Thesis Preparation and Submission

Dissertation
In a Ph.D. dissertation, a student / researcher has conducted a systematic research which presents and new knowledge, correct, deeps and thorough academic methodology.

Thesis
In a master's thesis a student / researcher has conducted a standard research, which presents additional or new knowledge / results.

Thematic paper
In a thematic paper, a student has conducted an independent study, as designated / assigned. The information comes from the original works of the authors of the of the literature that the student has reviewed. Instead, in a thematic paper, the student summarizes and compiles his / her critical opinions, from the literature review of the selected topic.

A thesis / thematic paper can be divided into 3 sections:

1. Preliminary Section
   • Outer Cover. This page contains details of the thesis title / thematic paper title, author's name, title of degree and field of study, graduation year. The last line must state that the thesis / thematic paper is the copyright of Mahidol University.
     
     The outer cover of Master's degree thesis / thematic paper is made of hard paper covered with black paper with embossed gold letters.
     
     The outer cover of Doctoral degree thesis is made of hard paper covered with blue paper with embossed gold letters.
     
     The spine of the Thesis / thematic paper contains details of the thesis / thematic paper title, author's name and graduation year.
     
     
   • Blank Page.
     
     
   • Title Page. This page contains the details as same as the Outer Cover.
     
     
   • Entitle Page. This page contains details of thesis title / thematic paper title, author's name and title, author's rank of nobility, title conferred by the kings or religious rank should appear, members of Thesis / Thematic Paper Advisory Committee with academic title and degree, Program Director's name and Dean of Faculty of Graduate Studies.และชื่อ-นามสกุล คณบดีบัณฑิตวิทยาลัย
     
     
   • Approval Page. This page contains details of thesis title / thematic paper title, author's name, members of Thesis / Thematic Paper Defense Committee, Dean of Faculty where the program held and Dean of Faculty of Graduate Studies.
     
     
   • Acknowledgement Page. Acknowledgements are statements of gratitude to any individual, institution and / or agency that provided assistance or cooperation during the course of thesis / thematic paper. They should be extended to members of Thesis / Thematic Paper Advisory Committee, Thesis / Thematic Paper Defense Committee, financial sponsor, individual who provided suggestions and information as well as those who permitted the use of writings and research equipment. Acknowledgements should be written in plain academic style, avoid using spoken and colloquial language. Individuals should be referred by first name-family name with titles, ranks of authority, titles conferred by being or priestly rank.
     
     It must not exceed 1 page.
     
     
   • Abstract Page. This page contains details of thesis title / thematic paper title, author's name, name of degree in brief and name of field of study in full, members of Thesis / Thematic Advisory Committee with degree, key words (not more than 5 words) and total numbering of thesis / thematic paper.
     
     Abstract should include objectives, goals, scope of the research, research methodology, research findings and meet criteria: accuracy, completeness, precision, conciseness and clarity. An abstract should only reports significant findings and statistical data of the research.
     
     It must not exceed 1 page.
     
     
   • Contents. This page outlines important sections of the thesis / thematic paper in proper order of page numbers.
     
     
   • List of tables (if any). This page lists the captions and page numbers of all the tables that appear in the thesis / thematic paper.
     
     
   • List of figures, List of illustrations (if any). This page lists the page number of all figures (figures, maps, charts and graphs) in the thesis / thematic paper.
     
     
   • List of abbreviations (if any). This page describes symbols and abbreviation in the thesis / thematic paper.
     
     
2. Body of Text
   is divided into 3 sections : Introduction, main text and conclusions / or suggestion.
   
   
   • Introduction. This is the first chapter of the thesis / thematic paper that provides background information and indicates the significance of the problem, research objectives, scope, brief methodology and benefits.
     
     
   • Main text. The main text can be divided into as many chapters as needed and should include one chapter of a literature review detailing relevant concepts, theories and previous research works. There should also be a chapter detailing comprehensive research methodology employed, steps taken, type of documents, information or equipment used and the manner in which they were obtained, research findings as well as there analysis and discussion.
     
     The details man be included as deemed appropriate by the thesis / thematic paper Major advisor and Program Director.
     
     
   • Summary and /or Suggestion. This section summarizes the whole thesis while indicating limitations of the research (if any) and providing suggestion for further research effort, research benefits and applications.
     
     
3. References Section and Back matter
   • References section. This section comprises of list of references that details titles of books, publications, audiovisual materials.
     
     
   • Appendices are supplementary texts that can not be included in the body of the text but can enhance thesis comprehensive and any relevant research data that were not directly cited in the thesis / thematic paper.
     
     
   • Author's biography. The biography appears on the last page. This page should include the following information of the author:
     • First and last name with applicable title, rank, rank of nobility, title conferred by the king and religious rank.
     • Date of birth
     • Place of birth (province and country)
     • Place of birth (province and country)
     • Scholarship / Research grants (if any)
     • Home address
     • Current work position and office
     • Academic publication
     • Award received: state only the important ones.

1. Fonts.
   Black, clear and legible font sizes must be used and must be consistent throughout all sections of the thesis.
   
   
2. Paper.
   The thesis / thematic paper must be printed on single sided plain white A4 80 grams paper.
   
   
3. Format.
   Must be in accordance with the Faculty of Graduate Studies's guidelines.
   
   
4. Page Setup.
   Top margin and Left margin should be approximately 3.75 cm. (An exception is at the beginning of a new chapter, hen the top margin should be 5 cm.) while right, and bottom margins are approximately 2.5 cm. The top margin is measured from the edge of the paper to the page number.
   
   
5. Page numbering.
   Use lowercase Roman numbers in all front matter. For page numbering of a thesis / thematic paper begin with iii on the Acknowledgement page. Though counted, no page numbering (neither in letters nor Roman numbers) appears on the entitled page, and approval page, do not contain any page numbering.
   
   The body of the text, references, appendices and biography pages are numbered consecutively as 1,2,3,4, etc. throughout the thesis / Thematic paper.
   
   The page numbers are placed at the top right hand corner of every page 2.5 cm. from both the top and right margins.
   
   
6. Spacing
   Manuscripts should be typewritten with 1.5 spacing. To begin a new paragraph, the student should space 2 cm. or 1 Tab = 2 cm.
   
   
7. Header
   The header should be presented beginning from the "ABSTRACT". The format used is "Times New Roman" with a size of 10 points.
   
   For the "ABSTRACT", the statement "Fac. of Grad Studies, Mahidol Univ." is presented on the left corner and the word "Thesis /" followed by one space and the page number is presented on the right corner.
   
   For the odd page, print "Fac. of Grad. Studies, Mahidol Univ." on the left corner and the degree e.g. M.Sc.(Maxillofacial Posthetics.) followed by a slash (/) and the page number on the right corner.
   
   For the even page, print the name of the student without title and degree on the left corner and the heading of contents (e.g. Introduction, Chapter, Appendix, References, etc.) accordingly followed by a slash (/) and the page number on the right corner.
   
   However, the header should not be printed on the page where the page number is not typed.
   
   
8. Chapters and chapter heading separation
   1. Chapter. Each chapter must begin on a new page and the number of the chapter must be in uppercase Roman numbers. For a thesis / thematic paper the word "Chapter" is center aligned 5 cm from the top edge of the page. The "Chapter's title" (all in capital letter and bolding) is also center aligned and appears below the CHAPTER line with one line spacing. Chapter titles that are longer than 1 line can be divided into 2-3 lines as deemed appropriate and must appear in a reversed triangle shape with no underlining.
      
      
   2. Headings. Headings refer to the main sections of a chapter other than the chapter's title which should be bolded or underlined with left justification. The headings' font size may vary according to the hierarchy of headings and should have greater than normal line spacing before and after each heading.
      
      If there is only one line left on the page after a new heading, start the heading on a new page.
      
      
   3. Sub Headings. Leave reasonable indentation for sub headings. A number prefix or a letter-and-number prefix can be used with sub headings.
      
      
9. Tables, figures, maps, charts, and graphs.
   Tables included table numbers, captions, texts, and sources which are usually presented in a single page.
   
   If the table is too long to fit on one page, continuation to the next page is acceptable keeping in mind that the table number, caption, and at least two lines of the table content need appear on the same page. If the table is completed on one page but its source has to be written on the next page, at least two lines of the table content need to be split to the next page even though some free space will appear in the table on the previous page.
   
   The size of the table should not exceed the normal margins of the thesis. Oversized tables must be resized by photocopying or other suitable means, but must remain easily legible. For a table whose width will not fit on a normal thesis page, it can be rotated till the top of the table is placed toward the binding (left) edge in a landscape format.
   
   
10. Scientific names
    Scientific names of microorganisms, plants, and animals are written in accordance with the International Code of Nomenclature guideline and must be differentiated from other letters or texts either by underlining or italicizing.
    
    
11. Electronic Filing
    After the student has successfully defended the thesis / Thematic paper and the thesis / Thematic paper is in final form, you are ready to make the electronic file and convert into Portable Document format (PDF). The contents of the electronic file should be divided according to the chapters in the thesis / Thematic , for example:

  Download Pdf (56.0 KB)

  Download Pdf (52.6 KB)

1. The student must report your progress and research performance to Thesis Advisory Committee / Thematic Paper Advisory Committee (GR.42 form) every semester that student is still working on the thesis / thematic paper.
   
   
2. The Advisory Committee have to give student advice on the theoretical concepts, research methodology and analytical processes and help solve related problems that may occur.
   
   
3. The Thesis / Thematic Paper Major Advisor and the Program Director have to check for and prevent dishonesty in the thesis / thematic paper by contacting the student and checking their progress at least once per month. The student do not has to meet major advisor in person but can contact in other ways provided records are kept for citation.
   
   
4. The Thesis / Thematic Paper Major Advisor is responsible for presenting an evaluation of the progress of the students in the semester when they register their thesis / thematic paper to the the Program Director and submitting it to the Dean of the Faculty of Graduate Studies every semester that the students are still working on thesis / thematic paper.
   
   
5. To evaluate the students' progress in thesis or thematic papers, letter grade "P", "S", or "U" is assigned with the following meanings:
   
   "P" ( in Progress) means the research is in the process of being performed, but cannot be judged as being either satisfactory or unsatisfactory.
   
   "S" (Satisfactory) means the progress of the research performance is considered to be satisfactory.
   
   "U" (Unsatisfactory) means the progress of the research performance is considered to be unsatisfactory, characterized by one of the following cases:
   • The student registered for the thesis or thematic paper in that semester but still has not prepared the proposal of a thesis or thematic paper.
   • The student did not perform the research according to the research plan.
     
     
6. If a student receives the "U" rating for two consecutive semesters or the "P" symbol in four consecutive semesters, the thesis or thematic paper major advisor and the Program Director should consider the problems and solve them, then report to the Dean of the Faculty of Graduate Studies.

The thesis or thematic paper examination will be an examination open to a general audience and be set at the same date specified in the document of the Thesis or Thematic Paper Defense Committee appointed by the Faculty of Graduate Studies.

If the Thesis / Thematic Paper Defense Committee for the examination be unable to meet for the examination on the set date, the following should be done:

1. The Faculty of Graduate Studies must postpone the defense examination date until a new examination date is set.
   
   
2. If the examination can not be postponed, the exam can proceed but the Committee or the Chair of the Defense Committee must notify the Program Director of the problem and then submit it to the Dean of the Faculty of Graduate Studies. The absent committee member must later evaluate the thesis. The final examination result must be approved by the Dean of the Faculty of Graduate Studies.
   
   
3. If a member of the exam committee is absent, that member or the Chair of the Defense Committee must notify the Program Director of the causes and then submit it to the Dean of the Faculty of Graduate Studies. The absent committee member must later evaluate the thesis. The final examination result must be approved by the Dean of the Faculty of Graduate Studies.

When the examination is complete, the Defense Committee will discuss and deliver their judgement of the examination result. The decision from each individual committee member must be treated as confidential. The net result of the examination will be graded as follows:

"Passed" means the student has satisfactorily completed the thesis or thematic paper and showed the ability to answer all questions asked by the Defense Committee. There is no further corrections or additions in the thesis. The manuscript of the thesis is complete and ready to be printed and published.

"Passed with Conditions" means the thesis is not satisfactorily completed and/or the student could not show ability to answer all questions asked by the Defense Committee. The Committee will require that the thesis or thematic paper be corrected or have main contents added or have the text revised. The conditions and time period for revising the thesis must be specified in order to allow the student to do so. This period, however, must not exceed 90 days or 30 days for revising the thesis or thematic paper, respectively, starting from the date on which the student is informed of the examination results.

"Not Passed" means the student did not demonstrate an ability to write the thesis or thematic paper to the satisfaction of the Defense Committee and/or could not answer many questions. It is apparent that the student did not thoroughly understand the contents and/or the research methods.

A student who receives a "Not Passed" grade will have to correct the thesis or thematic paper according to the suggestions of the Defense Committee within the time limit. When the time limit has elapsed, the student must resubmit a request for a thesis examination and register again.

If the above conditions cannot be met on time, the student will have to explain the reasons and obtain approval for extending the period for thesis or thematic paper submission by petition of the Chair of the Defense Committee and the Program Director. Otherwise, the Faculty of Graduate Studies will assign a " failed " grade and the student will then have to restart, repeating all steps of the thesis or thematic paper, with a new topic.

The Thesis Defense Committee member who is the major advisor must inform the result of the thesis or thematic paper defense examination to students in written language within 5 days of the examination day.

The thesis defense committee member who is the major advisor must submit the result of the thesis or thematic paper defense examination to the Dean of the Faculty of Graduate Studies through the Program Director within 15 days of the examination day.

Student must submit the complete thesis or thematic paper plus diskette or CD to the Faculty of Graduate Studies within 21 days of passing the examination. A fee will be charged for late submission. The "delayed submission" can not last more than 90 days after the "Passed" result.

A student must submit the complete thesis or thematic paper plus CD to the Faculty of Graduate Studies within 21 days of passing the examination. A fee will be charged for late submission (200 baht / working day). The "delayed submission" can not last more than 90 days after the "Passed" result.

If the delayed submission of the complete thesis or thematic paper and CD has not been received by the Faculty of Graduate Studies within 90 days after the "passed" result, the Faculty of Graduate Studies will cancel the thesis or thematic paper examination result. If the student still wants to receive the degree, the student must register and start the entire processes of the thesis or thematic paper again.

  Download Pdf (14.5 KB)
  GR.47 Publication Form (28.8 KB)

  Download Pdf (20.0 KB)
  Download GR.43 (26.8 KB)
  Announcement Addendum (24.0 KB)

Thesis/Themetic paper which students submit to Faculty of Graduate Studies are available for public use at :

1. Mahidol University Library and Knowledge Center
2. National Library of Thailand
3. Office of the National Research Council of Thailand
4. National Archives of Thailand
5. Buddhist Research Institute, Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University
6. Office of National Buddhism
7. Graduate School, Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University
8. Institute of Police Administration Development
9. Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University
10. Faculty of Nursing, Khon Kaen University
11. Faculty of Nursing, Chiang Mai University
12. Faculty of Pharmacy, Chiang Mai University
13. Office of The Education Council

  Cover Page (45.1 KB)
  Example of Spine (45.2 KB)
  Entitled Page (44.7 KB)
  Approval Page (37.8 KB)
  Acknowledgements Page (40.2 KB)
  Abstract Page (44.7 KB)
  Thai Abstract Page (66.1 KB)
  Content Page (75.4 KB)
  The Odd / Even Page (56.2 KB)
  Sample table (20.3 KB)
  References Page (37.5 KB)
  Biography Page (40.0 KB)