University of Delhi PhD thesis format

What does Delhi University prescribe for PhD thesis format?

Very little on layout. The relevant rules sit in Section M of Ordinance VI and in the library’s plagiarism instructions.

The one quality test in the Ordinance is clause M.10. The thesis “must be satisfactory as far as its language and presentation are concerned”. Examiners judge that; the Examination Branch does not measure margins.

We found no separate thesis manual or template on the DU, Examination Branch or DULS websites. If your department has its own format sheet, follow it, and ask for it before you start formatting.

What margins, font and spacing should a DU thesis use?

DU doesn’t say. So the practical answer is: whatever your supervisor approves, applied consistently.

If your supervisor has no preference, the common Indian convention is a reasonable default. That means A4 paper, a plain serif font such as Times New Roman at 12 point, 1.5 line spacing for the text, a left margin of about 1.5 inches for binding with 1 inch elsewhere, roman page numbers for the front matter and arabic from Chapter 1. None of this is a DU rule. Because DU asks for double-sided printing, consider mirrored margins so the wide margin is always on the binding edge.

DU does not set a page order either. Our PhD thesis structure guide gives the usual sequence of front matter, chapters and appendices.

Citation style is also open. Pick one with your supervisor, set it in a reference manager and don’t switch halfway.

One practical limit does come from DU: the library checks files of up to 800 pages and 100 MB. A thesis full of scanned images can cross 100 MB, so compress images before you export.

How does the Delhi University plagiarism check work?

Clause M.6 says every thesis goes through a plagiarism check verified by the University Library before submission. The library’s certificate is submitted with the thesis at the Examination Branch, and the thesis must be submitted within 30 days of the check.

The DULS plagiarism page lists Drillbit-Extreme, provided by INFLIBNET under the ShodhShuddhi programme, “for checking the Plagiarism of Thesis Only”. Its instructions set out the process:

1. Email the title page and all chapters as one PDF (up to 800 pages, 100 MB) to [email protected].
2. If you used your own published work in the thesis, fill in the exclusion form for self-published work, get your supervisor to sign it, and attach the first page of each paper.
3. The library issues a Plagiarism Verification certificate showing the software, date, similarity index and total word count. It is valid for 30 days.

On the second half of the certificate, your supervisor ticks whether the similarity index is below or above “accepted norms”, giving reasons if above. If the report flags matches that should not count, your supervisor can file a Supervisor’s Exclusion Report citing the UGC 2018 regulations: “generic terms, laws, standard symbols and standard equations, common knowledge or coincidental terms, upto fourteen (14) consecutive words”. The library then checks manually and issues a Revised Plagiarism Verification Report.

What none of these documents gives is a percentage. The forms refer to “accepted norms”, and clause M.13 points to the UGC (Promotion of Academic Integrity and Prevention of Plagiarism) Regulations, 2018. Our plagiarism limits guide explains the UGC bands, and our Drillbit guide covers reading the report. Ask your supervisor what figure your department accepts.

The 30 days run from the check, so have your printed copy and certificates ready before you email the PDF.

Which certificates and declarations go in a DU thesis?

Clause M.13 requires two documents with the thesis:

• Your undertaking that the work is original, has no plagiarism as defined by UGC, and has not been submitted for any other degree or diploma at DU or anywhere else.
• A certificate from your supervisor attesting to the same points.

The Head of Department countersigns both. The Ordinance gives no wording for either, so use your department’s standard format. You also attach the UGC Student Approval Form that allows the thesis to be hosted on Shodhganga.

Clause M.11 lets you include your own published papers in the thesis, but you must indicate that you have done so. Once a co-authored paper’s content is in one author’s thesis, no other co-author may use it for a degree. Settle that with co-authors early.

The 2026 revision added an ethics clause (E.14). Among the forms of misconduct you must prevent, it lists fabrication, falsification, plagiarism and “Artificial Intelligence generated content”, and it warns that violations may lead to cancellation. It does not say whether AI-assisted language editing counts. Read the clause with your supervisor, and see our guide to using AI tools in your PhD.

How do you submit a PhD thesis at Delhi University?

The sequence follows Section M of the 2026 Ordinance.

1. 1

   Pre-Ph.D. presentation

   Present the draft thesis to your Research Advisory Committee in an open departmental seminar. The final title is fixed here (DRC and BRS approve it).

2. 2

   Abstract, contents and examiner panel

   Your supervisor sends the abstract, table of contents and a panel of six examiners to the Head. Once the DRC recommends them, the supervisor uploads them on the examination portal.

3. 3

   Library plagiarism check

   Email the complete thesis as one PDF to [email protected] with any self-published-work exclusion form. The certificate is valid for 30 days.

4. 4

   Submission

   Within three months of the pre-Ph.D. presentation and within 30 days of the plagiarism check, submit one double-sided softbound copy to the Examination Branch and upload the PDF on the evaluation portal, with the certificates and the Shodhganga approval form.

5. 5

   Evaluation and viva

   Three external examiners approved by the Vice-Chancellor report. If they are satisfied, an open viva follows, chaired by the Head with at least one external examiner.

6. 6

   Final copy and Shodhganga

   If you revised the thesis after evaluation, resubmit the final soft copy, authenticated by your supervisor or Head. After the award, the university sends the electronic copy to INFLIBNET for Shodhganga.

Before any of this, clause M.5 sets what you need to have published. Under the Academic Pathway (M.5.1) that is two conference presentations and two papers in Scopus-indexed or DU-approved journals, with you as first, second or corresponding author. A granted patent, or a major discovery or new product backed by a Scopus paper with an impact factor of at least one, can replace the two papers. The new Product/Application-based Pathway (M.5.2) has its own rules on patents and technical reports. Our publication requirement guide compares DU’s rule with the UGC position.

Take the three-month window after the pre-Ph.D. presentation seriously: the plagiarism check, the DRC meeting on your examiner panel and the printing all have to fit inside it. Our pre-submission seminar guide covers the presentation itself.

Clause M.23 aims to finish evaluation, viva result included, within six months of submission. After the award the university sends the electronic copy to INFLIBNET (M.22); our Shodhganga submission guide explains that stage.

Delhi University thesis checklist before submission

• Your final title is the one approved by the DRC and BRS after the pre-Ph.D. presentation.
• Paper size, margins, font, spacing and citation style are agreed with your supervisor and consistent throughout.
• Chapters that use your own published papers say so, and each paper is listed on the library’s exclusion form with your supervisor’s signature and the first page of the paper attached.
• The library PDF contains the title page and all chapters, is no more than 800 pages and no more than 100 MB.
• You have the library’s Plagiarism Verification certificate, dated less than 30 days before the day you will submit.
• Your undertaking and the supervisor’s certificate are signed, and the Head of Department has countersigned both.
• You have one double-sided, softbound printed copy, and a PDF identical to it ready for the evaluation portal.

Our thesis formatting service can check layout and references against your supervisor’s choices before the library check. It works on presentation only.