Theses & Dissertations


For some of you, the most important moment in your graduate experience is when you research, compose and defend your thesis or dissertation. As the culmination of your outstanding hard work, your thesis or dissertation represents the final step towards earning your Masters or Doctoral degree. The process isn’t as daunting as you may have heard. View the links below to learn more about the process and hear some of our advice.

Openness and Distribution of Electronic Theses & Dissertations (ETDs)

The University of North Texas, as a member of the Council of Graduate Schools, ascribes to the fundamental tenant on openness and access of thesis and dissertation research.  All UNT ETDs are placed in the UNT ETD repository and made available via the online Libraries catalog for reading and/or downloading by all users, including being crawled and indexed by online search engines (e.g., Google).  ETDs are available in perpetuity; there are no restrictions regarding who can download the file or how many times it can be downloaded. There may be cases for which restricted access is appropriate; restrictions must be approved by the student's major professor at the time the ETD is filed with the Graduate School.  A summary of the restriction options can be found in the addendum at the front of the UNT Thesis Manual. 

In addition to the UNT Libraries, copies of all ETDs are also sent to ProQuest.  All students must sign and submit a ProQuest publication agreement as part of their required paperwork for graduation. As copyright holders, students earn royalties on every copy sold of their thesis or dissertation so students must include their social security number on the ProQuest forms.  The "microfilm" graduation fee covers ProQuest's Traditional Publishing option.  If a student has opted to restrict access to the UNT Libraries copy of their ETD, this is *not* communicated to ProQuest.  Access choices are listed on the ProQuest agreement form but if these are not sufficient, students must contact ProQuest directly to discuss alternatives.   

The UNT Thesis Manual: Formatting the Dissertation/Thesis

Your first stop when formatting your dissertation or thesis should be our Thesis & Dissertation Manual. Additionally, we have many resources in our Writing section that can provide you with insight on copyright issues, plagiarism, style guides and the like.

ProQuest Documents

Ready to Submit?

The document submitted to the Toulouse Graduate School must be the absolute final version, with all committee, department and/or college requested changes included.  Subsequent submissions will not be accepted. 

When you are ready to submit, bring all of your completed thesis or dissertation documents to the Graduate School. You will be given a Filing Envelope into which all materials should be placed. Please allow enough time to fill out the required information on the front of the envelope. All documents must be turned in by the appropriate deadlines. For more detailed information, please visit the Graduation Calendar.

A completed packet will include (click Checklist for ETD Submission for a hard copy of this list):

  • Filing Envelope Cover (use only if mailing your thesis/dissertation)
  • A CD containing three separate files (with appropriate formatting)
    • PDF version of your dissertation/thesis
    • PDF version of your abstract
    • Word-processing version of your abstract, e.g., MS Word or .txt file
  • Hard copy of both the dissertation/thesis and abstract, printed from the PDF.  This is a reading copy to assist review, so does not have to be color or good quality paper.  The hard copy must be completely "loose," i.e., not bound in any way.  This means no paper clips, no binder clips, no staples, etc.
  • Electronic Document Filing Form
  • Final Defense Form (may be submitted directly by your department)
  • ProQuest Agreement Form
  • Copies of any copyright permission letters you have received.  Copies can be hard copy or digital (included on the CD)
  • UNT Graduating Student Survey

  • Survey of Earned Doctorates (doctoral students only). [Mac users:  Open the form in Adobe Acrobat and use the “save via email” link at the bottom.]

What's Next?

After your dissertation/thesis has been submitted, the Graduate Reader will examine your work and email you regarding any necessary revisions (if needed). These revisions should be resubmitted by the appropriate deadline. For more detailed information, download a copy of the graduation calendar: Spring 2012, Summer 2012.