% !TeX program = lualatex
% This tells overleaf and some tex-editors to use LuaLaTeX
% ================================================================
% Accessible PhD Thesis Template (Mathematics)
% Recommended compiler: LuaLaTeX
% Produces near PDF/UA-compliant accessible PDFs
% Version: 1 May 2026
% ================================================================
\DocumentMetadata{
tagging = on,
lang = en-GB,
pdfstandard = ua-2,
tagging-setup = {
math/setup = {mathml-AF, mathml-SE},
extra-modules = {verbatim-mo},
table/header-rows = 1
}
}
\documentclass[a4paper,12pt,twoside,openright]{book}
% ================================================================
% LATEX ENGINE & FONTS
% ================================================================
\usepackage{ifluatex}
\ifLuaTeX
% Best choice for accessibility
\usepackage{unicode-math}
%\setmainfont{TeX Gyre Termes}
%\setmathfont{Latin Modern Math}
\else
% Still tagged, but reduced math accessibility
\usepackage{amsmath,amsfonts,amssymb}
\fi
% ================================================================
% GENERAL PACKAGES
% ================================================================
\usepackage{graphicx}
\usepackage{xcolor}
\usepackage{subcaption}
\usepackage{caption}
\usepackage{enumitem}
\usepackage{url}
\usepackage[english]{babel}
\usepackage{amsthm}
% Hyperref with accessible colours
% Hyperref colours are chosen for accessibility and contrast.
% Do not remove unless necessary.
\usepackage[pagebackref]{hyperref}
\definecolor{MyDarkBlue}{rgb}{0.0, 0.0, 0.545}
\definecolor{MyDarkGreen}{rgb}{0.0, 0.5, 0.0}
\definecolor{MyDarkRed}{rgb}{0.5, 0.0, 0.0}
\definecolor{MyDarkPurple}{rgb}{0.294, 0, 0.510}
\hypersetup{
colorlinks=true, % Enable colored links
linkcolor=MyDarkBlue, % Color for internal links
filecolor=MyDarkGreen, % Color for file links
urlcolor=MyDarkRed, % Color for URLs
citecolor=MyDarkPurple % Color for citations
}
% ================================================================
% PAGE LAYOUT (using geometry)
% ================================================================
\usepackage[a4paper,margin=3cm,includeheadfoot]{geometry}
\setlength{\parindent}{0pt}
\setlength{\parskip}{6pt}
% ================================================================
% BLANK PAGE MACRO: This command adds a blank clearpage with the text 'This page intentionally left blank'
% ================================================================
\newcommand{\clearpageBlank}{\clearpage
\pagestyle{plain}
\vspace*{\fill}
\begin{center}
\textit{This page intentionally left blank}
\end{center}
\vspace*{\fill}
\clearpage}
% ================================================================
% ACCESSIBILITY TYPOGRAPHY OPTIONS
% ================================================================
\renewcommand{\familydefault}{\sfdefault} % Recommended: Sans-serif font for readability
\usepackage{setspace}
\onehalfspacing
% ================================================================
% Enumeration
% ================================================================
%\usepackage{enumitem}
%\makeatletter
%\AtBeginDocument{%
% \renewcommand{\labelenumi}{\textup{(\alph{enumi})}}
% \renewcommand{\labelenumii}{\textup{(\roman{enumii})}}
%}
%\makeatother
\numberwithin{equation}{section}
\numberwithin{figure}{section}
\numberwithin{table}{section}
%\AtBeginDocument{\numberwithin{lstlisting}{section}}
% ================================================================
% THEOREM ENVIRONMENTS (tagging‑safe tcolorbox)
% This section sets up theorem environments with tcolorbox that have frames
% around them and are accessible at the same time.
% You can simply use them as:
% \begin{theorem}[Optional Name] ... \end{theorem}
% No need to modify anything here.
% If you don't want to have theorems in a frame, the standard environments are defined below, but commented out.
% ================================================================
\usepackage[most]{tcolorbox}
\tcbuselibrary{breakable}
% Setting a counter
\newcounter{thmcounter}[section]
\renewcommand{\thethmcounter}{\thesection.\arabic{thmcounter}}
% Theorem
\newtcolorbox{theobox}{
enhanced,
breakable,
colback=MyDarkBlue!5,
colframe=MyDarkBlue!80,
left=6pt,right=6pt,top=6pt,bottom=6pt,
boxrule=1.2pt,
arc=4pt
}
\NewDocumentEnvironment{theorem}{O{}}
{
\refstepcounter{thmcounter}
\begin{theobox}
\textbf{Theorem~\thethmcounter}
\if\relax\detokenize{#1}\relax\else\textbf{ (#1)}\fi
\par\medskip
}
{
\end{theobox}
}
% LEMMA
\newtcolorbox{lembox}{
enhanced,
breakable,
colback=MyDarkBlue!5,
colframe=MyDarkBlue!70,
left=6pt,right=6pt,top=6pt,bottom=6pt,
boxrule=1.0pt,
arc=4pt
}
\NewDocumentEnvironment{lemma}{O{}}{
\refstepcounter{thmcounter}
\begin{lembox}
\textbf{Lemma~\thethmcounter}
\if\relax\detokenize{#1}\relax\else\textbf{ (#1)}\fi
\par\medskip
}{
\end{lembox}
}
\NewDocumentEnvironment{corollary}{O{}}
{
\refstepcounter{thmcounter}
\begin{lembox}
\textbf{Corollary~\thethmcounter}
\if\relax\detokenize{#1}\relax\else\textbf{ (#1)}\fi
\par\medskip
}
{
\end{lembox}
}
\NewDocumentEnvironment{proposition}{O{}}
{
\refstepcounter{thmcounter}
\begin{lembox}
\textbf{Proposition~\thethmcounter}
\if\relax\detokenize{#1}\relax\else\textbf{ (#1)}\fi
\par\medskip
}
{
\end{lembox}
}
% DEFINITION
\newtcolorbox{defbox}{
enhanced,
breakable,
colback=MyDarkGreen!5,
colframe=MyDarkGreen!70,
left=6pt,right=6pt,top=6pt,bottom=6pt,
boxrule=1.0pt,
arc=4pt
}
\NewDocumentEnvironment{definition}{O{}}
{
\refstepcounter{thmcounter}
\begin{defbox}
\textbf{Definition~\thethmcounter}
\if\relax\detokenize{#1}\relax\else\textbf{ (#1)}\fi
\par\medskip
}
{
\end{defbox}
}
% EXAMPLE (purple)
\newtcolorbox{examplebox}{
enhanced,
breakable,
colback=MyDarkPurple!5,
colframe=MyDarkPurple!70,
left=6pt,right=6pt,top=6pt,bottom=6pt,
boxrule=0.8pt,
arc=4pt
}
\NewDocumentEnvironment{example}{O{}}{
\refstepcounter{thmcounter}
\begin{examplebox}
\textbf{Example~\thethmcounter}
\if\relax\detokenize{#1}\relax\else\textbf{ (#1)}\fi
\par\medskip
}
{
\end{examplebox}
}
% ================================================================
% Theorem Environments, simpler version without frames
% ================================================================
%\newtheorem{theorem}{Theorem}[section]
%\newtheorem{lemma}[theorem]{Lemma}
%\newtheorem{proposition}[theorem]{Proposition}
%\newtheorem{example}[theorem]{Example}
%\newtheorem{corollary}[theorem]{Corollary}
%\theoremstyle{definition}
%\newtheorem{definition}[theorem]{Definition}
%\newtheorem{remark}[theorem]{Remark}
\newtheorem{remark}{Remark}[section]
%--------------------------------
% ================================================================
% Inclusion of code: SIMPLE CODE BOX without numbering and title
% ================================================================
\newtcolorbox{codebox}{
breakable,
colback=black!5,
colframe=black!60,
boxrule=0.5pt,
before upper=\ttfamily\small
}
% ================================================================
% USER MACROS
% ================================================================
\newcommand{\R}{\mathbb{R}}
\newcommand{\C}{\mathbb{C}}
\newcommand{\Q}{\mathbb{Q}}
\newcommand{\Z}{\mathbb{Z}}
\newcommand{\N}{\mathbb{N}}
% ================================================================
% INDEX: To create an index, uncomment the following two lines and the lines at the end of this file
% ================================================================
% \usepackage{makeidx}
% \makeindex
% ================================================================
% TITLE PAGE
% ================================================================
\title{\Huge Accessible PhD Thesis Template}
\author{Your Name}
\date{\today}
\begin{document}
\frontmatter
% ================================================================
% Titlepage
% ================================================================
\maketitle
% ================================================================
% Abstract
% ================================================================
\pagenumbering{roman}
\chapter*{Abstract}
\addcontentsline{toc}{chapter}{Abstract}
This document provides an accessible \LaTeX{} template for PhD theses in
mathematics. It is designed to help students meet Lancaster University's
requirements on digital accessibility while keeping the writing process simple
and close to standard \LaTeX{} practice.
The template uses the new PDF tagging system of \LaTeX{} (available in recent
\TeX{} Live distributions), which enables the production of tagged PDF/UA--2
documents with improved support for screen readers. Common elements of a thesis
such as headings, lists, figures, tables, mathematical expressions, theorems and
code examples are preconfigured to work as accessibly as current tools allow.
The aim of this template is not to make students experts in accessibility, but
to ensure that an accessible thesis can be produced without additional effort.
Students can simply use the provided environments in the usual way, following
the brief guidance included in Chapter~1. Where full accessibility is not yet
possible (for example, with complex tables or highlighted program code),
practical alternatives are given.
In particular, practical advice is given on how to use this template and how to deal with typical issues that may arise during compilation.
This template may be used as a starting point for writing a PhD thesis or as a
reference for including accessible mathematical content in other documents.
\vspace{1em}
\textbf{Updated:} Mai~2026 (minor adjustments) \\
\textbf{Created:} February~2026 %\\
% \textbf{Last updated:} \today
% ================================================================
% Acknowledgements
% ================================================================
\chapter*{Acknowledgements}
\addcontentsline{toc}{chapter}{Acknowledgements}
I thank \ldots
% ================================================================
% Tableofcontents, list of figues and list of tables
% ================================================================
\tableofcontents %put toc in
\listoffigures % list of figues (remove if not needed)
\listoftables % list of tables (remove if not needed)
\clearpageBlank
\mainmatter
%\setcounter{page}{1} %reset the page counter
%\pagestyle{plain}
%\pagenumbering{arabic}
% ================================================================
% CONTENT
% ================================================================
\include{chap_accessibility} % This chapter contains some information about this file and about accessibility.
\clearpageBlank
\include{chap_intro}
\clearpageBlank
\appendix
\include{chap_appendix}
% ================================================================
% REFERENCES
% ================================================================
\backmatter
\bibliographystyle{plain}
\bibliography{literature}
% ================================================================
% Index
% If you are using makeindex hen uncomment the following three lines to make sure the index is printed and is occuring correct in the table of contents
% ================================================================
%\phantomsection % To be added if hypterref is used
%\addcontentsline{toc}{chapter}{Index}
%\printindex
\end{document}
