Electronic Thesis and Dissertation (ETD) Completion
When preparing to defend a thesis or dissertation, students should understand the steps needed for the defense, submission of the thesis, and, eventually, graduation. The resources below will help ensure no steps are missed.
The University of Kansas requires that all students whose degree programs require defense of a thesis or dissertation must publish their research in order to fulfill degree requirements. The publication requirement is satisfied by submitting the Electronic Thesis or Dissertation (ETD) to ProQuest.
Your thesis or dissertation should meet all of the formatting requirements indicated in the preceding paragraphs on this web page. Before you submit your thesis or dissertation, gather the following:
- The Subject Category or Categories under which your research falls - ProQuest's list of Subject Categories
- Between 6 and 8 keywords to be used as search terms within ProQuest
- Your abstract
- Any documentation of copyright permissions you have been granted, if necessary
- Your credit card, if you would like ProQuest to file your copyright on your behalf (optional) - discuss this option with your thesis/dissertation committee chair in advance
- Your signed ETD Release Form, to ensure your embargoes match - see ETD Release Form below
Click here to begin the electronic submission process to ProQuest.
Purchasing bound copies for personal or departmental use is optional. Check directly with department regarding departmental requirements to provide a bound copy (this varies by department). Click on this link for the KU Libraries recommendation for binders that can bind hard-cover or soft-cover copies of theses or dissertations and additionally offer print-from-electronic file services. These binders follow the ANSI/NISO Library Binding standard.
An embargo to delay availability of the thesis or dissertation due to patents pending, sensitive data or pending publication may be requested at the time the master's thesis or doctoral dissertation is uploaded to ProQuest. The initial embargo request is made on the ETD Release Form described in the preceding paragraph. An embargo may be requested for up to two years in length and is renewable at the end of the designated embargo term. To request an embargo renewal, complete this Embargo Renewal Form at least one month prior to the expiration date of the current embargo. The author must also contact ProQuest directly to renew ProQuest's embargo of the copy of the work that is in their database. Contact information: email disspub@proquest.comor phone
A signed ETD Release form is required in order for an electronic version of the master's thesis or doctoral dissertation to be included in KU ScholarWorks. KU ScholarWorks is the University's digital repository for scholarly work created by KU faculty, staff and students. The signed ETD Release form is submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies at the time the thesis or dissertation is uploaded to ProQuest. The ability to request an embargo of the thesis or dissertation to delay availability due to patents pending, sensitive data or pending publication is incorporated as a section of this form.
All Ph.D. candidates must complete the Doctoral Completion Survey the semester they graduate. Please use the DCS link to access the survey. The DCS is comprised of questions from the Survey of Earned Doctorates (SED) and from the American Association of Universities Data Exchange (AAUDE). The SED is a federal agency survey conducted by a consortium of federal agencies to track the productivity and quality of graduate and professional training in the United States. The AAUDE membership is comprised of AAU institutions that participate in the exchange of data/information to support decision-making at their institution.
The Office of Graduate Studies Calendar on the graduation information page indicates the deadlines for thesis or dissertation defense and submission of ETD materials.
This page contains the graduation checklist and also includes detailed information regarding graduation.
To view previously published theses and dissertations in ProQuest's theses and dissertations database go to Current Research @ KU (KUMC campus only) OR Dissertations & theses @ University of Kansas (KU Lawrence campus only). This database is the same for both KUMC and the Lawrence campuses, however, due to differences in licensing, it is accessed through different links. When viewing previously published theses and dissertations in this database, please be aware that KU Graduate Studies formatting requirements change over time so the formatting utilized on older theses or dissertations may not conform to current formatting requirements. You may also view previously published KUMC theses and dissertations in KU ScholarWorks, a digital repository for scholarly work created by the faculty and staff of the University of Kansas. For more information, contact kuscholarworks@ku.edu.