Thesis & Dissertation Formatting

KU Formatting Requirements

All theses and dissertations completed at KU must  meet KU's requirements for formatting specific components. Please refer to the resources above to ensure that the final PDF version of your thesis or dissertation will meet the standards required to earn your degree, that it will be accepted by ProQuest and KU ScholarWorks, and that it will print correctly if you choose to purchase bound copies.

KU's requirements for thesis and dissertation formatting include and comply with ProQuest's formatting requirements. 

Federal Accessibility Requirements

A new federal regulation requires all websites of federally funded institutions to be accessible. This includes all items in KU’s online institutional repository, KU ScholarWorks. All theses & dissertations are required to be submitted to ScholarWorks. 

Students must demonstrate their thesis/dissertation meets these federal requirements by submitting a YuJa Panorama Accessibility Report with a score of 85 or higher. This requirement is in effect starting with students meeting the May 15 graduation deadline for Spring 2026 degrees.

Best Practices for Accessibility

• Refer to the list in the Making Your Dissertation or Thesis Accessible Canvas Module for items to address in your document (e.g. using heading styles, providing alt text for each image, etc.)
• If using Microsoft Word, follow all accessibility suggestions in Word for the best result. 
• Upload your original Word/LaTex document to YuJa Panorama – not a PDF. 
• After you have made any necessary changes to achieve a score of 85 or higher, then convert your document to PDF for submission to ProQuest.  

Accessibility FAQs

Q. What is YuJa Panorama?
A. YuJa Panorama is an accessibility tool purchased by KU to assist KU students, faculty, and staff with making their content accessible.

Q. I graduated in a semester prior to Spring 2026. Do I need to make my thesis/dissertation accessible?
A. No. The new requirements do not apply retroactively.

Q. I met the early Spring 2026 graduation deadline. Do I have to submit an accessibility score report?
A. Check with your School/College. As long as your thesis/dissertation was accepted and published in KU ScholarWorks prior to the federal April 2026 deadline, you are exempt from this requirement. 

Q. I am meeting the May 15, 2026 graduation deadline, but I uploaded my thesis/dissertation to ProQuest prior to the federal deadline in April. Do I still have to make my document accessible?
A. Yes. Your thesis/dissertation is not published immediately after you upload it. The contact person for your School/College must check each individual document to ensure it meets all KU formatting requirements. Revisions are often required; you will be contacted by your School if this is the case. The thesis/dissertation can only be delivered for publication after revisions are completed.  This process takes time! Documents submitted near the final graduation deadline for a semester are often not published for several weeks. 

Accessibility Resources

Digital Accessibility Essentials Canvas Site
The Center for Online and Distance Learning (CODL) and KU IT’s comprehensive hub for resources to support faculty, staff, and students in building knowledge and confidence around digital accessibility. Highlighted modules:

• YuJa Panorama Overview Video 
• Making Your Dissertation or Thesis Accessible Canvas Module
• Microsoft Suite Accessibility Overview 

KU Accessibility Team Drop-in Office Hours SP26:
Hosted by KU IT Academic Accommodations Advising Staff

• Tuesdays,10:00am-12:00pm - Join Via Teams
• Wednesdays,11:00am-1:00pm, Anschutz 3 North
• Thursdays,1:00-3:00pm, Anschutz 3 North
• Fri. May 8 (Stop Day), 9:00am-4:00pm, Anschutz 3 North
• Mon. May 11, 1:00-3:00pm, Anschutz 3 North
• Fri. May 15, 10:00 am-12:00pm, Anschutz 3 North

Need More Help with Digital Accessibility? 
Submit a Digital Accessibility Request

Thesis/Dissertation Formatting Workshop

Fri, March 27
12:00 – 1:30pm
Watson Library, 455 or Zoom

In this edition of Fridays on Forth, KU Libraries staff will cover everything graduate students need to know about the thesis/dissertation submission process including, online submission, deadlines, copyright, and formatting.  See the KU Events Calendar page for more information & Zoom link.

Other Thesis/Dissertation Resources

• General Writing Support: KU Writing Cener, writing@ku.edu 
• Citation Management and KU Formatting Assistance: Paul Thomas, paulthomas@ku.edu
• Copyright: KU Libraries Office of Scholarly Communication & Copyright copyright@ku.edu
• KU ScholarWorks KU Libraries: Marianne Reed, mreed@ku.edu 
• Submission Questions and all other questions: See table below for your School/College contact person 
• Need Help with Digital Accessibility: Submit a Digital Accessibility Request

Working with Multimedia Files

Including Digital Images

• Multimedia, Images, and PDF: Creating Effective and Enduring Digital Files (PDF)