Dissertation Page Numbers: Roman and Arabic Rules

Dissertation page numbers follow one pattern almost everywhere: the front matter is numbered in lowercase Roman numerals, and the body starts again at Arabic 1. Beyond that pattern, the details differ by institution, including whether the abstract is numbered, whether the title page counts toward the sequence, and where Roman numeral i falls. The two graduate-school manuals compared here disagree on exactly those points, so your own university’s manual decides.

Purpose of the page-numbering rules

Dissertation page numbers do two jobs. They let the table of contents and the lists of figures and tables point to the right page, and they keep the preliminary pages (title, dedication, table of contents, abstract) visibly separate from the body. See how a thesis table of contents is built and formatted for the page-number column itself.

Structure: the numbering sequence, front to back

The sequence below is the common pattern, stated with the points on which the two manuals read differently. Each step names the manual it comes from.

1. Title page. Counted but not numbered. Cornell: "Page included in overall document, but number not typed on page." UC Irvine: the title page is counted in the total but not numbered.
2. Copyright page. Cornell counts it but types no number. UC Irvine neither counts nor numbers it.
3. Abstract. Cornell: "Page(s) not counted, not numbered." UC Irvine: the abstract is part of the Roman-numeral sequence, and the preliminary pages are numbered consecutively through the end of the abstract.
4. Dedication, acknowledgements, table of contents and lists. Lowercase Roman numerals, typed on the page. Cornell’s suggested numbering gives biographical sketch iii, dedication iv, acknowledgements v, table of contents vi, list of figures, illustrations or tables vii, and preface xi, each of which "may be more than one page". UC Irvine numbers the dedication ii if there is one, and otherwise the table of contents is ii; with a dedication the table of contents is iii.
5. First page of the body. Arabic numeral 1. Cornell: "Begin page number at 1." UC Irvine: the page that follows the abstract is numbered 1.
6. Back matter. Numbering does not restart. UC Irvine continues through the bibliography and appendices, and appendix numbering does not restart. Cornell continues glossary numbering from the body and index numbering from the glossary.

Side-by-side: Cornell and UC Irvine

Page or rule	Cornell Graduate School (suggested numbering)	UC Irvine Libraries Graduate Division
Title page	Counted, number not typed	Counted, not numbered
Copyright page	Counted, number not typed	Neither counted nor numbered
Abstract	Not counted, not numbered	Numbered in lowercase Roman numerals
First typed Roman numeral	iii (biographical sketch)	ii (dedication, or the table of contents if there is none)
Body starts at	1	1, on the page after the abstract
Appendices and bibliography	No guidance on the page (glossary and index continue the body count)	Continue the body count; appendices do not restart
Position of the number	Not stated in the numbering list	Centred at the bottom of the page

Do not generalise from either column. They show that two reputable programs make different choices on the same pages, which is why copying a rule from a friend’s thesis at another university is unsafe.

A short annotated example

This is an illustrative sequence only, built from the UC Irvine rules above for a dissertation that has a dedication. It does not describe a real thesis.

• Title page: counted as the first page, no number shown.
• Copyright page: not counted, no number shown.
• Dedication: ii. There is no page i.
• Table of contents: iii, continuing in order through the lists and the abstract.
• Last page of the abstract: the final Roman numeral of the sequence.
• Introduction, first page: 1. Every later page, including the bibliography and appendices, continues from there.

Under the Cornell suggestion the same dissertation would instead show no number on the title and copyright pages, no number on the abstract, and the first typed Roman numeral on the biographical sketch as iii.

Common mistakes

• Typing a number on the title page. Both manuals count it without showing a number.
• Starting Roman numerals at i when the manual starts at ii. UC Irvine states there is no page i in the manuscript.
• Restarting the count at an appendix. UC Irvine says appendix numbering does not restart.
• Decorating the number. UC Irvine allows no dashes, periods, underlining, letter suffixes or other text beside the number.
• Shrinking or rotating the number on figure pages. Cornell places numbers "as if the figure/illustration/table was vertical on the page" and says page numbers and headings must not be reduced. UC Irvine allows pages to be rotated to landscape and still requires every page except the title and copyright pages to be numbered.
• Letting text run into the number area. UC Irvine requires a minimum 1-inch margin on all sides, with text fitting inside those margins excluding the page number.
• Listing page ranges in the table of contents. Cornell gives one first-page number per entry, usually without ranges such as 7-22.

Checklist

1. Download your university’s current thesis or dissertation manual and read its pagination section before formatting.
2. Mark which preliminary pages are counted, which are numbered, and where the first typed Roman numeral falls.
3. Confirm whether the abstract sits inside or outside the Roman-numeral sequence.
4. Start Arabic numbering at 1 on the first body page and carry it through the back matter without restarting.
5. Check that every figure, table and landscape page still shows its number at full size.
6. Regenerate the table of contents and the lists of figures and tables after the last edit, and compare each entry against the actual page.

Differences between institutions

The differences are institutional rather than disciplinary. The comparison above shows two manuals that diverge on the abstract, the copyright page and the first Roman numeral. For related formatting questions, see thesis structure and a sample outline, how a dissertation abstract is written, and research paper format in APA, MLA and Chicago, which covers page numbers for papers rather than dissertations. See also electronic theses and dissertations (ETD) and common thesis and dissertation writing mistakes.

FAQ

Is the title page of a dissertation numbered?

No. In both manuals compared here the title page is counted in the document but no number is shown on it.

Where does page 1 start in a dissertation?

On the first page of the body. At UC Irvine that is the page that follows the abstract; at Cornell the body text begins at 1 after the preliminary pages.

Is the abstract numbered?

It depends on the institution. Cornell’s suggested numbering leaves the abstract uncounted and unnumbered, while UC Irvine numbers it in lowercase Roman numerals as part of the preliminary pages.

Do appendices restart page numbering?

Not at UC Irvine, where numbering continues through the bibliography and appendices.

Which Roman numeral does the table of contents get?

At UC Irvine it is ii or iii, depending on whether a dedication page is present. In Cornell’s suggested numbering it is vi.

Sources

• Cornell Graduate School, Required Sections, Guidelines, and Suggestions, checked 29 October 2026. Numbering is described there as suggested numbering.
• UC Irvine Libraries, Graduate Division Manual: Preliminary Pages overview, Body overview, and Pagination, checked 29 October 2026.