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Graduate Programs

Theses and Dissertations Publishing Guidelines

As a graduation requirement, all graduate theses and dissertations must be electronically submitted to the Library. Graduate thesis and dissertation requirements will not be considered complete until receipt of an acceptable copy of the approved thesis or dissertation is confirmed by the Integrated Learning Resource Center (ILRC). The Library no longer requires a bound copy of thesis or dissertation.

Deposit and Publish Process - Step by Step

Each graduate program has deadlines to submit this receipt. The ILRC requires all deposits occur at least two weeks before this program deadline to allow for review and information requests.

  1. Student writes and successfully defends graduate thesis or dissertation.
     
  2. After all revisions have been completed, please print and fill out the ILRC Thesis and Dissertation Deposit Form. Scan the completed form and email it to Erin Crane or fax it to (434) 582-2680.
     
  3. Student creates a PDF version of the approved thesis/dissertation and opens an account at the Liberty University Dissertation/Thesis Submission Site.  A PDF conversion utility is available at the site.
     
  4. Student follows the step-by-step process on the submission/publishing site and uploads a PDF-formatted version of the thesis or dissertation.
    • Select “Traditional Publishing,” not “Open Access.” The Library will make the work open access through our Digital Commons. 
    • Do not use the binding option within the ProQuest/UMI site. Also, it is not necessary to pay the additional fee to register copyright with the Library of Congress. As the author, the student automatically holds the copyright. We recommend not allowing third party sales. 
  5. The student receives an email acknowledging the submission of the work but not its acceptance.
     
  6. The ILRC checks for a completed Deposit Form and reviews the submitted work for legibility and completeness.
     
  7. The ILRC either requests additional information or submits the work to ProQuest/UMI Publishing Services.
     
  8. The student receives an email receipt verifying the acceptance of the work.
     
  9. The student forwards the email confirming that they have successfully completed the submission process to their Committee Chair.
     
  10. If applicable, student submits an electronic PDF-formatted version of the thesis or dissertation to the bindery. The bindery will complete the binding and return the bound copies to the student for distribution to their academic program.
    • It is important that the student does not submit their thesis or dissertation to the bindery until he/she has received an email confirmation from the Library because he/she may need to make suggested changes.