If you are about to start writing your thesis, I really really can't recommend strongly enough that you avoid MS Word like the plague. While it might be fine for smaller documents, your thesis is probably going to be pretty big and Word's tendancy to try and auto format everything is distracting and will make you tear your hair out. It just isn't up to working on something as important as your thesis.

Instead, you should really consider using LaTeX. While this may seem a bit daunting at first, it only takes a day or two to get your head around the mark up language being used. Furthermore, when you have your template defined, you can forget all about the formatting of your document and crack on with writing. The document LaTeX will build you will look a million times better than anything you could create with word.

LaTeX is also much better to work with while you are getting your chapters proof read. If you professor's are anything like mine, then they will want a chapter at a time. Simply comment out those that you aren't working on and send the rest.

Most Universities have a different template to work to. Below you can find one that is formatted for Brunel University, UK. Not only is this in the correct format, but the text used within provides a basic "how to use" guide that gives example of inserting images, referencing, building tables etc... However, it should be really quite easy for anyone to tweek the format to work to their own University style:

Brunel University LaTeX Thesis Template

Click here to view my handy hints and tips page. Loads of useful snips for controlling fonts, line spacing, layout etc...

All feedback on the template is appreciated. Let me know if it helps.