Formatting your Visvesvaraya Technological University (VTU) Thesis? This template sets the required structure, margins, and citations from page one—so you pass the formatting check the first time.
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Authored by Sumalatha Gangadhar | Published on 25 July, 2026
A VTU thesis/dissertation is most often sent back for formatting, not content: margins, front-matter order, and page numbering. The graduate school formatting office checks these before anything else. This template sets the correct structure from the first draft, following the the official formatting guidance.
It is a formatting shell for a VTU thesis/dissertation, built to the official rules. It covers the title page, approval/signature page, abstract, table of contents, chapters, references, and appendices, with a consistent citation style. Confirm the current requirements in the the official guidelines before you begin.
Set up the front matter and chapters in the required order, apply the correct margins and spacing from the manual, and use the prescribed citation style throughout. Keep figures and tables captioned and numbered as specified.
The signature failure mode is margin, front-matter order, and page-numbering rules. Second is inconsistent citations. Third is missing or out-of-order front matter. Fix all three against the the official guidelines before submitting.
The shell mirrors what the graduate school formatting office checks first: structure order, margins, and citation consistency. Use the the official formatting guidance as the source of truth.
| Element | VTU requirement |
|---|---|
| Figures/tables | Captioned and numbered per manual |
| References | Numbered serially in the order of their occurrence in the text, with citation numbers indicated within square brackets [e.g., (3)]. References listed in serial order. Format examples provided: For textbooks - Author, Title, Publisher, Edition, Year. For papers - Author, Title, Journal/Proc, Vol, Date, pp. This follows a numbered citation style similar to Vancouver. |
| Peer review | PhD thesis evaluation by external examiners: Research supervisor submits a panel of examiners (6 Indian and 6 International panel members). Thesis undergoes plagiarism check (similarity index must be ≤25%), followed by evaluation by adjudicators selected from the panel. Not a traditional journal peer review model. |
| Submission | http://phdthesis.vtu.ac.in/ (Online PhD Thesis Evaluation and Tracking System - thesis uploaded through research supervisor's login) |
| Structure | Title page, front matter, chapters, references, appendices |
| Margins/format | Per the official manual |
| Front matter | In the prescribed order |
| Citations | Per the official guidelines |
| Source of truth | official guidelines |
Read the official manual before drafting and before submission. Set margins and front-matter order first. Apply the citation style from the first reference. Compare against a recently accepted VTU thesis/dissertation in your department.
Keep numbering and captions consistent. Verify every required page is present and in order. Do a dedicated formatting pass against the the official guidelines before submission.
Do one focused pass for margins, front-matter order, and page numbering. Then confirm citation style and that all required pages/sections are present, following the the official formatting guidance.