Additional Information

Deadlines for this and the following two semesters are found on the Current ETD Deadlines page of the ETD Resource Center.

If you do not meet the Submission deadline, you will be required to submit the ETD and all supporting documents the following semester. This means that you will become a graduate of that following semester and will be required to register for at least 2 credit hours of Thesis (6971) or Dissertation (7980), ETD Registration, and also submit the Online Graduate Degree Graduation Application via OASIS again.

While it is important to meet the necessary deadlines, we do understand that emergencies arise, and we do try to be as accommodating as possible. If you have a specific reason for needing an extension, your Major Professor will need to send an email to Dr. Ruth Bahr requesting an ETD Submission Extension Form.

Once completed and signed, the Major Professor will email the completed form to Dr. Ruth Bahr which she will review and make a decision on a possible extension. We review these on a case-by-case basis, and we do not guarantee that your request will be approved – so be sure to send as early in the semester as possible.

The Final Clearance Deadline is the date by which all revised ETDs must be approved by the Office of Graduate Studies. This is not the last date to submit the revised ETD - the reviewers need time to review and approve before the commencement ceremony.

Yes. Students must be registered for a minimum of 2 credit hours in Thesis (6971) or Dissertation (7980).

If you have already submitted your ETD and received final approval, you are not required to continue to register for thesis/dissertation hours; however, you must be registered for graduate hours through your semester of graduation.

Yes. Even if you have met your requirement in thesis/dissertation hours, you must be registered for a minimum of two (2) thesis/dissertation hours each semester after you begin working on your thesis or dissertation through the final semester in which your ETD has been submitted to and approved by the Office of Graduate Studies.

Please email grad-etdmail@usf.edu with the information if you have already registered for ETD. This must be updated.

The workshops provide critical information regarding the entire ETD process including a review of deadlines and submission requirements, student and faculty responsibilities, basic formatting instructions using Microsoft Word, tips on time management, writing strategies, and a overview of each section of the manuscript. ETD Workshops are offered each semester. The schedule of upcoming ETD Workshops is posted on the ETD Workshops and Help Sessions page.

All thesis master's and doctoral students are required to attend an on-campus ETD Workshop the semester prior to graduation. However, if you are not on campus, you can do the online option - review the Understanding the ETD Process tutorial and the ETD Resource Center website in the semester prior to graduation to fulfill this requirement. Information and instructions regarding both the in-person and online workshops can be found on the ETD Workshops and Help Sessions page.

In order for the student to receive the greatest benefit from the workshops, students are expected to complete the workshop the semester PRIOR TO the semester of graduation.

No, once you attend a workshop or complete the online ETD tutorial you have fulfilled the workshop requirement, however, students should thoroughly review the ETD formatting tutorials and deadlines to assure that modifications have not been added.

Each semester, the Office of Graduate Studies hosts ETD One-on-One Help Sessions to assist students with the preparation of their final manuscript and to answer student questions regarding all aspects of the ETD Submission process. The sessions are staffed by the Office of Graduate Studies editorial team and are designed to provide individualized help to students in a non-stressful atmosphere. Students are assisted on a first-come first-served basis; no appointments are necessary. Students should bring a laptop, thumb drive (there will be a limited number of computers available) and/or printed copies of the manuscript for review as printing will not be available at the Help Session. It is highly recommended that students thoroughly review the contents of the ETD Resource Center; specifically the ETD formatting tutorials, prior to attending an ETD One-on-One Help Session. For a list of upcoming Help Sessions, visit the ETD Workshops and Help Sessions page.

No, however students are expected to work ahead of all deadlines and attend the ETD One-on-One Help Sessions to receive help PRIOR TO the submission deadline. During the Fall and Spring semesters, ETD One-on-One Help Sessions will be held approximately one to two weeks prior to the thesis and dissertation submission deadlines. It is essential that students thoroughly review the entire ETD Resource Center web site, particularly the formatting and submission sections. Students should also consult with their major advisor.

In nearly all cases, the only way for us to assist you in the final two weeks before the deadline is for you to attend a 1-on-1 Help Session, listed here, or students may address questions to the ETD Help Desk during this time. We are inundated with ETDs submitted and meeting outside of those scheduled times is nearly impossible.

Student responsibilities are outlined throughout the ETD Resource Center website, including on deadline calendars and Thesis and Dissertation Checklists. See the website for additional information.

The Office of Graduate Studies has specific format requirements for: margins, fonts, page numbering, line spacing, headings, and the title page. Most of these requirements are based on the guidelines required by ProQuest for archiving the ETD. The ETD website provides comprehensive sections on all of the requirements. Click on the Formatting links on the left menu to get started.

No. The Office of Graduate Studies does not require a format check prior to the Final Submission (in fact, we do not review paper copies of the ETD either). You can attend a Help Session if you'd like us to take a quick look to see if anything is majorly out-of-format. However, all manuscripts must meet the formatting requirements (in both Formatting | General and Formatting | Section-Specific). Check with your college to determine whether they require a format check.

The Office of Graduate Studies offers two ETD Workshops and several ETD One-on-One Help Sessions each semester. These sessions are designed to provide help to students on all aspects of the ETD. In addition, tutorials and checklists for each section of the ETD are provided on the ETD web site in both Formatting | General and Formatting | Section-Specific. Students are expected to work ahead of all deadlines and attend the ETD One-on-One Help Sessions to receive help PRIOR TO submission.

Yes. The ETD Resource Center website contains a variety of LaTeX references including online resources, books, and articles. The complete list may be found here.

You must first complete the electronic registration on the Survey of Earned Doctorates website. You will complete the electronic registration. You will be asked to enter your name, department, graduation month, graduation year, and email address. NOTE: Please use your USF email account. After you have entered your information click Submit. You will receive an email from NORC that will provide you with the URL to take the survey and a PIN number to login.

One of the last pages of the survey is the Email Notification Screen. Once on this screen you will be asked to enter a Primary address and a Secondary address. Please enter your USF email address in the primary address field and enter grad-etdmail@usf.edu in the secondary address field. A completion confirmation email will be sent to both your USF email account and to the Office of Graduate Studies. You must also print the Certificate of Completion page and submit it to the Office of Graduate Studies along with the other required documents.

Yes, the letter may be found on the Office of Graduate Studies website under Forms. The student should contact their department for assistance with the preparation of this letter and to obtain necessary department/college signatures. The Office of Graduate Studies representative will sign the letter only if the following requirements have been met:

• The letter has been signed by the student's Major (and Co-Major if applicable) Professor, the college Dean, and the college Program Director.
• The student has received a Final ETD Approval email from the Office of Graduate Studies.

If the above requirements have been met and you need a signature from the Office of Graduate Studies contact us to make arrangements to have the letter signed by a Office of Graduate Studies representative. Please note that prior arrangements must be made; walk-ins are NOT accepted for this service.

Office of Graduate Studies fees are applied based on the cost of review. Submissions that require extensive editing or repeated review will accrue additional processing costs. Fees will be assessed at the end of the semester and will appear in OASIS as a Graduate Manuscript Processing Fee (GMPF). It is recommended that the student pay the fees as soon as possible once fees are charged to the student account as final transcripts and/or the diploma will not be released until all fees are paid. Note: Fees will be assessed only to students who have completed the entire ETD submission process.

Please see the manuscript fee chart below:

ProQuest Fees

ProQuest fees vary depending on the services selected by the student at the time of submission to ProQuest. Please see the ProQuest site for further information regarding fees and additional costs associated with manuscript submission.

First, contact your advisor and/or committee. Second, visit the Copyright Office located in the USF Library, Tampa campus. The ProQuest website also contains extensive information regarding copyrighting issues.

Before you convert your manuscript to PDF format you must embed the fonts. For more information about embedded fonts including instructions for MAC OS and Word 2003 see embedded fonts.

Instructions for Microsoft Word 2007:

• Click on the Office button (upper left hand corner) and choose Word Options.
• Select Save form the list located on the left hand column and check embed fonts in the file.
• Resave the file.
• The Boston College Library has compiled an excellent tutorial for embedded fonts.

Adobe PDF is the only acceptable file format.

Yes, there are quite a few computer labs on campus. One of the bigger labs, Student Government Computer Services, is located in the Student Center, rooms MSC 1308 and 2308. Students are highly encouraged to purchase a copy of Adobe Acrobat from the USF computer storeor access Acrobat through the USF Software Portal in Oasis. In addition, the ProQuest website contains a PDF conversion portal. PDF conversion through ProQuest is free, but may have some issues.

The student and the faculty must thoroughly review the PDF before it is submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies. Comprehensive checklists and examples for each section of the ETD can be found on the ETD website.

Adobe PDF is the only acceptable file format.

No. The ETD is submitted electronically and the supporting documents can be sent via mail or dropped off to the Office of Graduate Studies on or before the Submission Deadline. Students will receive an email when the ETD has been approved.

The ETD registration and Final Submission is completely electronic and can be completed off-site. Students may email the required supporting documents with original signatures to the ETD Help Desk. All supporting documents must have the appropriate signatures and must be received in the Office of Graduate Studies on or before the Posted Submission Deadline. All documents must be submitted in a single email, or if you decide to send actual mail, they must be in the same packet.

The student may fax or email the signature form to the committee member to obtain the necessary signature. Once the committee member has returned the signed copy to the student, the Major Professor must provide an original signature for verification followed by the Associate Dean or Program Director (CAS and BCS only). All forms must be signed. Please note that the committee names and signatures on the Certificate of Approval form must match those listed on the Title page of the manuscript. Substitute signatures are not acceptable.

The submission requirements for doctoral students are detailed on the Doctoral ETD Process Checklist page.

The submission requirements for thesis-master's students are detailed on the Master's Thesis ETD Process Checklist page.

After submitting to ProQuest, the student will receive a confirmation email. Review of the ETD usually requires 5-7 business days. If the Office of Graduate Studies approves the manuscript, the student will receive a final approval email. However, if the Office of Graduate Studies requires modifications to the submitted ETD, the student will receive an email with a link to the revised PDF with notes on the ProQuest website. The student must make the corrections and resubmit the corrected ETD to ProQuest by the stated Office of Graduate Studies deadlines. The Office of Graduate Studies will then review the corrected ETD. The review may require an additional 5-7 business days. After approval, the student will receive a final approval email.

If the Office of Graduate Studies requires modifications to the submitted ETD, the student will receive an email with a link to the revised PDF with notes on the ProQuest website. The student must make the corrections and resubmit the corrected ETD to ProQuest by the stated Office of Graduate Studies deadlines. The Office of Graduate Studies will then review the corrected ETD. The review may require an additional 5-7 business days. After approval the student will receive a final approval email. The revised ETD must be submitted AND approved by the Office of Graduate Studies BEFORE the Final Clearance Deadline.

You may access the USF ProQuest website through the ETD Resource Center webpage under the heading ETD Registration and Submission Links. In addition, both the Master's ETD Submission Checklist and the Doctoral ETD Submission Checklist contain a link to ProQuest. The checklists may be found on the main page of the ETD Resource Center website under the heading ETD Submission Process- Resources, Requirements and Deadlines.

Once on the ProQuest website, you must create a new account before submitting your PDF. The ProQuest website also contains extensive publishing resources and a PDF conversion portal. PDF conversion through ProQuest is free and the PDF document will meet all submission requirements.

After submitting to ProQuest the student will receive a confirmation email. Review of the ETD usually requires 5-7 business days. If the Office of Graduate Studies approves the manuscript, the student will receive a final approval email. However, if the Office of Graduate Studies requires modifications to the submitted ETD, the student will receive an email with a link to the revised PDF with notes on the ProQuest website. The student must make the corrections and resubmit the corrected ETD to ProQuest by the stated Office of Graduate Studies deadlines. The Office of Graduate Studies will then review the corrected ETD. The review may require an additional 5-7 business days. After approval the student will receive a final approval email.

ProQuest fees vary depending on the services selected by the student at the time of submission. Please see the Understanding the ETD Process and Responsibilities Tutorial for further information regarding fees and additional costs associated with manuscript submission to ProQuest.

You may order a bound copy of your manuscript from ProQuest at the time you complete your final submission. The USF Bookstore also offers this service. In addition, companies such as Lulu or Blurb may also offer this service. Check their websites for additional details.

You do not get notified. So it is important to make a note.