JNTUH wants the PhD thesis set in Bookman Old Style 12 point, 1.5 spaced, with a wide left margin and a navy-lettered soft cover.
The font itself makes a JNTUH thesis look different, because most universities ask for Times New Roman. JNTUH’s short “General Outline for Thesis Write-Up” asks for Bookman Old Style, puts captions and references in 9 point and tells which front item goes on which page. The process rules, like colloquium, similarity check and viva, come from the Ph.D. Academic Regulations and Guidelines, in force from 2021-22 and updated after that. Both are covered here, as of October 2026.
Page layout and the Bookman Old Style font
The JNTUH write-up outline is short, so read every line. Bookman Old Style is a wider font than Times New Roman. The same text in Bookman will take more pages. Many scholars are typing in Times New Roman and changing the font only at the end. Then the pages increase and tables move. Set Bookman in the Normal style from the beginning itself, so the length you see is the real length.
There are two more small rules which people miss. The outline wants five spaces before the first word of each new paragraph. Pressing the space bar five times in every paragraph is a waste, just set a first-line indent once in the Normal style and it will come by itself. Also, captions and the reference list come down to 9 point. For that I tell my scholars to create one Word style for captions and another one for references. Otherwise you will sit and change the size of every caption one by one.
Binding at JNTUH is also not like other places. They want soft binding with a white cover of 300 gsm, and the lettering on the front is in navy blue. Two plain blank sheets go at the start and two at the end. Print shops don’t do navy on a white soft cover for a PhD by default, so show the outline to print shop itself.
| Item | JNTUH rule | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Paper | A4 size, 100 GSM bond, printing on both sides of executive bond paper | Thesis write-up outline, items 1–3 |
| Font | Bookman Old Style, 12 point | Item 2 |
| Margins | Left side 1.5". Right side and the upper and lower edges 1" each | Item 2 |
| Spacing | 1.5 line spacing for the full thesis, and a new paragraph begins after five spaces | Item 2 |
| Captions | Fig. 1.1, Table 1.1, numbered chapter-wise, in 9 point | Item 13 |
| References | Serial number, authors, title, journal or publisher, volume, year, pages. 9 point, single spaced | Item 14 |
| Headings | Main topics (2.1) go in bold capitals, and for 2.1.1 type sub-topics bold title case is used | Outline item 12 |
| Cover and binding | White soft cover of 300 gsm with the front lettering done in navy blue. Put two blank sheets in front and two at the back | Outline item 3 |
| How many copies | You give five thesis copies with one approved synopsis copy, and the examiner panel goes in a sealed cover | Outline item 1, Regulations clause 12 |
| Name of scholar | Spell it the way it is printed in your SSC or CBSE memo, no change | Appendix 1 and clause 15 |
Cite this data: Thesis Writing Service, “JNTUH PhD thesis format”, checked , https://thesiswritingservice.org/learn/jntuh-phd-thesis-format
Order of the front pages
In the JNTUH outline, each front page has a fixed item and you can’t shuffle them. After the cover and the title page, the order as per the outline is like this.
- Third page has the title page in the Appendix 1 specimen format, and each line on it has a fixed font size
- Fourth page is your declaration, as in Appendix 2
- Fifth page, the certificate signed by your supervisor and co-supervisor (Appendix 3)
- On the sixth page comes the certificate from the principal or director of the institution where you did the work (Appendix 4)
- Seventh page for acknowledgement
- Eighth page, abstract
- Ninth and tenth pages for contents, list of tables, list of figures and notation
Many scholar forget the sixth-page certificate. It needs the signature and seal of your principal or director. The regulations also say again that the thesis must carry the head of institution’s signature along with your supervisor’s. Ask for it one week early.
All front pages take small Roman numerals, and Arabic numbering starts from the chapters. For chapters the outline gives a suggested order. First introduction, literature survey and theory, after that experiments and results, and in the end a summary where your original contribution is highlighted. References and appendices come last. This order is only suggested, the outline itself allows you to change it if your work needs.
On the title page, copy your name exactly from your SSC or CBSE memo. As per the regulations, the name in the admission register, the marks memos and the thesis should all match that record, since it goes on your provisional certificate.
From coursework to colloquium
At least three years from admission must be over before you can submit (clause 7.1). Five things also have to be completed by then. They are Research Methodology, coursework in four subjects, Research Review Meetings (RRM) I and II, the papers, and the colloquium.
RRMs. In each Research Review Meeting you present slides and give a progress report in two copies (9.2). You need minimum two RRMs with satisfactory reports. JNTUH puts the RRM intimations on its website only. Nobody is sending a letter or a call to you, so open the website every week and see.
The colloquium. Once coursework, two satisfactory RRMs and the papers are done, you can apply for the colloquium (9.3). You give five synopsis copies to the Departmental Research Committee and then present. The synopsis should show clearly what is new in your work. Carry a draft of the full thesis with you. Suppose the committee wants revisions, then minimum three months gap is there before you can apply again. Total three attempts are allowed. At this stage the committee may also suggest to change the title.
After the colloquium. From the colloquium you have six months to submit the final thesis. If you cross six months, the colloquium has to be done again. The similarity check and the printing both must fit inside this six months.
Four papers, with your name first
As per clause 9.1, you need four research papers before submission. Out of these, at least two should be in peer-reviewed journals indexed in Web of Science, SCI or Scopus, with a good impact factor. The UGC CARE list is looked at only when there is some doubt.
The clause fixes the author order also. Your name comes first, and your supervisor or co-supervisor comes after you, and the regulations use the word mandatory for this. In the paper, your affiliation must be given as JNTUH. If a colleague’s name is ahead of yours, that paper will not be counted in the four.
The same clause gives one other route. You can submit with one publication plus one recognised patent connected to the thesis, with proof. Any special case is decided by the Vice-Chancellor, and the file goes to the VC through the Director of R&D.
If you are also teaching, four papers is a heavy load. Plan them from your objectives early itself, one or two per chapter, so the colloquium is not held up for an acceptance.
24% overall, 3% from one source
After the colloquium, you have to go personally to the R&D office with a Word file of the thesis for the plagiarism check (clause 11). They look at two limits there. The overall similarity index should not be more than 24%. And any single source should not be more than 3%. The 3% limit does not apply to your own published papers.
The second limit is where many theses get stuck. Suppose your overall figure is 15%, but one review article alone gives 4%. The thesis will still fail. Many scholars see only the total figure in their own check and relax. Sort the sources by percentage and see the first five. Work on anything above 2%. Mostly it is a definitions section, a method description taken from some paper, or a long quoted passage that needs proper quotation marks.
Three chances are given. After each failed check you get one month to bring back the corrected file. A fourth attempt needs the Vice-Chancellor’s permission, and that is given only for a genuine reason. Also the university has kept the right to change these limits time to time. Before going to R&D, ask them once what the current limit is.
Submitting the thesis
After clearing the colloquium and the similarity check, you submit to the Director, R&D (clause 12). Give five copies of the thesis and one copy of the approved synopsis. Along with them goes the application and the evaluation fee as a demand draft. The fee was ₹5,000 when the regulations were written, and it is revised from time to time. You also attach copies of your RM, coursework, RRM and colloquium records, copies of your papers, and a sealed cover with the examiner panel inside.
The examiner panel is prepared by your supervisor, and it has nine names. Three of them are from IITs, IISc, foreign universities or national research bodies of similar level. Another three are from NITs, IIITs or national labs. The remaining three come from other government universities. Minimum six must be from outside Telangana, and no two examiners can be from the same organisation.
Watch the dates on both sides. Submission is allowed within one month before or after your research period ends. On your supervisor’s recommendation you can get two more months of grace. The maximum period is six years, but if you pay the penal fee they can extend it till ten academic years.
Evaluation and the viva
Three examiners from outside the university evaluate the thesis (clause 13). One of them is from outside the state, preferably from an IIT, IISc or a similar institute. Each examiner writes a report of 500 words or more and recommends one of accept, revise for the viva, revise for re-evaluation, and reject. A table in the regulations combines the three reports into one decision. If all three accept, the thesis is accepted. Two accepts and one reject means you revise as per the remarks of that one examiner. With two rejects and one accept, the thesis goes to a fourth examiner. Where two examiners reject and the third one says “revise”, the thesis is rejected. Scholars many times think a “revise” is safe, but in this case that one “revise” is not enough.
If revisions are asked, you get six weeks from the date the reports reach you (clause 14).
The open viva is held in your department or at R&D (clause 15). The board has two members, one examiner who evaluated your thesis and your supervisor. Before the viva, send one approved copy and a soft copy to the Director, R&D, for the library and Shodhganga. Give one printed copy to your head of department also. In the viva they check how well you know your thesis, your methods and the wider field. You also answer the points the examiners raised. If the board is happy it recommends the award. If not, they will give you a date after some fixed time and you have to face the viva again.
After a pass, apply for the provisional certificate with a CD of the final thesis, the Shodhganga proforma, a one- or two-page abstract and your SSC certificate.
The job JNTUH scholars bring to us most for thesis formatting is moving a finished draft into Bookman Old Style, with captions and references in 9 point. For help with the chapters and the four papers, see PhD thesis help in Hyderabad. Our Hyderabad page keeps JNTUH next to Osmania and the University of Hyderabad. The Osmania guide shows how differently Osmania works. And the formatting checklist has the points any examiner’s office will look at.
Questions scholars ask
Can I use Times New Roman instead of Bookman Old Style?
Better to keep Bookman. The write-up outline clearly says Bookman Old Style, 12 point. Earlier, in some departments, other fonts may have gone through. We can’t say. The person checking your thesis now has the official outline in hand, and that outline says Bookman.
My similarity is 18% but one source is 5%. Will it pass?
It will not pass. JNTUH checks two limits. The total for the thesis must stay within 24%, and any one outside source must stay within 3%, except your own papers. Your total is fine, but that 5% source has to be brought down.
Does a paper where my supervisor is first author count?
No, that paper is not counted in the four. As per clause 9.1 the scholar has to be first author. Supervisor or co-supervisor names come after the scholar, and this is a mandatory rule there.
What if I fail the colloquium three times?
Three attempts is the maximum in the regulations, with a gap of at least three months between attempts. Prepare for the first attempt as if it is the only one you have. Go with a full draft and your papers in hand.