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A Typst port of the MIT mitthesis LaTeX class (v1.22), producing a thesis document that conforms to MIT Libraries dissertation formatting requirements.

Named after the Muddy Charles, the legendary MIT pub.

Unofficial template. This is an independent port and is not affiliated with or endorsed by MIT or the mitthesis LaTeX package authors.

Preview

Title page of a sample MIT thesis showing the thesis title, author name, department, degree, institution name, and certification block

Usage

Via Typst Universe (recommended)

typst init @preview/muddy-mit-thesis:0.1.0

This copies the sample document into your working directory. Edit MIT-Thesis.typ and the included content files to write your thesis.

Template parameters

All parameters are passed to #show: mitthesis.with(...) in your main file:

Parameter Type Description
title content Thesis title
authors array Each entry: (name:, department:, prev-degrees:)
degrees array Each entry: (name:, department:)
supervisors array Each entry: (name:, title:, department:)
readers array Each entry: (name:, title:, department:) — thesis committee readers
acceptors array Each entry: (name:, department:, title:) — graduate officer
degree-month string Month of degree award (e.g. "June")
degree-year string Year of degree award (e.g. "2025")
thesis-date string Date submitted (e.g. "May 15, 2025")
institution string Defaults to "Massachusetts Institute of Technology"
cc-license dict or none Optional Creative Commons license: (name: "CC BY 4.0", url: "...")
abstract-body content Abstract text (typically include "abstract.typ")

Helper functions

#import "@preview/muddy-mit-thesis:0.1.0": mitthesis, start-appendix, tracked

// In the document body, before your first appendix:
#start-appendix()  // switches numbering to A, B, … and resets chapter counter

// Letter-spaced uppercase text (used internally for degree/institution names):
#tracked[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]

Page layout

Matches the mitthesis LaTeX class defaults:

  • Paper: US Letter
  • Margins: 1 in all sides
  • Font: New Computer Modern, 12 pt
  • Line spacing: single (14.5 pt baseline-to-baseline)
  • Paragraph indent: 1.5 em, no extra inter-paragraph space
  • Page numbers: centered in footer, suppressed on title page
  • Equation numbers: per-chapter (1.1), reset at each chapter/appendix
  • Figure/table numbers: per-chapter 1.1, A.1 in appendices
  • Table captions: above the table (LaTeX convention)
  • Bibliography: IEEE numeric style

Compiling

typst compile MIT-Thesis.typ

Only known warning: unknown font family: new computer modern mono if New Computer Modern Mono is not installed — the template falls back to DejaVu Sans Mono for code listings.

Known differences from the LaTeX original

  • Appendix B title wraps to two lines at 24.88 pt (long title)

License

MIT — see LICENSE.

The sample bibliography mitthesis-sample.bib and biographical content are derived from the mitthesis LaTeX package and are used here for demonstration purposes.