Dissertation & Thesis Submission
Effective May 2010, all dissertations and theses must be submitted online through Stony Brook University's ProQuest/UMI ETD administrator site. The following section documents the necessary steps involved in submitting the documents required by the Graduate School. All candidates should check with their dissertation advisor and graduate program director regarding additional departmental requirements. For more information on graduation and degree requirements, please refer to the Graduation Information section.
Submission Guidelines & Requirements
The criteria set forth in these guides ensure that each submission accepted for publication by ProQuest is a uniform document. The guides are divided into three main sections: (1) preparation and format of the thesis or dissertation; (2) assembly of the thesis or dissertation; and (3) submission of the thesis or dissertation. The appendices contain checklists and frequently asked questions related to document preparation and submission.
Please review and follow the requirements set forth in the documents below. Questions not addressed here can be directed to GradGraduation@stonybrook.edu.
- Guidelines for the Preparation of Theses and Dissertations - Electronic Submissions
- Guidelines for the Preparation of Dissertations - Electronic Submissions for the PhD in Music Composition
- Page Numbering Tips
- Top 10 Dissertation/Thesis Formatting & Submission Mistakes
- Theses and dissertation templates are available in the Forms section of the website, under "Forms for Graduating Students."
Additional Notes
All SINC sites on campus are equipped with Adobe in order for students to convert
their thesis/dissertation files to pdf. The SINC site administrators can also provide
help with technical issues students may encounter when preparing their thesis/dissertation.
Students not using one of the templates may bring a draft on a laptop or disc to
the Graduate School for a format check. Please note that, due to security concerns,
we are unable to review files on a jump/flash drive or external hard drive.
Students are responsible for securing any necessary co-authorship or copyright permissions.
Students who share authorship for any part of a dissertation or thesis, must acquire
the co-author's permission to include the content. If any content in your manuscript,
including appendices, is already under another copyright, you need to acquire permission
from the copyright holder to use the content. All such permissions must accompany
your submission. ProQuest/UMI administrators may elect not to distribute your dissertation
if, in their reasonable judgment, they believe all necessary third-party rights have
not been secured.
For more information, including a sample permission letter, please see ProQuest/UMI's copyright guide and Copyright and Your Dissertation or Thesis: Ownership, Fair Use, and Your Rights and
Responsibilities.
Permission letters should be submitted in the Supplemental Files section of the submission
process on the ProQuest/UMI ETD Administrator site.
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Submission
Theses and dissertations should not be submitted unless they have been successfully defended.
Students are required to submit one electronic (digital) copy of the final version of their thesis or dissertation at the Stony Brook University-ProQuest/UMI ETD Administrator site. Once logged in, follow the instructions and steps at www.etdadmin.com/grad.sunysb.
For help using the ETD Administrator, contact Tech Support. Contact information is available under "Support and Training" on the main ProQuest/UMI Administrator page.
After students officially submit on the site, they will receive an email notification confirming that the thesis or dissertation was successfully submitted. The Graduate School also receives an email notification. The document is now locked and no revisions can be made to the content; the only changes permitted are those related to format, as directed by the Graduate School.
Theses and dissertations then are reviewed in the order in which we received your completion of degree requirements from your program.
This entire process begins about three weeks after the completion of the semester in which you are graduating. All correspondence, including notification or format revisions and acceptance, is handled via email. Please be sure to regularly check the email address that you registered to your ProQuest account.
If corrections are requested, students will receive an email with this information, and the submission will be unlocked to allow for them to make the requested corrections. Students should use the "Revise" link in the upper right corner of the homepage to submit a revised document.
All requests for revisions will be sent automatically from GradETD@stonybrook.edu to the email address used when creating the submission account. Students should add GradETD@stonybrook.edu to their contacts list and adjust their spam filters as necessary to ensure receipt of these notifications. Students who no longer have access to the email address provided should contact our office at gradgraduation@stonybrook.edu. Students planning to travel after submission should allow time in their schedule to respond to any corrections that may be requested.
Once the thesis or dissertation has been accepted by the Graduate School, changes to the document, regardless of its nature, are not permitted.
Deadlines
The deadline for thesis or dissertation submissions to the Stony Brook University-ProQuest/UMI ETD Administrator is 4:00 pm EDT for the May and August deadlines, and by 4:00 pm EST for the December deadline.
More information is available in the Graduation Information & FAQs section.
Required Supporting Documents
In addition to the electronic thesis or dissertation submission, students must also submit the documents detailed below. These items should be submitted as soon as possible after committee approval of the thesis or dissertation. Failure to do so may result in a delay in graduation.
1. Signature Page Instructions
Signature pages are completed electronically by using the following links:
Students are responsible for starting the process of completing their signature page after a successful defense. The Graduate School must receive the signature page prior to the thesis/dissertation deadline, as this is the main indicator that the thesis or dissertation has committee approval. Exceptions will not be granted.
For PhD students, dissertations and signature pages are due 3 months from the date of defense or by the semester deadline listed on the Graduate School Calendar, whichever date comes first. For Masters students, theses and signature pages are due by the semester deadline on the calendar.
2. Graduate School Exit Survey
As part of the Graduate School’s continued initiative to ensure student satisfaction, we ask that all graduate students, both master's and doctoral, complete the survey before leaving the university. Results are kept completely confidential.
The exit survey is available online here.
3. Survey of Earned Doctorates (for doctoral students only)
Doctoral students are required to fill out the National Research Council’s Survey of Earned Doctorates. The survey is available online at https://sed-ncses.org.
The Graduate School can view what students have completed the survey. We also receive an email confirmation once a student completes the survey. Students do not need to provide any hard copies of this survey to the Graduate School.