Thesis and Dissertation

Thesis and Dissertation Toolkits

For your convenience, the CCE has compiled toolkits for seven distinct thesis/dissertation scenarios. Review the scenarios below to determine which best fits your thesis or dissertation project, and then navigate to the custom toolkit to download all the resources you'll need to produce a high-quality manuscript! The toolkits contain templates, planning tools, the ProQuest publishing agreement that binds all completed Iowa State University theses and dissertations, as well as shared consent agreements for co-authored journal article chapters.

Additional support is available for the toolkits! See below.

Best for master's students completing a traditional, research-based thesis with no chapters formatted as journal articles. This toolkit contains:

  • Traditional Thesis/Dissertation Template
  • Thesis Planning Tool
  • ProQuest Publishing Agreement

Master's - Traditional Toolkit

Best for master's students completing a research-based thesis with two or more chapters, with at least one chapter formatted as a journal article. This toolkit contains:

  • Journal Article Thesis/Dissertation Template
  • Thesis Planning Tool
  • ProQuest Publishing Agreement
  • Shared Consent Forms (2 options)

Master's - Journal Articles Toolkit

Best for master's students completing a research-based thesis with only one chapter, formatted as a journal article. This toolkit contains:

  • Single Journal Article Thesis Template
  • Thesis Planning Tool
  • ProQuest Publishing Agreement
  • Shared Consent Forms (2 options)

Master's - Single Journal Article Toolkit

Best for master's students completing a creative thesis with nontraditional formatting, such as short story collections, poetry collections, scripts and screenplays, and more. This toolkit contains:

  • Nontraditional Thesis Template
  • Thesis Planning Tool
  • ProQuest Publishing Agreement

MFA - Nontraditional Toolkit

Best for doctoral students completing a traditional, research-based dissertation with no chapters formatted as journal articles. This toolkit contains:

  • Traditional Thesis/Dissertation Template
  • Dissertation Planning Tool
  • ProQuest Publishing Agreement

Ph.D. - Traditional Toolkit

Best for doctoral students completing a research-based dissertation with at least one chapter formatted as a journal article. This toolkit contains:

  • Journal Article Thesis/Dissertation Template
  • Dissertation Planning Tool
  • ProQuest Publishing Agreement
  • Shared Consent Forms (2 options)

Ph.D. - Journal Articles Toolkit

Resources and Services for Starting, and Finishing, Your Thesis or Dissertation

The CCE and the Graduate College offer free, convenient help for each step of thesis and dissertation progress. From brainstorming to graduation, you will find what you need at the CCE.

The links below provide more information about help available through the CCE. Live events and individual consultations give you the chance to grow your knowledge about thesis and dissertation writing and publishing, and get answers to the questions that spring up as you progress toward degree completion. You can also request to join the Canvas course, which walks you through the thesis/dissertation process step-by-step. From here, you can review the Graduate College Thesis/Dissertation Format Requirements as well as the step-by-step format tutorial videos and annotated samples.