Overview
Please be aware that content on theses submissions only applies to students who are completing their degree with the thesis or doctoral project exit requirement. Please speak with your advisor or graduate program director if you are unsure if you are required to submit a thesis.
Getting Started
To begin your thesis preparation, you will need to do the following:
Form an Advisory Committee – Your advisory committee should be composed of at least three graduate faculty members, one of which will serve as chair. These committee members will advise you in the preparation of the thesis/dissertation/doctoral research project, will evaluate its quality when completed, and supervise and evaluate the defense.
Register for Thesis/Dissertation/Doctoral Research Project Credit Hours – You need to be registered for the appropriate amount of class credit. You can refer to the graduate catalog and your department to locate and register for the appropriate course number, specifically designated for that purpose. Your project ordinarily may be counted for no more than 6, and no less than 3, credit hours.
Complete Responsible Conduct of Research Training (when applicable) - Federal statutes establish mandatory training for all researchers, including students writing a manuscript. If any of your research involves human subjects, animals or biohazardous materials, it must be reviewed and approved by the Institutional Review Board, the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee and the Graduate Dean before data or material is collected or acquisitioned. See the Office of Research and Projects Ethical Compliance website for more information.
Familiarize Yourself with Thesis Deadlines – Reference the deadlines page and make sure you are on track for the term you wish to graduate in. The submission deadline is a firm deadline. If you do not submit a copy of your thesis to ProQuest by that deadline you will be deferred to the following term.
Ask for a Graduate School Preliminary Thesis Formatting Review-You can submit a copy of your thesis for an initial formatting review to prevent duplicating the same formatting mistakes as your thesis is developed. Please note that this submission does NOT satisfy the initial submission deadline requirement.
The Graduate School Thesis Formatting Acceptance Process
This process is separate from the review your Advisory Committee will do of your thesis content.
| The thesis is submitted to ProQuest by the submission deadline. |
| The Graduate School reviews the ProQuest submission for formatting compliance and leaves comments in an Adobe file. |
| The student receives a notification from ProQuest of the Graduate School decision. |
| The student continues to upload revised submissions and the Graduate School continues to review each submission until the thesis formatting reaches a status of Accepted. |
| The committee members and the student are sent an email from the Graduate School that the thesis formatting has been approved. The committee has a final chance to notify the Graduate School if the content is not ready for publishing. |
