• Welcome
•  
• Application Forms
•  
• Graduate Programs
• Online Learning
• Graduate Catalog
• Financial Information
• Online Orientation
• Campus & Community
•  
• Policies & Procedures
• Graduate School Forms
• Professional Resources
• Theses & Dissertations
• Research
•  
• Grad Home Page
• Grad Faculty Council
• Grad Student Council
• Grad School Staff
• Defenses This Week
•  
• Questions?
• Grad School Web Index

 

Thesis and Dissertation Procedures

A thesis or dissertation is the culmination of a research project and a professional representation of not only the student's work, but the advisor, program and Michigan Tech. It is important that these documents are prepared professionally in order to best reflect the quality and intellectual merit of the work. This page provides:

• Resources for students,
• How to submit a draft (or final) thesis or dissertation,
• Required criteria for submitting a thesis or dissertation today, and
• Requirements for a master's report (Plan B).

Resources for students writing a thesis or dissertation

• Theses and Dissertations @ Michigan Tech — Search this database for all dissertations and theses submitted to ProQuest/UMI since 1968 for publication.
• Thesis and dissertation specifications—Contains links and some basic resources for formatting.
• Copyright basics—This page answers some common questions about copyright law, when to ask permission to use materials, how to ask permission, and how to document this in a thesis or dissertation.
• ETD Introduction—This page gives an introduction to why a student might want to prepare their thesis or dissertation as an Electronic Thesis or Dissertation
• ETD Guidelines—An Electronic Thesis or Dissertation (ETD) meets additional electronic requirements that ensure that these files can be accessed by as many people as possible in an easy way.
• Writing Center—The Writing Center has staff that are trained to help graduate students with their thesis, dissertation, or report. It is recommended to seek their assistance early in the writing process so that they can provide the best help and students can gain the most from the experience.
• Examples of work—Graduate Faculty have recommended these theses or dissertations as being good examples of student work.
• Frequently Asked Questions—This page answers questions commonly asked by faculty or students. Please look here if the information here or on the above pages don't provide the necessary guidance.
• EndNote—This software catalogs references and can create bibliographies and in-text citations. Michigan Tech has a site license for the software, and the linked page contains information about how to access it.
• Michigan Tech Identity Standards—The university style guide, templates for slides, and logos for use on posters or other approved materials can be found here.
• Policy—The policy regarding theses and dissertations.

[return to top]

Submission of a draft (or final) thesis or dissertation

Online submission has been an option for students beginning in January 2008 for PhD and May 2008 for MS students. Feedback has been positive, and the majority of students are now submitting online. Students who wish to complete their requirements using the old procedures may still choose to do so.

Graduate students should follow the following procedures to submit their documents to the Graduate School online:

1. At least two weeks before oral defense, submit the following two items to the Graduate School:
   • A draft of the dissertation via Blackboard. Log in using the "MTU ISO Log-In" and follow the on-line instructions. The course is named, "Graduate Groups - PhD Candidates" or "Graduate Groups - Master's Candidates" depending on your degree.
     • Contact Dr. Charlesworth if the course does not appear when you log in. Students who are earning a "masters along the way" will need to be manually added to the course
     • This pdf will walk you through the process if you need help.
     • Check here for some tips to properly configure your browser.
   • A hard copy of TD-Publishing with original signatures. This can be brought to the Graduate School or mailed to Debra Charlesworth, Graduate School via campus mail.
2. After the defense, correct the thesis or dissertation using comments from the oral defense and the review from the Graduate School. The Graduate School will fill out TD-Review and return it to the student via Blackboard. A copy of TD-Review is provided here for student information only.
3. Once corrections are complete, complete TD-Bindery and submit it to the Graduate School with a final pdf file of the thesis or dissertation via Blackboard. (See instructions if needed.)
   • Allow one week for document processing. If the document is not acceptable for publication, comments will be returned via Blackboard and the document must be resubmitted.
   • After the document has been reviewed and accepted for publication, pay the publication fees at the Cashier's office. Submit a hard copy of TD-Bindery, the receipt from the Cashier's office, a signed signature page and title page to the Graduate School.
   • If you are off campus: Remember to upload TD-Bindery with your final thesis submission. In the comments section on Blackboard, note that you are off campus. Dr. Charlesworth will contact you with details on how to pay your binding fees.
4. (Required for PhD candidates) Publish dissertation with ProQuest/UMI. The Graduate School recommends waiting to complete this step until the thesis or dissertation submitted in step 3 has been approved. Submit via the on-line submission site. Students may select either Traditional Publishing (TR-1) or Open Access Publishing (extra fee applies). Embargo options must match those on TD-Publishing.

[return to top]

Requirements for formatting theses and dissertations

Currently, there are five requirements for the preparation of a thesis or dissertation. Although these requirements technically only refer to these documents, students preparing reports or PhD proposals could also follow these requirements. A thesis or dissertation submitted to the Graduate School must:

1. Be formatted to print on 8.5 x 11" paper. Computers purchased outside of the U.S. may default to A4 paper. Additionally, some LaTeX templates incorrectly specify the correct paper.
2. Be in pdf format with all fonts embedded.
3. Have 1.5" margins on the left hand side, and 1" margins on the remaining three sides.
   1. The binding edge margin alternates between odd and even pages if double sided printing is desired. Please pay careful attention to the margins if this is desired.
4. Have an appropriate title page. Your title page should match the formatting examples for a MS or PhD. In particular, note that a document submitted for partial completion of an MS degree is a "thesis," while a document submitted for a PhD is a "dissertation." The degree program must also be correct. Note that the name of the degree program does not necessarily match the name of the department. If you are printing double sided, place a blank page after the title page.
5. A signature page must follow the title page. Signatures must be original. Facsimiles will not be accepted for bound copies. In the pdf document, the signatures should be blank. The bindery will replace the blank signature page with a copy of the signed page the student provides with their final documents. If you are printing double sided, place a blank page after the signature page.

[return to top]

Requirements for formatting reports

Students completing a Master's Plan B (Report Option) are not required to have the Graduate School review a draft of their report or to follow most of the formatting guidelines if they provide the archival copy of the report for the Library. Report students must:

• Complete TD-Publishing prior to their defense
• Provide a single copy of their report in a sturdy binder for the Library
• Include a title and signature page in the report. Examples are here. Replace the word "thesis" with "report."
• The signature page in the report must contain original signatures. Facsimiles are not acceptable.

Plan B Master's students may choose to have bound copies printed for themselves and/or the Library. It is recommended that these students follow the same submission procedure as Plan A Master's students to prevent delays in finishing their degree. Students wishing to have any copies of their report bound must follow all of the same formatting requirements as students submitting a thesis or dissertation.

All students are encouraged to use the formatting guidelines to ensure that their reports are the best representation of their research.

[return to top]