Electronic Dissertation Submission

The following guide presents the necessary steps involved in a student's dissertation submission process as required by the Graduate School of Arts and Science (GSAS) Office of Academic and Student Affairs (OASA) and ProQuest/UMI. All doctoral candidates should check with their dissertation advisors and department administrators for further details about additional departmental requirements.

Completion of these steps, moreover, does not guarantee conferral of a candidate's degree. The final conferral decision rests with the Graduate School of Arts and Science and New York University's Office of the Registrar. 

Individual candidates must complete the following:

1. The Ph.D. candidate must meet with his or her dissertation advisor to discuss research goals, timeframes and scheduling of an oral defense. Also during this time, if an outside reader is being considered as part of the dissertation committee, the Office of Academic and Student Affairs must give approval to the formal request to be made by the student’s department. For the Request for Approval of Dissertation Reader form, visit http://as.nyu.edu/object/aboutas.pp.forms or contact the Office of Academic and Student Affairs at 212.998.8060. Prior to scheduling the doctoral dissertation defense, three dissertation readers, one whom is the candidate's advisor, must approve the dissertation for defense.
   
   
2. At least 5 months prior to the expected date of graduation (in September, January, and May at each academic year); a candidate is required to register for graduation on Albert. 
   
   
3. After registering for graduation, the candidate can download the forms of the Ph.D. Dissertation Submission Packet. The packet contains the current deadlines and includes the forms required to accompany the submission of the preliminary and final dissertations.
   
   The PhD Submission Packet consists of the following forms:
• Abstract Approval Form (Form 1)
• Doctoral Dissertation Agreement Form, included in Publishing Your Doctoral Dissertation with UMI Dissertation Publishing (Form 3)
• Form #4 is no longer required.
• Survey of Earned Doctorates (Form 5)
• Advisor’s Final Approval Form (Form 6)
  
  
4. GSAS/OASA requires each candidate to submit for review, an electronic copy (click here to submit your dissertation electronically) of the preliminary dissertation and the following required forms: one title page, one abstract, the Abstract Approval Form, Doctoral Dissertation Agreement Form and Survey of Earned Doctorates. The preliminary dissertation submission will be reviewed for adherence to the formatting requirements, not content. (The dissertation advisor oversees content review.) Once the preliminary dissertation is reviewed, the candidate will receive an email notification that details formatting changes that need to be made before final submissions. 
   
   
5. GSAS advises the candidate to take the Advisor’s Final Approval Form, a Title Page (that reflects the month of September, January or May and the graduation year), and the reader sheets to the oral defense. S/he must obtain signatures from the Chair of the dissertation committee and dissertation committee members. The committee members sign the Dissertation Reader sheets; record the result of the oral defense in the spaces provided and returns them to the department administrator. The department administrator will then forward the Dissertation Reader sheets to New York University's Office of the Registrar/Graduation Services. 
   
   
6. If revisions to the dissertation are required by dissertation committee member(s), the Chair will retain the forms until the revisions are made.
   
   
7. After editing the text/format to ensure it is consistent with the comments made during the defense and review of the preliminary dissertation, each candidate must upload a final dissertation, electronically. The Advisor’s Final Approval Form and the signed title page must be submitted to the GSAS, Office of Academic and Student Affairs at 6 Washington Square North, 2nd Floor.
   
   
8. The candidate should contact the NYU Office of the Bursar to confirm that his/her account is not in arrears.
   
   
9. Each candidate should review his/her permanent address on the Albert. Diplomas will be mailed to this address. Incorrect addresses can be updated by visiting the Office of the Registrar.