Thesis Roadmap by Chapter Template (Master's and PhD)

Research roadmap organised by chapter: introduction, background, two parallel contribution chapters, integrated validation and conclusions, flow between chapters explicit. For chapter one of a master's or PhD thesis; free PNG, Word and PowerPoint export.

Chapter 6 Conclusions

Conclusions and contributions

Limitations and future work

Chapter 5 Integrated validation

System integration / joint experiments

Results and discussion

Chapter 4 Contribution 2

Problem formulation

Method design

Evaluation

Chapter 3 Contribution 1

Problem formulation

Method design

Evaluation

Chapter 2 Background

Theoretical foundations

Review of key techniques

Gaps in existing work

Chapter 1 Introduction

Background and motivation

State of the art

Contributions and thesis outline

Previewed in the “Indigo” theme; you can switch themes in the editor
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Once open you can edit the text, switch themes and change the layout before exporting; to move things by hand, click “Arrange by hand” in the top bar. The download buttons here give you the template as is

When to use it

The "thesis structure" or "roadmap" figure at the end of chapter one of a master's or PhD thesis, and the opening slide of a viva presentation. Unlike a roadmap drawn by research step, this one is organised by chapter: one group per chapter with the chapter title in the brackets. Chapters 3 and 4 are two parallel contributions (PhD theses often have two or three), which merge into an integrated validation chapter and then the conclusions. Examiners can map the figure straight onto the table of contents.

Making it yours

  • Chapter titles sit in the square brackets after each subgraph; use your real titles.
  • A master's thesis usually has one contribution chapter: delete the whole C4 block plus the edges C2 --> C4 and C4 --> C5. For three contributions copy the C4 block as C7, fed from C2 and merging into C5.
  • Parallel chapters are connected by group id (C2 --> C3, C2 --> C4), which the layout engine places side by side; do not link nodes across chapters.
  • For a tighter figure keep two boxes per chapter, or reduce spacing under "Layout" in the editor.
  • Switch to the Light theme before exporting a black-and-white figure.

Mermaid code

flowchart TB
    subgraph C1[Chapter 1 Introduction]
        direction LR
        A[Background and motivation] --> B[State of the art] --> C[Contributions and thesis outline]
    end
    subgraph C2[Chapter 2 Background]
        direction LR
        D[Theoretical foundations] --> E[Review of key techniques] --> F[Gaps in existing work]
    end
    subgraph C3[Chapter 3 Contribution 1]
        direction LR
        G[Problem formulation] --> H[Method design] --> I[Evaluation]
    end
    subgraph C4[Chapter 4 Contribution 2]
        direction LR
        J[Problem formulation] --> K[Method design] --> L[Evaluation]
    end
    subgraph C5[Chapter 5 Integrated validation]
        direction LR
        M[System integration / joint experiments] --> N[Results and discussion]
    end
    subgraph C6[Chapter 6 Conclusions]
        direction LR
        O[Conclusions and contributions] --> P[Limitations and future work]
    end
    C1 --> C2
    C2 --> C3
    C2 --> C4
    C3 --> C5
    C4 --> C5
    C5 --> C6

Ask an AI for one with this structure

Send the prompt below to ChatGPT or Claude, then paste the whole reply into the editor; the code inside is detected automatically.

Draw a thesis roadmap organised by chapter in Mermaid flowchart TB syntax for the thesis [your title]. One subgraph per chapter with the chapter title in square brackets and direction LR inside: Chapter 1 Introduction (background and motivation → state of the art → contributions and thesis outline); Chapter 2 Background (theoretical foundations → review of key techniques → gaps in existing work); Chapter 3 [name of contribution 1] (problem formulation → method design → evaluation); Chapter 4 [name of contribution 2] (same); Chapter 5 Integrated validation (system integration or joint experiments → results and discussion); Chapter 6 Conclusions (conclusions and contributions → limitations and future work). Chapter 1 leads to chapter 2, chapter 2 leads to chapters 3 and 4, both merge into chapter 5, chapter 5 leads to chapter 6, all connected by subgraph ids. Output only the mermaid code block.

FAQ

By chapter or by research step: which should I use?

It depends on where the figure goes. In chapter one as the thesis outline, draw it by chapter so examiners can follow the table of contents. In a proposal or a "research design" section, draw it by step (see the general thesis roadmap) to show what happens first. Many theses include both.

Can the two contribution chapters sit side by side?

Yes, that is what this template does: C2 connects to both C3 and C4, and both connect to C5, so the layout engine places them next to each other. To stack them instead, change the first line to flowchart LR and the whole figure turns sideways.

Too many chapters, the figure will not fit on one page

Three options: keep two boxes per chapter; switch to flowchart LR and put it on a landscape slide; or export PDF or SVG and let Word scale it to the page width, since the 3x image stays sharp at half a page.

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Updated 2026-09-22