research thesis digital submission

Center for Digital Scholarship

Submission Procedures

Before Submitting Your Dissertation:

• Obtain any needed permissions to include material in your dissertation for which you do not hold the copyright.
• Apply to graduate.
• Satisfy the degree requirements of your department and division or school.
• Proofread your dissertation and ask your department to review the edited version and provide a signed copy of the Departmental Approval Form . You will be submitting the approved version of your dissertation, and you will not be able to make revisions or upload additional files unless the Dissertation Office requests modifications to your submission.
• Complete the Survey of Earned Doctorates (SED)

Submitting Your Dissertation

• Go to Knowledge@UChicago .
• Click on Submit.
• Choose Doctoral Dissertation.
• Log in with your CNetID, and then complete the form.

Once you submit your dissertation, it will be reviewed by Dissertation Office staff. Please contact us with any questions.

Submission Form

Creator information, author & university/institution name*.

• Enter your name in Last name, First name order.
• In the University/institution field enter “University of Chicago”
• In the Identifier field enter an ORCID ID in the form of a URL, beginning with https://orcid.org/…
• Choose ORCID in the Identifier Type drop-down menu.
• Select the Division(s) and/or School(s) from which you will receive your degree.
• Select the academic department and/or academic committee within the Division(s) from which you will receive your degree.
• This field is required if you selected a Division in the field above.
• Do not enter a program within a School.

Center or Institute: Do not complete this field.

• Enter advisor names in the natural order (Firstname M. I. Lastname). Do not include titles or degrees.

Committee Members

• Do not repeat advisor names in this field.
• Enter names of committee members in the natural order (Firstname M. I. Lastname). Do not include titles or degees.

Item Information

• Enter dissertation titles in title case . This means you must use both upper and lower case. Title case is used in the convocation program . See The Chicago Manual of Style for examples.
• The tags for italics are: <i>...</i>
• The tags for subscript are: _...
• The tags for superscript are: ^...
• Your abstract should be approximately 300-500 words long.
• The tags for separate paragraphs are <p>...</p>
• If your abstract includes dollar signs, remove them and enter the word dollar or dollars instead. If there are two dollar signs ($) in the abstract, the text between them will be rendered as a single MathJax entity and look different than the rest of the abstract.
• Enter your degree date as yyyy-mm. For this academic year, you will enter either 2024-08, 2024-12, 2025-03, or 2025-06.

Keywords (required)

• Each keyword should have its own entry. Do not enter a list of keywords as one entry even when they are separated by semicolons. Enter at least two (2) keywords and a maximum of six (6).

Related Resources: Do not complete this field.

• Leave the default value as is unless the dissertation is written in a language other than English.

Degree Type*

• Choose J.S.D. or Ph.D. from the drop-down menu.

Notes: Do not complete this field.

Resource acknowledgements, funding information.

• This section is optional as not all students receive funding for their dissertation research.
• Funder abbreviations should be spelled out. For example, NIH is National Institutes of Health, NSF is National Science Foundation.
• Funder Identifier entered as a URL. For example, UChicago's ROR ID is https://ror.org/024mw5h28 . This section is only necessary when the funder is UChicago.
• Funder Identifier Type. For example, ROR if ROR entered above.
• Fund Number is the number assigned to the fund awarded. May be the same as the Fund Identifier.
• Fund Identifier is the unique identifier assigned to the fund awarded.
• Fund Title is the name of the fund. For example, the Pulitzer Prize.

Other Resources: Do not complete this field.

License information, creative commons (cc) license.

• You should be well-informed about the different Creative Commons Licenses before choosing one. Review information about CC licenses to better understand license types. See the Author Rights section of the Library's Open Access guide for information on Retaining Rights to Scholarship and on Creative Commons Licenses .
• If applying a Creative Commons License, note that the license cannot be revoked.
• If the copyright page in your PDF includes the statement "All rights reserved," do not choose a Creative Commons License. You relinquish some of your rights with a Creative Commons License.

Copyright Statement (required)

• This should be entered in the following format: © [year] [firstname lastname], i.e. © 2024 James Bond.

I Grant the Distribution License*

• “I agree” must be selected in order to submit to the repository.

Identifiers

Generate new doi*.

• Check this box to generate a persistent identifier for your dissertation.

Other identifiers: Do not complete this field.

Administrative notes: do not complete this field., file uploads.

Upload all required files before submitting your dissertation. If you forget to upload a file, contact the Dissertation Office for assistance. Do not create a new submission.

DISSERTATION PDF (required)

• Upload the dissertation file first and describe it as "Dissertation" in its description field. Attach the file in PDF format and choose either Public or Embargo Date under Access. If you choose Embargo Date you may enter any date before 2026-12-14, which is two years from the date of your graduation. More information about Embargo Procedures is available from the Dissertation Office.

Supplementary Files

• If a dissertation has a supplementary file, upload the supplementary file using the descriptor “Supporting information” in the description field.

DEPARTMENTAL APPROVAL FORM (required)

• Each dissertation needs an approval form, signifying that the dissertation has been approved for upload. Upload a copy of the completed Departmental Approval Form , signed by the department chair or dean of the professional school. Joint or dual degrees require signatures from both programs. The Access level for this type of file will be “Restricted to Admin Use” and the Description “Approval Form.”

Permission for Content Use (REQUIRED IF PERMISSIONS NEEDED)

• If your dissertation includes material protected by copyright , and your use exceeds fair use, then you must obtain permission from the copyright holder. Documentation permitting re-use of the content must be attached to the record. Many journals permit authors to include their previously published article as a chapter in their dissertation. If the information is posted on the journal's website, you can save the relevant page as a pdf. These types of files can be "Restricted to Admin Use," described as “Permissions,” and be zipped into one file.

Manage File Metadata

Uploaded files will appear in this section.

Cancel | Save | Submit

You may Save rather than Submit if you would like to continue your submission later. After you Submit , you will not be able to make changes or upload additional files unless the Dissertation Office requests revisions. Do not create a second submission after submitting your dissertation. If you have a question about your first submission, contact the Dissertation Office.

We try to review your dissertation within two weeks. Our response time depends on staffing levels and the number of dissertations awaiting review.

Wait to Hear from the Dissertation Office

Check your email every day. We will let you know if you must revise formatting or upload additional files. We may have other questions. Please respond promptly so we can continue processing your dissertation. You are responsible for making any changes the Dissertation Office requires.

When we approve your dissertation submission, we will notify you. After this notification, your dissertation will appear in Knowledge@UChicago .

University-Wide Requirements

Requirements

Digital Submission Requirement

Graduating students earning either master’s or doctoral degrees are required to publish their thesis, report, dissertation or treatise digitally and in accordance with certain formatting rules. Students can also request to delay the publication of their thesis, report, dissertation or treatise.

Texas Digital Library (TDL)

Graduating students are required to publish their thesis, report, dissertation or treatise digitally by uploading it to tdl..

The document must be uploaded as a single PDF. Because electronic theses and dissertations (ETDs) must be published, if any material contained in your document might require permission from another party for publication, all such permissions must be obtained prior to the submission of the ETD.

It is critical that your submission be complete and correct.

After submission, no revisions or corrections will be allowed except for those required by the graduate dean.

Thesis & Dissertation Submission System

Click the link above to begin your submission.

Technical Support

Texas Digital Library provides support to our members through training, documentation, and a Helpdesk.

ProQuest Dissertation & Theses Global

To further promote and preserve the intellectual contributions of its degree recipients, UT Austin is partnering with ProQuest to disseminate its master’s theses/reports and doctoral dissertations through the ProQuest Dissertation & Theses Global database, which reaches thousands of institutions and millions of academic researchers worldwide. ProQuest also partners with major search and discipline-specific indexes for additional amplification and provides all of these services free of charge.

By distributing your work with ProQuest, you will increase its visibility and impact within the global research community. ProQuest recognizes the critical importance of embargoes and will never publish a thesis until it has been released for dissemination by UT Austin.

ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Information

Further information can be found at this link. If you prefer not to have the full-text version of your thesis disseminated by ProQuest, please contact [email protected] .

The Graduate School offers Microsoft Word templates to assist you in formatting your thesis or dissertation.

Using the Thesis and Dissertation Templates User Guide

Before using a template, review this user guide.

Thesis Templates

Dissertation templates, format guidelines for dissertations, treatises, theses, and reports.

Theses, reports, dissertations, and treatises must follow the guidelines of the Graduate School booklet Format Guidelines for Dissertations, Treatises, Theses, and Reports. A format check is recommended before you submit your completed work. If the format has not been checked prior to submission, it will be checked at the time of submission.

LaTex Document Preparation & Overleaf

LaTex Document Preparation is an approved formatting option by the Graduate School, and Overleaf is designed to make the process of writing, editing and producing scientific papers faster for authors by providing an online LaTeX/Rich Text editor for their projects.

Petition to Write a Thesis, Report or in a Language Other than English

Those who wish to write a thesis, report, dissertation or treatise in a language other than English must petition to do so.

Contact Student Services at [email protected]

Students may request a format check via email.

Additional Formatting Resources

Template workshop.

Watch the video of our Template Workshop via Zoom.

Common Formatting Errors Workshop

Watch the video of our Common Formatting Errors Workshop via Zoom.

iThenticate by Turnitin

Ithenticate.

The University has acquired access to iThenticate by Turnitin that allows you to check your report, thesis, or dissertation to help identify potential textual similarities between your document and other previously published documents.

The Graduate School strongly encourages the use of this tool while preparing drafts of your report, thesis or dissertation, along with discussion of the results of these reviews with your supervisor.

Requests to Delay Publication

Initial request for delay of publication.

If you wish to request a temporary delay of publication of your thesis, report, dissertation, or treatise, you must make this request before graduation. The request should be made by using this form. If no request to delay publication is made, the document will be freely available online.

Note that it is not appropriate to use a delay of publication to avoid securing copyright permissions required for publication. Any required publication permissions must be obtained prior to submitting the ETD. The graduate dean makes the final decision regarding delayed publication.

Restrictions and/or holds on publishing requested from ProQuest do not apply to the dissertation archived at the TDL.

Extension Request for Delay of Publication

Authors who already have an approved delay of publication, but wish to extend the time of the delay, may request an extension (up to seven years from the date of graduation).

Request to End Delay of Publication Prior to Scheduled Date

Authors who have an approved delay of publication, but wish to publish their ETD prior to the date initially requested, may request to end the delay of publication.

Publish a Dissertation Electronically

Request to migrate format of thesis/dissertation at the university of texas libraries.

If your dissertation or thesis was previously published in a printed, bound copy or on CD-ROM, you may request to have it published electronically. Complete the form above to have it uploaded to the UT Digital Repository.

Research examinations

• Before the Examination
• Writing and Submitting your Thesis
• The Viva Examination
• Outcomes and Referrals
• Deposit and Consultation of Thesis

From Michaelmas term 2025, new regulations relating to postgraduate research (PGR) examination outcomes will come into effect. This page provides information based on the current regulations. If you expect to submit your research thesis on or after 12 October 2025, view  details of the changes to Postgraduate Research Examination Outcomes that will take effect from that date.

The information provided below provides a summary of key regulations applicable to all examinations. It is your responsibility to read and adhere to the  Examination Regulations .

The procedures for the submission and examination of theses are detailed in the  Examination Regulations , as well as the  Notes of Guidance for the Examination of Research Degrees (GSO.20a) .

When to submit a thesis

Students must have the appropriate student status before they are permitted to submit a copy of their thesis: if you are a student for the MSc by Research, MLitt, or MPhil, this means having completed your transfer of status; if you are a student for the DPhil, this means having passed both your transfer and confirmation of status.

You can find the details of your final submission deadline on Student Self Service, at ‘My Student Record’ > ‘Academic Information’. This maximum submission date is different to the expected completion date found on your University Card and Enrolment Certificate, and is the date by which you must have submitted the examination copy of your thesis. If you will not be in a position to submit your thesis by this date you will need to consider submitting an application for an extension.

Appointment of examiners

You should liaise with your supervisor regarding the selection of your proposed examiners. It is usual for supervisors to informally invite the proposed examiners, and confirm their willingness to act, before the submission of the Appointment of Examiners form.

Once you have decided on an appropriate internal and external examiners with your supervisor, you should complete the  Application for Appointment of Examiners (GSO.3) form  in Student Self Service, and read the accompanying Notes of Guidance. Once you have completed and submitted your section, the application will be sent to your supervisor who will propose examiner names to the relevant board, together with details of any special considerations which either yourself or the supervisor wishes to make known about potential examiners.

If you wish to request an early  viva , you will be given the opportunity to do so in the GSO.3 form. This cannot be used to request that a viva happens ‘as soon as possible’, but only where there is a specific date by which the viva must have taken place. If the faculty board accepts your request, your examiners will be invited on the basis that they conduct before a date you specify. You should bear in mind when specifying this date that you should allow your examiners at least four weeks to examine your thesis before the date of the viva, and the submission dates of your application form and thesis should reflect this. 

It is strongly recommended that you submit your section of the GSO.3 form four to six weeks prior to submitting your thesis, since the names of your examiners have to be approved and their acceptance received before your thesis can be provided to them. If you submit your form and thesis together, your thesis will not be provided to the examiners until these preliminaries have been completed.

Detailed guidance on all sections of the Appointment of Examiners form can be found in the GSO.20a .

Maximum number of terms’ extension permitted

The maximum number of terms’ extension permitted for DPhil students is six terms. Applications for extensions within this limit should be made via Student Self Service . Applications for extensions which would take you beyond six terms of extension will not be granted without both the full support of your supervisor(s), college and department/faculty, and in addition, special dispensation from the Examination Regulations agreed by the University Education Committee. Such applications should be made through your  Graduate Studies Assistant .

The maximum number of terms’ extension permitted for Master of Letters and Master of Science by research students is three terms.

Submission of examiners’ copies of your thesis 

The examination copies of all research degrees must be digitally submitted via the Research Theses Digital Submission (RTDS) portal before 11:59pm on the student’s maximum submission date. Submissions made via any other method will not be accepted. Full guidance on the functionality and instructions on how to submit your thesis using RTDS can be found in the  Quick Reference Guide for Students .

You may submit the digital examiners’ copy of your thesis at the same time as applying for the appointment of examiners, but note that your examiners will not be sent a link to download the thesis, until your  Appointment of Examiners form  has been approved and your examiners have formally confirmed their appointment to the Research Degree Team at the Examination Schools.

Presentation of theses and abstracts - style and format

Information on special regulations for specific subject areas and divisional and faculty boards can be found in the relevant Examination Regulations ; you should check the specific requirements for your course of study in the relevant regulations. A set of general advice on the format of the thesis can also be found in the General Regulations Governing Research Degrees, and is replicated in the GSO.20a .

Plagiarism is presenting someone else’s work or ideas as your own, with or without their consent, by incorporating it into your work without full acknowledgement. All published and unpublished material, whether in manuscript, printed or electronic form, is covered under this definition. Plagiarism may be intentional or reckless, or unintentional. Under the regulations for examinations, intentional or reckless plagiarism is a  disciplinary offence  (sections 4 and 5).

There are different  types of plagiarism  and you should familiarise yourself with each of them. You may benefit from taking an  online course  which has been developed to provide a useful overview of the issues surrounding plagiarism and practical ways to avoid it.

If plagiarism is suspected in your thesis, the matter will be referred to the relevant Director of Graduate Studies (DGS). They will thoroughly investigate the claim and may call you for interview. As part of the investigation, text-matching software such as iThenticate or TurnItIn may be used to scan the thesis but the thesis will not be saved to any text-matching software databases. If at this point there is no evidence of a breach of the regulations, no further disciplinary action will be taken although you still may be required to make changes to your thesis. However, if it is concluded that a breach of the regulations may have occurred, the DGS will refer the matter to the Proctors.

Extenuating circumstances

If you have a disability that may affect your thesis, this needs to be considered at the time that you are writing your thesis. There are a number of measures that can be put in place to support you whilst writing your thesis and these can be discussed with the Disability Advisory Service and your department/college disability advisors. These measures could include extensions of time for milestones, assistive technology, use of a proof reader etc.

By the time you submit your thesis no further consideration of the disability for the written work is appropriate, as you will have been given sufficient support so that your thesis can be examined under the same academic criteria as those theses submitted by students without a disability.

The oral examination or viva

It is the responsibility of the internal examiner to make all the arrangements for the viva examination. Your internal examiner should normally contact you to arrange a date for your  viva  within a month of receiving your thesis. If you have not heard from your examiner within a month of your thesis being sent, please contact the Research Degrees Team, who will contact your examiners. You must not contact your examiners yourself, except when you have to agree a date for the viva.

If you wish to ask for an early viva (one to two months following submission), the application setting out the reasons for your request must be made using the ‘request for time specific viva’ section of the GSO.3 (Appointment of Examiners) form. You may not request an early viva to take place within a month of submitting your thesis.

Your thesis will only be available to the examiners once both the completed GSO.3 form and their formal acceptance to act as an examiner have been received. Delays often occur by the GSO.3 not arriving promptly with the Research Degrees Team or a failure to elicit a response from the examiners to their invitation.

The regulations stipulate that examiners must have the thesis a minimum of four weeks before the date of the viva. In exceptional circumstances the board may permit a viva to be held earlier but this is not guaranteed. Please  contact your Graduate Studies Assistant  if you wish to enquire about this.

You must present for a viva in academic dress;  sub fusc  and a gown. The gown should be that of your present status (i.e. Student for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy), the gown and hood of the degree held from your own university, or, if you are a University of Oxford graduate, the gown and hood of your University of Oxford degree. Special dispensation may be granted in certain circumstances, for example, health reasons, religious orders and members of the armed services. Please contact the Research Degrees Team for further information on how to apply.

Please do not forget to take a copy of your thesis with you to the viva.

Remote vivas

With the permission of the relevant board (given through the Director of Graduate Studies), vivas may be held with any or all of the candidate and examiners attending remotely via video call. A potential reason for this may be that an examiner or the candidate are based outside the UK, and would be travelling to the UK for the sole purpose of attending the viva. All parties must agree to the viva being held in this format, and further guidance can be found in Annex D of the Policy and Guidance on Research Degrees . Where permission is given for a viva to be held remotely, there is no requirement for the candidate or internal examiner to attend in academic dress.

Viva adjustments

If you wish to make the examiners aware of any illness, disability, or personal circumstance which may affect your performance in the viva, you can make an application for Adjustments to Assessment Arrangements using form  GSO.19 , outlining the requested adjustments and reasons. Adjustments can be requested at any point from offer of a place to submission, at the point of applying for Transfer of Status, at the point of applying for Confirmation of Status or at the point of applying for final viva/appointment of examiners.  The form and related guidance can be found here . Please contact your GSA or departmental graduate administrator if you require more information.

Minor corrections

Your examiners may recommend that you complete minor corrections before they recommend award of the degree. Your examiners will provide you with a list of the required corrections. If you have not received the list of corrections within two weeks of the viva, then you should contact the  Graduate Studies Assistant  for your subject area.

The University expects that these minor corrections will be completed to the satisfaction of your internal examiner within one month of being issued. If, for exceptional reasons, additional time is needed you may apply for an additional one month by submitting a copy of form  GSO.18 . Extension of Time for Completion of Minor or Major Corrections. If you fail to complete your corrections within the time allowed your name will be removed from the Graduate Register and a reinstatement application will be required.

Major corrections and referral 

A ‘major corrections’ option for DPhil examination outcomes give the examiners of research degrees an outcome option midway between minor corrections and referral. Corrections must be made and submitted within six months of the letter confirming the major corrections, although Examination Boards may grant an extension of up to three months on receipt of a GSO.18 form. Where a candidate is required to revise and re-submit their thesis, the revised thesis and, where required, a report indicating the specific changes made must also be submitted via the Research Thesis Digital Submission (RTDS) application.  It is not permitted for a thesis to be submitted directly to the examiners .

Candidates whose thesis is referred will be required to provide at resubmission a separate report indicating the specific changes made to the revised thesis. For students in the Humanities, Medical Sciences and Social Sciences Divisions and the Department for Continuing Education, the word limit for the accompanying report is 1000 words; for students in the Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences Division, the word limit is 2000 words. The report will act as a guide to how the candidate has addressed examiners’ comments, and will direct examiners to the appropriate sections.

Correction timelines

The outcome types, time limits for changes and report lengths for each of the research degrees are summarised in the tables below.

Doctor of Philosophy

Master of Letters/Master of Science by Research

In all cases, the time limit applies from the date you receive the list of corrections/revisions required.

Examiners do not have the option of recommending an outcome of outright fail on the first attempt for MLitt/MSc(Res) examinations. Students not passing the examination at the first attempt will be entitled to a second attempt.

Re-submitting a thesis

If you are re-submitting your thesis, you are required to pay the re-submission fee (the current fee amounts can be found  here ) when you apply for the appointment of examiners. This fee does not apply to students submitting their thesis for the Review of Major Corrections. The re-submission fee should be paid via the Research Degrees section of the University's  online shop ; this will need to be received before the Research Degrees Team is able to officially log your submission and send your thesis to your examiners.

The revised thesis, and the required report indicating the specific changes made, must be submitted via the Research Thesis Digital Submission (RTDS) application. For students in the Humanities, Medical Sciences and Social Sciences Divisions and the Department for Continuing Education, the word limit for the accompanying report is 1000 words; for students in the Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences Division, the word limit is 2000 words. The report will act as a guide to how the candidate has addressed examiners’ comments, and will direct examiners to the appropriate sections.

A fresh Appointment of Examiners form is also required for any resubmission. The report on the first examination will automatically be sent to the examiners of the re-submitted thesis. This is to ensure that the examiners are aware of the background to the revisions that you have made. If you wish to make a case for this not to happen, permission must be sought from the Proctors. You will need to apply in writing via your  Graduate Studies Assistant , stating your reasons, before or at the same time as re-applying for the appointment of examiners.

Deposit of a Library Copy of the Thesis

Students granted leave to supplicate will no longer need to submit a hardbound copy of their thesis to the Examination Schools in order to graduate. This includes any students granted leave to supplicate in previous academic years who have not yet submitted a hard copy of their thesis.

All candidates for the degrees of DPhil, MLitt, MSc by Research and DClinPsych must submit an electronic version of their finalised thesis, as approved by the examiners, to the Oxford University Research Archive (ORA)  following being granted to leave to supplicate. Students for theses degrees must do so a minimum of five working days prior to their graduation date, and will not be able to attend a degree ceremony (even in absentia) without doing so.

Information   regarding this process can be found on the  Oxford Research Archive website  and will be sent with your result letter. Deposit of a copy with the archive is optional for candidates for the degrees of MPhil, Master of Studies in Legal Research (MSt) or Bachelor of Philosophy (BPhil) in Philosophy.

If submissions remain outstanding, shortly before your degree ceremony you will receive emails reminding you to complete these submissions at least five days in advance of your ceremony. If these submissions are not completed by this time, your name may be removed from the ceremony list.

Dispensation from Consultation of Thesis

Where there are concerns about the thesis being made publicly available online, candidates can apply for dispensation from consultation for part or all of their thesis using form  GSO.3c . Information on this process, and on likely reasons for applying, can be found on the Bodleian website .

Candidates who are granted Dispensation from Consultation on the whole thesis, and on a permanent basis, should, in addition to the finalised copy of the thesis submitted to the Oxford Research Archive, submit a finalised hardbound copy of their thesis for deposit in the relevant university library. This applies to students who have already been granted Dispensation from Consultation, and who have not yet had the opportunity to submit a hard copy of their thesis.

Students whose thesis (or part of the thesis) is in a non-standard format which cannot be submitted electronically (e.g. a 3D artwork, or artefact) should also submit a physical copy for deposit.

Physical copies for those students granted Dispensation from Consultation on a permanent basis should be to submitted to the Bodleian at the North Proscholium, in the Bodleian Library, during library opening hours. More information on this process is available on the  Bodleian LibGuide .

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Dissertation and thesis submission (PhD, JSD, DMA, engineering master's)

Learn more about dissertation and thesis submission

Graduated and enrolled Stanford students may submit their dissertations and theses through Axess. The electronic submission process is free of charge. The service provides the ability to check your pre-submission requirements, and, when ready, you can upload a digital copy of your dissertation or thesis.  

Learn how to use the Dissertation and Thesis Center

Who is eligible?

The online Dissertation and Thesis Center in Axess is currently available to Stanford PhD, JSD, DMA, and engineering-degree students only.

What to expect

• After you have applied to graduate and have enrolled, you will see the Dissertation and Thesis Center in Axess.
• You’ll want to  prepare your work for submission , following the guidelines for format and title page.
• It may be helpful for you to check out  how to request to use copyrighted material , if you have questions.
• Next, you’ll submit your dissertation or thesis by following this helpful  checklist for submitting your dissertation or thesis .
• After submission, a  certificate of final reading will be created by your Final Reader, using the online submission workflow.
• In addition, you’ll need to  obtain approval from each member of your reading committee .
• After you have fulfilled all requirements and your dissertation or thesis has been approved by the University Registrar, it will be cataloged, preserved in the Stanford Digital Repository, and made available online via  SearchWorks , the online library catalog. 
• Please note: if embargoed, your dissertation or thesis PDF will be available only to Stanford affiliates for the duration of the embargo.

For more detailed information about submitting your dissertation or thesis online, refer to this set of dissertations and theses web pages provided by the Student Services Center.

Capstone and thesis submission (undergraduate honors, master's)

Check out the capstone and thesis submission (undergraduate honors, master's) page for information about submitting these types of theses.

Questions about the dissertation and thesis submission service? 

If you have questions about submitting your dissertation or thesis, please contact the  Student Services Center .

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• Graduate school
• Information for postgraduate research students
• Submitting your thesis

This section contains essential information and guidance for the preparation and submission of your thesis.

Preparation and Submission of your Thesis

IMPORTANT - When preparing your thesis please ensure that you have taken into account any copyright or sensitive content issues, and dealt with them appropriately. 

COVID-19  Additional academic support – Supporting Students to Submission

Additional academic support is available for postgraduate research students impacted by the pandemic. If your research has been disrupted by COVID-19, it will now be possible to have this taken into account in viva examinations.

Tips on planning your thesis

At an early stage you should:

• Prepare a detailed work plan for your research in consultation with your supervisor.
• Build some flexibility into your plan. It is difficult to give general advice about the allocation of time on theory‑oriented projects, because the nature of these is so variable. In the case of experiment‑based research projects, you should normally allow up to six months to write a DPhil thesis, or three to four months for a corresponding MSc by Research thesis.
• Consider attending available skills training courses, for example  Thesis and Report Writing .

It is not advisable to leave all the writing to the end, for several reasons:

• You will need practice at writing over a period of time in order to develop a good style.
• There will inevitably be hold‑ups in experimental work and it is better to use that time to work on part of your thesis, rather than to waste it. If you do some writing earlier the final completion of your thesis will not seem such a daunting task.
• Approaching your submission date will become more stressful than necessary.

About your thesis

The best way to find out what is required for a successful thesis in your subject area is to look at some written in recent years. You should obviously look particularly closely at theses written by previous members of your own research group, which are available in the University library.

The formal requirements for obtaining your degree are set out in detail in the ‘ Examination Regulations ’. The standard required for success in the DPhil examination is defined as follows: that the student present a significant and substantial piece of research, of a kind which might reasonably be expected of a capable and diligent student after three or at most four years of full‑time study in the case of a full-time student, or eight years in the case of a part-time student. For the MSc by Research the standard required is that the candidate should have made a worthwhile contribution to knowledge or understanding of the relevant field of learning after a minimum of one year or two years of full-time study.

Statement of Authorship

 - Do I need to provide a separate statement of authorship with my thesis?

When you complete your application for appointment of examiners, you will be asked whether the work you are submitting is solely your own work. Where you have completed work in collaboration, or are using work completed by others, as well as making it clear throughout the thesis, you should always provide a separate document with details of which parts of the thesis are not your own work.

Thesis page and word limits

Several departments place a word limit or page limit on theses. Details can be found in the  Examination Regulations  or  GSO.20a Notes of Guidance for Research Examinations .

Permission to exceed the page and word limits

Should you need to exceed your word/page limit you must seek approval from the Director of Graduate Studies in your department. You and your supervisor must submit a letter/email requesting approval, giving reasons why it is necessary to exceed the limit. This must be sent to the MPLS Graduate Office ( [email protected] ).

Proof-reading

It is your responsibility to ensure your thesis has been adequately proof-read before it is submitted.  Your supervisor may alert you if they feel further proof-reading is needed, but it is not their job to do the proof-reading for you.  You should proof-read your own work, as this is an essential skill in the academic writing process. However, for longer pieces of work it is considered acceptable for students to seek the help of a third party for proof-reading. Such third parties can be professional proof-readers, fellow students, friends or family members (students should bear in mind the terms of any agreements with an outside body or sponsor governing supply of confidential material or the disclosure of research results described in the thesis).   Proof-reading assistance may also be provided as a reasonable adjustment for disability.    Your thesis may be rejected by the examiners if it has not been adequately proof-read.  

See the University’s Policy on the Use of Third Party Proof-readers . The MPLS Division offers training in proof-reading as part of its Scientific Writing training programmes.

Thesis structure for an Integrated Thesis

Subject to approval, students registered on research programmes (DPhil, MSc (Res) and CDTs) in the following departments may submit an integrated thesis rather than a conventional thesis: Biology, Chemistry, Earth Sciences, Engineering Science and Statistics. Where a student is admitted to an interdisciplinary doctoral training programme (CDT/DTP), the regulations for the department that the student is hosted in will therefore determine whether an integrated thesis may be applied for.

An integrated thesis may either be a hybrid of conventional chapters and high-quality scientific papers, or be fully paper-based. Regardless of the format, the content of the thesis should reflect the amount, originality and level of work expected for a conventional thesis. It should not be assumed that the act of publication (in whatever form) means the work is of suitable academic quality and content for inclusion in a thesis, and students should discuss all papers in detail with their supervisor before including. It would be anticipated that the candidate would be a lead contributor, rather than a minor author, on at least some of the papers in order to consider this format. There is no minimum, or maximum, number of papers a candidate is expected/allowed to include as part of such a thesis and it will remain a matter for the examiners to conclude whether the contributions are equivalent to that which would be expected of a standard DPhil.

Any papers utilised must concern a common subject, constitute a continuous theme and conform to the following guidelines:

 (i) If a candidate for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy wishes to be examined through an integrated thesis (in the departments listed above), they should apply for permission to be examined in this way when they apply for confirmation of status, as detailed in the relevant departmental handbook. A candidate for the Degree of Master of Science by Research should normally apply to the DGS for permission to be examined in this way six months before submitting their papers for examination. To revert to being examined by a conventional thesis rather than an integrated thesis, the candidate must inform their department of the change as detailed in the relevant departmental handbook.

(ii) Work can be included regardless of its acceptance status for publication but candidates may be questioned on the publication status of their work by the examiners.

(iii) Any submitted/published papers should relate directly to the candidate’s approved field of study, and should have been written whilst holding the status of PRS or a student for the MSc (by Research), or DPhil.

(iv) The collection of papers must include a separate introduction, a full literature review, discussion and a conclusion, so that the integrated thesis can be read as a single, coherent document.

(v) The candidate must ensure all matters of copyright are addressed before a paper’s inclusion. A pre-print version of any published papers should be included as standard.

(vi) Joint/multi-authored papers are common in science based subjects and thus acceptable if the candidate can both defend the paper in full and provide a written statement of authorship, agreed by all authors, that certifies the extent of the candidate’s own contribution. A standard template is available for this purpose.

• Download the Statement of Authorship template as a Word document
• View the Statement of Authorship template as a webpage  

The length and scope of theses, including word limits for each subject area in the Division are set out in Departmental guidelines.

In all departments, if some part of the thesis is not solely your work or has been carried out in collaboration with one or more persons, you should also submit a clear statement of the extent of your contribution.

• Download the guidance for submitting an Integrated Thesis as a Word document
• View the guidance for submitting an Integrated Thesis as a webpage

Examiners and Submission Dates

You are strongly advised to apply for the appointment of examiners at least four to six weeks before you submit your thesis.

Appointing examiners for your thesis

Approval of the proposed names of examiners rests with the Director of Graduate Studies. Two examiners are normally appointed. It is usual for one of the examiners to be a senior member of Oxford University (the ‘internal examiner’) and the other to be from another research organisation (the ‘external examiner’). The divisional board will not normally appoint as examiners individuals previously closely associated with the candidate or their work, representatives of any organisation sponsoring the candidate’s research, or former colleagues of a candidate. Your supervisor will make suggestions regarding the names of possible examiners. Before doing so, your supervisor must consult with you, in order to find out if you have any special views on the appointment of particular examiners. Your supervisor is also allowed to consult informally with the potential examiners before making formal suggestions. Such informal consultation is usually desirable, and is intended to determine whether the people concerned are willing in principle to act, and if so, whether they could carry out the examination within a reasonable period of time. (For example, there may be constraints if you have to return to your home country, or take up employment on a specific date).

See information on examiner conflicts of interest , under section 7.3.3 Examiners.

What forms do I need to complete?

You will need to complete the online  GSO.3 form. Supervisors complete the section indicating names of the proposed examiners, and they should provide alternatives in case the preferred examiners decline to act. Please remember where you have completed work in collaboration, or are using work completed by others in your thesis, to upload a separate document with your GSO3. form, with details of which parts of the thesis are not your own work.

Timing for appointment of examiners

You are advised to submit your appointment of examiners form in advance of submitting your thesis to avoid delays with your examination process. Ideally you should apply for the appointment of examiners at least 4-6 weeks before you expect to submit your thesis for examination.

There are currently no University regulations requiring examination to take place within a certain time limit after thesis submission. However, your examiners would normally be expected to hold your viva within 3 months. If you need to have your examination sooner than this, you may apply for an early viva , by completing the 'Application for a time specific examination' section on the appointment of examiners form, this section must be endorsed by your supervisor and DGS in addition to their approval in the main body of the form. The request must be made at the time of completing and submitting the appointment of examiners form, it cannot be done after this.

Please bear in mind that the examination date requested must not be earlier than one calendar month after the date on which the thesis has been received by the Research Degrees Team or after the date on which the examiners have formally agreed to act, whichever is the latest. The actual date of the examination will depend primarily on the availability of both examiners. In the Long Vacation, a longer time is normally required. It is therefore essential that you leave sufficient time for your forms to be formally approved, and for your examiners to be formally invited.  If sufficient time has not be given this could impact on your early examination request .

If, for any reason, examiners wish to hold a viva within four weeks of receiving their copy of the thesis, permission must be sought from the Director of Graduate Studies. The internal examiner will need to give details of the proposed arrangement and the reasons for the request. Under no circumstances will a viva be permitted to take place within 14 days of receipt of the thesis by the examiners.

Special considerations

Your supervisor is permitted to indicate to the Director of Graduate Studies if there are any special factors which should be taken into account in the conduct of your examination. For example, a scientific paper may have been produced by another researcher which affects the content of your thesis, but which was published too late for you to take into account. The Director of Graduate Studies will also need to be told of any special circumstances you may require or need to inform your examiners of which may affect your performance in an oral examination, or if any part of your work must be regarded as confidential. The Director of Graduate Studies will then forward (via the Graduate Office), any appropriate information that they think should be provided to the examiners. The Graduate Office will also seek approval from the Proctors Office if required.

Change of thesis title

If during your studies you want to change the title or subject of your thesis, you must obtain the approval of the Director of Graduate Studies using the online form GSO.6 . If you are requesting the change at the time of submitting your thesis, you may do this on the application for appointment of examiners form. A change of title is quite straightforward; it is common for students to begin with a very general title, and then to replace it with a more specific one shortly before submitting their thesis. Providing your supervisor certifies that the new title lies within the original topic, approval will be automatic. A change of the subject of your research requires more detailed consideration, because there may be doubt as to whether you can complete the new project within the original time‑scale.

If following your examination your examiners recommend that your thesis title be changed, you will need to complete a change of thesis title form to ensure that your record is updated accordingly.

From MT19 y ou must submit your digital examiners’ copy of your thesis online, via the Research Thesis Digital Submission (RTDS) portal, no later than the last day of the vacation immediately following the term in which your application for the appointment of examiners was made.   If you fail to submit by this date your application will be cancelled and you will have to reapply for appointment of examiners when you are ready to submit. Y our thesis should not be submitted until your application for confirmation of status has been approved (this applies to DPhil students only) . For MSc by Research students you should ensure that your transfer of status has been completed .

If you are funded on a research council studentship, you will have a recommended end-date before which your thesis must be submitted. If you do not know this date, please consult your supervisor.

Please note that you must not submit copies of your thesis directly to your examiners as this could result in your examinations being declared void and you could be referred to the University Proctors.

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Southern Illinois University

Electronic thesis and dissertation, on this page.

• Initial Submission and Questions

Final Submission

• Submitting in Digital Formats

/https://siu.edu/search-results.php

Last Updated: Aug 07, 2024, 11:52 AM

Submission Site for Thesis and Dissertation

Questions / concerns.

For any questions or concerns regarding ETDs, please contact ETD support at [email protected] .

Graduate students at Southern Illinois University who are required to submit a Thesis or Dissertation must follow the Graduate School formatting guidelines and submit through the ProQuest submission website. Review the guidelines for formatting and submission on this website and/or download Guidelines for the Preparation of Dissertations, Theses, and Research Papers .  

Two submission deadlines must be met: Initial Submission and Final Submission .

Submission Deadlines

Initial Submission

Upload your ETD (Electronic Thesis or Dissertation) in one PDF file to the ProQuest submission website. Your ETD does not have to be perfect for this first upload, but it must be close enough to being complete that your committee chair has approved you sending it to your committee members. The initial submission will take several minutes, since you must respond to several questions. (See below). Within 1-3 days after submission, you will receive an email from the ETD Administrator with a list of corrections that must be made to meet formatting requirements. Make those changes and upload your ETD again, using the same ProQuest login. There is a charge for the first upload, and no charge for subsequent uploads. Upload as many times as needed to meet all formatting requirements.

Initial Submission Questions

Before you can upload your thesis or dissertation for the initial submission, the following questions must be answered on the ProQuest website. Look in the Guidelines (pdf) for more information about initial submission questions.

• In which primary subject category and additional subject categories does your paper topic belong?
• What are the keywords that fit with your paper topic (up to 6)?
• What are the names of your committee chair and committee members?
• Which type of publishing, traditional or open access? (Choose traditional, since OpenSIUC offers open access free of charge.)
• Do you want to delay the release of your paper after graduation? (Optional. Some choose to delay due to pending publication, pending patent, or sensitive content.)
• Do you want search engines to have access to your paper?
• Do you want ProQuest to file for copyright registration on your behalf? (Optional. You will own the copyright of your paper, but ProQuest is offering to register it, for a fee.)
• Do you want to purchase bound copies of your paper? (One bound copy is required, $30. This is the library copy and will be stored in special collections at Morris Library. You have the option of purchasing additional bound copies through ProQuest. You also have the option of purchasing bound copies through another vendor.)

All corrections to content (based on your committee’s feedback) and formatting (based on ETD Support feedback) must be completed by the final submission deadline.

Questions should be directed to [email protected].

These links will help guide you through the process of preparing and submitting your Thesis or Dissertation.

• ETD Guidelines
• ETD Submission Process
• ETD Templates
• ETD Checklist (pdf)
• ETD Guidelines Presentation
• ETD Thesis and Dissertation Submission Guidelines Video
• Copyright Information

Copyright and Intellectual Property

Compliance with copyright law is imperative. Information on copyright issues is available from the following website:  

UMI Copyright Law and Graduate Research