Research Proposal Title Page and Cover Page Format

Picture the week before submission. Your department has sent a Word template, a senior has shared an old proposal with a different layout, and an online guide says to use APA. All three look reasonable, yet they disagree. So start with what a title page normally holds, then check how APA 7 and real Pakistani templates differ.

Title Page, Cover Page and Front Page: Are They the Same?

Usually, yes. Students use several names for the first sheet of a proposal, and many templates treat them as one thing. Some universities, however, split the job in two.

The MS proposal template at UET Peshawar is an example. It opens with a cover that carries the proposal title, the degree, the department, the student’s name and the supervisor. A second sheet then collects registration details and the courses studied. In that case the cover is the outer sheet, and the second sheet holds the administrative detail.

Follow the label your own template uses. If it says cover page, build a cover page. The content matters more than the name.

What a Research Proposal Title Page Usually Contains

Pakistani university templates and APA guidance share a common core:

• The proposal title, in the capitalisation the template asks for
• The student’s name, plus a roll, ID or registration number where required
• The degree level and programme, such as MS, MPhil or PhD
• The department and the university
• The supervisor, and the co-supervisor if there is one
• The date of submission

Some templates add more. For example, Hazara University’s MPhil and PhD format asks for the study level and submission date on page 1. UET Peshawar adds the father’s name, contact number, email and a table of courses with grades on its second sheet. Treat those fields as template-specific, and do not add fields your template does not request.

How Three Pakistani Universities Set Their Title Pages

Three templates from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa show how far formats can differ. They are examples, not a national standard. Departments in other cities have their own templates, so your department’s file always comes first.

Hazara University, Mansehra

Hazara uses the words research proposal and synopsis for the same MPhil and PhD document. Its template puts the title alone on page 1 in 18-point bold capitals, using Calibri. Below it sit the student name, roll number, study level, department, supervisor, co-supervisor and submission date in 12-point bold. The summary starts on page 2, and the body runs to six to ten A4 pages.

The department, not the student, attaches the approval sheet and the supervisor consent form. Those two forms travel with the synopsis when it goes to the Advanced Studies and Research Board.

UET Peshawar, MS Template

The UET Peshawar MS proposal template opens with a cover issued under the Board of Advanced Studies and Research. It carries the proposal title, the programme, the department, the student’s name and the supervisor. A second sheet then collects registration details and the courses studied, with grades.

The template also asks for the project title and the student’s name as a header on every page. Text is set in Times New Roman with 1.5 line spacing. At the end come an undertaking of originality and a signature table that runs from the supervisor up to the Vice Chancellor.

Qurtuba University, Peshawar and D.I. Khan

The English department format at Qurtuba University uses a cover with the title, scholar name and ID, programme, submission date, supervisor, co-supervisor, department and university. The title is set in 18-point bold Times New Roman. A supervisor’s certificate and a self-assessment checklist follow, and the checklist lists the cover and title page as an item to tick.

Qurtuba will not forward a proposal that lacks a plagiarism report or the supervisor’s signature. Margins are 4 cm on the left, 2 cm on the right and at the top, and 3 cm at the bottom. The file is labelled as an older version, so confirm the current one with the department.

Position correct as of October 2026; check each university’s research office for its current template.

APA 7 Title Page for a Research Proposal

APA 7 has a student version and a professional version of the title page, as APA’s title page guidance explains. Students use the student version unless the instructor or institution asks for the professional one. Student papers carry no running head unless one is requested.

The student version places these elements in order, each centred:

1. The title, three to four lines down from the top, in bold title case.
2. After one blank double-spaced line, the author’s name.
3. The affiliation: department and institution, separated by a comma.
4. The course number and name, for example “MGT 701: Research Methods”.
5. The instructor’s name.
6. The due date, in the date format used in your country.
7. The page number 1, in the top right corner of the header.

A degree proposal is rarely tied to one course. As a result, your department’s template decides what replaces the course and instructor lines, usually the programme and the supervisor.

The professional version suits proposals that leave the university. It adds an author note in the bottom half and a running head in capitals in the header of every page, including the title page. For a funder’s own form, follow the funder first.

APA only governs layout. It will not tell you about supervisor lines, registration numbers or approval sheets. So use the university template for those, and use APA’s spacing and capitalisation where the template says nothing.

Fonts, Spacing and Page Numbers: Copy Your Template, Not a Friend’s File

No two of these templates agree on layout:

• Hazara University: Calibri, 1.15 line spacing, and an 18-point bold title in capitals.
• UET Peshawar (MS): Times New Roman, 1.5 line spacing, A4 paper, with headings at 14 points and body text at 12.
• Qurtuba University: Times New Roman, double spacing, and margins set in centimetres.
• APA 7: double-spaced title page lines and a page number 1 in the top right corner.

Page numbers show the problem well. APA counts the title page as page 1. Qurtuba, however, places page numbers at the bottom centre. So check your template before you copy a habit from another style.

Pages That Sit Behind the Title Page

Pakistani templates attach administrative pages to the proposal, and each university names them differently. UET Peshawar includes an undertaking of originality and a signature table. Hazara’s synopsis is followed by a Graduate Research Committee approval sheet and a consent form from the supervisor. Qurtuba asks for a supervisor’s certificate and a self-assessment checklist.

Because these pages differ, ask your supervisor or the research office which ones you prepare and which the department completes. The guide to the HEC similarity index explains how similarity reports are read, which helps when a template asks for one. Doctoral candidates who want help assembling a proposal for a committee can also look at PhD thesis help.

Writing the Title That Goes on the Cover

APA sets no maximum length for a title, but it asks for a focused title with key terms. A good proposal title does the same job. It names the main concept, the population and the setting. Compare these illustrative examples:

• Too loose: “Social Media and Students”
• Clearer: “Social Media Use and Academic Performance Among Undergraduate Students in Lahore”
• Too loose: “Mobile Banking in Pakistan”
• Clearer: “Mobile Banking Adoption Among Small Retailers in Karachi”

Templates also differ on capitalisation. Hazara asks for capital letters on its title page, while Qurtuba asks students to follow capitalisation rules for the title. Spell out abbreviations unless your department allows them.

Finally, keep the wording identical on the cover, in running headers and on approval forms. UET Peshawar’s template, for example, repeats the project title in a header on every page. If the topic itself is still loose, the guide on how to choose a thesis topic helps narrow it before the title is fixed.

Proposal Title Page or Thesis Title Page?

The cover of the final thesis is a separate job from the proposal cover. Thesis formats at Pakistani universities have their own rules, and some add a plagiarism undertaking that refers to the HEC’s zero-tolerance policy. The thesis formats of Sarhad University and the University of Management and Technology, Lahore, show this.

The university’s thesis format governs the final front matter. The guide to thesis structure shows where the title page sits among the other parts of a thesis.

Check Before You Submit

1. Confirm which template your department issued for your programme and session.
2. Match every field to it: title, name, ID, programme, department, supervisor and date.
3. Replace placeholders. Hazara’s title page, for example, carries “MPHIL/PHD” as a stand-in for study level.
4. Delete every instruction, bracketed note and sample name left in the template.
5. Use the same wording for the title on the cover, in headers and on forms.
6. Write the supervisor’s name and designation as the department records them.
7. Check the date format and the submission deadline.
8. Add approval, undertaking, certificate and plagiarism-report pages only when your template lists them.

From Title Page to the Proposal Itself

Once the front page matches your template, the proposal body is the next job. The guide on how to write a research proposal covers each section, and a model research proposal shows how a finished one is laid out.

If a template is unclear or feedback on the format leaves you stuck, support is available 24/7, every day of the year, on WhatsApp, email and live chat. You can request a quote through the order form, and you can read the reviews from students who have used the support. Any model material we share is for reference and learning, so use it according to your institution’s policy.