FAQs
What paperwork is required for the final defense and final submission?
The Final Defense Report must be submitted after your defense. All required forms can be found on the Forms page of the Graduate School website. All forms and paperwork should be sent to your college liaison. Information for connecting with your college liaison can be found in the block on this page.
Must I complete the Survey of Earned Doctorates?
All Ph.D. students must complete this survey (master’s students, EdDs, DNPs, and DBAs are excluded).
The SED gathers information annually from approximately 50,000 new research doctorate graduates from U.S. universities about their educational history, funding sources, and post-doctoral plans. Results are used to assess characteristics of the doctoral population and trends in doctoral education and degrees.The Survey is anonymous and is supported by the NSF, NIH, the US Department of Education, and the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Where do I submit my thesis/dissertation?
You must submit the final, committee-approved draft of your work electronically to ProQuest.
Do I submit a hard copy?
No, just an electronic copy.
When do I submit my thesis or dissertation?
After you defend and your committee has approved your work for submission.
Do I need to scan my signed title page and include it in my PDF for electronic submission?
No. ProQuest does not allow this. The signatures are for Graduate School use only.
Is there a payment associated with the final submission?
Yes. The required $45 submission fee must be paid through our online payment portal. You may also choose to pay $75 for copyright registration.
I submitted my work to ProQuest, and now I’ve arrived at a screen that says I have a $0 balance. Do I still have to pay the $45 submission fee?
Yes. That is part of the submission process. The required $45 submission fee must be paid through our online payment portal.
Is there a fee waiver?
No, unfortunately there is no fee waiver.
Do I need to email my thesis or dissertation to the Graduate School as well as submit it to ProQuest?
No. When you submit your work to ProQuest, we will receive an automatic notification and will perform the final review(s) of your thesis or dissertation at that point.
Do I need to tell anyone that I have submitted my work to ProQuest?
No. We will receive notification from ProQuest when you submit your work.
How long does the review process take once I have submitted to ProQuest?
It varies from one or two days to even a week or so depending on submission volume. If you have submitted your thesis or dissertation to ProQuest, rest assured that it is under review.
If I submit my work on the day of the submission deadline, does that allow time for the final review?
Yes. If you submit your thesis or dissertation to ProQuest on or close to the final deadline, you probably won’t receive notification of final approval until the following week. In other words: your final submission deadline is not our final approval deadline.
What if I’m missing something?
If you are missing paperwork, signatures, payment for submission, or anything else required for graduation, you WILL be notified. If your thesis or dissertation is under review in ProQuest, there is no need to call or email to inquire after its progress.
How will I know that I’ve completed all of the submission steps?
Once your thesis or dissertation has been approved, you will receive a “Congratulations!” email from ProQuest. Your DegreeWorks audit will be updated at that time to reflect your final submission. If this does not bring your DegreeWorks to 100%, it is likely due to IP grades that must be updated to final grades, which occurs at the department level.
Can the Graduate School recommend an editor?
Unfortunately, the Graduate School does not maintain an editor list.
Copyright and Publication Questions
Atkins Library can answer your copyright and publication questions, including questions about Open Access. You can also consult Why Copyright? and Copyright and Your Dissertation or Thesis, two guides provided by ProQuest.
Is there a formatting template?
The Graduate School provides Word document templates for the title page and other front matter pages. We also provide a LaTeX template for those who use that system. Otherwise, you are expected to format your own work according to our manual and by adhering to your field’s style guide.
Where do I go for questions about how I can use references from third party materials or from my own previously published thesis?
A good place to start is with a review of the copyright information for graduate students available from the J. Murrey Atkins Library.