A landscape page is a page that is oriented horizontally instead of the traditional portrait (vertical) orientation.
The most common reason a page would be in landscape orientation is to allow for certain elements, such as a table or figure, to be more easily viewable while also meeting the margin and font size requirements. For example, a table in portrait orientation may be more compressed than one in landscape orientation. Whether you use landscape page orientation in your ETD is at the discretion of you and your committee.
Important Note: Since the ETD is primarily a digital document, effective Fall 2024, we no longer require that page numbers on landscape pages must remain in the same location as on all other pages with a portrait orientation. However, if you plan to order printed copies of your thesis or dissertation through the ProQuest ETD Administrator when you initially submit your ETD, you should be aware that pages rotated to landscape orientation in the ETD will be adjusted back to a portrait orientation for printing. Therefore, if ordering printed copies, we recommend that you orientate the page number to remain in the same location as on all other pages with a portrait orientation.
How to format landscape pages to meet the formatting requirements:
When you need to turn the orientation of a table or figure from portrait to landscape, the table/figure must be rotated 90 degrees counterclockwise so that the “top” of the table/figure is along the left margin. The margin requirements must be maintained. Following is an example that shows how this should look when formatted correctly. The first page of the example shows a normal portrait-oriented page. The second page of the example shows the page in landscape orientation without any adjustment to the page number placement.
Landscape Example 1 (table/figure in landscape orientation, page in landscape orientation)
How to format landscape pages if ordering printed copies:
If you plan to order printed copies through ProQuest, following are links to two examples that show how a landscape page with page numbers in the same location as on all other pages with a portrait orientation should look when formatted correctly. The first page of each example shows a normal portrait-oriented page. The second page of each example shows the landscape orientation with the page number placement adjusted for printing.
Landscape Example 2 (table/figure in landscape orientation, page in landscape orientation)
Landscape Example 3 (table/figure in landscape orientation, page in portrait orientation)
Tutorials
The exact steps for creating a landscape-oriented page with the page number in the correct place may vary depending on the type and version of software that you are using. Following are links to tutorials that students have found helpful:
Microsoft Word Landscape Page Numbers (video tutorial)
Rotate Landscape Page Numbers to Match Portrait Layout (written tutorial)
Inserting a Landscape Page and Adding Page Numbers (written tutorial)
What are other options if I’m not confident about using landscape orientation?
Since the main purpose for using landscape orientation is to accommodate viewing and formatting requirements like margins and font sizes, consider other ways to present the material, such as breaking it up into smaller tables and figures, or reducing the size of your tables and figures. As a reminder, you can reduce the font size of tables to 10 pt font, and figures do not have a minimum font size as long as the figure remains legible.