PLAN AHEAD: At the start of the semester in which you plan to defend, visit the ETD Web site, for general information about preparing your thesis/dissertation/doctoral essay/lecture recital essay. ETD deadlines, formatting guidelines, downloadable templates for formatting the front matter, and information about making the final PDF of your manuscript are posted on the ETD Web site.
AFTER THE DEFENSE: After you have successfully defended, make any changes recommended by your committee in the draft in addition to those requested by the Sr. Editor if you received an optional predefense review of the manuscript, then submit the revised, post-defense draft to the Sr. Editor to begin the post-defense review at grad.dissertation@miami.edu.
Your ETD document should first be submitted for formatting review to the Sr. Editor, grad.dissertation@miami.edu, One PDF of the entire document is preferred, but up to four separate Word files can also be reviewed. The Sr, Editor will review the draft for formatting then send you comments for revisions via e-mail. You will make revisions, if there are any, then send the draft back to the Sr. Editor for another review. The draft you send must be a complete document that is formatted per Graduate School guidelines.
FORMATTING HELP: For individual help with your document after you have submitted the draft to the Sr. Editor for formatting review and received specific comments regarding revisions, please contact the ETD Formatting Team to schedule an appointment. The ETD Formatting Support team also offers a presentation, “Dissertation and Theses Formatting (ETD) Made Easy at the University of Miami Libraries” (registration required), that covers how to prepare the ETD using Microsoft Word.
UPLOAD OF FINAL PDF IN ETD REPOSITORY: Once you’ve completed the formatting review and produced a final PDF that the Sr. Editor approves for upload in the Scholarship@Miami ETD repository, the Sr. Editor will send you information about finalizing your ETD submission. To receive permission to upload, the three required ETD forms, i.e., the Certificate of Defense Approval form (your proof of successful defense), ETD Final Content Approval form (your proof that the committee approved the content of the final ETD), and ETD Availability Agreement form (documentation of your online availability preference upon final approval) must be completed and on file at the Graduate School. The three required ETD forms can be accessed here on the Graduate School Web site.
FINAL APPROVAL OF ETD: Once you have uploaded the final PDF in the ETD repository, the Sr. Editor will review the upload, approve it if there are no issues, and confirm completion by e-mail.
To see what a final, approved ETD looks like, visit the Scholarship@Miami ETD Repository and search for ETDs submitted by previous students in your program. You can search for ETDs by author, advisor, or subject area.
For full details about the ETD submission process, please download the PDF, Electronic Thesis and Dissertation (ETD) Process.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
The following resources are available to help you prepare your document:
Visit the Scholarship@Miami Institutional ETD Repository
When preparing your ETD, it can be helpful to go to the Scholarship@Miami institutional repository to see what a final, accepted thesis or dissertation looks like and how information about you and your work will appear online. This is the ETD database in which your final document will be housed.
UM Libraries: Research and Document Support
(1) Research: Find your Subject Librarians and check out the Research & Write tab offerings on the Library Web site.
(2) Document Assistance: To schedule an appointment for formatting assistance, please use the following form: Electronic Thesis & Dissertation Formatting Assistance. For all other questions contact ETD Formatting Support at dfs@miami.edu
(3) LinkedIn Learning: Access to online video tutorials on LinkedIn Learning.
Writing Center: Writing Assistance from Start to Finish
- Free, one-on-one tutoring service. Weekly appointments available to students on all campuses with the same tutor. Make/cancel appointments online.
- Tutors use the teaching model to help students understand and identify common writing mistakes.
- Assistance with all kinds of writing (all topics, disciplines, and types of documents).
- Assistance with every stage of writing (planning, writing, revising).
- The Writing Center is located in Richter Library, First Floor, Coral Gables campus.
- The Graduate Writing Retreat is open to all Master's and doctoral students who are working on a formal academic writing project. Application required.
- Three sessions are offered: Fall and Spring semester during mid-semester recess, and before Summer semester begins.
- e-mail grad.dissertation@miami.edu
