Preparing to submit your thesis

Key information for preparing print copies of thesis materials:

• A spiral, comb, velo, wiro or equivalent bound copy is fine. The more expensive blue book binding is not necessary.
• The bound copy needs to fit in a padded envelope sized 300 x 440 mm, or when you send or drop it into our office you can use your own envelope.
• If you are a research degree candidate whose thesis includes scores, commentary, CDs, DVDs or art work your faculty will often recommend a box to protect the contents. At this stage, when it is not the final thesis for the library, it is your choice if you wish to use box binding or other alternatives. It will also need to fit in the padded 300 x 440 mm envelope, or again you can provide your own envelope or suitable post packaging

It is your responsibility to produce and submit a print copy of your thesis to us; you can post it directly from the print service, or drop it in person, to:

Research Degrees Examination team
Student Operations
8th Floor
James Clerk Maxwell Building
57 Waterloo Road
SE1 8WA

Our counter opening hours are between 09:00 and 17:00. The door will be locked outside these hours.
 

Important to know: print copies must be sent to your examiners by the Research Degrees Examination team and not by you, your supervisor nor a faculty staff member.

The print copy specifications include:

• Plain white A4 sized paper (210 x 297 mm);
• One sided printing;
• Margins at the binding edge must not be less than 40 mm and other margins not less than 20 mm;
• Double or 1.5 spacing (except for indented quotations or footnotes which can be single-spaced);
• All pages must be numbered in one continuous sequence. This means from the title page of the first volume to the last page of type will be page 1 onwards, until your final page. This sequence must include everything bound in the volume, for example, maps, diagrams, blank pages, etc;
• Any material which cannot be bound in with the text must be placed in a pocket inside or attached to the back cover or in a rigid container. As mentioned before the storage of these materials must be presented in such a way that it can fit in the padded 300 x 440 mm envelope or sent to us using appropriate packaging to send to your examiners;
• If your appendices are very long and will entail a two-volume thesis it may be better to use a disc or USB storage system to include them. Please consider that your examiners may not have access to those computer facilities or find it suitably accessible. If you do choose to do this please ensure that the disc or USB stick is securely fastened in the back of your thesis.

We post your thesis using standard first class postage via Royal Mail, as per university guidance. We are unable to provide a courier service, nor do we have financial approval to use the King's preferred courier service suppliers.

If you or your supervisor have concerns about your examiners' location(s) and ability to receive a print copy, then we advise that the examiner(s) print the copy from the electronic PDF and claim any related expenses via the expenses form once the Oral Examination is complete. As with all expense claims, they must keep and submit any receipts.

If your examiners have not requested a print copy of your thesis then we are unable to keep a printed version for you. This is because we have a very limited, open plan office space and cannot guarantee the security of your thesis beyond postage. We ensure your thesis is confidentially shredded should a print copy not be required.