This is an ongoing project to update the dissertation and master's thesis template provided by The University of Texas at Austin, which was first written by Craig McCluskey in 2002. He did all the leg work, I am just updating it based on newer packages, a move from .dvi to .pdf, and minor changes to the formatting requirements set by UT. For more detailed usage, see the 'original-README' file.
I wrote a simple Makefile to compile things for those running on a Unix/Linux based machine. There are a couple targets for the Makefile, explained briefly below, note that when I say "deletes everything" that does not include .tex, .pdf, or .bib files. It really means "deletes files generated by Latex in the compiling process."
“make” - compiles and deletes everything unnecessary
“make full” - compiles and doesn’t delete anything
“make log” - compiles and deletes all except .log files.
“make clean” - deletes everything
“make neat” - deletes everything except the .log and .bbl
Note: the original Makediss file still can be used to compile the dissertation using Latex as a .ps file instead of pdflatex.
Split the template into three- one for each dissertation, report, and thesis. This will make the process of starting up a little easier for those very new to Latex
No longer using psfig or epsfig packages, these were replaced by graphicsx. The text about including figures was also changed to reflect these changes.
Deleted citesort package and replaced it with cite, a standard part of the Tex Live distribution
Updated Makediss to use 'open' instead of 'gv' for previewing the .ps files if running Mac OSX.
Moved figures to a subfolder called 'figs' and added it to the Latex path using 'graphicspath'
Moved the .tex files for each chapter and appendix to a subfolder called 'content'
Added a 'Certification' header to the signature page for Master's theses and reports. Also bolded the one for PhD dissertations - per the formatting guidelines of UT