How to Prepare Your Thesis Using LaTeX

1. Use the Approved LaTeX Thesis Class

At Rensselaer, Academic and Research Computing provides a special LaTeX document class that you can use to produce either a master's or a doctoral thesis that meets the formatting requirments of the Graduate School. The name of this document class is thesis.

To use this class, first save the file thesis.cls on your computer and either put it in the same directory with the other .tex files that make up your thesis, or put it in LaTeX's normal input path in a subfolder called "thesis". For example, if you have the TeXLive 2007 TeX/LaTeX distribution, you would put it in C:\texmf-local\tex\latex\thesis\. With another distribution, you could check to see where other .cls and .sty files are located.
If your thesis includes algorithms, you may be interested in the algorithm2e package, consisting of the two files algorithm2e.sty and algorithm2e.pdf (the manual). If not already on your system, you can download the files from the TeX archive web site.

2. The Template Files Provide a Quick Start

A set of thesis template (or prototype) files is available, with each file containing the commands to produce a particular part of a thesis. If you wish, you may copy these files to your own computer and use them to get started on your thesis. The template files are:

For a short thesis (about 20-30 pages), assuming a masters thesis:

rpithes-short.tex (complete thesis)
abstitle-mas.tex (abstract title page and abstract)

For a longer thesis:

rpithes.tex
rpititle-mas.tex or rpititle-phd.tex
rpiack.tex
rpiabs.tex
rpichap1.tex
rpichap2.tex
rpibib.tex
rpiapp.tex
abstitle-mas.tex or abstitle-phd.tex (for the abstract title page and abstract)

3. Read the Documentation

The ARC document, Preparing a Thesis with LaTeX (formerly Memo RPI.110), tells you how to use the RPI thesis document class and includes an example using the templates. When you submit your thesis electronically, you will be asked for files in PDF format. Conversion from LaTeX to PDF is free and straightforward; please read the instructions in Creating a PDF File from a LaTeX Thesis.

Note that, although the RPI thesis class produces an acceptable format, you should be familiar with the regulations on thesis preparation prepared by the Office of Graduate Education.

If you are not familiar with LaTeX, the ARC introductory document, Text Formatting with LaTeX (formerly Memo RPI.109), will get you started. You might also want to go through the on-line course materials.

Preparing a Thesis with LaTeX and Text Formatting with LaTeX are also usually available in printed form in the racks outside the VCC Help Desk.

Last modified: March 24, 2008