Guidelines for your dissertation

General guidelines

  • Your dissertation should be a stand alone publication in book form.
  • A compilation of peer-reviewed scientific papers is allowed.
  • If two or more publications which are closely related are used as separate chapters in the doctoral dissertation, it is advised that these are partially rewritten so that repetitions are avoided (especially with respect to the introduction, materials and methods).

Obligatory content

  • a Dutch translation of the title
  • an abstract in Dutch
  • a list of abbreviations
  • one uniform (compiling) reference list
  • a resume or Curriculum Vitae of the candidate
  • an introductory chapter and additional linking texts between chapters (papers) if the dissertation consists of a compilation of papers
  • acknowledgements of financing institutions
  • copyright information
  • an ISBN number (Attention : The procedure for requesting can take about 3 working days)

Author contribution statements

Doctoral students are asked to indicate the contribution of each author in the research chapters of their doctoral dissertation.

  • Example 1: Author contributions: AA performed the optimization of xxx, prepared the samples and analyzed the data. BB and CC performed the mass spectrometry of the samples. XX performed the phylogenetic analysis. YY and ZZ supervised the study and were involved in critical analysis of the data, manuscript corrections and discussion.
  • Example 2: Author contributions: AA and BB performed the wet lab experiments. CC performed the RNA seq analyses of the samples. XX performed the microscopy. AA wrote the manuscript. YY and ZZ designed the experimental setup, supervised the study and were involved in critical analysis of the data, manuscript corrections and discussion.

Lay-out

Thesis

  • Use font Calibri
  • For the PhD manuscript of the internal defense, please include line numbers on each page. This will facilitate jury members to more easily refer to specific sentences when having comments or questions.
  • Page 1: no requirements.
  • Page 2: at the bottom, aligned left:
    • name and institution of promoters
    • name of the dean
    • name of the rector

Cover

  1. Install the font UGent Panno Text (only for your cover)
  2. Design your cover with this Powerpoint template (Size: 16 x 24cm)
  3. Save the result as pdf

Print

  • Cover: print on a 250g paper with a glossy coating
  • Thesis: print on circle 80g paper, 100% recycled with FSC label
  • Send your cover, thesis and ISBN number to the print shop, for example to University Press. Following instructions apply if you print at University Press:
    • If you understand Dutch: register on their website (Dutch only) with your UGent-account. Upload your thesis and cover. Include all images you have used in your cover design as single files.
    • If you don't understand Dutch: e-mail your cover, thesis and images as single files to
    • University Press generates a bar code from your thesis' ISBN number and prints it on your back cover.
    • Printing takes no longer than 3 working days