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Formal Submissions

Formal submissions must be completed by 5:00 p.m. on the date of the submission deadline (see the Academic Year Deadlines for dates). See the electronic thesis and dissertation (ETD) checklists below (Doctoral Dissertations or Master's Theses) for the list of required submission components.

The Graduate School editor will review all submission components in the order in which they are received, and will contact the student at their Notre Dame email address if the editor has questions or identifies problems with any submitted materials. Depending on the number of submissions received and proximity to the deadline, final reviews may take up to three weeks. If outstanding issues are not resolved as communicated by the editor, the Graduate School reserves the right to request a dean's hold on the student's diploma or reject a submission and remove the student from the graduation list. 

If there are no issues with the components of the formal submission, the student will receive an email stating that the dissertation or thesis has been approved by the Graduate School.

If you have questions about any component of the formal submission checklist, please contact the dissertation editor:

Laura Patzschke
The Graduate School
117 Bond Hall
Notre Dame, Indiana 46556

E-mail: dteditor@nd.edu

Quick Links:

Preparing to Submit

Note: There is no “save” function on the formal submission form. Please allow at least 15-20 minutes once you begin; you will need to complete all items on the checklist to retain your work. We recommend you prepare the following items in advance.

Title and Abstract

Due to system limitations, the submission form is not currently able to accept italics, superscript/subscript, and some special characters (though most standard Western accented characters should be fine). Please have a plain-text, reader-friendly copy of your title and abstract prepared for this form. 

Research Directors and Committee Information

  • A list of the names and NetIDs of all Notre Dame faculty serving on your committee.

  • A list of the names, email addresses, and associated institutions for all research co-directors or committee members external to the University.

File Attachments

The primary file attached to your ETD record must be a PDF. Other file types may be submitted as supporting or supplementary files.

Future Patent/Publication Plans and File Access

The title, abstract, and other descriptive metadata will be public by default. Please review the questions below prior to beginning your submission and discuss with your research director(s) as needed.

 

What to Expect

When you have submitted your metadata and attachments through this portal, please watch your Notre Dame email for any follow-up questions or confirmations sent by dteditor@nd.edu. It is your responsibility to respond to questions and requests in a timely manner. If you do not address reviewer concerns by the date requested, the Graduate School has the right to place a hold on your diploma, or reject the submission and remove you from the graduation list until all degree requirements are fulfilled.

Review Cycle

  1. Any faculty you have designated as a research director or co-director will receive an email from dteditor@nd.edu prompting them to review and approve your submission. If a research director wants you to correct/update something on the record or in the attached PDF, they will be able to send a correction request through the submission platform. You will receive a confirmation when all research directors have approved the submission. (Other committee members should be included on the form, bit do not have an active role in the formal submission process.)

  2. Once all directors/co-directors have approved your submission, the record will move to the Graduate School’s dissertation editor for review. Again, if the editor has a quesiton or change request, they will send you a message through the submission platform. You will receive a confirmation when the editor has finished their review.

  3. After the Graduate School approves your submission, the record will be added to the Hesburgh Library catalog and WorldCAT.

  4. On completion of all review steps, you will receive a final confirmation, and your ETD record will move to the CurateND repository.

 

Formal Submission Components

These checklists apply to formal submissions only. Do not submit formatting checks to the CurateND intake site. If the formatting of your formal submission does not match the requirements set by UMI/ProQuest and the Graduate School, your dissertation or thesis may be rejected. It is the student's responsibility to ensure compliance with formatting guidelines.

All checklist items for the listed submission type are required unless specified as “optional.”

Doctoral Dissertation Checklist

Note: This checklist assumes you have already defended the dissertation and received the results of a preliminary formatting check.

  1. Formal Submission Portal: Log in with your Notre Dame NetID and password. The portal will guide you through the submission steps. If you have any questions about the portal not answered by the Preparing to Submit and What to Expect sections of this page, please contact the dissertation editor at dteditor@nd.edu for assistance.  
  2. Research Directors and Committee Members: All members of your dissertation committee should be included on the record and will be designated as either a Research Director or a Committee Member. Those designated as a Research Director will receive an email from dteditor@nd.edu asking them to review and approve your formal submission.
    • Notre Dame Faculty: All ND faculty must be added by NetID; if you enter the address correctly, the portal will add the user's name. If you don't know your dissertation director's NetID, consult the directory. Do not add an email address or institution for these faculty. 
    • External Faculty: All committee members and co-directors who do not have an active NetID should be added to the record by name, email, and their affiliated institution.
  3. ProQuest/UMI Microfilming and Copyright Agreement. This is required for all doctoral students. If you have not used the digital portal before, you'll need to create a student account first.
    • Both the agreement form and the payment are now collected through the ProQuest website. You will not need to upload your dissertation file; we will transfer the approved files when we close out each graduation cycle.
    • Refer to the National Archives website to find out why we still require microfilming for doctoral dissertations.
  4. The Survey of Earned Doctorates (SED): This survey, conducted on behalf of the NSF, NEH, and four other federal research agencies, will send a confirmation email to you and to the Graduate School when you press the Submit button at the very end. For more information about the SED and how the data is used, please see the NSF’s SED description.
  5. Graduate Outcomes Survey:  All doctoral level graduates will receive an email invitation to take this survey approximately 1 month prior to their graduation date.  Please be on the lookout for an email being sent on behalf of Graduate Career Services from the Institutional Research, Innovation, & Strategy. If you have any questions regarding this survey, please contact Graduate Career Services at gradcareers@nd.edu. This survey does not need to be completed by the formal submission deadline date.

Master's Thesis Checklist

Note: This checklist assumes you have received the results of a preliminary formatting check.

  1. Formal Submission Portal: Log in with your Notre Dame NetID and password. The portal will guide you through the submission steps. If you have any questions about the portal not answered by the Preparing to Submit and What to Expect sections of this page, please contact the dissertation editor at dteditor@nd.edu for assistance.

  2. Research Directors and Committee Members: All members of your thesis committee should be included on the record and will be designated as either a Research Director or a Committee Member. Those designated as a Research Director will receive an email from dteditor@nd.edu asking them to review and approve your formal submission.
    • Notre Dame Faculty: All ND faculty must be added by NetID; if you enter the address correctly, the portal will add the user's name. If you don't know your dissertation director's NetID, consult the directory. Do not add an email address or institution for these faculty.

    • External Faculty: All committee members and co-directors who do not have an active NetID should be added to the record by name, email, and their affiliated institution.

  3. ProQuest/UMI Microfilming and Copyright Agreement. This is optional for master's theses. If you have not used the digital portal before, you'll need to create a student account first.
    • Both the agreement form and the payment are now collected through the ProQuest website. You will not need to upload your thesis file; we will transfer the approved files when we close out each graduation cycle.
  4. Graduate Outcomes Survey:  All master's level graduates will receive an email invitation to take this survey approximately 1 month prior to their graduation date.  Please be on the lookout for an email being sent on behalf of Graduate Career Services from the Institutional Research, Innovation, & Strategy. If you have any questions regarding this survey, please contact Graduate Career Services at gradcareers@nd.edu. This survey does not need to be completed by the formal submission deadline date.

The formal review, approval, cataloging, and microfilming processes take time, so it may be several weeks before the dissertation or thesis becomes available in the University library system or on the UMI/ProQuest website.

After the Submission

ETD Access Changes and Patron Requests

All author requests concerning extending or lifting embargoes, or updates to dissertation and thesis records on CurateND or ProQuest should be directed to dteditor@nd.edu.

If a library patron submits a request to access a restricted, embargoed, or private ETD, the dissertation editor will reach out to the author to request permission to release the file to that patron specifically. If you would like to review all such requests on a case-by-case basis, directr patrons to an updated book edition of your work, or deny all requests for access, please let the dissertation editor know and we will update our records.

Letter of Completion

Students who submit early in the semester and plan to begin a new job shortly after submission can request a Letter of Completion for their employer. Refer to the Active Student Registration & Student Records page for details. 

Personal Copies

Although the Graduate School only accepts ETDs, we have compiled a resource PDF of independent binderies who are happy to work with students directly: Dissertation and Thesis Personal Copies: Bindery Contact Information.

ProQuest Amendments

Once a work is published to the ProQuest catalog, a $47 Vault Repair Fee is required to update the ProQuest record or PDF. Please contact  to initiate this process if an amendment is needed. The Acknowledgments page is the most commonly corrected page; be sure to double check it for accuracy and inclusion of all required acknowledgments, especially if your work was sponsored by an external grant or governmental office.

Publication Information

If you have published a book based on your thesis or dissertation, we encourage you to contact the dissertation editor at dteditor@nd.edu with any book publication information. This information will be included on their CurateND record and will direct patrons to their published work.