Submitting your final electronic thesis or dissertation (ETD) to the Graduate School involves managing deadlines and many details, so knowing ahead of time what to expect can help you plan and make the process easier to navigate.
A summary of how to submit your ETD to the Graduate School can be found in the PDF titled "The Electronic Thesis and Dissertation (ETD) Process." Please download and print out this guide for future reference. Here are the basics:
I. FORMATTING REVIEWS
Your final PDF must be formatted per Graduate School formatting requirements. Those formatting requirements can be downloaded and printed from here. You can send your draft to the Sr. Editor for formatting reviews by e-mail at grad.dissertation@miami.edu, as a PDF (preferred) or in up to four separate Word files. If the file is too large to send by e-mail, please send the Sr. Editor a link to the document in Dropbox or other cloud storage provider. The Sr. Editor will review the draft and send comments for formatting revisions back to you via e-mail. Predefense draft reviews are optional. Please note the deadlines for draft reviews posted here.
II. THREE SIGNED FORMS ARE REQUIRED
The following three forms are required to complete every thesis or dissertation submitted to the Graduate School: the Certificate of Defense Approval form, ETD Final Content Approval form, and ETD Availability Agreement form. Each form must be e-signed by all required signees and received by the Graduate School before the student will be given permission to upload the final PDF in the Scholarship@Miami institutional repository. The Sr. Editor will check to confirm the three forms are on file at the Graduate School before sending the permission-to-upload e-mail(s) to the student. All signatures on the three forms are collected electronically via the Dynamic Forms system; the student initiates and manages the completion of the three forms.
(1) Certificate of Defense Approval Form: Prepare this form the day after your defense. The Certificate of Defense Approval can be accessed in the Forms section of our website. Fill in the name and e-mail address of each of your committee members and the Graduate Program Director. Each committee member will receive notification that they must electronically sign the form to confirm your successful defense of the thesis, dissertation, doctoral essay, or lecture recital essay after you have defended. This form, when electronically signed by all committee members and your Graduate Program Director, is your proof that you passed the defense. Signees should sign the form after the defense has taken place.
(2) Electronic Thesis and Dissertation (ETD) Final Content Approval Form: (NOTE: The ETD Final Content Approval form replaces the function of the signed hard copy of the Signature page from the thesis or dissertation, which previously was collected to document the committee's approval of the final content of the ETD.) Every thesis, dissertation, doctoral essay, or lecture recital essay must have the final content approved by each member of the committee. The ETD Final Content Approval Form documents the committee's approval of the final content of your document. You can access the form here in the Graduate School's Forms section. Fill in the name and e-mail address of each of your committee members and Graduate Program Director. Each committee member will receive notification that they must electronically sign the form to confirm their approval of the final thesis, dissertation, doctoral essay, or lecture recital essay. This form, when electronically signed by all committee members will transmit to your Graduate Program Director. When signed by all required individuals, the form is your proof that the committee approved the final document.
(3) Electronic Thesis and Dissertation (ETD) Availability Agreement Form: This form informs the Graduate School of the online availability option you and your main advisor selected for your final PDF online. When you've produced a final PDF that's been approved by the Sr. Editor, you should discuss with your main advisor which online availability option to select for your thesis or dissertation before completing this form. The two availability options are (1) Open Access and (2) Embargo. When you and your main advisor have agreed upon an online availability option, please access the form on the Graduate School website here. Fill in your name and e-mail address and the main advisor's name and e-mail address so you can both e-sign the form.
III. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
The following resources are available to help you prepare your document:
Visit the SCHOLARSHIP@MIAMI Institutional 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: Subject Librarians and free resources for managing your research, e.g., EndNote (desktop) and RefWorks (web).
(2) Document Assistance: Microsoft Word Assistance, Image formatting, final PDF conversion.
Digital formatting support for Microsoft Word (versions 2003, 2007, 2008, 2010).
(3) lynda.com: Access to online video tutorials on lynda.com.
Writing Center: Writing Assistance from Start to Finish
- Free, one-on-one tutoring service. Weekly appointments available 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).
- Web: Writing Center
- Contact: Richter Library, first floor Learning Commons; e-mail: writingcenter@miami.edu; (305) 284-2956.
- Open to Master's and doctoral students by application
- Three sessions are offered: Fall and Spring semester during mid-semester recess, and before Summer semester begins.
- e-mail grad.dissertation@miami.edu
