A LaTeX thesis and dissertation template for Binghamton University
When I wrote my dissertation in 2024, I found that there were a few challenges:
- The Graduate School is under the impression that most PhD candidates are using Microsoft Word. At least in the STEM fields, this is not correct. We've been writing conference papers and journal articles in LaTeX, and these manuscripts form a programmatic line of research that becomes our dissertation or thesis. Rewriting in Word is out of the question.
- There is no official LaTeX style file, therefore most people are reusing a Mathematics Department template from the mid-aughts with a lot of fragile, obsolete LaTeX idioms and opinionated macros that will conflict with other departments' style guides.
- I tried to write a style file rather than a template that captured only the Graduate School's requirements, deferring as many style choices to your preamble as possible.
- The included template is simply a recreation of the Graduate School's own sample, illustrating how to use the style file, rather than a requirement to get the right style.
- Most graduate students are not "TeX-nicians", and can't/shouldn't invest the time to learn to write their own style file. Besides, you get no credit for reinvention.
If you already have a work in progress written in LaTeX, it is sufficient to:
- Put bingthesis.sty in the same directory as your root file
- Use a
\usepackage{bingthesis}directive in your document preamble before any other\usepackage{}directives
Otherwise, you can start writing your dissertation by modifying the sample dissertation included in this repository.
Build the sample dissertation in whichever method is most compatible with your existing workflow.
- Uploading this entire repository to a blank Overleaf project and let it build. Overleaf has all required packages globally available except bingthesis.sty.
- Build this repository using a LaTeX IDE such as TeXStudio or Texifier. For the former, you will need to change your bibliography engine from Bibtex to Biber.
- Build with a build tool such as
latexmk(included with most LaTeX distributions) orrubber. Use main.tex as the root document.
TheGNU Public License (GPLv3) is a free software license. Therefore you have the right to use this repository's code freely while preparing your dissertation. The Graduate School's Guidance for Writing and Formatting Your Thesis or Dissertation requires a preface statement to the effect of "All relevant permissions have been granted by the corresponding author(s) for the use of copyrighted materials." For purposes of that affirmation, consider that permission granted by virtue of this repository's LICENSE.
Explicit acknowledgement within your dissertation or thesis isn't required, although you can still help by doing one or more of the following:
- Fork and/or star this repository. Doing so enhances its prominence in search engine results.
- Let the Graduate School, your Department, and your Dissertation/Thesis Supervisor know that you wanted a template, but could only find a sample PDF without any of its source code.
- Contribute improvements by either opening a new issue (and using one or more label to describe it), or even better submitting a change via pull request.
- Leave the license statement in bingthesis.sty intact as a way of pointing future reusers towards this repository.