Madurai Kamaraj University PhD thesis format

What does MKU prescribe for thesis format?

All the layout rules of MKU are in two places only, clause 13 for the synopsis and clause 14 for the thesis. The table shows both side by side, because the spacing differs and you hand them in together.

Cite this data: PhD Desk, “Madurai Kamaraj University PhD thesis format”, last reviewed 1 November 2026, https://phddesk.in/guides/thesis-format-madurai-kamaraj

The wording in the regulations is soft. The thesis “may be printed in 1.5 line spacing”, and Times New Roman comes as an “e.g.” only. Still, take these as the standard. With 1.5 spacing and Times New Roman 12, the Research Section will have no objection.

The page limit of 250 is where scholars actually get stuck. The regulations does not say if appendices and the appended publications are counted in it. Clear this doubt with the Research Section before you finalise the thesis. It matters more when your appendices have long questionnaires or big data tables.

Where the regulations are silent, simply follow what your department is doing and what your supervisor says. In most Indian theses the binding side gets a wider margin, roughly 38 mm, and the other three edges get 25 mm. Lower-case roman numerals are used for the preliminary pages. Arabic numbering starts from Chapter 1. Tables and figures are numbered chapter-wise. Our thesis structure guide has the normal order of pages and chapters.

What must an MKU thesis contain?

You will not find a specimen title page or any certificate wording in the regulations. But three things are compulsory inside the thesis.

• An undertaking from you and a certificate from your supervisor (clause 14.3). Between the two, they have to state that the work is original and has no plagiarism. They also state that the work was never offered for any other degree or diploma, at MKU or anywhere else. Mostly the department has a standard wording for this, and you should use that only.
• Your publications, appended (clause 15.1). Research articles that came out of your PhD work in refereed journals get attached to the thesis. These can be single-author papers or papers with your guide as co-author. If a paper is accepted and still not published, attach the acceptance or “in press” certificate along with manuscript. Papers you presented at seminars are also attached.
• Evidence of the pre-submission presentation. With the Thesis Submission Form you give a certificate that the RAC’s feedback has been incorporated (clause 12).

The publications get bound inside the thesis, and that is why the 250-page doubt above is important. With 230 pages of thesis and four papers appended, you may easily go above 250.

Can an MKU thesis be written in Tamil?

As per clause 14.1, the thesis is written in English. Language subjects are the exception, and there the thesis is in that language. If a thesis in another subject is written in Tamil, an equal number of copies in English must also be submitted. That means four Tamil copies and four English copies.

Your translation and printing work becomes double, and whatever is in the Tamil version should be there in the English one also. So if you are planning to write in Tamil in a non-language subject, discuss about it with your guide and the RAC before the writing-up starts.

What similarity limit does MKU apply?

Under clause 14.2, each thesis goes through the checking facility at the Dr. T.P.M. Library of MKU. It is checked two times, first at the pre-submission presentation and then at submission. After that your supervisor gives a certificate, and the Director (Research) countersigns it. The certificate says the “content does not exceed 30% of the total thesis for all subjects except languages and 50% for Mathematics”.

Be careful with this 30%. These regulations are from 2016. In 2018 the UGC brought plagiarism regulations where similarity up to 10% attracts no penalty, and above 10% the scholar has to give a revised thesis. Bharathidasan and Bharathiar, which are nearby universities, accept 10% at most now. MKU might also have changed it by an internal decision that we could not find online. Plan for 10% or less, and get the TPM Library to confirm today’s MKU figure on paper. Our plagiarism limits guide explains the four UGC bands and what is normally excluded from the check.

How do you submit a thesis at MKU?

Before submission

• Publications. From the May 2019 amendment, you need minimum two research papers as first author, related to your research, in national or international journals listed by the UGC. Earlier, the 2016 text wanted only one paper. The 2022 synopsis form asks for the number of UGC-CARE-listed publications.
• Two seminars. Both research seminars are given in your own department. In the first you talk about the problem and objectives. The second one covers data, analysis and inferences, and in place of it you can present a paper at a national or international conference.
• Pre-submission presentation. This is given before the RAC, and faculty and scholars can attend. You do the corrections they suggest. Submission is possible only one month after this presentation, and it has to happen within three months of it. If three months pass, the synopsis form says you will have to present once again. For preparation, read our pre-submission seminar guide.

Synopsis and thesis together

At MKU the synopsis is taken along with the thesis. Many universities take it months earlier. You give four signed copies of the synopsis and one PDF on a labelled CD. With these, put the confirmation-of-registration letter and the original certificates of your two seminars and the pre-submission presentation. If you are part-time, the certificate of work done under the guide is also needed. Remember, your name and your guide’s name should not come anywhere in the synopsis. What to write in those 10 to 15 pages is covered in our synopsis format guide.

With it goes the thesis (four hard copies, three PDFs) and the Thesis Submission Form, forwarded by your guide and by the head of your department or institution. Enclose the original diplomas of your PG and research degrees. You also need no-due certificates from the Research Section, your department, the department library and the TPM Library. If you are in a university department, hostel and staff quarters no-dues are also required where they apply.

Sometimes the registration period gets over before submission. Clause 15.4 then gives a grace time of up to three months, at ₹500 per month. Beyond that, research and extension fees are to be paid as applicable.

Examiners and viva

A panel of ten examiners is given by your supervisor in a sealed cover. The 2022 amendment says four of them should be from other universities and colleges inside Tamil Nadu and six from other states, with not more than one per state. Foreign examiners are not compulsory. From May 2023, supervisors also give one more panel, separately, of three Professors or Associate Professors within Tamil Nadu for the viva.

Two external examiners read and evaluate the thesis, and your supervisor is the third one, as convener. Only when all three find it satisfactory does the public viva happen. It is announced 15 days ahead at least, and one copy of the thesis is kept in the department so the public can read it. Your presentation can go up to 30 minutes, and the questions are limited to 60 minutes. Within 30 days of the award, MKU sends your PDF to the UGC to be hosted on INFLIBNET.

MKU thesis checklist before submission

This list has only the items named in the regulations and forms. For the things not in it, like margins, headings and citation style, take your supervisor’s approval.

• The pre-submission presentation before the RAC is over, and your submission date falls at least one month and not more than three months after it.
• Your guide has given a certificate saying the RAC’s feedback is incorporated in the thesis.
• The thesis has 250 pages or fewer. It is on A4, in a legible 12 pt font at 1.5 spacing, and printed on both sides.
• Inside the thesis you have the scholar’s undertaking and the supervisor’s certificate about originality and about not submitting it anywhere else.
• Published papers are appended. For any paper not out yet, the acceptance or “in press” letter and the manuscript are attached.
• The plagiarism check at the TPM Library is completed, and the Director (Research) has countersigned the supervisor’s certificate. You also have the current MKU limit confirmed on paper.
• Four copies of the synopsis are ready, with a PDF on CD. It runs 10–15 pages, is double-spaced and carries no candidate or guide name.
• Four hard copies of the thesis are bound, and the three PDFs are the same as the printed one, page by page.
• For a non-language thesis written in Tamil, the same number of English copies is also ready.
• The thesis submission form is filled. Original PG diplomas are with it, and no-due certificates from the Research Section, your department, the department library and the TPM Library.
• Your supervisor has kept the panel of examiners ready in a sealed cover, along with the separate viva panel of three from within Tamil Nadu.

Some scholars want the layout, numbering and references to be consistent before the RAC presentation. Our thesis formatting service can do that. It works on presentation only.