Structure of the PhD Thesis
The structure of the doctoral dissertation should include:
 
  • Cover
  • Title Page (Inside Cover)
  • Back side of Title Page
  • Validation Page (must bear the signature of the Supervisor and the Chairman of the Evaluation Committee. Other signatures are not obligatory).
  • Declaration and signature of Doctoral Candidate
  • Abstract in Greek (approximately 500 words)
  • Abstract in an international language (approximately 500 words)
  • Acknowledgements (Optional-depends on the candidate)
  • Dedication (Optional-depends on the candidate)
  • Table of Contents
  • List of Figures
  • List of Tables
  • Chapters
  • Conclusions
  • References
  • Appendices (if applicable)
General Specifications for the Preparation of the Doctoral Thesis
  • PhD dissertation: The PhD dissertation in an electronic format is submitted to the Department, the Library and the Graduate School.
  • Binding: The PhD dissertation must be bound in size A4 volume(s).
  • Dissertation length: The minimum number of words for a PhD dissertation is 10,000 words, unless otherwise specified by each Department through its departmental postgraduate students' rules. The length of the dissertation relates to the requirements and particularities of the topic. Scientific competence is more important than the length for the thesis evaluation.
  • Cover: A golden-colour University of Cyprus logo appears on the dissertation cover. Data included on the cover are: academic department, thesis title, author's name, the phrase "Doctoral Dissertation" and the year it is submitted.
  • Paper: The dissertation must be printed on good quality A4 white paper.
  • Font/size: It is recommended that the dissertation be printed in black font, preferably Times Roman or Arial or other font, size 11 or 12.  For footnotes and endnotes it is recommended that a smaller size of the same font be used. Titles and headings may have different size.
  • Spacing: It is recommended that line spacing is 1.5. Extended citations, footnotes, appendices, and references may be single spaced.
  • Margins: Top, bottom and right margins must be 2 cm; left must be 3.5 cm.
  • Printing: Printing should be consistently clear and dark and only one side of the paper is to be used. Either laser printing or photocopying of high quality is acceptable. Inkjet printing is not accepted.
  • Pagination: Preliminary pages (i.e. the validation page, acknowledgements, table of contents and related pages) must have continuous numbering in lower case Roman numerals (i, ii, iii, iv, v, ...). The title page inside must not be numbered and be counted in the total number of pages. All following pages of the dissertation text, including appendices (if any) and bibliographies, must have continuous numbering using Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, ...). Page numbers are located at the bottom, justified to the right.
    • Printed Appearance of the PhD Thesis

    Cover – the information below, in the order given, is provided in golden colour uppercase letters:

    • University of Cyprus logo (in golden colour)
    • Academic department [Department of .......]
    • Title of PhD dissertation
    • The phrase "DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY DISSERTATION"
    • Author's full name
    • Year of submission

    Volume Spine – the information below, in the order given, is provided in golden colour uppercase letters:

    • Author's full name
    • The phrase "DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY DISSERTATION"
    • Volume number (in case there are more than one)
    • Year of submission

    Title Page (Inside Cover) – the same information as provided on the cover, in uppercase letters:

    • University of Cyprus logo
    • Academic department [Department of .......]
    • Title of PhD dissertation
    • Author's full name
    • The sentence "A dissertation submitted to the University of Cyprus in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy"
    • Month and Year of submission

    The page following the Title Page (on the back of the title page) – Information provided:

    • ©Full name, Year of submission
    Structure of the main parts of the PhD Thesis

    The dissertation's parts must appear in the following order:

    Validation Page – information provided:

    • "VALIDATION PAGE"Doctoral candidate: [.........full name]
    • Dissertation Title
    • The following sentence in italics: "The present Doctoral Dissertation was submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the Department of .......... [name of the department] and was approved on the ................ [date of approval] by the members of the Examination Committee."
    • Examination Committee:
      • Supervisor [.............full name, position, signature]
      • Other members [............full name, position, signature (for each one)]

    The validation page must bear the signature of the Supervisor and the Chairman of the Evaluation Committee. Other signatures are not obligatory.

    Declaration of Doctoral Candidate – the following statement must be provided:

    "The present doctoral dissertation was submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy of the University of Cyprus. It is a product of original work of my own, unless otherwise mentioned through references, notes, or any other statements."

    Full Name and Signature of the Doctoral Candidate

    Abstract in Greek (approximately 500 words) - (the abstract should be read independently)

    Abstract in an international language (approximately 500 words) - (the abstract should be read independently)

    Acknowledgements (Optional – depends on the candidate)

    Dedication (Optional – depends on the candidate)

    Table of Contents

    List of Figures

    List of Tables

    Chapter 1: Introduction

    Other Chapters

    Conclusions

    References

    Appendices (if applicable)

    Guidelines for Doctoral Thesis
    Template: specifications, instructions for preparing, editing, writing and submission of doctoral dissertation
    Supporting Documents

    The Chairman of the Department submits to the Dean of the Graduate School the following supporting documents:

    1. The PhD justifications submission form
    2. The Departmental Board minutes with the approval of the five-member examining committee.
    3. An independent written report from the five members of the Examining Committee with their preliminary comments and statements on the content of the thesis (with the exception of the student’s Supervisor). The signatures on the preliminary report may be original or electronic.
    4. The final report of the five-member Examining Committee.
    5. A confirmation of the Supervisor of the doctoral student that any recommendations of the Examining Committee for changes in the thesis, have been implemented.
    6. A list of the actual publications that have already produced from the doctoral thesis and/or any articles that are being published/under review, as well as any papers in scientific conferences.
    7. A confirmation from the Financial Budget Management Sector - Office of the Director of Administration and Finance of the University of Cyprus that the doctoral student has settled all his/her payments.
    8. A Doctoral Dissertation Receipt Confirmation from the University Library.
    9. An electronic copy of the PhD thesis.

    The Dean of the Graduate School checks all the PhD supporting documents, verifies that the procedure which has been followed was in accordance with the University regulations and forwards all the supporting documents to the Senate for the final decision regarding the award of the Doctor of Philosophy title.

    Quality Assurance Policy
    Presentations of PhD Thesis
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    Abstracts of Phd Thesis
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    Last Updated on May 11, 2026