At the beginning of each term, the Graduate College notifies students with the deadlines to follow to meet final thesis/disseration requirements. The following steps are to help students prepare the final written project for their degree.

Step 1:

Start Preparing the Format Early

Acquire and use the UD Thesis/Dissertation Styles for formatting requirements for your document.

Step 2:

Submit the Application for Advanced Degree

Graduate degrees are awarded at the end of each semester. You must file your Application for Advanced Degree with your program coordintaor by the dates published on the Academic Calendar.

Step 3:

Defense of Thesis/Dissertation

Defense of the dissertation, thesis or project should be scheduled with enough time to make all content edits to meet the semester submission deadline. All deadlines are published on the academic calendar. All defense dates can be shared here to be included on the University calendar. Complete and submit the Certification of Doctoral Defense form.

Step 4:

SUBMISSION OF WORK TO THE GRADUATE COLLEGE

Please follow all deadlines published on the Academic Calendar.

• Utilize iThenticate for document review for copyright or plagiarism infringement. To request access for an account, please use this link. Once you receive notification that access has been given, you will receive an email from iThenticate to finish setting up your account.
• You should do the training video. 

In the order given below, please follow these directions for processing your thesis/dissertation.

• For doctoral students: As soon as you have defended, send the signed Certification of Doctoral Defense Form to GradStudentForms@udel.edu.

                 Download the Dissertation defense form.

• For master’s students: The procedures for master’s degrees vary in each program. Check with your advisor on the procedure in your program.  There is not a defense form that needs to be submitted for a master’s degree.
• When you have the final approved version of your thesis/dissertation by your committee, submit your thesis/dissertation to the ETD site. 
• When you submit to the ETD site, the dissertation or thesis goes to the Graduate College, which will review the PDF and let you know if there are formatting corrections to make.

Step 5:

WHERE TO SEND SIGNATURE PAGES

Once directed by the Graduate College, please send the signature page to your appropriate college contact to request completion. After all academic college signatures have been acquired, the page should be submitted to the Graduate College for final review and signature. Upon succesful review by the Graduate College dean, notification will be sent that the work has been approved, and the degree requirement has been satisfied.

Include two attachments:
1. A PDF of your final dissertation (no signatures on the signature pages in the PDF).
2. A separate attachment in one file that includes the title page, abstract, committee signature page (with all signatures) and the first signature page that includes the signature of the chair of your department, where the dean of your college will sign.  After your college dean signs, their office will send those pages to the Graduate College for the Graduate College dean to sign.

• Students in the College of Arts and Sciences are to send the signature pages and dissertation or thesis as a PDF to grad-docs@art-sci.udel.edu.
• Students in the College of Engineering are to send the signature pages and dissertation or thesis as a PDF to katzmire@udel.edu.
• Students in the College of Health Sciences are to send the signature pages and dissertation or thesis as a PDF to astofa@udel.edu.
• Students in the College of Earth, Ocean and Environment are to send the signature pages and dissertation or thesis as a PDF to kerbawy@udel.edu.
• Students in the Lerner College of Business and Economics are to send the signature pages and dissertation or thesis as a PDF to  kellyc@udel.edu.
• Students in the Biden School are to send the signature pages and dissertation or thesis as a PDF to mae@udel.edu.
• Students in the College of Education and Human Development are to send the signature pages and dissertation or thesis as a PDF to cobrian@udel.edu.
• Students in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources are to send the signature pages and dissertation or thesis as a PDF to kellyjs@udel.edu.
• Students in programs housed in the Graduate College are to send the signature pages and dissertation or thesis as a PDF to delightm@udel.edu.

Step 6:

FOR PH.D. STUDENTS ONLY

Complete the Survey of Earned Doctorates. (Complete "I need to register." Once completed, an email will be sent to you with a PIN and password to access the survey.) This NSF survey is a requirement.

Getting Ready to Graduate, Copyright, ProQuest and Your Thesis/Dissertation and You

Presented by Dr. Paige C. Morgan

Topics covered include:

• The author's copyright of their dissertation (copyright notice, registration, and the stakes of choosing to register or not register their copyright)
• Use of copyrighted material (how to determine copyright status, how to consider fair use potential, how to get permission, the potential for copyright infringement, and ProQuest's practices)
• Navigating copyright when a thesis or dissertation includes material that has also been (or will be) published in an external journal
• How to get help with copyright questions

View the recording

View the slides