University of Delhi PhD thesis format

What does Delhi University prescribe for PhD thesis format?

On layout DU says very little. The few rules that exist are in Section M of Ordinance VI and the library’s plagiarism instructions.

Cite this data: PhD Desk, “University of Delhi PhD thesis format”, last reviewed 1 November 2026, https://phddesk.in/guides/thesis-format-delhi-university

Clause M.10 is the only quality test in the Ordinance. It says the thesis “must be satisfactory as far as its language and presentation are concerned”. The examiners decide this. Nobody in the Examination Branch is measuring your margins.

On the DU, Examination Branch and DULS websites we did not find any separate thesis manual or template. Some departments may keep their own format sheet. If yours has one, follow that only, and collect it before you start formatting.

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

DU has not said anything on this. In practice you use whatever your supervisor approves, and you keep it same from the first page till the last.

Maybe your guide has no preference. Then the common Indian convention is a fair default. That means A4 paper and a plain serif font like Times New Roman in 12 point, with 1.5 line spacing for the main text. Keep the left margin about 1.5 inches for binding and 1 inch on the other sides. Front matter pages get roman numbers, and arabic numbering starts from Chapter 1. None of this is a DU rule. But DU wants double-sided printing. So think about mirrored margins. Then the wide margin always comes on the binding edge.

Page order is also not fixed by DU. For the usual sequence of front matter, chapters and appendices, see our PhD thesis structure guide.

Citation style is open too. Decide one with your supervisor, set it up in a reference manager and don’t change it halfway.

There is one practical limit that does come from DU. The library checks a file of up to 800 pages and 100 MB. If your thesis has lot of scanned images, the file can go above 100 MB. Compress the images before you export the PDF.

How does the Delhi University plagiarism check work?

As per clause M.6, every thesis has to go through a plagiarism check verified by the University Library before submission. You submit the library certificate along with the thesis at the Examination Branch. And the thesis must be submitted within 30 days of the check.

On the DULS plagiarism page the software named is Drillbit-Extreme. INFLIBNET provides it under the ShodhShuddhi programme, and the page says it is “for checking the Plagiarism of Thesis Only”. The library instructions give the process in three steps.

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

The second half of the certificate is for your supervisor. Here the supervisor ticks whether the similarity index is below or above “accepted norms”, and gives reasons when it is above. Sometimes the report picks up matches which should not be counted. In that case your supervisor can file a Supervisor’s Exclusion Report. That report cites the UGC 2018 regulations and lists “generic terms, laws, standard symbols and standard equations, common knowledge or coincidental terms, upto fourteen (14) consecutive words”. After this the library checks manually and issues a Revised Plagiarism Verification Report.

You will not find a percentage in any of these documents. The forms only say “accepted norms”, and clause M.13 refers to the UGC (Promotion of Academic Integrity and Prevention of Plagiarism) Regulations, 2018. The UGC bands are explained in our plagiarism limits guide. Reading the report is covered in our Drillbit guide. What figure your department accepts, ask your supervisor directly.

The 30 days start from the check date. So get the printed copy and the certificates ready first, and email the PDF only after that.

Which certificates and declarations go in a DU thesis?

As per clause M.13, two documents have to go with the thesis.

• Your undertaking, saying the work is original and has no plagiarism as UGC defines it. It also states that the work was not submitted for any other degree or diploma, at DU or at any other place.
• A certificate from your supervisor confirming the same points.

The Head of Department countersigns both of them. The Ordinance doesn’t give their wording, so take the department’s usual format. You also attach the UGC Student Approval Form, which allows the thesis to be hosted on Shodhganga.

Under clause M.11 you can put your own published papers in the thesis. But the thesis has to mention that you have done this. Once a co-authored paper’s content goes into one author’s thesis, no other co-author can use it for a degree. Better to discuss about this with your co-authors early itself.

An ethics clause (E.14) came in with the 2026 revision. It lists the kinds of misconduct you must prevent, among them fabrication, falsification, plagiarism and “Artificial Intelligence generated content”. Violations may lead to cancellation, it says. Many scholars are asking if AI-assisted language editing comes under this, but the clause is silent. Go through it with your supervisor once. Our guide on using AI tools in your PhD may also help.

How do you submit a PhD thesis at Delhi University?

These steps are in the order given in Section M of the 2026 Ordinance.

1. 1

   Pre-Ph.D. presentation

   You present the draft thesis to your Research Advisory Committee in an open seminar of the department. The final title gets fixed at this stage itself (DRC and BRS approve it).

2. 2

   Abstract, contents and examiner panel

   The abstract, table of contents and a panel of six examiners go from your supervisor to the Head. After the DRC recommends them, the supervisor uploads them on the examination portal.

3. 3

   Library plagiarism check

   Mail the full thesis as one PDF to [email protected], with the self-published-work exclusion form if you need it. That certificate you get back is good for 30 days only.

4. 4

   Submission

   The deadline is three months from the pre-Ph.D. presentation and 30 days from the plagiarism check. One double-sided softbound copy goes by hand to the Examination Branch. The PDF goes on the evaluation portal along with the certificates and the Shodhganga approval form.

5. 5

   Evaluation and viva

   Three external examiners approved by the Vice-Chancellor send their reports. If they are satisfied, an open viva-voce is held. The Head chairs it and at least one external examiner is present.

6. 6

   Final copy and Shodhganga

   Was the thesis revised after evaluation? Then you resubmit the final soft copy, authenticated by your supervisor or Head. Once the degree is awarded, the university sends the electronic copy to INFLIBNET for Shodhganga.

Even before these steps, clause M.5 decides what you must have published. In the Academic Pathway (M.5.1) you need two conference presentations and two papers in Scopus-indexed or DU-approved journals. On those papers you should be first, second or corresponding author. The two papers can be replaced by a granted patent. A major discovery or new product, backed by a Scopus paper with an impact factor of at least one, can also replace them. The new Product/Application-based Pathway (M.5.2) has its separate rules on patents and technical reports. Our publication requirement guide compares DU’s rule with the UGC position.

Plan the three months after the pre-Ph.D. presentation properly. Inside that period you have to finish the plagiarism check, the DRC meeting on your examiner panel and the printing. For the presentation part, see our pre-submission seminar guide.

As per clause M.23, the university tries to finish evaluation and viva result within six months of submission. After the award the university sends the electronic copy to INFLIBNET (M.22). That last stage is covered in our Shodhganga submission guide.

Delhi University thesis checklist before submission

• Your thesis title is the final one that DRC and BRS approved after the pre-Ph.D. presentation.
• Paper size, margins, font, spacing and citation style are agreed with your supervisor, and they stay the same in every chapter.
• Any chapter built on your own published paper mentions it. List each such paper on the library’s exclusion form, signed by your guide, and attach every paper’s first page.
• The PDF for the library has the title page and all chapters, and it is within 800 pages and 100 MB.
• Your Plagiarism Verification certificate from the library will be less than 30 days old on the day you submit.
• Your undertaking and your supervisor’s certificate are both signed, and the Head of Department has countersigned them.
• One printed copy is ready, double-sided and softbound, plus a PDF that matches it exactly for the evaluation portal.

Before the library check, our thesis formatting service can go through your layout and references against the choices your supervisor made. It works on the presentation only.