Doctoral Dissertations & Master's Theses
Graduate students who will be submitting a dissertation or research master’s thesis should familiarize themselves with the Graduate School’s formatting requirements and deadlines for submission. Regulations for the appointment of a research director, topic approval, the committee formation, exam and defense arrangements, and more are available in the Graduate Bulletin of Information.
If you have questions regarding the formatting or submission of your dissertation or thesis, need to submit a formatting check or documentation, or have questions related to a past dissertation or thesis, please contact the Graduate School’s dissertation editor via the following methods:
Laura Patzschke
The Graduate School
117 Bond Hall
Notre Dame, IN 46556
Email: dteditor@nd.edu
Deadlines: Defense, Formatting Checks, and Formal Submission
There are three sets of deadlines per year; one for each academic term leading up to a graduation date. Consult the the Academic Year Deadlines calendar for fall, spring, and summer deadlines for defenses, formatting check submissions, and formal submissions.
Explore the Academic Year Deadlines calendar.
Overview: Author Resources
In addition to two full-time dissertation and thesis support staff, the Graduate School is proud to partner with Hesburgh Library, the Writing Center, Graduate Student Life, and many other campus resources to assist students in the writing, formatting, and submission stages of their dissertation or thesis.
Visit the Author Resources page to find the Graduate School's MS Word and LaTeX templates, sample documents, the formatting guide, links to writing support groups and citation specialists, and much more. If you don't see the resources you need, please ask!
Explore the Author Resources page.
Overview: The Formatting Check
- We strongly recommend that students use the Word or LaTeX templates to format their work in accordance with the Formatting Guide.
- Submit a review PDF of the dissertation or thesis by email to dteditor@nd.edu. The submitted file is sorted into a review queue by date of submission.
- The Graduate School editor reviews the PDF and adds comments to the file, addressing formatting compliance issues, anomalies in established formatting, and best practice recommendations for reading optimization and file accessibility.
- The Graduate School editor creates a formatting check folder on Box ND if this is the first review for a student. Review files and additional documentation are added to the folder as appropriate.
- The Graduate School editor then replies to the initial request for review indicating that the review is complete and the student will be receiving an invitation to view the results on their official Notre Dame email address.
Learn more or submit a formatting check request.
Overview: The Formal Submission
- The student initiates a formal submission by creating their CurateND user account, if they have not already done so.
- Once the account is live, the student can log in to the dissertation and thesis intake site to create a "Work" record for their doctoral dissertation or master's thesis, answering questions and providing information as prompted by CurateND.
- When the student clicks the "Submit" button, an email goes to the ND faculty designated as a "Research Director". The director will be able to log in to the site, review the formal submission, and either return the record to the student for updates, or approve the record ("sign-off") and send the record on to the Graduate School's dissertation editor for the formal review.
- The Graduate School editor verifies all received doctoral dissertation checklist and master's thesis checklist components, and completes formal reviews in the order in which the records are submitted for advisor approval on CurateND.
- If the editor has questions or discovers any issues with the submission components, including the CurateND record and PDF, they will contact the student directly at the official ND email address.
- If all submitted components look good, the student will receive an email from the CurateND site stating that the Graduate School has approved the submission. The record will then progress to the Hesburgh Library cataloging unit for inclusion in the library catalog.
Learn more or begin the formal submission checklist.
Post-Graduation
Students may order printed and bound copies of the dissertation or thesis through an outside vendor after the document is approved by the Graduate School. For more information, please consult the Author Resources page.
Alumni who have questions about their formal dissertation or thesis record on CurateND or the ProQuest catalog, or who want to change the availability of their dissertation or thesis PDF, should contact the Graduate School editor at dteditor@nd.edu for assistance.
Alumni are encouraged to contact the Graduate School 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.