Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

NEW Changes as of Spring Quarter 2017 (effective April 10, 2017)

  • In order to help contain Drexel graduate students’ cost of education, students will not be charged for the binding of the archival copy of a thesis or dissertation. The Libraries will no longer be handling any financial transactions with students related to the submission of theses and dissertations.
  • The Libraries will facilitate the binding of only the one archival copy of each thesis or dissertation submitted. To purchase personal bound copies or department/advisor copies, please see the third party binding services listed below in the FAQ.
  • The archival copy of the thesis may be submitted on either 100% cotton paper (as before) or on 25% cotton paper that is acid free and lignin free, see FAQ listed below.
  • Master’s as well as doctoral students are required to submit an electronic copy, which will be made available via the ProQuest Dissertations & Theses database as well as iDEA, Drexel’s digital repository.
  • The Graduate College Completion Form includes an option to request an embargo holding a thesis or dissertation from public online access for a period of time (6 months, 1 year, or 2 years) with approval signature from the thesis advisor.

Submission Instructions

Submission instructions for theses and dissertations vary depending on the graduate program. Please click the link below that best describes your situation:

Submitting to W. W. Hagerty Library or Hahnemann Library

  • Hours: Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m. - 4:45 p.m. [Other times may be arranged by appointment]
  • Bring the items listed in the above link to the Library Assistance Desk for directions.

Additional information:

  • The format of any thesis or dissertation is reviewed by one’s advisor and must follow the standards found in the  pdf icon  Thesis Manual.
  • Download this Drexel University logo to use in your thesis or dissertation.
  • The Graduate College has required forms and other useful information.
  • Remember to apply for your degree online via Drexel One at the beginning of the term in which you plan to earn your degree. (The dates and timelines are post by Drexel Central each year.)
  • The Writing Center offers in-person as well as online appointments, workshops, and other helpful resources.
  • Helpful information about copyright is available from the U.S. Copyright Office.
  • To see the answers to other questions you may have, check out our FAQ listed below.

Frequently Asked Questions

| All theses and dissertations |

Frequently Asked Questions about submitting or binding theses and dissertations.

Is your question not answered below? Contact us at: libthesis@drexel.edu.

All theses and dissertations

Q: Who checks the format of my dissertation/thesis?
A: Your advisor is responsible for checking both content and formatting of your thesis/dissertation; their signature on the Thesis Approval Form indicates their approval.

Q: Why do I need special paper?
A: For the archival copy of your thesis, which will be stored in the University Archives for future researchers, we require paper that is acid free and lignin free. This paper will deteriorate more slowly than regular paper and help preserve your thesis for others to use. 100% cotton paper and some 25% cotton paper meets this standard.

Q: Where can I buy 100% cotton paper or acid-free and lignin-free 25% paper?
A: Photocopy shops, office supply stores, and campus bookstores carry 100% cotton paper and may carry acid-free, lignin-free 25% paper. If you're having a copy shop reproduce your thesis, just tell them what you need. On University City campus, the campus bookstore in MacAlister Hall carries 100% cotton paper. “Permalife” paper, which is sold by many archival supply companies such as Hollinger Metal Edge, University Products, and Gaylord, also meets the standard. Here are some examples of products that are acceptable:

Q: Where can I get my thesis/dissertation printed?
A: The Libraries does not provide printing services. You may get your thesis/dissertation printed at any copy shop.

Q: Where can I get personal copies bound?
A: The Libraries does not offer binding services for personal or advisor/department copies. You may order additional copies via the following services:

Q: What is ORCID?
A: Open Researcher and Contributor ID (ORCID) is an initiative to disambiguate authors of scholarly works through unique, persistent identifiers. It is optional for you to add your ORCID iD when you submit your dissertation to ProQuest. For more information about ORCID see http://libguides.library.drexel.edu/orcid.

Q: Why do I need to submit an electronic copy of my thesis or dissertation to ProQuest and iDEA?
A: Drexel wishes to make its research available to the international scholarly community as widely as possible. The Faculty Senate approved this requirement in 2002. The Libraries maintains an open access institutional repository, iDEA, where Drexel scholarship, including our dissertations, is made available to the international scholarly community.

Q: I plan to patent my research or go into business with it. How do I delay release of my dissertation via iDEA and ProQuest?
A: As noted above, Drexel wishes to make its research available to the international scholarly community as widely as possible. If there are reasons not to make your research made freely available on the Internet immediately, you may, with your advisor’s permission, delay the release of your thesis or dissertation for 6 months, 1 year, or 2 years. To do this, please obtain your advisor signature approving an embargo on the Graduate College Completion Form before submitting your thesis. For additional information, see ProQuest’s guide on delayed release (PDF) or contact the University Archivist.

At the end of the embargo period, your thesis or dissertation will become publicly accessible on iDEA unless you request an extension of the embargo by emailing archives@drexel.edu. To extend an embargo on the ProQuest database, contact ProQuest at disspub@proquest.com.

Q: What kinds of file formats can I link to from the electronic copy of my dissertation (PDF)? Are there any other specifications?

  • Only the following formats will be accepted for linked files: .gif, .jpeg, .png, .tif (for images); .mov, .avi, .mpg (for video); .midi, .snd, .wav (for audio); .html, .doc, and .docx are also acceptable.
  • No compression or password protection should be employed.
  • You may include internal or external hyperlinks.
  • If you are linking to a specific file (as opposed to a website), you must include that file(s) along with your dissertation on your electronic submission.
  • The appearance of your dissertation or thesis online is your responsibility. Be sure to examine the PDF version of your thesis or dissertation and check it for completeness and fidelity to the print version.

Q: Is my work covered by copyright?
A: You retain copyright of your work regardless of whether or not you register copyright with ProQuest. You may register copyright directly with the Library of Congress.  Drexel University does have the right to reproduce and publicly distribute copies of your thesis for limited and noncommercial purposes, per the Drexel University copyright policy. For more information, please see ProQuest's guide to copyright and your dissertation/thesis (PDF).

Q: Can my dissertation be found in Google Books?
A: Graduate works published through ProQuest are indexed and searched by Google, Google Scholar, and Google Books. Searches will retrieve basic metadata for each dissertation or thesis (title, author, abstract, keywords, etc), and provide links to ProQuest for purchase or access. Searches will also retrieve a preview of the graduate work's full text in Google Books. For more information see Third party discovery and access of your dissertation or thesis. You may opt out of this additional dissemination stream when you submit your dissertation online via ProQuest.

Contacts for Thesis and Dissertation Binding

Phone: 215.895.6788 or 215.895.6845
Email: libthesis@drexel.edu
https://www.library.drexel.edu/thesis-and-dissertation
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