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https://github.com/Lodour/wisc-thesis-template

A Minimum Working Example of the Dissertation Template for UW-Madison.
https://github.com/Lodour/wisc-thesis-template

dissertation-template latex template thesis-template uw-madison wisconsin

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A Minimum Working Example of the Dissertation Template for UW-Madison.

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# wisc-thesis-template

A Minimum Working Example of the Dissertation Template for UW-Madison.



## What's New



* Easy to use, customize, and debug (there is only one style file)

* You can define and change everything as you like

* Minimal dependency and minimal working example



## Usage



See example PDF at [github](./example.pdf) or [download](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Lodour/wisc-thesis-template/main/example.pdf).



```latex

\documentclass[12pt,oneside,letterpaper]{memoir}

\usepackage{thesis}



% Use any text & math fonts you like

\usepackage{lmodern}

\usepackage{tgpagella}



% Use any bib style you like

\usepackage{natbib}

\setcitestyle{sort,compress,numbers,square,comma}



% Define thesis information

\title{A Minimum Working Example of the Dissertation Template for UW-Madison}

\author{Student Name}

\department{Computer Sciences}

\deposityear{YYYY}

\defensedate{MM/DD/YYYY}



% Define committee members, you can add more.

\committeemember{Faculty Name, Professor, Computer Sciences}

\committeemember{Faculty Name, Professor, Computer Sciences}

\committeemember{Faculty Name, Associate Professor, Computer Sciences}

\committeemember{Faculty Name, Assistant Professor, Computer Sciences}



% Define frontmatters (comment out if you don't want it)

\dedication{...}



\acknowledgements{

	...

}



\abstract{

  ...

}



\begin{document}



% Make everything before the main thesis

\maketitle

\makefrontmatter



% Your thesis

...



% Use any bib style you like

\bibliographystyle{abbrvnat}

\bibliography{...}



\end{document}

```



## How to Customize



#### Q: I still want to use 1.5 spacing.



Change `\DoubleSpacing` to `\OnehalfSpacing` in `thesis.sty`.



#### Q: I want to change the title page margin.



Play around with these lengths before `\maketitle`:

```latex

\setlength{\titlepagemedskip}{0.15in}

\setlength{\titlepagebigskip}{0.55in}

\setlength{\committeeindent}{2em}

\setlength{\committeetop}{3\titlepagebigskip}

```



#### Q: I want to customize the TOC style.



This package relies on the `tocloft` package, please google how to customize it or reference the default settings [here](https://github.com/Lodour/wisc-thesis-template/blob/74e0420eedca467042bf500e0c234f3fb8c8b917/thesis.sty#L204-L247).



#### Q: I want to change the depth of section numbers or TOC.



```latex

% Set the depth of section numbers you like

\setcounter{secnumdepth}{2}



% Set the depth of table of contents you like

\setcounter{tocdepth}{1}

```



#### Q: I am not writing a dissertation for a Ph.D.



Change the text to whatever you want before `\maketitle`:

```latex

\doctype{A dissertation}

\degree{Doctor of Philosophy}

```



## What's Not Working with Previous Templates



Currently, there are three templates available online:

* [GitHub: WI-thesis UW-Madison Dissertation Template](https://github.com/willb/wi-thesis-template)

* [Overleaf: UW-Madison Dissertation Template](https://www.overleaf.com/latex/templates/university-of-wisconsin-madison-dissertation-template/mcvftvhkknkz)

* [Memorial Library Template](https://uwmadison.box.com/s/euyh4u8ffk3evfs30643)



For some unknown reason, all of these packages have several issues:



**1. They hardcoded many formats NOT required by UW-Madison**



As per UW-Maidison's requirement at [web](https://grad.wisc.edu/current-students/doctoral-guide/) or [pdf](https://grad.wisc.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/329/2023/04/Formatting-Requirements-for-your-Doctoral-Dissertation.pdf), there is no requirement for:

* Putting chapter titles in the header

* Font (the official [sample title page](https://grad.wisc.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/329/2023/04/Sample-PhD-title-page-2024.pdf) uses Times New Roman)

* A large margin (only required a minimum of 1 inch)

* Reference format

* ...



**2. They used 1.5 spacing, but UW-Madison requires double spacing**



Yet, many deposited dissertations in the past few years passed the formatting check with 1.5 spacing.



I don't know why, but it is better to follow the requirements.



**3. Hard to customize**



* They defined many math and proof environments, which conflict with mine and are hard to dig out

* They defined the math font, which is not friendly for a math-heavy thesis and hard to change

* Too many unnecessary definitions compared with the official requirement

* Too many nested files, which costs me several days to debug



## Acknowledgements



Although previous templates are not working perfectly after these many years, this template referenced a lot of ideas from them:

* https://github.com/willb/wi-thesis-template

* https://uwmadison.box.com/s/euyh4u8ffk3evfs30643



The example bib file was generated by:

* Claude 3 Opus