Thesis and Dissertation

Step 1: Style Guide and Format

The student and his/her committee are jointly responsible for seeing to it that the thesis or dissertation follows a correct form of scholarly style and usage. The student can follow the guidelines outlined in the Style Guide or may follow the style specified by their committee or department as long as the style is consistent throughout the paper.

Submit your thesis/dissertation to your committee several weeks before your defense so they have time to read it. Please review the Format Checklist before submitting to your committee.

A list of formatters or editors is available if you would like to hire someone. Please contact the School of Graduate Studies for a list of names.

Step 2: Preliminary Approval and Notice of Defense

Each member of a candidate's advisory committee must have made his/her criticisms and have seen and approved the changes the student has made to remove the criticisms. Such approval is tentative acceptance of the content, organization, form of expression, style and usage.

• The committee approval shall be executed on the Preliminary Approval and Notice of Defense form and filed in the School of Graduate Studies by the deadline. The signed approval is a commitment that the members of the committee will require no major changes of the content, organization, or style after the final copy has been prepared.
• The Preliminary Approval and Notice of Defense form must be submitted to the School of Graduate Studies two weeks prior to the scheduled oral examination date and on or before the Preliminary Approval deadline.

Please note that it is expected there will be content revisions needed after receiving feedback from your committee. However, it is also expected that the document is ready to defend, meaning that your document is in its final stage of completion.

Step 3: Hold the Oral Defense

The candidate and committee members must be physically present at the defense unless the program has developed clear guidelines and instructions by which the candidate or committee members may participate at a distance using real-time synchronous technology. Any technology used to facilitate distance participation by the candidate or committee members must be supported by UND, capable of real-time audio and video, compatible with "presentation" software, such as PowerPoint, and must be open and accessible to the candidate, committee and non-committee members.

It is advisable to bring the Final Report on Candidate form and your Approval Page to the defense. Both these forms need the signature of your committee.

Please be sure the Approval Page is formatted correctly, and is word for word as to the sample page in the “Style Guide”, before your committee signs it. This page needs a 2” top margin, 1 – 1½” left margin, & a 1” right & bottom margin. Submit your signed approval page to the School of Graduate Studies after your successful defense. If your committee is not ready to sign, it is your responsibility to let the SGS know when we can expect it! NOTE: The School of Graduate Studies requires original signatures on your approval page.

Your Approval page will be emailed to you as a PDF after the SGS dean has signed it. You may include this page in your final copy if you choose to; otherwise you will type the names of your committee, the dean, & the date under the signature lines to be included in your final copy.

Your Permission page also needs to be included in your final copy with your name and date typed on the page.

Step 4: Submit electronic Thesis/Dissertation to UMI/ProQuest Publishing

After you make the required changes or corrections, you will electronically upload the final version of your Thesis/Dissertation in PDF format to the ProQuest ETD Administrator site at UMI/ProQuest.

• How to Prepare your Manuscript for Submission
• Overview of Manuscript Submission -what you will need to do to prepare for your submission.
• Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Submission Guide for UND Graduate Students will take you step by step through the ProQuest system.
• You are required to purchase thru ProQuest, one copy of your thesis/dissertation, that will be mailed to the UND Chester Fritz Library. The cost of this copy is $30.00 (price subject to change.)
• Additional copies may be ordered through ProQuest. Be aware that they are printed double-sided, so margins may need to be adjusted.
• NOTE: The School of Graduate Studies recommends ordering your final copies from UND Duplicating Services, it is quicker and less expensive.
• UND Duplicating Services - please contact them for pricing! 701.777.5088; Email: UND.duplicating@email.UND.edu; 
• Chester Fritz Library - The Chester Fritz Library will bind copies for you – please contact them for pricing! 701.777.2617; Email: reference@library.und.edu

Once you electronically submit your final copy for publishing, no changes are made to the format or content. Therefore, the burden of how the manuscript looks is entirely the responsibility of the student author. Your document will be available in approximately 8 weeks in the ProQuest/UMI database, unless you restricted it. The Chester Fritz Library will also receive your bound copy and it will be available in the Library periodicals.

Step 5: Ph.D. Students Only - Survey of Earned Doctorates

This survey is for Ph.D. students only, this does not apply to Ed.D. or D.A. students.

• Ph.D. Students need to complete the Survey of Earned Doctorates (SED) online.
• The School of Graduate Studies, as well as yourself, will receive a confirmation email after you have completed the survey.