required), List of Figures/Tables/Publications/etc. Lower-case Roman numerals, centered at the bottom of the page, beginning with the first number below. The Signature page is counted as page i and the Abstract as page ii, though neither displays a number. The first page in this section, whether Dedication, Acknowledgements, or Table of Contents, therefore displays iii, or iv if the Abstract runs to two pages.
3
Individual Chapters in the main text, References section, Appendices section (if included) Arabic numerals from 1 on the first page of Chapter 1, running to the last page.

If subheads are added or removed later, the numbers revise themselves so the labels stay in proper numeric order. In Word the numbering is attached to the Heading 2 and Heading 3 styles; in LaTeX it is automatic.

Front and back matter

Title, Copyright, Signature, and Abstract pages are required in every ETD and are always included. Uncheck anything below that your document will not have.

Structure

Each row below is an individual chapter in the main text. Tables and figures can be embedded within the text of each chapter, or collected at the end of the document in one Tables section and one Figures section. Either way each table and figure label is numbered in order and the number updates itself when you add, delete, or move one.

The counts are only starting points. They seed placeholder tables, figures, and subheads so the styles and numbering are already in place. Add or delete as many as you need in later drafts; nothing here locks you in.

How the labels count. Either way the number is a field that renumbers itself.

Chapter title Subheads Tables Figures
Title, signature, and abstract pages
The title and signature pages show the name as first name then last name. The Abstract heading shows it as last name, comma, first name, in capitals, which the template does for you.
Committee

Each person whose name appears on the Signature page has a scored line above the name where an ink signature would go in a hard copy. In this first signature line, only the name and highest degree earned should be displayed; no "Dr." or "Professor" title should appear in front of the individual's name. Below that first signature line, include only the individual's academic title. Administrative titles are not shown unless the person asks for it to be included. Check each title with the person for accuracy before you submit.

Placement is fixed. Chair at the top of the left column. Co-Chair, if there is one, at the top of the right column. Outside Member at the bottom of the left column. Dean or Interim Dean of the Graduate School at the bottom of the right column. Other members fill the middle.

Other member: name and degree Academic title
Graduate School requirements in full

This is the Sr. Editor's checklist (rev. 9/22/26), filled in for the settings you have chosen above. It updates as you change them. The download is a Word file protected so that only the boxes can be ticked: the text cannot be altered by accident. The same file ships inside the LaTeX project.



 
 Word on Mac and Windows: what differs



The template is written in the modern Word format and opens the same on both platforms. The differences are in how you drive Word, and in one export step that regularly costs students a resubmission.


Updating the contents and the lists


The Table of Contents, List of Figures, and List of Tables are fields. They show placeholder text until you update them.


    

  • Windows: Ctrl+A, then F9. Choose "Update entire table" when asked.
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  • Mac: Cmd+A, then F9. If F9 dims the screen or changes volume, hold the fn key as well, or right-click the field and choose Update Field.
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Do this last, after the text is final, and again after any change that moves pages.


The final PDF and embedded fonts


The Graduate School requires every font embedded and subset in the final PDF. The route that does this differs by platform, and using the wrong one is a common cause of a returned PDF.


    

  • Mac: Macs embed and subset the fonts automatically when you save from the print dialog. From the File menu choose Print, click the PDF button at the bottom left, choose Save as PDF, type the file name, and click Save. Do not use File then Save As with PDF as the format; that route does not reliably embed the fonts.
    • 

  • Windows: export through Adobe Acrobat Pro, free to UM students through Adobe Creative Cloud at it.miami.edu. If you use Word's own File then Save As, choose PDF, click Options, and tick "ISO 19005-1 compliant (PDF/A)".
    • 

  • Check afterwards in Acrobat under File, Properties, Fonts. Every line should read "Embedded Subset". If any does not, the PDF will be sent back.
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Section breaks and page numbering


The three numbering sections are already built with Next Page section breaks and the header and footer links already cut. If you add or remove front matter you may need to check that.


    

  • Windows: double-click into the footer, then uncheck Link to Previous on the Header and Footer tab.
    • 

  • Mac: the same control is called Link to Previous and sits on the Header and Footer tab after you double-click into the footer. In older Mac builds it is under the Layout tab of the ribbon.
    • 

  • Turn on View then Draft in Windows, or View then Draft in Mac, to see section break markers as labeled lines. This is the fastest way to diagnose numbering that jumps.
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Fonts


Times New Roman, Arial, and Courier New all ship with Word on both platforms, so the document renders identically. Avoid substituting Cambria, Calibri, or Aptos, which are Word defaults on some versions and are not on the approved list.


Styles


Use the named styles rather than manual formatting, or the contents will not build.


    

  • Windows: Home tab, Styles gallery, or Ctrl+Alt+Shift+S for the full pane.
    • 

  • Mac: Home tab, Styles Pane button, or Cmd+Shift+L in some builds.
    • 



Heading 1 is the chapter title, Heading 2 a section, Heading 3 a subsection. Only these three appear in the contents.


Google Docs and LibreOffice


The file opens in both, but neither reproduces Word field behaviour reliably, and Google Docs drops the section-based page numbering on import. Draft anywhere you like, but assemble and export the final document in Word.


Before you export


    

  • Accept every tracked change and delete every comment.
    • 

  • Check Review then Track Changes is off.
    • 

  • Update all fields one last time.
    • 

  • Scroll the whole document once at 100 percent looking for the two-line rule and for gaps larger than half a page.
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