Submission deadlines and checklists:
January 2020 graduation - Doctoral Dissertation Submission Checklist
Preliminary dissertation deadline: December 6, 2019
Final dissertation deadline: January 17, 2020
May 2020 graduation - Doctoral Dissertation Submission Checklist
Preliminary dissertation upload (Proquest) deadline: March 20, 2020
Preliminary dissertation paperwork (submit by email) deadline: April 17, 2020
Final dissertation deadline: May 8, 2020
September 2020 graduation - Doctoral Dissertation Submission Checklist
Preliminary dissertation deadline: August 7, 2020
Final dissertation deadline: September 11, 2020
Note: GSAS submission deadlines are earlier than University Graduation Deadlines.
Dissertation Formatting Requirements and Guides:
- Doctoral Dissertation Formatting Requirements
- A Formatting Guide for Successful Completion of the Doctoral Dissertation
- Proquest's Author Guide: Preparing Your Manuscript for Submission
- Sample PhD Dissertation Template
Dissertation Submission In Nine Steps:
The following guide presents the necessary steps involved in a doctoral candidate's dissertation submission as required by the Graduate School of Arts and Science. All candidates should check with their dissertation advisor and department administrator regarding additional departmental requirements.
A visual presentation can be found here that contains the following guide.
- The candidate must meet with his or her dissertation advisor to discuss research goals, timeframes, and scheduling of an oral defense. If an outside reader is being considered as part of the dissertation committee, the candidate's department must complete and sign the Outside Dissertation Reader Approval Form to include in the candidate's graduation file. Prior to scheduling the doctoral dissertation defense, three dissertation readers, one who is the candidate's advisor, must approve the dissertation for defense.
- The candidate is required to register for graduation on Albert at least 3 months prior to the expected date of graduation
Preliminary Dissertation Filing Steps - The candidate must submit the Preliminary Dissertation Paperwork to the GSAS Office of Academic and Student Affairs by the preliminary dissertation deadline.
- The Preliminary Submission Paperwork consists of the following:
- One copy of the Title Page (unsigned)
- Abstract Approval Form (original signature is required)
- One copy of the abstract (Must include the title, author and advisor’s names in the header.)
- Dissertation Publishing Agreement via the Proquest site when you submit your preliminary dissertation
- Survey of Earned Doctorates, submit the completion certificate
- A candidate must upload his or her dissertation to Proquest by the preliminary dissertation submission deadline. 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 submission
Final Dissertation Filing Steps - The candidate is advised to take the Advisor Approval Form, the Title Page (reflecting the month and year of graduation: September, January or May), doctoral thesis oral defense form and the reader sheets to the oral defense. The candidate 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
Office of the Registrar. If revisions to the dissertation are required by dissertation committee member(s), the Chair will retain the forms until the revisions are made. - After editing the text and format to ensure it is consistent with the comments made during the defense and review of the preliminary dissertation, the candidate must upload a final dissertation to Proquest by the final dissertation deadline, using the link provided after the preliminary dissertation review.
- The candidate must submit the Advisor Approval Form and the signed Title Page to the GSAS Office of Academic and Student Affairs by the final dissertation deadline.
Last Steps - The candidate should contact the Office of the Bursar to confirm that his/her account is not in arrears.
- The candidate should review his/her permanent address on Albert. Diplomas will be mailed to this address.
Note: Completion of these steps, does not guarantee
Additional Resources:
Contact Us:
The Office of Academic and Student Affairs is located at 6 Washington Square North, 2nd Floor. Questions regarding the dissertation submission procedure should be directed to Academic Affairs at gsas.academicaffairs@nyu.edu or by phone at 212-998-8060.