LaTeX template and instructions for theses, dissertations, and records of study

Students may continue using the Thesis and Dissertation Services’ legacy LaTeX template. At this time, we do not have a preformatted LaTeX template that would ensure accessibility of the five required PDF checks upon conversion to a PDF.

However, we emphasize that the five required accessibility checks in the Adobe Accessibility Checker can be remediated directly within the PDF itself.

The Grad School has formed a LaTeX Accessibility Working Group to develop a LaTeX template and Walkthrough that would ensure accessibility upon conversion to a PDF. Until these resources are developed, LaTeX users can refer to the general guidelines outlined in the Word Template Walkthrough to assist in meeting formatting guidelines.

Additional Considerations for LaTeX Users

LaTeX is a powerful typesetting system, but it does not natively produce accessible PDF documents that meet WCAG or PDF/UA standards, particularly when mathematical content is included. While accessibility can be improved using additional LaTeX packages and manual remediation, there is currently no straightforward solution for generating fully accessible PDFs directly from LaTeX. The LaTeX Accessibility Working Group is working to find solutions to these known issues.

At present, there is no single package that LaTeX authors can use to automatically produce accessible, standards-compliant PDFs. Michigan State University provides some guidance on accessibility with LaTeX. In addition, Overleaf provides guidance on tagging that may offer further support in your accessibility process. Please also see Texas A&M’s Engineering Studio for Advanced Instruction and Learning for additional resources on converting LaTex into accessible PDF under Math Accessibility.

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