Please see our Python help page.

You likely do! Check your thesis dashboard, in the middle section. Also, around your third quarter at NPS, you were sent an email containing your site link.

If you don't see your URL on your thesis dashboard or do not yet have a dashboard, your site address is the following:

• https://nps01.sharepoint.com/sites/tpo2024/username/SitePages/Home.aspx (putting the academic calendar year of your graduation where indicated and your NPS user name where it says “username”).

• if you are on extension, it might be: https://nps01.sharepoint.com/sites/tpothesisextensions/NPSUserName/SitePages/Home.aspx

If none of the above work, fill in your thesis title and thesis advisor information in your Python thesis dashboard and then send a request for the site to be created to SPResearch@nps.edu.

Exceptions:

• CHDS students must use their department's own file-sharing platform.
• Students writing export-controlled theses must use Box; contact thesisdraft@nps.edu.
• Students writing classified theses do not use SharePoint.

For more information about SharePoint and file sharing, click here. 

See also the "SharePoint / Software" section below.

See NPS Department Citation Styles.

It's OK. Continue using it, and your thesis processor will update it as needed. If your template is two or more years old, your processor may ask you to transfer your draft into the current template.

When uploading your thesis to your file-sharing site for review by the TPO, always use the same file name. The file name will start with two digits representing the year of your graduation ceremony and three letters representing the month of your graduation ceremony.

For a single-author thesis, the graduation year and month are followed by an underscore, then your last name, another underscore, and then your first name.

Single author:    YYMon_Last_First

                           20Sep_Vasquez_Julia

For a multi-author thesis, the graduation year and month are followed by an underscore, then the first author’s last name, another underscore, then the second author’s last name, and so on.

* Note: The order of the authors in your file name should match the order they appear in the “Author(s)” field in your Python thesis dashboard.

Multi-author:    YYMon_Last_Last_Last

                          20Sep_Vasquez_Edwards_Chen

For a systems engineering capstone, the graduation year and month are followed by an underscore, then the first author’s last name, another underscore, then et al.

* Note: Use the last name of the first author that appears in the “Author(s)” field in your Python thesis dashboard.

SE Capstone:   YYMon_Last et al

                           20Sep_Newton et al

"En" dashes (–) separate ranges of numbers, such as page numbers. En dashes are slightly longer than a hyphen.

"Em" dashes (—) signify sudden breaks within a sentence. Em dashes are the longest type of dash.

To type an en dash, use the Insert Symbol menu, or use these shortcut keys: Control and the minus key on your number pad.

For an em dash, the shortcut keys are Control, Alt, and the minus key on your number pad.

PC users should use MathType. Use MathType 7, available at NPS Software Downloads. Note that MathType's "Microsoft 365" add-in does NOT have an equation numbering feature.

Also, do not use the Insert Equation option in Microsoft Word, because math symbols can disappear when converting your file to PDF. However, do use Word's equation editor when you need to place an equation within a footnote.

For Mac users, MathType may not be compatible with your OS. MathType 7 is only compatible with the older macOS Mojave and earlier. We recommend other users try the steps below to find the best method of inputting them:

1. Open Word in your Mac.

2. Use Insert -->Equation to input several of your equations.

3. Convert the document to PDF.

4. Look over the equations in the PDF to see if they transferred correctly.

• If they did, proceed with Word’s Equation feature.
   
• If they did not,
   
• TAC recommends using Cloudlab. Another option they suggest is to bootcamp the Mac or install VMware. These options will allow you to install Windows, after which you can install Office for the PC and MathType.
   
• TPO recommends considering use of LaTeX. We have a template for LaTeX but do not use LaTeX ourselves. We review LaTeX files in PDF. For more on this choice and resources, see our Templates and Forms page, scrolling down to the Choose a Template section.

Notes:

For display equations, the most popular format is to center them and place the equation number at the right margin. Choose “Right-numbered” equation in MathType to achieve this.

If you created equations outside of MathType and need to number them, or if you created equations in MathType without first numbering them, but now want them numbered, follow these instructions:

1. Place your cursor in front of the equation, go to your style list, and choose either Equation or MTDisplayEquation.

2. Then, press tab. Your equation should jump to center of the page. If it does not, remove extraneous spaces and tab markings from around the equation. There should be only one tab space in front of the equation.

3. Place your cursor after the equation and press tab. The cursor will jump to the right margin.

4. Now click Insert Number on the MathType menu if you want MathType to number your equations (to format the numbers, click Insert Number). Or, you can manually number your equations.

One. The U.S. Navy Style Guide prescribes one space as well. See "punctuation" entry here.

Click here for a short discussion of abstracts and executive summaries and for a list of the departments that require an executive summary (all theses must contain an abstract). For formatting considerations of an executive summary, see the thesis template. 

See also what makes a great abstract?

That depends on your needs and/or willingness to learn software. Click here for help deciding which software to use.

 Just remember that any software-created list will need manual editing for format and punctuation—sometimes substantially.

We’ve found that most often, the easiest way to edit a completed reference list is to strip the list of its coding so that you may edit the list directly, versus editing each individual entry inside the software and regenerating the list. To remove the coding from your reference list, select the entire list and press Control, Shift, F9 or Control 6. The text will now be normal text so that you can edit it.

Example of problem: "The red line in Figure 3. shows an upward trend . . . " (note the period in the middle of the sentence).

The easiest thing to do is to place all cross references at the end of the sentence—the period would then perform its intended function (ending the sentence).

If you really want the cross references to remain in the middle of sentences, and you do not have many of them, wait until figures or tables are in their permanent places in your file. Then, one by one, highlight each cross reference and press Control, Shift, F9. This converts the cross reference to normal text, and you can then simply delete the unneeded period.

Alternatively, if you have many instances to fix:

• Insert cross references where needed.
• Next, remove the period and tab space from the Figure Title style.
• Then, highlight all body text, and press F9. This updates the cross references in the body.
• Now find any sentences that end with a cross reference and re-insert the periods.
• Finally, re-add the period to the Figure Title style.

Of course, wait until your figures and tables are in their permanent positions before you do this. If you need help, see your thesis processor.

Please drop by our offices; we are happy to show you how to use the template. You can also watch our formatting video, or get written instructions starting on page 1 of the thesis template.

For writing help, the Graduate Writing Center offers one-to-one coaching and workshops. A writing coach can review your work and help you express your ideas clearly, powerfully, and concisely. Please visit its website to make an appointment.

The Naval Postgraduate School does not endorse or recommend particular editors or editing companies. If you wish to hire an editor, we offer this guidance.

See the "LaTeX Template" section under "Choose Your Template" here. 

Please refer to our supplementals page.

Please refer to our Multiline Figure Instructions.

Another option is to use a "secondary" figure caption; see the "secondary figure caption" section in our thesis template. This is easier to do but results in two separate captions rather than one single caption.

See this question above, under "Popular Now." For more details, click here.

Use your NPS user name and password to log into your site.

Please contact the SharePoint group at spresearch@nps.edu if you are unable to log in.

Ask your student if he or she granted you access. Instructions have been provided to students.

If they have granted you access and you still cannot get into their SP site, contact SharePointAdmins@nps.edu.

All students except for the following must use SharePoint:

• CHDS students
• Students writing export-controlled theses
• Students writing classified theses
• DL students may be excluded from this requirement if internet connectivity is unavailable

For more information, click here. 

Yes–but only NPS faculty and staff. Instructions here.

The user must be listed in the NPS global directory to get permissions to your site.

Please see our Thesis Dashboards page.

This page has how-to's, access info, and an FAQ section.

MathType can be downloaded here. See also our FAQ "How do I create/number equations?"