June 4, 2018

In April, the Drexel University Libraries, the Graduate College and the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and Professional Studies (GSBSPS) implemented an electronic-only submission process for all graduate theses and dissertations.

Effective April 7, 2018, students no longer submit a print archival copy of their graduate thesis or dissertation and the accompanying Thesis Approval Form. Instead, all theses and dissertations must be submitted online. Complete submission instructions are available online. 

This new process is in effect for those graduate students completing their degrees by June 29, 2018 and for graduates of the Graduate School of Biomedical Science who completed their degrees by May 4, 2018.

Key changes to the submission process are outlined below:

• In addition to the thesis/dissertation, the completed Thesis Approval Form must also be submitted electronically by the graduate student to the ProQuest database. Students must add the form as the first page of the electronic thesis/dissertation.
  
  
• Graduate students must submit proof of submission to the Graduate College via a print copy of the ProQuest ETD Admin submission verification notice. This replaces the Libraries’ signature on the Completion Form that used to be obtained when the graduate student submitted the print archival copy of the thesis/dissertation and Thesis Approval Form to the Libraries.
  
  
• Graduate student advisors who would like a delay in public access to a thesis/dissertation must email their request for an embargo to the University Archivist at archives@drexel.edu. This request, which replaces the embargo request section on the Completion Form, applies only to public access via iDEA (Drexel’s digital repository). As before, an embargo in ProQuest’s online database must be requested separately, by the student, as part of the online submission process. Embargos in both iDEA and the ProQuest database may be requested for six months, one year or two years.
  
  
• The Libraries will ensure the management and preservation of the digital versions of theses and dissertations and the accompanying Approval Forms as the “archival copy” of the University records.

For more information about Drexel’s new thesis and dissertation submission policies, visit us online or contact your graduate advisor or the Drexel Libraries at libthesis@drexel.edu