Department of Economics

UThesis Documents

UThesis
(Version 12)

1.  What is UThesis?

UThesis is a LaTeX document class that reformats a draft dissertation/thesis into a document that is guaranteed to satisfy all University of Toledo style and formatting requirements.

  • Note that UThesis files are intended for students using the LaTeX document preparation system. they are of no use to students using Microsoft Word to write their dissertations/thesis.

The UThesis package was created so that UT graduate students could minimize time spent on satisfying style and formatting requirements and, instead, could concentrate their efforts on the content of their dissertation/thesis. Anyone with a basic working knowledge of LaTeX will find that UThesis is not complicated and is quite easy to use.

The UT Graduate Faculty established the Handbook for the Preparation of Graduate Dissertations and Theses to govern the style and formatting of graduate documents at UT. That handbook contains approximately 30 pages of rules and regulations. If you use UThesis properly then you do not have to concern yourself with the formatting rules in that Handbook because UThesis will do all of that work for you.

2.  Downloading UThesis Files

The UThesis package consists of four files.  You can download each file separately or you can download the files “all at once” via a WinZip file. A brief description of each file is provided below. In the event you are unfamiliar with downloading files, some downloading tips are also provided below.

  • Important: when downloading the files to your local machine, save the files to the directory containing your disseration/thesis files.

 Option A — download the four UThesis files separately:

1. Read Me First (v12).pdf

2. uthesis12.cls

3. UThesis Template (v12).tex

4. UThesis Template (v12).pdf

Option B — download a *.zip file:

If you are familiar with WinZip compressed files, download the following *.zip file and extract its contents to the directory where your dissertation/thesis files are located. The extracted files will be the four files listed above.

•   uthesis12.zip

Brief Descriptions of the Four UThesis Files

First, you should read the aptly named file “Read Me First (v12).pdf.” It explains how to use UThesis and provides a step-by-step walkthrough of each UThesis command. This file also discusses the formatting options open to you through UThesis.

The file “uthesis12.cls” contains all internal LaTeX commands used to format your document according to UT Graduate Faculty style and formatting requirements. You must save this file to the directory containing your dissertation/thesis files. Once you do that, you should do nothing else with that file.

The file “UThesis Template (v12).tex” is provided to get you started using UThesis. (For example, it illustrates how to use the “uthesis12.cls” file mentioned above.) The file “UThesis Template (v12).tex” shows exactly what information you need to provide and how to provide that information in your LaTeX file. (For example, how to provide your name, your advisor’s name, the title of your document, abstract text, etc.) You can experiment with the various options and commands in this template file — run LaTeX — and see the effect of your change on the output file. Then change another option — re-run LaTeX — and see how that option affects your output file. (The corresponding PDF file listed above serves as a baseline example.) Such experimentation will show you how easy it is to use UThesis as well as the full range of capabilities provided with this LaTeX package. The corresponding PDF file, "UThesis Template (v12).pdf," serves as a baseline example for such comparisons.

Tips on Downloading Files

The easiest way to download an individual file is to “right-click” on one of the file links above. This will cause a menu to appear on your screen. Choose the option "Save Link As ..." (or its equivalent). Another window will pop on your screen asking you where you want to save the file. At this point you need to change whatever directory is listed in this pop-up window to the particular directory containing your dissertation/thesis files.

If you “left-click” on one of the file links above your computer will attempt to display that file on your screen.

•   This is OK if your computer recognizes the file extensions *.pdf, *.tex, and *.cls. In this case simply save the file to the directory where your dissertation/thesis files are located.

•   If your computer doesn’t recognize any of those file extensions it will ask you which software program is to be associated with a particular file extension. Associate *.pdf files with Adobe Reader (of course) and associate *.tex and *.cls files with either a LaTeX editor you have on your local computer (e.g., WinEdt) or a simple text editor (e.g., Notepad).

3.  Contact Information

If you have any questions on the UThesis package please contact:

Dr. Michael Dowd
4120 University Hall
Department of Economics
The University of Toledo
Toledo, Ohio 43606
419.530.2572

Last Updated: 6/27/22