umi phd dissertations

Center for Digital Scholarship

University-Wide Requirements for the Ph.D. Dissertation

Dissertations must comply with the specifications set by the Library, by the author's department, and by the University. Departments, divisions, and schools may have requirements in addition to those described in this booklet. Students are responsible for informing themselves of these additional requirements.

The Dissertation Office provides information on the University’s dissertation policies. We help doctoral students understand dissertation formatting and submission requirements, and we assist with the submission process. Students are welcome to contact us with questions.

Contact the Dissertation Office

Web: phd.lib.uchicago.edu Email: [email protected] Phone: 773-702-7404 Visit: Suite 104D, Center for Digital Scholarship, Regenstein Library

Routine Hours: Monday-Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Actual hours vary to accommodate meetings, workshops, and training. The office is often closed during the interim between quarters.

Dissertation Requirements

Doctoral dissertations are original contributions to scholarship. As a condition for receipt of the doctorate, all students are required to submit their dissertations to Knowledge@UChicago, the University’s open access repository. If a dissertation includes copyrighted material beyond fair use, the author must obtain permission from the holder of the copyright.

The public sharing of original dissertation research is a principle to which the University is deeply committed, and dissertations should be made available to the scholarly community at the University of Chicago and elsewhere in a timely manner. If dissertation authors are concerned that making their research publicly available might endanger research subjects or themselves, jeopardize a pending patent, complicate publication of a revised dissertation, or otherwise be unadvisable, they may, in consultation with faculty in their field (and as appropriate, research collaborators), restrict access to their dissertation for a limited period of time according to the guidelines outlined by the Dissertation Office. If a dissertation author needs to renew an embargo at the end of its term or initiate an embargo after graduation, the author must contact the Dissertation Office with the embargo request. Embargo renewals may be approved only in rare instances, and in general no more than one renewal will be allowed.

All dissertations must follow the formatting and submission requirements stated in the University-Wide Requirements for the Ph.D. Dissertation , available from the Dissertation Office on the first floor of the Joseph Regenstein Library in the Center for Digital Scholarship.

University-Wide Requirements

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MEAM Blog @ Penn Engineering

Tom Celenza Successfully Defends Doctoral Dissertation

Tom Celenza has successfully defended his doctoral dissertation, “Enhancing Photophoretic Levitation using Three-dimensional Structures for Flight in the Mesosphere and on Mars,” under the guidance of Igor Bargatin , Associate Professor in Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics (MEAM). Celenza’s research opens new frontiers in atmospheric observation, focusing on environments that have long remained unexplored due to their unique challenges.

Celenza’s work centers on developing aircraft capable of operating in Earth’s mesosphere and the Martian atmosphere—regions too dense for satellites yet too thin for conventional aircraft. His novel approach harnesses photophoresis, the movement of gas molecules induced by light, to create ultralight vehicles designed for these challenging environments.

The core of Celenza’s dissertation involves designing ultrathin, ultralight objects with specialized microstructures that can achieve levitation using only light. By optimizing 3D hollow geometries, he demonstrated the potential for these photophoretic aircraft to carry significant payloads high into Earth’s atmosphere. His comprehensive research spans theoretical modeling, computer simulations, and practical experiments, including the fabrication of millimeter-scale prototypes and the development of scalable manufacturing methods.

Reflecting on his Ph.D. experience, Celenza shares, “My Ph.D. journey was difficult but in the most rewarding way. MEAM and Penn provided access to resources and technology I never thought I’d experience, from nanotechnology in the Singh Center to top-tier advising and teaching mentorship from professors, and of course, the valuable friendships with extremely intelligent colleagues.”

One of the most memorable aspects of Celenza’s time at Penn was achieving a NASA-funded fellowship. This opportunity allowed him to spend a summer in California, conducting research and presenting his work at multiple conferences. “I immersed myself in the world of space technology research, learned how NASA missions develop and deploy, and saw in-person where they build out some of their most massive projects,” Celenza recalls.

Celenza expresses deep gratitude, stating, “I would like to thank Igor Bargatin, for being such a spectacular advisor, my family for pushing me to this finish line, and more people than I can thank here from the Bargatin Group, past and present members, for endless mentorship and friendship.”

As Celenza concludes this chapter of his academic journey, he will be joining Exponent as a Thermal Sciences Associate.

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Developing Programmable Therapeutics Can we accelerate the development of new therapeutics? We aim to create modular systems that interchangeably combine a therapeutic molecule, such as a gene editing construct, and a delivery vehicle. By focusing on creating compatible and extensible platforms for both intervention and delivery, we can rapidly generate a large number of therapeutics tailored for a wide range of contexts.

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Wait...Did the Author of ‘White Fragility’ Plagiarize People of Color In Her Doctoral Thesis??

The diversity consultant is under fire for allegedly stealing words for her 2004 dissertation..

Author Robin DiAngelo’s 2018 book “White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard For White People To Talk About Racism” became a New York Times bestseller shortly after its release and saw a renewed buzz a couple years later amid the George Floyd protests. She has since enjoyed a career as a “diversity consultant” who encourages white people to confront their inherit racial biases.

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But, according to a recent complaint filed with the University of Washington, DiAngelo plagiarized minorities in her 2004 doctorate thesis. According to the Washington Free Beacon , DiAngelo’s 2004 dissertation entitled “Whiteness in Racial Dialogue: A Discourse Analysis” allegedly contains two paragraphs that were stolen from Asian-American professor Thomas Nakayama and his coauthor Robert Krizek.

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The Free Beacon notes that there was never any proper attribution crediting Nakayama and Krizek in DiAngelo’s work. DiAngelo was also accused of also plagiarizing another Asian-American professor, Stacey Lee.

An image from the Washington Free Beacon shows how DiAngelo apparently wrote Lee’s summary of scholar David Theo Goldberg’s work nearly verbatim. In total, there were 20 examples of DiAngelo’s alleged plagiarism cited in the complaint.

“It is never appropriate to use the secondary source without acknowledging it, and even worse to present it as one’s own words,” Peter Wood, a former Boston University and president of the National Association of Scholars, told the Free Beacon. “That’s plagiarism.”

Ironically, DiAngelo’s website contains an accountability statement in which she insists that the work of people of color must always be cited if they have “informed your thinking.”

The statement emphasizes the importance of white people crediting marginalized groups when they use one of their phrases or ideas.

Last year, the Free Beacon also infamously reported on numerous plagiarism claims against former Harvard President Claudine Gay, who ultimately resigned in January.

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The ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global (PQDT) ™ database is the world's most comprehensive curated collection of multi-disciplinary dissertations and theses from around the world, offering over 5 million citations and 3 million full-text works from thousands of universities.

Within dissertations and theses is a wealth of scholarship, yet it is often overlooked because most go unpublished. Uncover new ideas and innovations with more confidence and efficiency. ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global delivers a focused path for researchers by tapping into a global network of connected research.

Dissertation references can be a treasure trove for obscure topics, here students discover shorter works like articles.

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ProQuest Dissertations & Theses (PQDT) Global provides visibility of cutting-edge research from the world’s premier universities.

ProQuest’s vast collection of >5.5million post graduate dissertations and theses now discoverable on Web of Science

ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global with the Web of Science™ enables researchers to seamlessly uncover early career, post-graduate research in the form of more than 5.5 million dissertations and theses from over 4,100 institutions from more than 60 countries, alongside journal articles, conference proceedings, research data, books, preprints and patents.

The integration and introduction of the ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Citation Index , eliminates the need for researchers to search multiple databases, allowing them to streamline their workflow and focus more on their academic success and research advancements.

To further enhance accessibility, direct full text linking from the Web of Science to the ProQuest platform is available for joint subscribers of the Web of Science and ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global.

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DISCOVER unique scholarship

• Provides credible research on unique, niche, and trending topics, often not published elsewhere
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UNCOVER the value of dissertations

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Citation Connections are the next step in the evolution of the ProQuest Platform, moving the recommender functionality beyond standard keyword lists towards technology that leverages citation data, bibliometrics, and knowledge graph technology. Focus your research path by finding the most relevant and influential works faster.

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Success Story

Progressing STEM Studies with a Critical Primary Research Source

Author, Technologist, and Doctoral Student, Ida Joiner shares her story on leveraging dissertations to engage with current trends, cite a comprehensive foundation and build towards her own research goals.

Avoiding Bias by Starting at the Source

Dr. Terri D. Pigott, Ph.D., of the School of Public Health at the College of Education, Georgia State University, on Avoiding Bias by Starting at the Source.

Testimonials

Professor Terri Pigott Ph.D. discusses the expectations she presents to her students on meta-analysis and unbiased research requirements and how the use of ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global helps to ensure that comprehensive data sets are included in new research outputs.

Using Dissertations as a Primary Source

Student researcher and published author Ida Joiner discusses how she uses ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global as a core resource that helps her to build towards her own research goals.

Improving Diversity in Curriculum by Uncovering Unheard Voices

Psychology Professors and Research Scientists come together to build a course and write a supplemental text for Psychology curriculum emphasizing the dissertations by women of color prior to 1980, filling research gaps in the early history of psychology.

The Erasure of Drag Contribution in Performance History

Dr. Lady J, Ph.D., documents the historical impact, influence, contributions that drag performers have made to politics, music, film, fashion, and popular culture in her dissertation. Her goal is to document and make this history available for broad educational outreach.

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ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global is one of the most requested data-sets for text and data mining because of its broad historic to present-day coverage and deep and comprehensive data results found in the full-text records.  TDM Studio can be used alongside PQDT to easily and efficiently extract data and analyze it. See the list below for articles and projects published by scholars who used ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global data:

• TDM Studio ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global Case Studies
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• Indiana University using Dissertations Data for Research
• ProQuest Dissertation Database Provides Critical Information for Research Projects Across the US
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Trends in the Evolution of Research and Doctoral Education

Bruce A. Weinberg, Ph.D., Professor of Economics and Public Affairs from The Ohio State University shares how text and data mining of ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global allows researchers to understand doctoral career trajectory patterns.

Improving Graduate Student Outcomes

Dr. Jearl (Ken) Helvey, Assistant Professor of Education – Doctoral Program at Texas Wesleyan University on how incorporating dissertations into the curriculum improved the doctoral student success at Texas Wesleyan University.

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Empower researchers to uncover new connections and make new discoveries using TDM Studio, a new solution for text and data mining (TDM). From the initial idea to the final output, TDM Studio puts the power of text and data mining directly in the researcher’s hands.

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Including dissertations and theses in ProQuest means amplifying your research by making it available in a unified repository

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University of Miami Theses and Dissertations

University of Miami Libraries hold approximately 9,100 theses and dissertations submitted from 1943 to the present. They can be searched by author and title via Richter’s  Library Online Catalog . The collection is in print format and it is kept at our Off-Campus Storage Facility.

Please request circulation copies of the theses and dissertations by using the “Request” function in the catalog or ask for assistance at the Circulation Desk. Non-UM users may request an item by contacting Access at [email protected] . It will take a day or two for the library to retrieve items from the off-site facility.

Archival copies of the theses and dissertations are managed by the University Archives.  We will not serve patrons with archival copies unless circulation copies are unavailable.

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The University of Miami Libraries have digitized over 4,000 theses and dissertations created since 1961 presented by the University of Miami Graduate School, which supports masters-level and doctoral programs on the Coral Gables campus, at the Miller School of Medicine, and at the Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science.  Please go to Scholarship@Miami to access them in PDF format by title, author, and publication year.

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The Undergraduate Honors Theses Collection contains theses written by University of Miami undergraduate students from 1989 to 2010.  University Honors ( summa cum laude, magna cum laude  and  cum laude ) are determined by a minimum GPA unique to the school or college from which the student is graduating. University honors only applies to undergraduate students.

Please visit the Undergraduate Honors Theses collection to research them by title, author, and publication year. The collection is in print format, and it is served at the Special Collections Reading Room.

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ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global   is a wealth of unique global scholarship, which is a credible and quality source to Uncover the Undiscovered research insights and intelligence in easiest and most effective ways. The equitable discoverability of more than 5.8 million dissertations and theses with coverage from year 1637, allows researchers to amplify diverse voices and place their research in a global context. The database offers nearly 3.2 million full texts for most of the dissertations added since 1997.

By leveraging the rich citation data found in ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global and with new citation insight tool, researchers can benefit from focused pathways of discovery to build foundational knowledge on various research topics. Over 200,000 new dissertations and theses are added to the database each year to enrich the citation data continuously.

For more information about the ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global , navigate to the Content Page .

ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global   Database  is also part of ProQuest One Academic .  ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global resides on the ProQuest Platform. For additional information about basic and advanced functionality or administrative capabilities, visit the   ProQuest Platform LibGuide .

The Dissertations Bootcamp eLearning Modules are a free resource that help support graduate student planning, writing, and research.

ProQuest Dissertations and Theses for the Student, Citation Connections

Here you can have a preview of the new features just launched for the Cited Reference documents in ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global.

ProQuest Dissertations and Theses for the Librarian

Intended for Librarians who want to learn how to use the database's advanced search to support subject area research at their institution. Duration: 2 minutes.

ProQuest Dissertations and Theses for the Student, Searching Titles and Languages

This session reviews how Students, both Masters or PhD, can use the database's advanced search to identify known dissertations by title and search/analyze by languages other than English. Duration: 3 minutes.

ProQuest Dissertations and Theses for the Student, Searching Names

This session reviews how Students, both Masters or Ph, can use the database's advanced search to identify dissertations of known Authors or Advisors and further refine/analyze them. Duration: 4 minutes.

ProQuest Dissertations and Theses for the Student, Cited References

This session reviews how Students, both Masters or PhD, can use the dissertations to retrieve and explore further the Cited References. Duration: 4 minutes.

ProQuest Dissertations and Theses for the Student, Supplemental Files

This session reviews how Students, both Masters or PhD, can identify dissertations with Supplemental files which may contain useful materials for their graduate work. Duration: 3.5 minutes.

ProQuest Dissertations and Theses for the Student, Subject Searching

This session will show Students, both Masters or PhD, some Search techniques both Basic and Advanced to locate dissertations on a certain topic. Duration: 5.5 minutes.

Webinar Title : Best Practices for Searching ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global

This session demonstrates how users can utilize the best practices of searching the " ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global  database" to connect with relevant information for their academic work. Duration:  52 minutes.

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Access to Ohio State Dissertations and Theses

Ohio State has agreements with two organizations, OhioLINK and ProQuest/UMI , that store and provide access to Ohio State theses and dissertations.

OhioLINK  is Ohio’s state library network and includes a consortium of Ohio colleges and universities. 

ProQuest/UMI Dissertation Publishing  has been collecting and making dissertations available to the public for purchase since 1938, and now manages a database of 90 percent of the dissertations released in the United States. Ohio State has an agreement with ProQuest/UMI to microfilm all approved Ohio State dissertations for archival purposes. This microfilmed archival copy is retained in the Ohio State libraries.

Delay Policy

Graduate students can apply to delay electronic access to their dissertations and theses for one to five years. These requests are reviewed by the Graduate School. If the initial request is granted, additional extensions can be requested up to five years. Graduate students bear the responsibility for requesting extensions. If the Graduate School does not receive a request for an extension,  OhioLINK  will release the document according to the original schedule. 

While a delay is applied to a student's document, the document title and abstract will be publicly available once the student's  OhioLINK  submission is published by the Graduate School.  

A publication delay approved for a doctoral dissertation on OhioLINK means that the document will not be sent to  Proquest/UMI  until the OhioLINK delay expires. If a ProQuest delay is still desired at that time, the student must request it directly through ProQuest. A separate form, the  UMI Publishing Agreement , must be completed and e-mailed directly to UMI/ProQuest to request a delay of publication on the Proquest Dissertation Publishing Database.

Requesting an Access Delay through OhioLINK

Graduate student can request a delay in access when they submit their document PDF to  OhioLI NK  and by submitting the Delay of Final Document form in  GRADFORMS .

• Master's students: Check "Do not upload to UMI" box in the UMI Permissions box (Master’s theses are not archived through UMI.)
• PhD and DMA students: Check "Upload my paper to UMI for traditional publishing."
• Graduate students must also complete and submit the Graduate School’s Delay of Final Document Form via  GRADFORM

The OhioLink and GRADFORMS processes are both required. If a graduate student checks the OhioLINK delay button but does not submit Delay of Final Document form, the dissertation will be released for access.

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Dissertations and Theses Resources

At UC Libraries

Access to a body of well over 8,000 University of Cincinnati electronic dissertations and theses, this is the best link to the broadest collection of electronic UC dissertations. The time period covers mainly from 1955 to the present. To acquire the dissertations electronically, users request the full text from UMI (ProQuest) and are sent a link and a password to access the dissertation. Dissertations from 1997 forward are available in the OhioLINK ETD at ETD (Electronic Theses and Dissertations). Coverage: 1955 to present

ProQuest Dissertations and Theses: Global (PQDTGlobal) is the world's most comprehensive collection of full-text dissertations and theses. As the official digital dissertations archive for the Library of Congress and as the database of record for graduate research, PQDTGlobal includes millions of searchable citations to dissertations and theses from 1861 to the present day together with over a million full-text dissertations that are available for download in PDF format. Over 2.1 million titles are available for purchase as printed copies. The database offers full text for most of the dissertations added since 1997 and strong retrospective full-text coverage for older graduate works. It also includes PQDT UK & Ireland content. Coverage: 1861 - present

• Center for Research Libraries (non-US dissertations) Use ILLiad to request. Some dissertations are available online.
• Inter-Library Loan Service (ILLiad) If the dissertation is not available or digitized, use the Thesis/Dissertation form in ILLiad to request through interlibrary loan.

On the Public Web

• British Library EThOS - Search and order these online "Search over 480,000 doctoral theses. Download instantly for your research, or order a scanned copy quickly and easily."
• DART - Europe E-theses Portal Open access portal to theses from 400+ European universities.
• eScholarship University of California "eScholarship® provides scholarly publishing and repository services that enable departments, research units, publishing programs, and individual scholars associated with the University of California to have direct control over the creation and dissemination of the full range of their scholarship."
• Global ETD Search (NDLTD) The Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (NDLTD) is an international organization dedicated to promoting the adoption, creation, use, dissemination, and preservation of electronic theses and dissertations (ETDs).
• OATD - Open Access Theses and Dissertations "OATD.org aims to be the best possible resource for finding open access graduate theses and dissertations published around the world. Metadata (information about the theses) comes from over 1100 colleges, universities, and research institutions."
• PDTQ Open Open access collection within ProQuest's Dissertations & Theses.

E-Books on Theses and Dissertations

• Strategies for Writing a Thesis by Publication in the Social Sciences and Humanities by Lynn P. Nygaard; Kristin Solli ISBN: 9780367204075 Publication Date: 2020-10-13 " Drawing on current research and informed by extensive experience of working with and running workshops for PhD candidates who write article-based dissertations, this book gives readers an idea of what writing a thesis by publication entails." Particular emphasis is put on how to put the individual articles together to create a coherent thesis that clarifies the student's individual original contribution.

For additional e-book titles published before 2019 please see " Need help with the dissertation process? (Electronic Resources )."

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Find Dissertations

We recommend, vcu dissertations, get dissertations.

• Submit Your Dissertation

Ask Your Librarian for assistance in your research area.

• Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (NDLTD) Search the NDLTD Union Catalog of more than one million electronic theses and dissertations. Or, search specific country sites. Not all theses and dissertations found here are open-access (i.e. the full text may not be available).
• Open Access Theses and Dissertations Access to more than 1.5 million international electronic theses and dissertations.
• Theses and Dissertations in VCU Scholars Compass Online full text of VCU theses and dissertations, from 2008 - present. You may find theses from VCU that are not available in other sources.
• VCU Libraries Advanced Search Search by author, title or keyword (including department or degree name). To limit searches use the keywords (thesis virginia commonwealth university). If you are signed in, you may also see results from Dissertations and Theses (Proquest).
• UMI Dissertation Express You can purchase copies of dissertations through UMI, the producer of Dissertation Abstracts (also known as Dissertations and Theses Full Text). Submit your order online or print out a form to mail or fax. Note that the order form allows you to search for dissertations by author or title.
• Interlibrary Loan We will attempt to borrow dissertations from other libraries. There is no charge for this service, but it can be difficult to obtain a dissertation. Other libraries may not be able to lend their dissertations and the only loanable copy might be on microform. You may be able to get sections of dissertations, so you can include a note in your request, or we can work with you to find the parts you need.
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• Locating dissertations and theses

Dissertations and Theses at KU and more: Locating dissertations and theses

• Format status of KU dissertations and theses

Searching for KU theses and dissertations

The best tool to search for both print and electronic theses and dissertations is through the Quick Search (Primo) which includes records in the catalog, KU ScholarWorks, and the ProQuest Dissertations and Theses database.  The practice of adding records to the catalog for theses and dissertations ceased 2014.  Therefore records to the currently digitized theses and dissertations from 1883 to 1922 are located in KU ScholarWorks or through the Quick Search.

This screen indicates how to search for a dissertation title specific to KU through the Advanced Search option.

Databases for finding dissertations and theses

Sources for locating dissertations and theses specific to KU

• KU Scholarworks - Dissertations and Theses community These collections contain dissertations and theses authored by University of Kansas students. Current works are posted here in fulfillment of graduation requirements.
• KU Library Catalog If not available electronically, older dissertations and theses can also be identified through the libraries' catalog.

Other options for locating dissertations and theses

• American Doctoral Dissertations This link opens in a new window This freely accessible database indexes thousands of theses and dissertations by American universities from 1902 to the present and provides links to full text where available.
• Networked Digital Library of Theses & Dissertations (NDLTD) This link opens in a new window Indexes electronic theses and dissertations from across the globe.
• Defense Technical Information Center Site includes technical reports, journal articles, dissertations, briefs and more relating to defense and military systems
• Center for Research Libraries catalog This link opens in a new window Dissertations available at the Center for Research Libraries (CRL) can be searched through the Center's catalog. Non-U.S. and non-Canadian doctoral dissertations are added to CRL's collections. If unavailable, CRL will purchase through their demand purchase program and can be requested using KU Libraries' interlibrary program.

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The Graduate School Manual - Theses and Dissertations

Guidelines for preparing or submitting a thesis or dissertation.

Manual of Style

Sequence of Pages

Copyright Notice

Committee Page

Table of Contents

Spacing and Margins

Page Numbering

Corrections and Hand Lettering

Illustrative Materials

Tables and Figures

Bibliography or References

Print Quality

You should consult with your department to determine the preferred textual arrangement and manual of style, including the presentation of footnotes/endnotes and the manner in which references are to be cited. In the absence of a departmental preference, the recommended style manual is the Chicago Manual of Style , published by the University of Chicago Press.

All text should be black; font size should be no smaller than 10-point and no larger than 14-point.

• Copyright notice
• Committee page
• Acknowledgments
• Table of contents
• List of tables
• List of figures
• List of plates
• Body of manuscript
• Bibliography

The title page, copyright page, committee page, table of contents, and abstract page are mandatory. All students must include copyright notices in their theses and dissertations even if they do not pay the $55 fee through ProQuest/UMI to have the thesis or dissertation registered with the federal copyright office.

The title page consists of three main parts: title, author and degrees, and submission statement.

• Center all lines on the page.
• Type the title 2 inches from the top of the page.
• Use all capital letters in the title. Font size should be no smaller than 10-point and no larger than 16-point.
• Underline only words that would appear in italics.
• Single space if the title is two lines. Double space if the title is more than two lines.
• If the title is more than one line, use an inverted pyramid form, dividing lines by thought groups if possible.
• Type the author's name in all capital letters at the center of the page.
• Type the word BY in all capital letters two lines above the name.
• Type previous degree(s) earned two lines below the name using the format shown on the Thesis/Dissertation Sample .
• Make sure there is the same amount of space between the title and the word "by" as there is between the previous degrees and the submission statement .
• Type the word DISSERTATION or THESIS in all capital letters two lines above the submission statement.
• Type the submission statement as shown on the Thesis/Dissertation Sample , using single spacing and dividing the lines exactly as shown.
• Type the year your degree is to be awarded one line below the submission statement. This line should be 1 inch from the bottom of the page.

View the Thesis/Dissertation Sample with additional formatting tips.

To protect the right of authorship by copyright, it is only necessary under current law to affix a notice of copyright to the page following the title page. The copyright notice should give the full legal name of the author, centered at the bottom of the page as per this sample:

© Copyright by Suzette Van Brown 2012

All Rights Reserved

or centered, placed in the middle of the page, and double-spaced as per this sample:

copyright by Johnathan Agonistes 2012

Unless a thesis or dissertation is copyrighted in this way, it becomes part of the public domain as soon as it is accepted by the Graduate School and delivered to the ProQuest/UMI website.

The Graduate School also urges students to register their thesis and dissertations with the federal copyright office. The advantage of taking this step could be considerable. In the case of plagiarism, for example, the author may bring an action against the guilty party and recover damages. In the case of scholarly work, proving and recovering damages may be difficult, if not impossible. But if the work bears a notice of copyright and has also been registered with the copyright office, statutory damages may be awarded, and may include attorney's fees incurred in prosecuting the suit. Registration of the thesis or dissertation with the copyright office entails applying at the ProQuest/UMI website and payment of a $55 fee through that website. However, even without registering the dissertation with the copyright office, the copyright notice on the page following the title page is sufficient to effect a copyright for the author.

• The acceptance statement must end 1 inch from the bottom of the page. Therefore, the first line of text will start approximately more than halfway down the page. See sample committee page for proper vertical alignment.
• Acceptance statement is to be single-spaced, worded, and line divided as shown in sample.
• List date of final acceptance below acceptance statement.
• List committee members, department, outside examiner (if applicable), and affiliated university of each member.
• Signatures are not allowed in the electronic submission.

Since the shift to electronic filing of theses and dissertations in Fall 2005, it is no longer mandatory for the student to submit a committee page with signatures of its members. 

View the Thesis/Dissertation Sample.

Effective with the dissertation and theses submissions for Spring 2008 and forward, certain items ARE NOT to be included in the Table of Contents.

Do not include line entries for the title page, copyright page, committee page, or table of contents. Per the Chicago Manual of Style , only pages appearing AFTER the Table of Contents (e.g., List of Tables, List of Figures, chapters and subsections, etc.) should be included within the contents table.

The text of the manuscript is double-spaced. Footnotes, bibliography or list of references, tables and figure captions are single-spaced. Bibliographic entries are separated by double spacing. Margins should be 1 inch on the top, bottom and right side; and 1.5" on the left side. Each chapter starts on a new page, with a 2-inch top margin. Justifying the text at the right margin is optional. All textual material must be double-spaced. Long quotations may be indented and single-spaced, although some disciplines prefer them to be indented and double-spaced. Footnotes/endnotes should be single-spaced. Leave a double space between notes.

Abstract is mandatory.

The maximum acceptable length for an abstract to be published is 350 words for Dissertation Abstracts International (DAI) and 150 words for Masters Thesis Directories (MTD). However, an abstract within the dissertation or thesis need not be limited. The student may prepare a lengthy abstract for inclusion in the thesis or dissertation and a more concise summary for publication in DAI/MTD. The abstract is expected to give a succinct account of the student's work so that a reader can quickly learn the essential contents and results. A typical abstract includes a statement of the problem, an account of procedure or methods followed, and an account of main results and conclusions.

Abstracts must be prepared carefully, since they are published in DAI/MTD without editing or revision.

Each page must be numbered, with the exception of the title page and the copyright page. The number may be centered at the top or bottom of the page or may appear at the top right corner. For the preliminary pages, use lowercase Roman numerals (i, ii, iii, etc.), beginning with "iii". The title page and the copyright page count as "i" and "ii", but the numbers do not appear. For the remainder of the manuscript, including all text, illustrations, appendices and bibliography, use Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3, etc.). The numbering begins with "1" on the first page of text and runs consecutively to the end of the manuscript. Page numbers may fall within the one-inch top or bottom margin, but at least a 0.5-inch margin should remain between the page number and the edge of the page.

No marks or corrections in pen or pencil are acceptable. Symbols, accent marks, and equations must all be typescript.

Static graphics (photographs, etc.) should be inserted into the body of the document. Supplementary files (images, sounds, etc.) should be submitted separately.

Tables and figures must conform to the same margins as the text. Oversized computer-generated tables can be reduced and included in the original. If a table or figure must be placed in landscape orientation (horizontally on the page), the margins and page number location must be the same as on a regular page. Captions for tables and figures and page numbers should be in the same type as the body of the text.

The style for references should follow the format used for journal publications in the student's field of study and must be consistent throughout the manuscript. The accepted placement of the bibliography or references is at the end of the manuscript.

The manuscript should be clearly readable throughout, for both electronic and printed documents. If there are questions regarding print quality, the student is encouraged to consult the Graduate School.

All of the following steps must take place by the thesis/dissertation deadline indicated on the degree completion calendar : register at the ProQuest/University Microfilms International (UMI) website, enter basic information about you and your work, complete the non-exclusive publishing agreement, attach your document, and click the final "Submit" button. No part of the submission is registered until you click the final "Submit" button. The Graduate School then reviews your submission and checks for formatting errors and makes sure that your academic record is complete and that all required fees are paid and forms are submitted. Once the Graduate School has accepted your paper and received all required items, the Graduate School delivers your work to ProQuest/UMI. You will be notified by email about the status of your submission. UMI will prepare archival digital copies and microfilm copies, both of which are maintained in perpetuity and migrated to new storage media as necessary, in accord with UMI's contract with the Library of Congress. UMI then disseminates your work to various bibliographic databases and indexes and publishes a full-text copy of your work on a website available to the Binghamton University community. Readers outside of Binghamton University may find your dissertation and purchase copies directly from UMI.

Before you begin, be sure that you have the following:

• A free virtual print spooler
• A free document conversion tool
• Adobe's free web-hosted service, available at http://www.adobe.com
• Adobe software
• ProQuest/UMI abstract for DAI or MTD (350-word limit for doctoral dissertations; 150-word limit for master's theses). The ProQuest/UMI abstract may be an edited version of the full abstract in the document.
• Optional supplementary files (images, sound, etc.) that are an integral part of the dissertation, but not part of the full text.

Thesis or dissertation formatting questions should be directed to the Degree Completion Team at [email protected] .

After submitting your thesis/dissertation electronically, submit the following materials:

• Survey of Earned Doctorates (SED) - mandatory for all doctoral students only
• Thesis/Dissertation Processing Fees - mandatory for all students

The processing fees cover electronic submission; indexing and abstract services; microfilming and archiving; and digital storage and access. The thesis processing fee is $85, and the dissertation processing fee is $100.

You do not need to provide the Graduate School with any paper copies of your dissertation/thesis. Your department may require a bound hard copy, which can be ordered through ProQuest/UMI or another binding company. Many departments do not require bound hard copies. Check with your department for details. Please view the list of departments/programs that have informed the Graduate School that they do not require bound hard copies below: 

• Biological Sciences
• Biomedical Engineering
• Community and Public Affairs
• Computer Science (Required for doctoral degree students, but not required for master's degree students)
• Electrical and Computer Engineering
• Mechanical Engineering
• Higher Education and Student Affairs
• Teaching, Learning and Educational Leadership
• Theatre 

During the submission process, you will have the option to request that ProQuest/UMI file for copyright on your behalf. If you choose this option, there will be an additional $55 fee payable directly to ProQuest/UMI.

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Last Updated: 2/5/24

Theses and Dissertations

Cornell theses.

Check Cornell’s library catalog , which lists the dissertations available in our library collection.

The print thesis collection in Uris Library is currently shelved on Level 3B before the Q to QA regular-sized volumes. Check with the library staff for the thesis shelving locations in other libraries (Mann, Catherwood, Fine Arts, etc.).

Non-Cornell Theses

Proquest dissertations and theses.

According to ProQuest, coverage begins with 1637. With more than 2.4 million entries,  ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global  is the starting point for finding citations to doctoral dissertations and master’s theses. Dissertations published from 1980 forward include 350-word abstracts written by the author. Master’s theses published from 1988 forward include 150-word abstracts. UMI also offers over 1.8 million titles for purchase in microfilm or paper formats. The full text of more than 930,000 are available in PDF format for immediate free download. Use  Interlibrary Loan  for the titles not available as full text online.

Foreign Dissertations at the Center for Research Libraries

To search for titles and verify holdings of dissertations at the Center for Research Libraries (CRL), use the CRL catalog . CRL seeks to provide comprehensive access to doctoral dissertations submitted to institutions outside the U. S. and Canada (currently more than 750,000 titles). One hundred European universities maintain exchange or deposit agreements with CRL. Russian dissertation abstracts in the social sciences are obtained on microfiche from INION.  More detailed information about CRL’s dissertation holdings .

Additional Resources

Please see our resource guide on dissertations and theses for additional resources and support.

The Graduate School

• Electronic Theses and Dissertations

ETD Publication Information

Etd approval deadlines.

Graduating Summer 2024: Friday, July 26, 2024 at 5:00PM One-Credit Extension: Wednesday, August 21, 2024 at 5:00PM Graduating Fall 2024: Friday, December 6, 2024 at 5:00PM One-Credit Extension: Tuesday, January 14, 2025 at 5:00PM

Publication

Publication resources:.

• MSU Library Publication Services
• copyright.gov
• ProQuest/UMI: Copyright and your Dissertation or Thesis (PDF)
• ProQuest/UMI: Why Copyright? (PDF)
• Memo of Understanding (PDF)

ScholarWorks

All ETDs are published on an open access platform,  ScholarWorks , by the MSU Library after they are approved by both the Graduate School and the degree granting department. Scholars from around the world visit MSU's ScholarWorks page to view ETDs written by our graduate students.

All ETDs are submitted to The Graduate School electronically. The Graduate School does not require a bound paper copy of your thesis or dissertation.

Copyright Overview

"In the academic context, copyright is primarily about getting the most from your scholarly work, and it is less about legal complications with threats of possible liabilities. Taking the time to learn a little about copyright can give you the insight to know your options under the law, to make your dissertation more successful, and to help you avoid possible copyright conflicts and dilemmas in the future."

To read more, visit  ProQuest/UMI - Copyright and Your Dissertation or Thesis: Ownership, Fair Use, and Your Rights and Responsibilities (PDF) .

Why Copyright?

Even though copyright protection is secured automatically upon creation, there are certain definite advantages to copyright registration.

• Registration establishes a public record of the copyright claim.
• Before an infringement suit may be filed in court, registration is necessary for works of U.S. origin. If made before or within five years of publication, registration establishes prima facie evidence in court of the validity of the copyright and of the facts stated in the certificate.
• Registering for copyright allow for the claimant to receive statutory damages set out in Title 17, Section 504 of the U.S. Code, which range from $750-$150,000, plus attorney fees, per copyright infraction.
• If registration is made within three months after publication of the work or prior to an infringement of the work, statutory damages and attorney's fees will be available to the copyright owner in court actions.
• Also, registration allows the owner of the copyright to record the registration with the U.S. Customs Service for protection against importation of infringing copies.

If you wish to download this information in a PDF format, please visit the ProQuest - Why Copyright? (PDF) .

Frequently Asked Questions About Publication

Are any forms required to be submitted with my etd.

No. The final upload to the Submission Portal replaces the old Certificate of Approval form, which was signed by your committee.

What are my ScholarWorks publishing options?

Montana State University gives you two options regarding electronic access to your ETD:

• Immediate publication; freely available worldwide.
• Restrict access for a period of a one year, even disallowing access by the University community. This option addresses situations such as when a patents application is planned, or when proprietary interests are at stake.

Consider these options carefully. You will choose a publication option when you submit your final ETD through the Submission Portal.

You can learn more about MSU Intellectual Property  or ask Legal Counsel for advice, and be sure to discuss this with your advisor. If you intend to work with a publisher regarding journal or book publications, be sure you understand their policies and any agreements you might sign.

Doctoral students must consider their options when uploading their dissertation to the ProQuest/UMI website (upload to ProQuest is optional). Please review the  Open Access Compared to Traditional Publishing (External PDF)  and guide on  Embargoes and Restrictions (External PDF) .

What if I want to include a journal article I have published - or will publish - as a chapter in my thesis (What is the manuscript option)?

If you have published an article (or articles) before you turn in your thesis or dissertation, and you wish to accordingly receive credit for your graduate requirements, you have several options. These options should be discussed with your committee and possibly with your publisher:

• Cite that publication in your references.
• Link to the publication if it is online.
• Include the publication in your thesis or dissertation (with a release from the publisher). Check out this  sample permission letter (External PDF) . To find out if you qualify for the manuscript option, visit the manuscript option information page .

If the publisher restricts access in its release, you may want to have two versions of your thesis or dissertation — one with and one without the chapter in question.

What is ScholarWorks?

ScholarWorks is the open-access digital repository for the research and creative work of the University community and is maintained by the MSU Library. After ETDs are approved by The Graduate School, they will be posted on ScholarWorks according to the release option selected in the Submission Portal. The Graduate School handles this process for students.

What is ProQuest (UMI) and how to I submit my ETD to it?

ProQuest/UMI   is a corporation based in Ann Arbor, Michigan that maintains a microform archive of about 1.5 million dissertations they have received since 1996. Most dissertations written in the US are submitted to ProQuest/UMI for archiving on microfilm, from which microform or paper copies can be produced. ProQuest/UMI functions as an on-demand book publisher that eliminates the editorial process. One of the services they offer is to help you with copyright and working with publishers. All dissertations at MSU can optionally be submitted to ProQuest/UMI as of August 2020.

Note: ProQuest/UMI only prints double-sided so if you choose to order hard copies of your dissertation through ProQuest/UMI, your recto/verso margins may appear to shift.

What if I want to write a book related to my thesis or dissertation? What do I need to know about signing agreements with publishers?

Since publishers vary widely in their policies, it is wise to discuss your plans with publishers to which you are likely to submit your work. Here are details regarding  protecting your work (PDF)  from ProQuest. 

Where do you suggest I go to order a hard bound paper copy of my ETD?

The Graduate School does not endorse any local or online printing companies. However, online options are readily available and offer many special printing options.

Doctoral students who optionally upload through ProQuest/UMI may purchase a copy during the submission process; however, ProQuest/UMI offers only double-sided printing and thus margins will appear to shift from recto to verso pages.

Note: Neither the Graduate School nor the Library requires a hard bound copy be submitted.

Why is a paper version no longer required?

MSU libraries commit to electronic archiving of works received, making sure that these will be accessible in the future, regardless of changes in media and standards. By not accepting paper copies, the University reduces handling and library costs, saves you money, and makes it possible for access to increase.

Note: Your committee and/or department may still want a paper version.

Where can I find older bound theses and dissertations?

Older bound copies of theses and dissertations are no longer available.

In 2015, the library made significant efforts to digitize old documents making the master’s thesis or doctoral dissertation of nearly every graduate student since 1902 available on ScholarWorks , the Montana State library’s open access repository of intellectual work. You can read about the project   thesis and dissertation project .

You can also   search for theses and dissertations in ScholarWorks .

Montana State University P.O. Box 172580 Bozeman, MT 59717-2580

Tel: (406) 994-4145 Toll Free: 1-800-255-7962 Fax: (406) 994-4733 E-mail: [email protected] Location: 104 Montana Hall

Dr. Craig Ogilvie

Whose idea was it?

Vladimir putin.

Vladimir Putin is frequently in the news for various political scandals. However, in the past his negative publicity has even included plagiarism. In 2000 reporters asked the St. Petersburg State Mining Institute for a copy of Putin’s doctoral thesis but were refused. A few years later in 2005 two researchers finally got their hands on a copy of the thesis, titled, “Strategic Planning of the Reproduction of the Mineral Resource Base of a Region under Conditions of the Formation of Market Relations”. They found that much of the information in it had been “borrowed” from a textbook without any attempt at citation. This book, titled “Strategic Planning and Public policy” was originally written by a professor at the University of Pittsburgh. Entire pages of the book, with only minor changes, as well as six diagrams appear copied into Putin’s thesis. To make matters worse, the topic of the thesis was replenishing mineral resources, a topic it is said that Putin had no experience with prior to “writing” the paper, and it is even unclear whether he ever actually attended the St. Petersburg State Mining Institute.

Unfortunately, Putin’s story is not a unique one. According to an article in Time Magazine, out of “25 dissertations chosen at random from the prestigious history department of Moscow Pedagogical State University all but one were at least 50% plagiarized, with some as much as 90% copied from other sources”. After reading multiple articles on the subject, I was shocked to find this is such a common occurrence. High ranking officials like politicians have even been known to pad their resumes with entirely false degrees from academic institutions they did not attend. This widespread plagiarism is a tough problem to handle since so many are implicated and the culture of overlooking these errors is entrenched in society.   

In february of 2013 Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev made an attempt to confront this issue. He is reported to have set up meetings with government officials and academics to discuss eradicating fake degrees throughout society. While this is an admirable goal based on the information I’ve read, it seems like a bigger change is needed in the way students are taught to do research and give credit to others if there is going to be any significant national shift. This question makes me wonder if the culture of communism plays a role in the discrepancy between how people in Russia and those in countries such as the US view the importance of owning ideas and producing original work.

Shuster, Simon. “Putin’s Ph.D.: Can a Plagiarism Probe Upend Russian Politics?” Time , Time, 28 Feb. 2013, world.time.com/2013/02/28/putins-phd-can-a-plagiarism-probe-upend-russian-politics/.

Strauss, Valerie. “Russia’s Plagiarism Problem: Even Putin Has Done It!” The Washington Post , WP Company, 18 Mar. 2014, www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2014/03/18/russias-plagiarism-problem-even-putin-has-done-it/?utm_term .

4 thoughts on “ Vladimir Putin ”

I have had professors tell stories when assigning research projects that they have failed graduate students over plagiarized thesises. However, I had no idea how prevalent this was! In middle school and high school you know it happens but at that scale you don’t think it is a big deal but that is where the root of the culture starts and to think it continues at the professional level is crazy.

The point of maybe communism plays into the mindset of plagiarizing in Moscow really sparks my interest. I’m currently taking a cultural anthropology course and we are discussing how cultures value certain material goods, and it would make sense to me that the relaxed pursuit of plagiarism could be influenced by communist economic mindsets. But do those still exist in modern day that they could explain the continued issues?

It would drive me insane when this one girl in my high school would copy people, let alone government officials. But it is an interesting notion communism is a contributor in why people don’t care so much about plagiarism. It makes sense, but it’s still hard for me to get past when I’ve had a teacher almost not accept a research paper because citations were indented the incorrect amount.

It is interesting as an American to think about other countries perspective on the topic of intellectual property. Since Russia has starkly different economic philosophies, it makes me wonder if in there lacked view of property rights that in this way they could be more efficient than the US. It is always ironic when Russia is more free market on a topic than us.

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