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 Life (OASL) 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 the Vice Dean 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.html or contact the Office of the Vice Dean at 212.998.8030. 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 via NYU TorchTone at 212.995.4747. 

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 consist of the following forms:

• Abstract Approval Form (Form 1)
• Library/ Microfilm Agreement (Form 2)
• Doctoral Dissertation Agreement Form, included in Publishing Your Doctoral Dissertation with UMI Dissertation Publishing (Form 3)
• GSAS Exit Survey (Form 4)
• Survey of Earned Doctorates (Form 5)
• Advisor's Final Approval Form (Form 6)

4. GSAS/OASL 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, Library/Microfilm Agreement Form, Doctoral Dissertation Agreement Form, GSAS Exit Survey 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, typically done with a Receipt for Doctoral Dissertation form.  

5. GSAS advises the candidate to take the Advisor's Final Approval Fom, a Title Page, 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 signs on Dissertation Reader sheets, records the results of the oral defense in the space provided and returns them to the department administrator. The department administrator will then forward the sheet 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, copy of the signed title page and the dissertation-filing fee (check or money order) made payable to New York University must be submitted to the GSAS, Office of Academic and Student Life. 

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 Student Information System (SIS). Diplomas will be mailed to this address. Incorrect addresses can be updated by visiting the Office of the Registrar.

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