Congratulations on nearing completion of your advanced degree at UCSB!
The minimum requirements to meet a filing deadline are:
- Electronically file your thesis/dissertation/DMA supporting document with ProQuest by the filing deadline (midnight Pacific time).
- Submit your signed signature page (DocuSign is recommended) to the UCSB Graduate Division (gradacademics@graddiv.ucsb.edu) by the filing deadline.
• Click here for an example of a signature page. -
Submission of the Doctoral Form III (doctoral students only) to gradacademics@graddiv.ucsb.
edu
• The defense must be completed by or before the deadline. The signed Form III can be submitted to Grad Div after the filing deadline.
Additional Materials needed (but can be submitted after the Filing Deadline)
- Completion of the Exit Surveys (doctoral students only)
Please email gradacademics@graddiv.ucsb.edu or schedule a Zoom call with one of our advisors if you have any questions.
Requesting a rush degree review:
- Degrees are typically processed within a 3-5 week period. If you need your degree processed sooner than this because of an employer/institution that is requiring verification, please send us an email to request for a rush process at academics@graddiv.ucsb.edu.
- A rush process takes approximately 7-10 business days upon request to be completed. Your filing documents must be submitted to us before you can request for a rush process. If you are a master's student, your master's check sheet must be submitted first before we can start the rush process.
- Please note that Graduate Academics does not provide temporary notices/memos/certificates to confirm your completion before your degree is awarded. We only provide a completion notice after we award your degree.
- Prior to filing your thesis/dissertation or completing your degree requirements, check with your future employer about what date you’ll need to provide a verification to them (if any) so that you can plan the appropriate time to file.
Formatting Quick Guide
The basics
Formatting Overview
A video overview of the formatting requirements
Guide to Formatting & Filing Theses & Dissertations
The full policy, procedures, and requirements for formatting and filing
Master's Thesis
PhD Dissertation Word | LaTex
Joint Doctoral Dissertation
Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA)
* Please note: We cannot guarantee that using the templates will produce an acceptable document as editing documents can inadvertently change the format. You can always print out parts of your document for an adviser at the UCSB Graduate Division office to check prior to e-filing.
ProQuest
This is where you electronically file your Thesis/Dissertation/DMA Supporting Document
Filing Checklist
This is a helpful list of final requirements to complete the filing process
Exit Surveys
These are required for doctoral students.
Survey of Earned Doctorates (Optional to include last 4 digits of SSN)
UCSB Doctoral Exit Survey | FAQ
Thesis/dissertation filing and the awarding of your degree
Diplomas and Transcripts
Links to information from the Office of the Registrar
Theses, dissertations, and DMA supporting documents (ETDS) are published works, therefore the material that is included must abide by US Copyright Law. It is common for a student to want to include material that was created by someone else in their ETD (such as images, photos, poems, lyrics.) It is the responsibility of the student to determine whether or not reprint permission letters are necessary to include such works in the ETD. Some material may be included because it is within the Public Domain, or because it falls within the Fair Use provision of the US Copyright Act.
If the material does not fall within fair use or the public domain, the student will need to obtain written permission to republish it (include it in their ETD). Please use the following resources to determine whether a work you are including within your ETD falls within the Fair Use provision of the US Copyright Act or within the Public Domain:
Fair Use Resources:
From UCOP: https://copyright.universityofcalifornia.edu/use/fair-use.html
From the UCSB Library: https://www.library.ucsb.edu/copyright-fair-use-basics
Public Domain Resources:
From UCOP: https://copyright.universityofcalifornia.edu/use/public-domain.html
Resources on how to obtain written permission:
From UCOP: https://copyright.universityofcalifornia.edu/use/obtaining-permission.html
If the student has previously published all or parts of their ETD in a journal, the student must check with the journal to find out if permission (in the form of a letter/email or inclusion of a specific citation) to reprint the material is required. This is a common question, so the student should be able to get the answer easily by contacting the journal. If the student is including material that was created by someone else (images, photos, poems, lyrics) reprint permission in writing (email or hard copy) may be necessary if the work is not open access or in the public domain.
The thesis, dissertation, or equivalent (hereafter called the capstone) may include chapters or other segments that involve co-authored work, if allowed by the department and appropriate for the discipline. In cases of coauthorship, the student’s capstone committee’s approval will be taken as certification that the student’s individual contributions are sufficient for the capstone requirement. The acknowledgements or introductory portion of the capstone should clearly detail the role and contributions of the student in coauthored works.
Published, accepted, or in preparation for publication works are included in this policy. To the extent possible, graduate programs should offer guidance about the expectations for coauthorship or single authorship in formal policies. Whenever conflicts arise over collaborative authorships, Graduate Council urges the parties involved to resolve their conflict on the basis of professional ethics, integrity and fair play.
A capstone is expected to conform to appropriate copyright laws. If portions have already been published or presented in copyrighted form, the student must obtain the appropriate permissions from the copyright holder(s). Previously published material must be acknowledged appropriately, as established by a discipline or by the original publication agreement. Published material included in the capstone should be substantially the product of the student's period of study at UCSB; the student’s capstone committee’s approval will be taken as certification of this requirement. The acknowledgements portion of the capstone should include acknowledgement of funding sources.
Per University policy, copyright ownership of theses or dissertations authored by University students resides with such students. The student may choose to include a copyright notice on the third page of the document. The student may also choose to register their copyright with the U.S. Copyright Office. This is optional and ProQuest will offer this as a service during the electronic filing process. Students may also register it themselves by visiting the U.S. Copyright Office website.
UCSB Publishing Agreement
UCSB dissemination options and policy on delaying release (embargo) of your thesis, dissertation or support document.
Students may choose to delay the release (embargo) of their ETD due to a pending patent, publication, or other reason. Students are urged to embargo an ETD only if it is absolutely necessary, as it is within the University’s mission to distribute knowledge to the public.
ProQuest (PQ publishing options) Students may choose any embargo period with ProQuest. A period longer than 2 years does not require additional approval. Students request the embargo during the e-filing process or by contacting ProQuest after the document has been delivered.
Institutional Repository (IR publishing options)
Students may choose to embargo their IR ETD for up to two years. Requests to embargo for longer than two years require approval from the Thesis/Dissertation Chair and the Dean of the Graduate Division (using the Dissertation/Thesis Delayed Release (Embargo) Request form). This form can be submitted during the e-filing process or later after the initial embargo period expires.
Filing FAQ
Degrees are typically processed within a 3-5 week period. If you need your degree processed sooner than this because of an employer/institution that is requiring verification, please send us an email to request for a rush process at academics@graddiv.ucsb.edu. A rush process takes approximately 7 business days upon request to be completed. Prior to filing your thesis/dissertation or completing your degree requirements, check with your future employer about what date you’ll need to provide a verification to them (if any) so that you can plan the appropriate time to file.
If you have completed your final quarter at UCSB and will not be continuing next quarter, please cancel the next quarter through the following:
Cancellation of Registration - International Student
For Domestic Students: How to Cancel A Quarter Via GOLD:
1) Log onto GOLD.
2) Click on the "Progress" tab on the top right-hand side.
3) Click on "Petitions".
4) Click on "Initiate Quarter Cancellation".
5) Select the appropriate quarter and reason.
6) Click on "Continue to Confirmation Page".
7) Read and check the box.
8) Click confirm and your quarter has now been canceled!
If you have not received a previous degree with the university and have not had your degree awarded, you may log on to Gold to change your mailing address.
If you have received a previous degree with the university, please read the following:
The Office of the Registrar oversees the preparation and mailing of diplomas. If you have a degree that is currently in review, you will need to wait until it is awarded before you may request an address change.
Once you receive a degree completion notice, you should be able to update your diploma mailing address in GOLD. It is recommended that this be completed soon after you receive the completion notice. Once the Registrar's finalizes your degree, students will no longer be able to update that address in GOLD. Diplomas are mailed approximately 3-4 months after the end of the term in which the degree was awarded.
Absolutely! You may a schedule a Zoom appointment with us using this link. Please have a draft of your preliminary pages and chapter 1 ready. The Zoom screen share function can be used during this review to look at the formatting.
The name on your diploma will default to your legal name on record with the Office of the Registrar. If you need to report an error, or would like your diploma to state your lived name instead of your legal name, please contact the Office of the Registrar at GraduationMatters@sa.ucsb.edu.
No, once you file, the content cannot be updated. However, you may make formatting changes that are specifically requested by the Graduate Division staff in order to meet the University formatting requirements.