"The dissertation is of no fixed length. It should treat a subject from the candidate's special field, approved by the Supervisory Committee. It should show the technical mastery of the field and advance or modify former knowledge (i.e., it should treat new material, or find new results, or draw new conclusions, or it should interpret old material in a new light). Each candidate for the degree shall submit with the dissertation an abstract of the same, not exceeding 350 words in length including the title. A guidebook for dissertation preparation is available at http://www.unl.edu/gradstudies/current/downloads/GuidebookForDissertations.pdf

"Research activities involving human subjects or live vertebrate animals may not be conducted at University of Nebraska Lincoln unless the research activities have been reviewed and approved by the appropriate Board or committee. The Institutional Review Board (IRB) reviews projects involving human subject research and the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) reviews the use of animals in research. These reviews are in accordance with Federal regulations and UNL assurance documents to the Office Human Research Protections.. The IRB New Protocol Submission Form must be completed on-line at http://www.unl.edu/ucomm/search/?q=application%20to%20use%20animals the Application to Use Animals is available at http://www.unl.edu/ucomm/search/?q=application%20to%20use%20animals Note that the IRB and IACUC will not review projects already in progress; approval must be secured prior to the initiation of research. The Research Compliance Assurance Form can be obtained at http://research.unl.edu/index.shtml ; the completed form must be submitted at the time the final version of the dissertation is filed.‖ (Bulletin, p. 15)

The dissertation and abstract are reviewed by a Reading Committee of two members from the Supervisory Committee, excluding the chair/co-chair. The manuscripts must be presented to members of the Reading Committee in time to permit review and approval, which must be indicated at least three weeks in advance of the final oral examination. The application for the final oral examination and a rough draft of the title page and abstract must be presented to the doctoral program specialist in the Office of Graduate Studies for preliminary review at least three weeks before the final oral examination.‖ (Bulletin, p. 15)

"The dissertation and abstract must be typed and double-spaced. Acceptable type includes a dark print from a letter-quality printer or laser or ink jet.. The margins should be at least one-and-one-half inches (1.5") at the left and one-inch (1") on each of the three other sides. If plates or folded tables are included, they should have exactly the same margins as the text, or should be folded to come within them. Footnotes should be single-spaced and placed at the bottom of the page to which they pertain unless special instructions are given by the major department. All final copies must be either printed or copied on 20 lb (minimum) white, 25 percent (35%) rag content watermarked bond paper not designed for easy erasure." (Bulletin, pp. 15-16) For questions about preparing the dissertation check the Guidebook for Preparing a Thesis or Dissertation, http://www.unl.edu/gradstudies/current/downloads/GuidebookForDissertations.pdf