- SHSU Directions on Form, Preparation, and Submission
- Copyright Compliance and Permission Letter
- Securing Copyright Permission
- Copyright and Related Laws
- Route Sheets
- How-To Guides for Formatting in Microsoft Word
- Templates
Sam Houston State University's Directions on Form, Preparation, and Submission of Final Copies of Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations. (Updated Fall 2009; Effective Fall 2004)
These guidelines specify directions for graduate students who are submitting a thesis or a dissertation in partial fulfillment of degree requirements. The guidelines herein take precedence over those in the style manuals required by departments as well as earlier versions of the "Directions." Students should consult their thesis/dissertation directors as to the required style manual. Students should avoid using another thesis/dissertation as a model. Because of the updating of style manuals and SHSU thesis/dissertation guidelines, what was accepted in the past may now be unacceptable. The thesis/dissertation will be evaluated according to the current declared style manual and the current SHSU thesis guidelines.
Copyright Compliance And Permission Letter
Template: Sample Permission Letter to Reproduce Copyrighted Material in a Dissertation (SHSU) (Word document)
Extensive information about complying with the copyright law as you research and write your dissertation is provide in a booklet, Copyright Law & Graduate Research, by Kenneth D. Crews. Dr. Crews is the Director of the Copyright Advisory Office at Columbia University. An excellent sample permission letter is available for you use in Appendix A of this booklet (ProQuest provides an additional modified version of the sample permission letter in their Copyright Guide).
Securing Copyright Permission
"When U. S. Works Pass Into The Public Domain" is a chart that will help you determine if the material you want to place in your thesis/dissertation is in the public domain. If the material has not passed into public domain you must secure permission to reproduce the material in your thesis/dissertation. For more information about identifying the copyright owner and securing permission to reproduce copyrighted material in your thesis/dissertation, look at the website for Columbia University's Copyright Advisory Office.
Copyright And Related Laws
Additional information about the copyright law can be found on the Library's web page on Copyright and Fair Use.
Route Sheets
The Office of Graduate Studies provides route sheets for theses and dissertations.
How-To Guides for Formatting in Microsoft Word
The Newton Gresham Library provides these tutorial guides to demonstrate how to format certain aspects of a thesis or dissertation.
- Setting Tab Stops to Format a Table of Contents: Word (.doc) or PDF
- MS Word's Automatic Table of Contents: Video
- MS Word's Automatic Captions and References for Figures and Tables: Video
Templates
The Newton Gresham Library provides these special fill-in templates (designed to work with Microsoft Word 2007 or newer) to help you get started quickly and accurately.
- Important formatting and text are "locked," so you know they will be correct.
- Other text can be filled in or chosen from lists.
- Just open and save the file, then click on blocks of gray text to edit.
- Contact the Library with questions or to request thesis formatting assistance.
Standard SHSU Templates
- Title Page (standard)
- Title Page (College of Criminal Justice)
- Approval Page A - 3 committee members (1 director)
- Approval Page B - 4 committee members (1 director)
- Approval Page C - 4 committee members (2 co-directors)
- SHSU Sample Permission Letter to Reproduce Copyrighted Material in a Dissertation
College of Education (COE) Templates
- COE Approval Page A - faculty names written as "Dr. John Doe"
- COE Approval Page B - faculty names written as "John Doe, Ed.D."
