WHOI Thesis Specifications

General Information
Introduction
What is Submitted
Submission Date Deadlines
What Happens to the Thesis?

Preparation
Degree Application
Ph.D. Thesis Defense
Ph.D. Thesis Time Line
Master's or Engineer's Thesis Preparation

Formatting & Printing
Thesis Format
Abstracts
Title Page, Funding Page, Acknowledgements Page
Copyrights
Previously Published Work
Paper
Spacing
Margins
Typeface
Pagination
Illustrations, Captions and Color
Halftones

Reproduction of Final Thesis
Doctoral Degrees
Master's and Engineer's Degrees

Additional MIT Reproduction Requirements
7W Thesis Defense Form
MIT Processing Fee

Before You Go
Turning in your final thesis
Checking Out
Exit Interview
Information for Alumni Directory

Checklist

WHOI Thesis Specifications - Appendix

Joint Program Degrees and Thesis Fields

Dissertation Defense Notice

Sample Thesis Title Pages

SM

OE

Ph.D./Sc.D.

Thesis Reproduction Order Form

Doctoral Degrees ("Green Sheet")

Masters and Engineers Degrees ("Blue Sheet")

7W Thesis Defense Form

Information for Alumni/ae Directory

GENERAL INFORMATION

Introduction

The Academic Programs Office at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in consultation with MIT specifications, the MBL/WHOI Library and the Graphics Department have prepared this guide. WHOI is committed to the preservation of the student’s thesis because it is a requirement for both the WHOI and MIT/WHOI Joint Program degree and is also a record of original research that contains information of continuing value. The requirements in this guide apply to all theses and have been specified to facilitate the care, preservation, and dissemination of the thesis. Each MIT department may have their own requirements, so consult with your MIT department for any specific regulations.

What Is Submitted?

WHOI accepts one original paper copy of the thesis and one electronic .pdf version; and MIT accepts either two or three paper copies of the thesis (depending upon MIT department).

Submission Date Deadlines

Degree candidates must submit the required number of copies of their thesis to the WHOI Academic Programs Office and their appropriate MIT department by the date specified in the MIT Academic Calendar. A chart of the current thesis due dates can be found on the MIT/WHOI Joint Program website at http://web.mit.edu/mit-whoi/www/academics/current/index.html Of course, the specific date will be determined when you defend your thesis.

Missing a thesis deadline could mean that you have to register and pay tuition for the following term. This, along with the possible loss of financial assistance from WHOI, can get very expensive. The date given on the calendar is the deadline for handing in your final, defended, and complete thesis. Check with your MIT department as some allow a later final submission date.

What Happens to the Thesis?

The original is hardbound and kept in the WHOI Academic Programs Office. One softbound copy of your thesis is placed in the Student Center. The electronic version of the thesis is stored in the MBL/WHOI Library system and can be accessed online. Two copies of every thesis go to DTIC (Defense Technical Information Center). In addtion, softbound doctoral copies are distributed to your WHOI Department Chair and the MIT Joint Program Office.

PREPARATION

Degree Application

Students must apply online to be on a specific degree list at MIT. This is done through Websis under "on-line degree application". It must be completed in the first week of the term in which thesis submission is planned. Your intended degree, thesis field, thesis title and your plans for commencement are to be included on the online form. It can be found at http://student.mit.edu/cgi-docs/student.html. A list of approved degrees and thesis fields for the Joint Program are included in Appendix A.

When deciding on your thesis title, keep in mind that search engines use the words in your title to locate the works. Also note that MIT limits the words in a thesis title to 18.

Ph.D. Thesis Defense

If you are a Doctoral candidate, the WHOI Academic Programs Office, the MIT Joint Program Office, your committee and defense chair must know the time and place of your thesis defense in advance. Please refer to your discipline's handbook regarding the time frame applicable (some disciplines have a two week deadline, others are three weeks). If you are defending at MIT, the Joint Program Office will publish your notice. If you are defending at WHOI, the Academic Programs Office will publish your notice. See Appendix B for a blank notice form. Please complete all information (including the signature of your advisor) and give to the appropriate Joint Program Office for distribution. Be sure that your thesis committee has a copy of your thesis and has given approval to go forward with your defense.

A member of the staff of MIT or WHOI who is NOT a member of your thesis committee must chair the thesis defense. You, in consultation with your thesis supervisor(s) and/or department chair, choose this person. He or she should be familiar with your work and able to act on your behalf during your public and private defense.

Each thesis defense should consist of three parts:

1. A public presentation of the thesis (approximately forty-five minutes).
2. A brief public question and answer period following the presentation, to be presided over by the Chair of the defense (approximately 15 minutes).
3. A private defense of thesis before your committee, and any WHOI scientific staff members and MIT JP faculty who have read your complete thesis, also to be presided over by the Chair of the defense. If in the public presentation, certain sections of your thesis have been slighted, the Chair may ask you (by agreement with you beforehand) to present these sections briefly to the examiners before questioning begins.

It is intended that the public seminar offer you an occasion to present your accomplishments as represented by your dissertation, and that it will be well-attended by other students, employees, and any guests you wish to invite. The Academic Programs Office at WHOI sends notification of your defense to scientific staff at the institution, all Joint Program students, and WHOI bulletin boards. If your defense is held at MIT, the MIT Joint Program Office will distribute appropriate announcement notices.

Ph.D. Thesis Defense Timeline

Two to three weeks prior to your defense: Your defendable draft is due to the Academic Programs Office, as well as your MIT Department (excluding Biology). You must consult your Joint Committee Handbook to determine the appropriate date for your draft to be submitted.

Defense: Your thesis is defended publicly and privately. Committee members give correction suggestions at this time.

Two weeks of revision time is given for you to finish your thesis. If major revisions are required, your Thesis Committee, through the Chair of the defense, will make a recommendation to the Joint Committee Chair for the deadline by which the final revised thesis must be submitted.

Submit Final Thesis: Submit the final thesis to MIT (2 originals) and WHOI (one original) according to the deadline decided upono by your Committee and Joint Committee Chair. This deadline should be on or before the final submission date found in the MIT Academic Calendar for the corresponding degree list, but check with your MIT department, as some allow a later date.

Master or Engineer Thesis Preparation

With some exception, Masters and Engineers candidates do not publicly defend their theses. Masters and Engineers theses must conform to the standards described in this booklet. One printed copy and one electronic version of your thesis should be submitted to WHOI, while two copies of your thesis must be submitted to MIT (although, you should confirm all MIT requirements with your home MIT department).

FORMATTING & PRINTING

Thesis Format

In general, a thesis consists of an Abstract and four parts:

1. Historical review and setting of the problem
2. Chapters developing the original contribution toward solving the problem
3. Final summary of the work and its significance
4. Bibliography

Abstracts (for doctoral candidates only)

Each thesis must include an abstract or summary, preferably comprising one to two single-spaced pages. The abstract for MIT must be 350 words or less, and submitted to MIT with a UMI form (found in the MIT thesis specifications). Additionally, WHOI requires one shortened version of 200 words to be included in a separate report to government agencies. Please submit an electronic version of your 200-word abstract to WHOI's Graduate Admissions and Student Affairs Officer when you submit your final thesis.

Title Page, Funding Page, Acknowledgements Page

Your Title Page must have original signatures for both WHOI and MIT (first copy). This includes your signature, your supervisor or co-supervisors' signatures, and the signature of the Chair of your Joint Committee. You are responsible for obtaining all signatures for your thesis cover sheets. Sample thesis cover sheets are included in Appendices C-i, C-ii and C-iii. (Engineering students may have specific MIT department signatures that are also necessary - check with our MIT engineering department. These signatures should be included on the cover sheet submitted to both institutions.)
The title page also contains your name, previous degrees, the degree to be awarded, date to be conferred and the copyright (see section below).
The Funding Page precedes the title page and has the signatures of the Dean and the Department Chair. It is created in WHOI Graphics and takes the funding information from your Acknowledgments page. You are not responsible for the Funding Page, but please make sure all of your funding sources are noted in your Acknowledgements page. These sources should be listed by grant or contract number and by full title of the foundation for your tuition, stipend and research.

Copyrights (©)

Because you are a student at both MIT and WHOI, it is assumed that you have utilized the equipment or facilities and/or have been funded by both institutions during your time as a Joint Program student. Due to this fact, we suggest that you own the thesis copyright, and grant both institutions rights to reproduce and distribute copies.
Copyright notice consists of four elements:
1) the symbol 'c' with a circle around it and/or the word 'copyright'
2) the year of publication (the year in which the degree is awarded)
3) the name of the copyright owner
4) the words 'all rights reserved'.
These four elements should appear together on the title page or on its reverse. Examples can be seen in Appendices C-i, C-ii, C-iii, but it should read:
"The author hereby grants to MIT and WHOI permission to reproduce and to distribute publicly paper and electronic coopies of this thesis document in whole or in part in any medium now known or hereafter created."

If supported solely by MIT-administered funds, the copyright belongs to MIT. MIT specifications state the following regarding copyright by the student:
"When copyright ownership is held by the student, the student must, as condition of a degree award, grant royalty-free permission to the Institute to reproduce and publicly distribute copies of the thesis, and must place the following legend on the thesis title page: 'The author hereby grants to MIT permission to reproduce and to distribute publicly paper and electronic copies of this thesis in whole or in part."

Previously Published Work

You are encouraged to incorporate published manuscripts or manuscripts either prepared or submitted for publication, if they contain part or all of your original contribution. In the use of multiple-authored sections, you must establish your own contribution with statements to the appropriate Joint Committee and members of the Thesis Committee at least one month before submitting the thesis. This letter is to be accompanied by categorical statements from all the other authors detailing your contribution to the paper. An example statement from co-authors is:

"Student X has my authorization to use part or all of the following manuscript, on which I am co-author. This manuscript is published in XXX. Student X has authored more than 50% of this manuscript, including performing most of the analysis and preparing the majority of the manuscript.
'Title of Article here' List authors - By Student X and other authors"

No doctoral thesis containing such multiple-authored sections will be accepted for final approval without written permission from the appropriate Joint Committee. If you are not the first author, a multiple-authored publication cannot constitute a thesis chapter, but may be included as an appendix.

If the published paper has been copyrighted, an approval from the journal must be presented to WHOI and MIT with the thesis. (MIT's Office of Intellectual Property Counsel has a sample permission letter on their website at http://web.mit.edu/ogc/faq/sample-letter.doc.) Once you obtain permission from the publisher to include the reprint in yoru thesis, type on the first page, "Reprinted with permissioin of...etc." and remove the numbers from the reprint pages. Reprints may be either larger or smaller than your 8 1/2" x 11" thesis paper, so be sure to adjust the size of the reprint and insert page numbers in numerical order to be in coordination with the rest of your thesis.

Paper

Copy machine paper is acceptable for the corrected WHOI original thesis and it can be either single-sided or double-sided. At least one MIT original must be on acid-neutral or acid-free paper, available at MIT CopyTech or WHOI Reproduction Office in Graphics. (MIT Thesis Specifications detail the paper required for their originals.)

Spacing

The main body of the text should use a space and a half or double spacing. The abstract, acknowledgements, footnotes, and bibliography sections may be single-spaced.

Margins

Margins must be at least 1 and 1/4" all around. Everything, including figures and tables, must be within this margin. Only the page numbers may be outside this margin. MIT requires at least 1" for margins all around. Therefore, 1 and 1/4" for all thesis copies is recommended.

Typeface

Typeface must be 10 or 12 point for WHOI, and the font size for MIT should be at least 11 point. Smaller, larger, and script or italic typefaces are not acceptable. Characters must be dark and of uniform density. Notes and the text in tables should not be smaller than 10-point.

Pagination

Page numbers must be centered, and every page must be numbered. Page "1", which is the signed title page, is the only unnumbered page. It will be a right-hand page, followed by a blank page numbered page "2". All succeeding odd-numbered pages should fall on the right side. If you wish to use a blank page to push a chapter beginning to the right side, the blank page should be numbered and included in the original manuscript for reproduction. Therefore, blank pages should not be odd-numbered. If you have to change your page numbers, do not use stickers; do so by reprinting the pages with their new page numbers. Use of stickers is not acceptable, as they add to the width of the thesis on one end only, and make it impossible to hard cover the thesis.

Illustrations, Captions and Color

When using graphs or tables, make every effort to include the caption on the same page as the illustration. Utilizing two pages for a caption and a figure creates unnecessary blank pages and increases the size of the document, which elevates the printing cost of the entire document. If this is not possible, the caption should be on an even-numbered left page and the illustration on the odd-numbered right page.

Color within the thesis adds expense to reproduction costs. If color copies of your thesis are essential, the signature of your thesis supervisor is required on the reproduction order form.

Halftones

If photos are included as figures, it may be necessary to have halftones prepared from glossy prints. WHOI Graphic and Reproduction Services are always glad to help you with your thesis. Their services should be charged to your research grant.

REPRODUCTION OF FINAL THESIS

Doctoral Degrees

Doctoral graduates will receive one hardbound copy of their thesis courtesy of the Academic Programs Office. Traditionally, Joint Program Ph.D. theses are bound in royal blue and Joint Program Sc.D. theses are bound in dark blue. Doctoral theses will be reproduced under the MIT/WHOI Technical Report Series.

The "Thesis Reproduction Order Form" is located in Appendix D-i. It is also referred to as the "Green Sheet". The order form provides an opportunity for you or your advisor to order more copies for yourselves or your funding agencies. The Green Sheet form must be filled out accurately and returned with the final version of your thesis. This includes information about the grants and/or contracts that funded your thesis work since some agencies require copies of your thesis if they assisted with funding. Please check with your Thesis Supervisor and/or Department Administrator for all the numbers of the grants and/or contracts that funded you and/or your research during your time as a JP student.

Reproduction costs cannot be charged to the Academic Programs Office. The cost for additional copies of your thesis depends on the document size and amount of color included. If color copies are needed with your thesis, it is necessary to have your Thesis Supervisor's signature on the Green Sheet. Arrangements for hardcover binding of additional thesis copies can be made with teh Data Library and Archives, x2850. You may also contact them to request copies of your doctoral thesis at a later time.

Master's and Engineer's Degrees

Master and Engineer graduates will receive one softbound copy of their thesis courtesy of the Academic Programs Office.

The "Thesis Reproduction Order Form" is located in Appendix D-ii. It is also referred to as the "Blue Sheet". The order form provides an opportunity for you or your advisor to order more copies for yourselves or your funding agencies. The Blue Sheet must be filled out accurately and returned with the final version of your thesis.

Reproduction costs cannot be charged to the Academic Programs Office. The cost for additional copies of your thesis depends on the document size and amount of color included. If color copies are needed with your thesis, it is necessary to have your Thesis Supervisor's signature on the Blue Sheet.

ADDITIONAL MIT REPRODUCTION REQUIREMENTS

The University Microfilms Inc. (UMI) Form (included in the MIT Specifications for Thesis Preparation), title page and separate abstract are to be submitted to your MIT department with your final doctoral thesis.

7W Thesis Defense Form

The Biology Department at MIT requires any Course 7 doctoral student to complete a Thesis Defense Form and return it to their Education Office (Room 68-120). It must be signed by your Defense Chairperson and turned in with your thesis. (See Appendix E for these specifications or print a form at http://www.whoi.edu/education/graduate/jp_bio_form_7W.pdf from the Joint Program web page.)

MIT Library Processing Fee

When submitting your signed and final thesis to MIT, you must pay the Library Processing Fee. These charges are added to the student's bill during the semester preceding graduation. (It is not due until your thesis is submitted.) The current fee is $105 for a doctoral thesis and $50 for all other advanced degrees. This fee must be paid in order to participate in commencement and receive your diploma. (Course 7 will refund this fee to both doctoral and master Course 7 students when you show them your updated MIT statement - with both the applied charge and the proof of payment.)

BEFORE YOU GO

Turning in Your Final Thesis

The final version of yoru thesis is to be submitted to both MIT and WHOI within two weeks after your defense. You must submit one original signed cover sheet in addition to one electronic version of your thesis to the WHOI Academic Programs Office. You must also submit two original theses with signed cover sheets to your MIT department headquarters (three for Civil & Environmental Engineering). A photocopy of the signed title page is acceptable at MIT for your second thesis.

Checking Out

It is mandatory to check out with the Academic Programs Office when you leave, whether you have resided at WHOI or MIT. Be sure to leave a forwarding address, as we need to know where to send your reproduced thesis.

Exit Interview

In an effort to learn more about your experiences as a Joint Program student, please schedule an exit interview with the WHOI Dean before you depart. You can contact x2200 to arrange for an appointment.

Information for the Alumni Directory

The Joint Program Alumni/ae Association maintained through WHOI has provided a form for all exiting students to complete in regards to their next location and position. It is located in Appendix F of this document. Please complete the form and return to Academic Programs Office upon your departure or whenever you have a change of information. We will pass along your updates to the appropriate people at WHOI.

CHECKLIST

1. Online application for advanced degree must be completed during first week of term in which thesis submission is intended.
2. Receive permission from co-authors for papers you will be including in your thesis.
3. Obtain copyright approval from journal if including published paper in thesis.
4. Defendable draft submitted to WHOI Academic Programs Office and to MIT Department Headquarters (except MIT Biology). Be sure to verify with your Joint Committee Handbook and your MIT department regarding when you need to turn in your draft and how many copies are expected.
5. Signed thesis defense announcement notice submitted to MIT Joint Program Office if defending at MIT and Academic Programs Office if defending at WHOI. If you are defending at WHOI, reservation of room and request for refreshments should be arranged with the Academic Programs Office.
6. Final thesis to WHOI for reproduction with original signatures on title page. Do not bind the thesis in any way that would mark the pages.
7. PDF version of thesis to WHOI Academic Programs Office.
8. 200-word abstract for WHOI submission to NTIS (doctoral candidates only) electronically sent to WHOI Graduate Admissions and Student Affairs Officer.
9. Reproduction sheet: "green" (doctoral) or "blue" (masters and engineers) turned in with final thesis.
10. Complete Checkout Sheet for WHOI Academic Programs Office. Submit with any WHOI keys and identification cards, and the Alumni Information Sheet; be sure to indicate if work or home is the preferred contact location.
11. Pay MIT Library Processing Fee.
12. Biology students, submit 7W Thesis Defense Form when turning in thesis to MIT Biology Department.
13. Submission of final grade*. The date on Grade Sheet corresponds with date of completion of all of the above requirements. This date impacts the amount of tuition assessed, so it is extremely important that the above requirements are met in entirety in the timeliest manner possible.
14. Ensure that no monies are owed to either WHOI or MIT. If outstanding debt exists, you may not march in Commencement, nor receive your official degree.
15. Arrange for Exit Interview with WHOI Dean (not mandatory).

*Grades are given by the student's advisor and reported to the MIT Registrar's Office by either the WHOI Academic Programs Office or by the MIT Department Headquarters. This step is not the responsibility of the student but is necessary for graduation.