UCSD Thesis Style Files (05/13/2008) OGS (Office of Graduate Studies) has very specific requirements for writing a thesis here at UCSD. These files will make it easy for you to conform to their specifications. Included is an README file and a sample LaTeX file to get you started. If you are using Windows, you should be able to open these files with WinZip, if you prefer the MacOS, Stuffit Expander should suffice, and if you are a UNIX person, type the following commands at the prompt:
gunzip ucsd_dissertation_template.tar.gz
tar xvf ucsd_dissertation_template.tar
Note that the above commands will produce a folder/directory called "ucsd_dissertation_template". Make sure that you don't already have a folder/directory of the same name or you run the risk of losing some very important files! These same basic commands can also be used after downloading the original source files for an archived thesis.
UCSD Thesis Style Files contributors: Countless UCSD Mathematics graduate students over the years including Jason Bandlow, Will Brockman, John Eggers, John Farina, Skip Garibaldi, Ezra Halleck, Ross Richardson, Mike Zabrocki, etc.
Using BibTeX
There are at least four reasons why you should use BibTeX when writing a bibliography. Don't believe me? Well, then let Skip Garibaldi convince you.