UPM is the only one of the five that gives you a word range rather than a ceiling — and going outside it needs the Dean’s written permission. It also bans headers and footers outright, which surprises almost everyone.
This page sets out the UPM thesis format requirements in force at Universiti Putra Malaysia as of September 2026, read from the university’s own guideline rather than from a template passed down between students. Margins are drawn to scale, and the Word settings are given so you can set them up before you write another paragraph.
Your UPM page, drawn to scale
Most formatting errors are margin errors, and most margin errors come from setting all four sides the same. Here is what a Universiti Putra Malaysia thesis page actually looks like:
Your UPM page, drawn to scale. The 4 cm left margin is the binding edge — wider than the other three so the text is not swallowed when the thesis is bound. Setting all four margins the same is the commonest formatting error we see.
Set your UPM thesis up in Word first
Retrofitting margins and spacing into a finished 200-page document is miserable. Setting them correctly at the start costs ten minutes. Copy these values straight across:
| Top | 2.5 cm |
| Bottom | 2.5 cm |
| Left | 4 cm |
| Right | 2.5 cm |
| Paper size | A4, 80 gsm |
| Typeface | 12 pt — Arial, Book Antiqua, Bookman, Palatino, Tahoma or Times New Roman |
| Body text | Double |
Do this before you write another paragraph. If you are already deep into the thesis, fix it now anyway — the longer you leave it, the more your tables, figures and page breaks will shift when the margins finally change.
UPM thesis length limits
Roughly 70–330 pages for a PhD, 40–170 for a Master’s
Abstract requirements
Length: 300–500 words, one paragraph.
Languages: Both Bahasa Melayu and English required, whichever language the thesis is written in.
Every Malaysian university on this list requires both a Bahasa Malaysia and an English abstract, regardless of which language the thesis itself is written in. Where they differ is the order and the word count, and both are checked.
Referencing style
No style mandated — pick one and apply it consistently.
Turnitin and similarity
Binding and cover colour
For examination: PDF only, or soft-bound if required.
Final submission: Hardbound + 1 softcopy on CD.
Check the cover specification before you pay the binder. Binders print exactly what you hand them, and a wrong-coloured cover is an expensive reprint rather than a quick fix.
What trips people up at UPM
1. Headers and footers are forbidden
Not discouraged. The guide states they should not be used anywhere in the thesis. If you have a running header with your chapter title, remove it.
2. Table captions go above, figure captions below
Routinely reversed, and routinely caught. Tables are captioned on top; figures are captioned underneath.
3. The word limit is a range, not a ceiling
A PhD thesis is 20,000 to 100,000 words. Going over requires written permission from the Dean of SGS, with justification. Being under the floor is also a problem.
4. Two separate approval sheets
One signed by the SGS Deputy Dean certifying Examination Committee approval, a second signed by the SGS Dean after Senate confers the degree. Both live in the preliminaries.
5. Numbering stops at four levels
Same as UM. 2.1.1.1 is the deepest, and it must be consistent throughout.
6. The guide reads older than it is
Its base text dates from 2013, with targeted edits applied in September 2024 to the word limits, cover colours and submission timelines. It is current — do not discard it because the structure looks dated.
The rule that overrides everything on this page. Your faculty can be stricter than your university, and frequently is. Confirm three things in writing with your own faculty before you submit: the word limit, the similarity cap, and the referencing style. Those three are where faculty-level overrides almost always live. Margins, paper and binding colour are set centrally and rarely vary.
UPM is the most prescriptive of the five on process — two approval sheets, a Dean’s signature for overlength, a similarity report submitted twice. Budget time for paperwork, not just formatting.
UPM thesis format compared with the other Malaysian universities
If you are moving between universities — a Master’s at one and a PhD at another, which is extremely common in Malaysia — the assumptions you carry across are usually wrong. Our
side-by-side comparison of all five universities puts every number in one table.
- UiTM thesis format requirements
- IIUM thesis format requirements
- UTAR thesis format requirements
- MMU thesis format requirements
- UNIMAS thesis format requirements
- UM thesis format — Universiti Malaya
- UKM thesis format — Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
- USM thesis format — Universiti Sains Malaysia
- UTM thesis format — Universiti Teknologi Malaysia
Want your UPM thesis to pass format checking the first time?
We work with postgraduate researchers at Universiti Putra Malaysia on structure, formatting compliance and getting a manuscript through format checking without a return — on your own work, to your own faculty’s specification.
Source: Universiti Putra Malaysia, Postgraduate Student’s Guide: Thesis Preparation (2nd edition) (re-edited 24 September 2024), School of Graduate Studies —
sgs.upm.edu.my/thesis-2977.
Read as published in September 2026. Guidelines are revised without notice and faculties may impose stricter requirements — always confirm against your own faculty before submission. If you spot something that has changed, tell us and we will update this page.