Free tool · Writing & publishing
Thesis template builder
A Word file with your university’s margins, fonts, spacing and page order already set, so you write instead of fighting the layout.
Select your university and this tool gives you a Word thesis template with margins, font, line spacing, heading styles, page numbering and page order already set. Right now nine formats from seven universities are there, and Anna University, VTU and all three JNTUs are part of it. Just open the file and type chapters straight away.
Our advice is to begin the thesis inside this template itself. Many scholars keep format work for the last. When a scholar is fixing margins and page numbers across 250 pages in the final week before submission, that is exactly when the mistakes come in.
Method
How this tool works
Every setting is taken from our format guide for that university, and each of those guides cites the official regulation or thesis guidelines. You can read the guides for Anna University, VTU, JNTUH, JNTUK and JNTUA, Bharathiar University, University of Madras, Madurai Kamaraj University and Bharathidasan University.
Some universities say nothing about a particular setting. For those gaps the tool follows the usual Indian convention. That means Times New Roman 12, 1.5 line spacing, a 1.5-inch left margin for binding and 1 inch on the other sides. The summary above the download button show you which settings the university prescribed and which ones the tool filled in. Same information is repeated on an “About this template” page at the end of the file.
The whole file is made inside your browser only. Your file is not uploaded to us, we only record that somebody used the tool.
In the template, the front matter pages are numbered i, ii, iii, and the numbering starts again from 1 at Chapter 1. Chapter and section titles are set in Word’s Heading 1, 2 and 3 styles. Because of that, the table of contents fills in by itself whenever you update it. On each front-matter page you will see a short note in square brackets telling what content should come there. As you keep writing, delete those notes one by one.
Limits
What this tool can’t do
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Is this the official template?
No. We built it from the published regulations of each university, and the settings are the ones those rules prescribe. A few universities also release their own template or specimen pages. If your university has one, go with that wherever the two are different.
My university isn’t listed
Pick the format that is closest to yours. After that, change the margins and font as per your ordinance. Or else mail us the guidelines PDF your university gave, and through our thesis formatting service we will build the template on that basis.
Does it work in Google Docs or LibreOffice?
Yes, both can open .docx files. After opening, check the table of contents and the page numbering once. Mostly these programs behave differently from Word at one place, where the numbers switch from roman to arabic between sections.
How do I update the table of contents?
Click anywhere inside the table of contents in Word and press F9. Then choose “Update entire table”. Every title set in the Heading 1, 2 or 3 style gets picked up. Do it one more time just before you take the print.
Can you format my finished thesis?
Yes, we can do that. When writing is over and only format is pending, our thesis formatting service puts your university’s format on the file. Numbering, captions and contents pages get corrected, and then we check it once more against the regulations. Even one word of your content we won’t change, our work is on layout only.
Evidence
Sources
- Anna University: Regulations for Doctor of Philosophy R2025, with thesis guidelines (Annexures I–V)
- VTU: Thesis format circular and template, 15 July 2025
- JNTUH: Academic Regulations and Guidelines for Ph.D. (2021-22 onwards)
- JNTUK: Academic Regulations and Guidelines for Ph.D., 2018-19 onwards (archived copy)
- JNTUA: Research Regulations for Ph.D. Programmes, 2023-24 onwards (archived copy)
- Bharathiar University: Research Regulations
- University of Madras: Research Regulations 2021, amended March 2023
- Madurai Kamaraj University: M.Phil./Ph.D. Regulations
- Bharathidasan University: Ph.D. Regulations 2026
Keep reading
Related guides and services
Thesis Formatting to University Guidelines
Your finished thesis laid out to your university’s current template, with a checklist showing what was checked.
PhD thesis structure, chapter by chapter
What each chapter must do, typical lengths, and what examiners look for in each.
Anna University PhD thesis format
Preliminary pages, chapter structure, layout and a pre-submission checklist — dated, with sources.
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