Theses and Dissertations

UDSM requires all thesis and dissertation defenses to be publicly announced to the community, via the University website and other resources to reach the general public, a minimum of two weeks prior to the defense date.

  1. To add your defense to UDSM Events calendar, please submit via the University’s Events Calendar. Once entered and properly tagged, defenses will appear on this website.
  2. For any questions regarding defense submissions, please contact dpgs@udsm.ac.tz.
  3. If your announcement does not meet this requirement, the Directorate of Postgraduate Studies will notify you that your defense must be rescheduled.
  4. When scheduling your defense date, be sure to allow sufficient time for the development and approval of the announcement.

Please note that the public announcement requests can only be submitted by faculty/staff of the University.

UDSM has opened a portal for student submission of their theses and dissertations (https://repository.udsm.ac.tz). The portal is managed by the UDSM Library. All expected graduates are required to submit their dissertation details before graduation.

When preparing dissertation/ these for submission, the Candidates shall strictly adhere to these regulations and shall follow the specifications laid out in the General Regulations and Guidelines for Postgraduate Studies. Dissertation/theses prepared in contravention of these specifications shall NOT be accepted.

Questions on any aspect of the arrangements and requirements should be directed to the Directorate of Postgraduate Studies, University of Dar es Salaam, P. O. Box 35091, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania; email: dpgs@udsm.ac.tz.

  1. Postgraduate diploma research project: a maximum of 50 pages with a tolerance of up to 5 extra pages (10%), including appendices and footnotes.
  2. Masters dissertations/ research project paper/ and graduate essays: a maximum of 100 pages with a tolerance of up to 10 extra pages (10%) including appendices and footnotes.
  3. Masters theses: a maximum of 200 pages, with a tolerance limit of up to 20 extra pages (10%) including appendices and footnotes.
  4. PhD dissertations: a maximum of 300 pages, with a tolerance limit of up to 30 extra pages (10%) including appendices and footnotes.
  5. PhD theses: a maximum of 400 pages, with a tolerance limit of up to 40 extra pages (10%, including appendices and footnotes.
  6. For thesis by papers; published papers should be included in the thesis with their original formats and the number of pages may differ from those by monograph specified in (d) and (e) above.
Text must be in the following format:
  1. Typewritten/word-processed
  2. In a font of 12 points (Times New Roman or CG Times)
  3. One point five (1.5) spaced and evenly distributed with full justification
  4. A new paragraph should start after 10 points
  5. The left-hand margin must be 4.0 cm from the left edge of the paper
  6. The right-hand margin must be 2.5 cm from the right edge
  7. The top margin should be 4.0 cm from the top of the page
  8. The bottom margin must be 2.5 cm from the bottom of the paper
  9. Printed on both sides
In a single bound volume, thesis/dissertation material should be arranged in the following sequence:
  1. Cover page
  2. Title page
  3. Certification
  4. Author’s Declaration and Copyright
  5. Acknowledgements
  6. Dedication, if any
  7. List of abbreviations/acronyms used
  8. Abstract
  9. Table of contents
  10. List of tables, figures, illustrations, etc.
  11. List of accompanying material, if any
  12. Main text divided into chapters, sections, etc.
  13. List of references
  14. Appendices