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Office of Graduate Studies

 

THESIS AND DISSERTATION

 Thesis Manual

 
Important Update
Online Submission of Thesis and Dissertation Now Available 
Submit your draft or final copy at:
 
  • Meet with your advisor and set up your Thesis or Dissertation Committee during your first semester. Creation of the committee will follow guidelines established by each department and/or college.
  • As you create your committee, complete the "Application for Thesis" or "Dissertation Committee Form" and submit the form to your advisor. It will be routed to the graduate office. 

2. Submitting your Draft 

  • As you write your Thesis or Dissertation, refer to the Thesis Manual for formatting guidelines.
  • Submit the completed draft electronically as per instructions noted on the Electronic Submission Guide.
  • Here you will also have the option to select the number of copies to be bound for your personal use (The 2 copies that are required by the University will be a standing order to be kept in the Department and the Library).
  • Note: The graduate office does not check the content of your manuscript. Additionally, students are responsible for checking grammar and spelling for all names and titles.
  • A draft that is submitted for review should be complete except for minor formatting improvements and changes that will be made based on the committee’s recommendations. Therefore, a draft should include:
    • All preliminary and supplementary pages
    • Table of contents
    • All chapter title pages and contents
    • References
    • Biographical sketch
  • The graduate office will review the formatting of your draft based on guidelines contained in the Graduate Thesis Manual. You will be notified by email, when your draft is reviewed with recommendations for any edits that need to be made prior to final copy submission. Every effort will be made to complete thesis/dissertation review within 2-3 business days of submission. 

3. Submitting your Final Copy and Certification Form

  • Once the draft of your thesis or dissertation has been approved and after your defense, you will upload the final copy of your thesis/dissertation as per instructions posted on the ProQuest UMI thesis submission portal for online publishing. For helpful hints on submitting your copy, review the Electronic Submission Guide.
  • You must turn in the completed and signed “Certification of Completion of Thesis and Dissertation” form to the Graduate Office by the deadline posted for your graduation date.

4. Thesis Course 

  • You must continue to enroll in a Thesis course until you complete your Thesis.
  • Students who are applying for graduation must have been enrolled in a Thesis course during the same semester they plan to graduate in order to qualify for graduation.

5. Copyright Services 

  • Per the Library of Congress Web site, “Copyright protection subsists from the time the work is created in fixed form. The copyright in the work of authorship immediately becomes the property of the author who created the work. Only the author or those deriving their rights through the author can rightfully claim copyright.” For more information go to: http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ1.pdf.
  • Students can elect to have ProQuest/UMI to handle the application for registration of their claim to copyright their work by clicking on appropriate box while uploading the manuscript for final submission and pay the appropriate fee at that time or do it on their own through the U.S. Copyright office website at www.copyright.gov for a fee of $35.
     

6. Deadlines

SEMESTER

DEADLINE FOR ONLINE SUBMISSION OF DRAFT DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION OF FINAL COPY ONLINE
 Fall 2009  November 13, 2009  December 18, 2009
 Spring 2010  April 9, 2010  May 14, 2010
 Summer I 2010  June 18, 2010  July 14, 2010
 Summer II 2010  July 16, 2010  August 20, 2010

Inclusion in the Commencement Ceremony Program

  • Students who would like to have the title of their Thesis or Dissertation included in the Commencement Program must submit their draft online by the deadline indicated above for submission of drafts and titles.
  • Or, if the student’s draft is not ready by the deadline and the student would like to be included in the commencement program, the graduate program advisor must submit the student’s name, title and committee members electronically by the deadline to the Graduate Office (vgonzales3@utpa.edu) and indicate that the student will complete the requirement by the date of graduation.

Extensions for Draft submission

  • Students who do not have their draft ready by the deadline must request an extension in writing to Venessa Gonzales, vgonzales3@utpa.edu.
  • No exceptions will be made to the deadline for the final submission of the thesis and dissertation. 

    Additional Requirements

    Certain graduate programs may follow their own deadlines for thesis submission to the department for review – students are advised to consult with their program advisors for more information.

7. Costs

Students are required to publish their dissertation or thesis through Proquest. Required costs are: $70 for two university copies of the thesis or dissertation (for the library and the department) and a publishing service fee of $65 for dissertations or $55 for theses.

Additionally, students may purchase their own copies when submitting their thesis or dissertation; costs are available online and include a discount when ordering more than two copies.
 
Copyright service is optional and costs $55.

8. Forms

Application for Thesis Committee

Application for Dissertation Committee

Graduate Thesis Manual

Proquest Dissertation Publishing Agreement

Proquest Thesis Publishing Agreement

Certification of Completion of Thesis or Dissertation Form new

 Acrobat Reader is needed to open the files; you can get it free at Acrobat

9. Training Sessions

Questions about submitting your draft or final copy? Donna Jackson, thesis and dissertation coordinator, will be available during the following dates and times:
Tuesday, November 3rd
5:30-6:30 p.m. Location: Graduate Office AB 116
Friday, November 6th
1:00-3:00 p.m. Location: Law Library AB 303
Monday, November 9th
12 noon-1 p.m. Location: Law Library AB 303
5:30-6:30 p.m. Location: Graduate Office AB 116

10. Contact Information

If you have questions related to your Thesis or Dissertation draft or final copy,
contact: Donna Jackson
               dejackson@utpa.edu

For other questions related to your graduation requirements, contact:

College of Social & Behavioral Sciences
PhD in Business Administration

Venessa Gonzales
vgonzales3@utpa.edu
(956) 381-2663

College of Arts & Humanities
College of Science & Engineering

Alicia Nieto
acnieto@utpa.edu
(956) 381-2207

College of Education
College of Business Administration (Master's program only)

Veronica Rodriguez
vrodriguez16@utpa.edu
(956) 388-8066

College of Health & Human Services
EdD-Educational Leadership

Gerardina Dimas
gdimas1@utpa.edu
(956) 316-7920

 

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