JNTU PhD thesis format

How the JNTUH, JNTUK and JNTUA thesis formats differ

First of all, find the column of your own university in this table. The rows in bold are where scholars mostly go wrong, because they followed a thesis from one of the other two universities.

Cite this data: PhD Desk, “JNTU PhD thesis format”, last reviewed 1 November 2026, https://phddesk.in/guides/thesis-format-jntu

All three have the Research Review Meeting (RRM). In RRM the committee checks your progress from time to time. Beyond that the terms change, and even the pre-submission step has a different name in each place. When you fill forms or write letters, use the terms of your own university.

JNTU Hyderabad (JNTUH)

Layout

Of the three, JNTUH has the most detailed thesis write-up guidelines. It also asks for a typeface few other Indian universities use. Body text is in Bookman Old Style, 12 point, at 1.5 spacing, on 100 GSM A4 bond paper. Keep the left margin at 1.5″ and the other sides at 1″. New paragraph starts after five spaces of indent, and JNTUH wants the printing on both sides of the sheet. For the cover and title page the font is Times New Roman bold. The title is 16, “A THESIS” is 14 and “DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY” is 16. Write your name exactly as in your SSC or CBSE certificate.

Order of pages

1. Title page
2. Declaration by the research scholar
3. Certificate from the supervisor and co-supervisor
4. Certificate from the Head of the Organisation or Institution (the regulations also ask for this one)
5. Acknowledgement
6. Abstract
7. Table of contents, list of tables, list of figures and notation

Number all these front pages in lower-case roman numerals. Arabic numbering begins only from the chapters. In the bound copy, two plain blank sheets go at the front and at the back.

Headings, captions and references

Sections are numbered like 2.1 in bold capitals. Sub-sections are numbered like 1.1.1 in bold title case. A figure gets the label “Fig: 1.1” and a table gets “Table 1.1”, and the captions are 9-point. References are also in 9 point, single-spaced, as a serial-numbered list. For a book you give author(s), book title, publisher, year and pages. For a paper it is author(s), paper title, journal, volume, year and pages. JNTUH has not named any style like IEEE or APA. So pick one style in this pattern and keep it the same all through. In the suggested chapter sequence, the last one is summary and conclusion. The guidelines add a note there that your original contribution must be highlighted.

Binding

Soft binding, with a white 300 GSM cover and lettering in navy blue.

JNTU Kakinada (JNTUK)

Layout

At JNTUK the font is Times New Roman, and the heading sizes are fixed. Chapter headings are 16 bold, side headings 14 bold, sub-headings 12 bold, and body text 12. Line spacing and paragraph spacing are both 1.5. The paper is 100 GSM A4 executive bond. The left margin is 1.5″, measured before binding, and the other sides are 1″. Every page number goes at the bottom right. Chapter captions are placed at the top left. Equations and maths symbols go in italics. If your thesis is above 250 pages, then only JNTUK lets you print on both sides.

Order of pages

The specimen pages we found are annexed to the 2015-16 regulations. They begin with two blank pages. After that comes the declaration, then the certificate from the supervisor and co-supervisor, and then a certificate from the Head or Director of the institution. Next are the acknowledgements, the abstract, and the contents with lists of tables, figures and symbols. All of these get lower-case roman numerals. For the main body, the recommended chapters are an introduction, a literature review, minimum three contributory chapters, and conclusions.

Captions and references

Here the captions go below both tables and figures, in 12-point bold. In most universities the table caption sits above the table, so scholars many times get this wrong. For references you can follow IEEE, ASME or ASCE format, with the number in square brackets inside the text. But the regulations also discuss about alphabetical order by author. In usual IEEE the list runs in citation number order, so on this your guide will decide. Your published papers that have an impact factor are bound into the end of the thesis. This part is compulsory.

Binding and soft copy

You need a black hard cover with gold lettering. Seniors’ theses may be maroon as per the older rule, so don’t go by them. The soft copy is given in MS Word, and in LaTeX or PDF also.

JNTU Anantapur (JNTUA)

Layout

JNTUA’s format rules are in a Directorate of R&D circular that is still in circulation. It is short, and asks for double-sided printing, 1.5 spacing, Times New Roman 12, and 1.25″ margins on all four sides. Only JNTUA, of the three, keeps every margin equal. The documents we found does not fix paper weight, page-number position, heading sizes or cover colour. For these points, Indian university theses commonly use A4 paper, page numbers at the bottom centre or bottom right, and decimal-numbered headings. Ask your department on these points.

Order of pages

In JNTUA’s specimen, the title page comes first (“A Thesis submitted to the JNTU Anantapur…”, under the guidance of your supervisor). After it come the declaration, the supervisor’s certificate, the abstract and a preface. Then the table of contents, list of tables, list of figures and list of appendices. The chapters follow, and at the end are the bibliography and an index. Only JNTUA asks for the preface and the index. There is no Head of Institution certificate in this specimen, though JNTUH and JNTUK both require one. The same circular also gives the wording for the supervisor’s certificate. These specimen pages are old, so check the current version with R&D.

Structure and references

The circular sets the chapter structure closely. Chapter 1 is the introduction and Chapter 2 is the literature review. Chapters 3 to 6 carry the core work. Chapter 7 is the summary, conclusions and recommendations, and the references come after it. References are numbered in the order they first appear, and in the text the number goes in square brackets. This is the normal IEEE method. You can see the details in our IEEE formatting guide.

Binding

For evaluation you submit soft-bound copies. At the viva-voce you hand over a hard-bound copy for the library.

Similarity limits: 24%, 30% or 20%

All three universities run the similarity check centrally. The limits are not same, and some of them are higher than the UGC’s Level 0 of 10%.

• JNTUH: overall similarity cannot go above 24%. Also, no single source other than your own publications can go above 3%. The check is done after the Colloquium on a Word file of the thesis, and you get three chances. Suppose a scholar has reused a big block from one review paper. His total may be low, still that one paper stops the thesis.
• JNTUK: up to 30% is allowed, not counting your own publications. Above that, the levels are 30–40%, 40–60% and above 60%. After a 2023 circular, the checks are done in Turnitin. You need approval after the similarity check two times, once before the Pre-talk and again before final submission.
• JNTUA: the thesis is accepted only when similarity is 20% or less. One fee gives you up to three checks.

Try to keep your figure well under your university’s limit. Same file checked in two different tools many times gives two different figures. And some examiners are stricter than the rule. The UGC levels and the way to read a report are explained in our plagiarism limits guide.

Pre-submission, copies, publications and Shodhganga

JNTUH

After the Research Review Meetings, you present a Colloquium before the Departmental Research Committee. For it you bring a draft thesis and five copies of the synopsis, and up to three attempts are allowed. The synopsis should not cross 30 pages. Along with it, prepare a one-to-two-page abstract for Shodhganga. Next you submit one approved synopsis, five copies of the thesis and a CD. A panel of nine examiners goes with these, and at least six of them must be from outside Telangana. On the time limit the documents don’t agree. The 2021-22 regulations give six months after the Colloquium, but the Colloquium application form says three months, so confirm which one applies to you. For publications you need four papers, with at least two in Web of Science, SCI or Scopus journals. In those papers you have to be the first author, and JNTUH has to be given as affiliation. One paper plus a recognised patent is also accepted in place of this. The thesis is uploaded to Shodhganga. For the provisional certificate, a corrected soft copy and a Shodhganga pro-forma are required.

JNTUK

Before the Pre-talk you need minimum three six-monthly RRMs, showing roughly 20%, 50% and 90% progress. For the Pre-talk itself, bring six copies of the synopsis, a draft thesis and a plagiarism report from R&D. At least 60% of the committee has to be present. The thesis must be submitted within six months of the Pre-talk. At that time you give eight copies of the thesis and ten copies of the synopsis, which is much more than what the other two ask. Examiners get the synopsis first and the thesis later. As per the regulations we found, you need two papers in SCI or impact-factor journals, or in UGC-listed journals. You have to be the first author. Only you, your supervisor and co-supervisor can be authors on those papers. The university itself sends the soft copy to INFLIBNET.

JNTUA

As per the 2023-24 regulations, you need at least three RRMs before the pre-submission seminar. Part-time scholars need four. The seminar happens before the Research Advisory Committee, and it is open to all faculty. For it you give five hard copies and one soft copy of the synopsis. You also give an undertaking that none of your papers is in a clone journal. The thesis has to be submitted within six months from the date the seminar is approved. On the number of copies, the regulations say two soft-bound copies, but the submission form still says five, so better ask R&D. You need four publications, and minimum two of them in SCI, SCIE or Scopus journals. A paper can have at most four authors. You must be first and your supervisor second, and your affiliation should read “Research Scholar, JNTUA”. The degree is awarded only after the thesis is uploaded to Shodhganga.

Pre-submission checklist

• You are following the rules of your own university, and you have not copied the layout from a thesis of the other two.
• JNTUH: Bookman Old Style 12 on 100 GSM A4, left margin 1.5″ and the rest 1″, printing on both sides, and a soft white 300 GSM cover with navy blue lettering.
• JNTUK: Times New Roman with 16/14/12 bold headings, page numbers at the bottom right, captions placed below, mathematical symbols in italics, and a black hard cover with gold lettering.
• JNTUA: Times New Roman 12, a 1.25″ margin on every side, printing on both sides, soft-bound copies for evaluation and one hard-bound copy for the viva.
• Front matter follows the order your university gives. That includes the Head of Institution certificate for JNTUH and JNTUK, or the preface for JNTUA.
• For JNTUH, the name on the cover is spelt the same as in your SSC or CBSE certificate.
• The similarity report is below the limit of your university. At JNTUH, also see that no single source crosses 3%.
• Your publications satisfy the rule that applies to your batch now, with the authorship and affiliation that rule asks for.
• You are submitting within the deadline counted from your Colloquium, Pre-talk or pre-submission seminar.
• The count of thesis and synopsis copies is correct, and the soft copy is in the format your university wants.

Common mistakes

• Formatting from another JNTU university’s thesis. Out of all the mistakes, this one happens the most. Font, margins, captions and binding are all different.
• Using Times New Roman at JNTUH. JNTUH wants Bookman Old Style for the body text.
• Putting table captions above the table at JNTUK. At JNTUK every caption goes below.
• Using a maroon cover at JNTUK just because an older thesis had one. Now the rule is black with gold lettering.
• Checking only the overall figure at JNTUH. Many scholars relax seeing total under 24%. Then the report shows one review paper above 3% and the check fails.
• Leaving out the preface at JNTUA, or putting in a Head of Institution certificate that JNTUA does not ask for.
• Getting the number of copies wrong. JNTUK wants eight copies of the thesis and ten synopses. Check the count for your own university before printing.

If you want the formatting checked against your own university’s rules before submission, our thesis editing and proofreading service includes a format review. We check only the presentation. The research content we don’t touch.