Table of Contents in a Dissertation: What It Is and How to Create One

What is a table of contents?

The table of contents is the road map of your dissertation. It lists the chapters, main headings and subheadings with their page numbers, so committee members and readers can see the structure of your work at a glance and find sections quickly. It appears in the front matter, after the abstract and acknowledgments and before the lists of tables and figures.

APA does not require a table of contents for short papers, but almost every university requires one for theses and dissertations. Follow your graduate school’s template for the exact format.

What to include

• Front matter sections that follow the TOC: List of Tables, List of Figures. The title page, abstract and acknowledgments are usually not listed, but check your template.
• Chapter titles (Level 1 headings).
• Main sections and subsections (Level 2 and usually Level 3 headings). Most schools list up to Level 3. Deeper levels make the TOC too long.
• References.
• Appendices, each listed by letter and title.

Headings in the TOC must match the headings in the text exactly, in the same wording and order.

Example layout

In Word, dot leaders (……) usually connect each heading to its page number, and the page numbers align on the right margin.

How to create an automatic TOC in Microsoft Word

1. Apply heading styles. Format chapter titles with Heading 1, main sections with Heading 2 and subsections with Heading 3 (Home → Styles). Modify each style to match APA or your template: right-click the style → Modify.
2. Insert the TOC. Place your cursor on the blank TOC page, then go to References → Table of Contents → Custom Table of Contents.
3. Set options. Choose “Show levels: 3,” tick “Right align page numbers,” and choose dot leaders.
4. Format the TOC text. Use Modify to set the TOC 1–3 styles to your font, double or single spacing as required, and indentation.
5. Update it before every submission. Right-click the TOC → Update Field → Update entire table.

List of tables and figures

1. Label each table and figure with References → Insert Caption, choosing the label “Table” or “Figure.”
2. On the List of Tables page, choose References → Insert Table of Figures and select the caption label “Table.”
3. Repeat for the List of Figures, with the caption label “Figure.”

In Google Docs

Apply Heading 1–3 styles, then use Insert → Table of contents (the version with page numbers). Click the refresh icon to update it. Google Docs offers fewer formatting options, so many students do the final formatting in Word.

Common mistakes

• Typing the TOC by hand, so page numbers become wrong after edits.
• Formatting headings manually (bold or centered text) instead of using heading styles, so they don’t appear in the TOC.
• Headings in the TOC that differ from headings in the text.
• Forgetting to update the TOC after the final edits.
• Listing too many heading levels.

Conclusion

A clean, automatic table of contents shows your committee a well-organized dissertation, and it takes minutes to create if you use heading styles from the start. See Formatting your dissertation for the APA heading levels to use, then turn to the writing itself, starting with What is an academic voice?

References

American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.). https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000