Manonmaniam Sundaranar University PhD thesis format

What does MSU prescribe for PhD thesis format?

MSU’s layout rules are spread across three documents. The regulations cover language, the title page, the certificates and, in clause 11.7(6), the type: 1.5 or 2.0 line spacing, 12 pt, no artistic fonts, printing on both sides from Chapter I and a well-stitched soft binding. The rest of the typing rules are in the Check list for Thesis Preparation, which you sign and submit with the thesis. The table collects them.

The length rule is the one to plan around. 100 to 400 pages is a wide band, but the count starts at Chapter 1 and ignores the references, so a thesis that runs 130 pages from Chapter 1 onwards, 40 of them references, counts as 90 and falls short. Preliminary pages are outside the count. Whether appendices count is not clear from the wording, so don’t rely on them to reach 100.

The preparation checklist asks you to confirm that “Paper & Margin Specification is mentioned as specified”. We could not find that specification anywhere. The model thesis doesn’t give it, and the regulations don’t either. There is a separate MSU document with margins and paper sizes, but it is the 2016 guideline for PG and M.Phil. project reports, not for the PhD. Most Indian theses use A4 and margins of roughly 1.5 inches on the binding side and 1 inch on the other three. Ask your supervisor, and ask the Centre for Research if the office is likely to check.

On spacing, the regulations let you choose 1.5 or 2.0, but item 14 of the checklist you sign asks for double. Use double, since that meets both documents.

No reference style is mandated. Clause 11.7(5) leaves presentation style to your supervisor and RAC. The Harvard-pattern references in the model thesis are examples, not a rule.

What is the order of pages in an MSU thesis?

The Format (Model) for Thesis Preparation gives a sample of each page, and item 1 of the preparation checklist asks you to confirm that the thesis is “arranged in the order specified”. This is that order:

• Cover page and title page
• Certificate (research work, originality and plagiarism declaration)
• Certificate of genuineness of the publication(s)
• Abstract
• Acknowledgement
• Table of contents
• List of figures
• List of tables
• List of symbols and abbreviations
• Chapters
• References
• Appendices: list of publications, reprints of your journal papers, bio-data

Details from the model that scholars miss:

• Title page. The model has your title, “A THESIS Submitted by”, your name, register number and discipline, the “in partial fulfillment” line for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, the university name and the month and year of submission. Clause 11.7(3) of the regulations also lists the supervisor’s name and designation, the address of the institution and the university logo. The model doesn’t show those. Include them, since the regulations are the higher authority, and let your supervisor confirm the layout.
• The certificate. The model combines the research certificate and your plagiarism declaration on one page, signed by you, your supervisor and any joint supervisor, each with an academic designation. The preparation checklist says plainly: academic designation only, not administrative posts. So “Associate Professor”, not “Head and Associate Professor”.
• Certificate of genuineness of the publication. A table of your published papers (title, journal, volume, pages, year, ISSN, publisher), signed and sealed by your supervisor, stating that they incorporate part of the thesis results.

Clause 11.7(4) of the regulations asks for three certificates before the contents page: one from the head of your institution that you did the work there, one from your supervisor on originality and freedom from plagiarism (from both supervisors for interdisciplinary work), and your own undertaking. The model folds two of these into one page, so ask your research centre whether it wants a separate head-of-institution certificate. For how chapters are usually organised inside this frame, see our thesis structure guide.

What similarity limit does MSU accept?

Up to 10%, checked on DrillBit. Clause 11.4 of the Regulations 2023 says it in one line: “Similarities upto 10% be accepted (via Drillbit software).” That matches the no-penalty level in the UGC’s 2018 plagiarism regulations, which the clause names.

The process has more moving parts than the number:

1. Your third RAC meeting scrutinises the draft thesis for plagiarism before it approves the synopsis and thesis.
2. You get the application for the check, and the rules, from the University Library (clause 11.6(4) and (5)). The fee on the current checklist is ₹2,000.
3. The soft copy used for the check is also lodged with the Library “on the day itself”. The clause doesn’t say which day it means, so ask the Library.
4. You submit the thesis within 15 days of the check, with the certificate signed by your guide, the head of the research centre and the Librarian.

The submission form also carries a one-page “Certificate on Plagiarism Check” for your supervisor, which states the percentage DrillBit reported and encloses the detailed report. The 15-day window is what catches people: a week at the binder and a week chasing signatures, and you are out. Print from the exact file you checked, and get the forms signed beforehand.

Clause 11.4 also rules out self-plagiarism, so cite your own papers wherever a chapter reuses them. How DrillBit reports and excludes matches is covered in our DrillBit guide, and the UGC bands and other universities’ limits in the plagiarism limits guide.

What Tamil-language documents does MSU need?

This part surprises scholars from other states. The thesis is in English (unless it is a language thesis), but the submission checklist asks for:

• A one-page abstract in Tamil and English, signed by you and your supervisor(s), with the thesis title, your name and register number.
• The synopsis in Tamil and English, in print and on CD.
• A list of the glossary terms used in the thesis.
• A certificate from the Tamil Virtual Academy, forwarded by your supervisor.

The Tamil Virtual Academy application (on the same downloads page, dated September 2025) wants one Word file and one PDF containing an abstract in Tamil and English of up to four pages, a synopsis in both languages of 10 to 15 pages, and at least 30 glossary terms in both languages. Tamil text goes in the TAU-Marutham font, English in Times New Roman. Scholars in Tamil itself send only the Tamil versions, plus the bilingual glossary.

Start the translation early. Many technical terms have no settled Tamil equivalent, and you will be choosing them.

How do you submit the synopsis and thesis at MSU?

Before the synopsis

You need two research articles in UGC-CARE-listed journals, as first author or as second author with your supervisor first (or one granted patent), uploaded to the Vidwan portal (clause 11.2). The papers must carry the MSU affiliation, and you also present two papers at seminars or conferences. Then comes the Pre-Ph.D. presentation at your research centre, where the attendance sheet needs at least 20 signatures besides yours and your supervisor’s, and the third RAC meeting. Our pre-submission seminar guide covers how to prepare for that.

The synopsis

No more than 5,000 words, submitted in three copies with a soft copy (clauses 11.5 and 11.6(3)). MSU’s synopsis model runs Preface, Problem Statement, Introduction, Review of Literature, Methodology, Summary, References and List of Publications. Your supervisor sends the panel of examiners at this stage. Regulation 12.2 sets the pattern: three foreign examiners, three from outside Tamil Nadu and three from within the state. The thesis submission checklist applies that pattern to scholars registered after January 2022; for those registered earlier it asks for five examiners within Tamil Nadu and five from other states. More on writing it is in our synopsis format guide.

The thesis

You submit the thesis no sooner than one month and no later than six months after the synopsis (clause 11.6(6)). Missing six months means applying for an extension with a penalty, and nothing is accepted beyond the maximum period of your programme. The three hard copies go in with the two checklists, the Thesis Submission Form, no-dues certificates, RAC minutes and fee receipts. The November 2025 checklist puts the submission fee at ₹15,000, or ₹20,000 for C and B2 category scholars. The acknowledgement you get is a receipt for documents, not acceptance of the thesis.

One copy of the thesis comes back to you after the viva and one goes to the MSU library. After the degree is announced, clause 14(6) says the Director of the Centre for Research forwards a soft copy to the UGC. The regulations don’t mention Shodhganga by name. Our Shodhganga guide explains what normally happens to that copy.

MSU PhD thesis checklist before submission

These come from the regulations and the two MSU checklists. Anything not on the list (margins, paper size, heading styles) is your supervisor’s call.

• The thesis runs 100 to 400 pages from Chapter 1 to the last page (references not counted), typed in MS Word in Times New Roman at 12 pt, double-spaced, with at least 20 lines a page.
• Pages follow the order in the Format (Model) for Thesis Preparation, and the certificate shows your supervisor’s academic designation only.
• Your ORCID iD appears in both the printed and the soft copy.
• The DrillBit check is done through the University Library, similarity is 10% or less, and the certificate and full report are enclosed. You are submitting within 15 days of the check.
• Two UGC-CARE papers (or one granted patent) are in the appendices with reprints, carry the MSU affiliation, and are uploaded to Vidwan with evidence.
• The one-page abstract in Tamil and English is signed by you and your supervisor(s), and the synopsis in Tamil and English is ready in print and on CD.
• You have the Tamil Virtual Academy certificate and the list of glossary terms used in the thesis.
• Three hard copies, soft-bound and printed on both sides from Chapter I, plus the PDF copies on CD and the PDF upload.
• Both checklists, the submission form, the supervisor’s language and grammar certificate, no-dues certificates and fee receipts are signed and forwarded through your head of department or principal.

If you want the numbering, lists and references made consistent before the third RAC, our thesis formatting service does that. It works on presentation only; the content stays yours.