Title page of your thesis

Every thesis has a cover page: the title page. This includes - how surprising! - the title of your thesis, your name, and various other details. Often, the title page looks more or less the same for many different theses. Read here what exactly your title page should contain and how to design it in alignment with the APA-style guidelines. 

You probably received instructions from your thesis supervisor about your thesis structure, and therefore about what should appear on your title page. This may vary from study program to study program. In general, you will see at least the following information on an APA title page (i.e. a title page fitting the APA style):

• the title and subtitle of your thesis;

• the type of document (undergraduate/master's thesis or report);

• the submission date of your thesis;

• your initials or first name and surname;

• your student number, course name and educational institution;

• the title, initials and surname of your first and second supervisor (including their position, if applicable).

Creating a title page for your thesis is not difficult. Word will get you started with several standard templates. If you go to 'Insert' via the menu bar at the top, you will see the option to insert a title page. 

Of course, you can also create your own title page if you don't want to be stuck with a standard template. Programs like InDesign, Photoshop or Canva (a free online version of Photoshop) are great options. Do check what your course expects from you before you start using all kinds of different colours and fonts.

Are you writing your thesis in APA style? If so, you will probably use the following structure for an APA title page:

• Centre all text on the page.

• Use double line spacing. 

• Put the title about 3-4 blank lines down from the top of the page.

• Make the title bold.

• Capitalise all keywords of the title. These are all words that are not function words (prepositions, articles, conjunctions, etc.), except for the function word that may be at the front of the title. You will then get, for example, 'The Effect of Smoking on Your Health'.

• Leave a line open under the title and put the author's name there, followed by your educational institute, followed by your supervisor's name, and lastly the submission date of your thesis underneath. Always leave a blank line between each of these.

Your thesis immediately stands out more if you include a photo or illustration on the front cover. Some programmes ask you not to use an image; other programmes are more liberal in this respect. It is important to first check how this works for your program before you start looking for images. 

For your title page, a high-resolution stock photo works best. You can then be sure that the image will not be grainy after printing or uploading. You can download free stock photos from various sites. For example, take a look at Pexels, Pixabay or Free Images.

Some courses have a guideline that requires a cover page as well as a title page. The cover page often contains the title and subtitle, your name, a picture or illustration and any additional information. The title page repeats the title and subtitle, and contains various other information such as the name of your supervisor.

Does your course require both a cover page and a title page? If so, ask your supervisor which information should appear on the cover page and which on the title page. 

Would you like to see a sample title page before you start designing your cover page? Check out the different thesis examples. These may give you some inspiration for your own title page. 

Always follow the guidelines from your course. Title pages of other theses may look different from how yours should look like. It all depends on the wishes of your thesis supervisor.