Doctoral Dissertation Submission

Completing and submitting your dissertation is an important part of completing your doctoral degree. Your dissertation must be formatted as prescribed by the Graduate School in the Guidelines for Master’s Theses and Doctoral Dissertations and electronically submitted through ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst, the university's permanent digital archive for scholarly materials.

  • Doctoral Dissertation Formatting Checklist: Make sure your dissertation has this required content in this order:
    1. Title page
    2. Copyright page (required in doctoral dissertations, optional in master’s theses)
    3. Signature page (signatures aren’t required)
    4. Abstract page
    5. Table of Contents
    6. List pages (required when one or more table, figure, image, etc. is present)
    7. Dissertation body pages comprised of a minimum of at least one chapter
    8. Comprehensive bibliography/references/works cited section
  • Doctoral Dissertation Submission Checklist: Make sure you have the following:
    • A non-UMass email address that you will continue to use indefinitely after you graduate from UMass Amherst.
    • Your manuscript in PDF format. Be sure to proofread your work before converting to PDF and recheck formatting after converting to ensure that all images and tables are properly positioned. For help with PDF conversions, visit the Learning Commons in the DuBois Library.
    • Any supporting files that you wish to provide as supplemental content, e.g. pictures, audio, video, animations, simulations, etc. Tip: name the files according to how you have referenced them in your manuscript and store them in the same location with your manuscript.
    • Your selection of up to six keywords or phrases to ensure that your work appears in relevant searches.
  • ScholarWorks: Doctoral candidates at UMass Amherst use ScholarWorks— the UMass Libraries’ permanent digital repository for faculty and student research—to submit theses in accordance with doctoral degree requirements. ScholarWorks is indexed by major search engines and is used globally by those who wish to reference scholarship produced by members of the UMass community.
  • Managing Access Controls in ScholarWorks: As the author, you automatically retain the copyright of your thesis. You have two different kinds of controls available to temporarily limit the access to your manuscript:
    • Document Type defines who may access the manuscript.
      • You will select a Document Type in ScholarWorks. “Open Access” means that anyone who has Internet access can view, cite, and download your work. “Campus Only Access” restricts the audience to those who have a UMass Amherst NetID and password or who use the Interlibrary Loan service.
      • The Campus Access option will expire after a period of either one year or five years, depending on the term you select. The manuscript will become available automatically via Open Access in ScholarWorks after the Campus Access period has expired.
    • Embargo Period will shield the manuscript for a specific length of time. Documents under embargo are neither visible nor downloadable in their entirety to anyone other than the author; titles and abstracts for embargoed documents are visible.
      • Doctoral candidates and master’s students typically use an Embargo Period only if patent applications or publication contracts are pending.
      • There are three choices for embargo term lengths: six months, one year or five years.
    • If you need an Embargo Period that is longer than one year, you must request a memo from your Graduate Program Director stating that person’s approval for the extension. The memo must be submitted to the Graduate Student Service Center prior to your degree date.
    • Campus Only Access and Embargo Periods are both time-limited. The start date for either or both types of protection is the same as your degree date. If you invoke both, the embargo will supersede the Campus Access control.

  • Document Accessibility: Consider the global nature of your readership. People who cannot distinguish colors accurately on screen or who have more severe visual impairments need to be able to understand all of your content. Do not let simple formatting choices create barriers for some members of your audience. Producing accessible works for online publication adds to your professionalism and begins with a few simple techniques to apply as you compose your document. Review six quick tips for making your document accessible.