Theses, Dissertations and Projects
The 快盈v3 promotes Responsible Conduct of Research enforcing high standards of ethics and accountability in planning, implementation, behavior and information dissemination. All graduate students are strongly encouraged to complete Responsible Conduct of Research Training (RCR), a comprehensive basic course for all faculty, staff, research administrators, and students involved in any aspect of research. Graduate students must submit Thesis/Dissertation Topic and Research Compliance Form (RCIP) or Project Topic and Research Compliance Form (RCIP) along with their Committee Form.
Some graduate students may conduct research that will lead to intellectual property with commercial potential which is covered under the RCIP Form. At the same time, all graduate students are expected to respect the copyright, license and intellectual property rights that may attach to files of any media type, including software, texts, databases, images, video, music and other audio files, especially when using university computing and/or networking resources. For more information, contact the Office of Research Integrity & Compliance or the Associate Vice Provost for Research.
Deadlines
Please submit title pages for review to Dean Mary Jo Finney or The Graduate School by the following deadlines: December 1 for Fall Graduation, April 10 for Spring Graduation, July 10 for Summer Graduation. Defense dates must be submitted to the Graduate School and publicly posted one calendar week before the defense takes place.
Quality and Formatting
All theses must comply with the formatting guidelines of the student's discipline as advised by the committee chair. All theses must comply with the formatting guidelines of the student's discipline as advised by the committee chair. If the discipline does not have an established journal or professional guidelines, then students may use the Thesis Formatting Handbook. It is important to avoid using prior theses or dissertations as the definitive formatting guide since they may be out of date. All cover pages must comply with Thesis Title Page Template or Dissertation Title Page Template. Note: Please remember to submit your title in Title Case Caps, NOT ALL CAPS, or Sentence caps.
The Thesis Committee Chair is responsible for approving the content, English usage, readability, compliance with the program鈥檚 publishing standards and formatting specific to the discipline. The Thesis Committee assists with the content and academic rigor of the thesis and provides feedback on the structure of the final product. Departmental staff may assist with formatting questions and coordinate the submission process, including the delivery of the final research product to the Graduate School via DocuSign.
Please consult your college dean's office for their thesis submission deadlines for each semester to allow adequate time for their review prior to submission to the Graduate School Dean. Deans must have sufficient time to read the theses and return them to students for final submission to the Graduate School. When a deadline falls on a Saturday or Sunday, fall semester submissions will be due the preceding Friday, spring semester submissions the subsequent Monday, and summer semester the subsequent Monday. All theses must be approved by the committee and department chair/director, and college dean or their designate, before submission to the Graduate School.
Defense and Final Review
Graduate students completing a thesis or dissertation to fulfill of degree requirements are required to pass an oral defense of their work. Defense dates must be submitted to the Graduate School and publicly posted one week before the defense. The defense will consist of a presentation followed by questions about the student's research, analysis and written thesis presentation. All committee members must be present at the thesis/dissertation defense. A Report on Thesis/Dissertation Defense Approval Form must be submitted to the Graduate School indicating date of completion, and approved by the graduate advisor and committee, program chair, college dean, and the Graduate School.
Before final acceptance, all members of a student鈥檚 thesis committee, department/program chair/director, college dean, and the Graduate School dean must approve the thesis, as required by the student鈥檚 graduate program. Changes or corrections to the thesis may be required at any of these levels. The thesis committee is primarily responsible for thesis evaluation, grammar, punctuation, usage, and formatting, and the department chair/director and college dean will also conduct reviews to monitor the quality of theses and check for any needed revisions. The Graduate School checks that the Title Page and preliminary pages conform to 快盈v3 standards. The Graduate School dean reviews all theses and will give final approval once all required corrections are made. Thesis credits will be given a deferred grade (DF) until all requirements are met.
A copy of the signed and completed Thesis/Dissertation Approval Form is forwarded to the Graduate School. Once approved by the Graduate School Dean, the Thesis/Dissertation requirement in Banner and the student鈥檚 DegreeWorks Graduate Studies Plan (GSP) will be noted as having a been met to partially meet degree requirements.
Electronic Submission and Publication
Students must submit and upload their thesis electronically to the after their college dean has signed the Approval Form the Friday before final grades are due. The Graduate School will then be notified by the portal and conduct a final review. The Office of Degree Services is notified by the Graduate School upon approval of the thesis by the Dean of the Graduate School. Degrees are dated and posted immediately by the Office of Degree Services during the semester in which all degree requirements are completed. All doctoral students must also complete the and submit the certificate to the Graduate School after electronic submission.
Authors must contact ProQuest Customer Service to ask that they put on a new embargo or extend an existing one. Proquest will send an email to the author confirming the embargo has been implemented, including a reminder to request and embargo in the institutional repository as well. Still have questions about electronic submission? Visit .
If you would like to order hardcover spiral bound copies of your thesis or dissertation for personal or departmental use, please contact 快盈v3 Print Services. You may also purchase copies of your thesis through the Proquest ETD submission process or utilize other print and binding services, such as Thesis on Demand or PhD Book Binding. 快盈v3 does not specifically endorse any outside publisher. For information about copyright, contact the .
Quality and Formatting
All projects must comply with the formatting guidelines of your discipline. Please consult with your program regarding those requirements. The graduate committee is primarily responsible for project evaluation, grammar, punctuation, usage, and formatting, but the department chair/director, and college dean may also conduct reviews to monitor the quality of projects and check for any overlooked errors. The college dean may not give final approval until all required corrections are made. Students should check with their programs for their specific required formatting. Ideally, formatting checks should be made before the defense of the project. Please consult with your program regarding project deadlines.
Defense and Review
Graduate students completing a project in fulfillment of degree requirements may be required to pass an oral defense of the project. Defense dates must be submitted to the Graduate School and publicly posted one calendar week before the defense. The defense will consist of a presentation followed by questions on the research, analysis and written project presentation. All committee members must be present. A Report on Project Defense must be submitted to the Graduate School indicating date of completion, and approved by the graduate advisor and committee, program chair, college dean, and the Graduate School.
Before final acceptance, all members of a student鈥檚 graduate committee, department/program chair, and the college dean must approve the project as required by the student鈥檚 graduate program. Changes or corrections to the project may be required at any of these levels. The college dean may not give final approval until all required corrections are made. A copy of the signed and completed Project Approval Form is then forwarded to the Graduate School. Once received, the Project Requirement in Banner and the student鈥檚 DegreeWorks Graduate Studies Plan (GSP) will be noted as having a been met to partially meet degree requirements. Note: The college dean is the final approver of a student's project.
Publication and Archive
Projects are published in , University of Alaska's institutional repository created to share research and works by UA faculty, students, and staff. Embargoes for proprietary information may be requested on the Project Approval Form. Programs are responsible for forwarding the project and the Project Approval Form to the Metadata Services Librarian.