Final Submissions

The final version of your dissertation is due no later than 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 24. You should also complete the Survey of Earned Doctorates (SED). After you complete the SED, a certificate of completion will be emailed to you and to the Dissertation Office. Please complete the SED before you submit your dissertation.

Submitting Your Dissertation

Before you submit your dissertation, your dissertation defense must occur. Next, you must complete all changes recommended by the dissertation committee. Then you should proofread and copy edit your dissertation. You must complete all changes before you ask your department for approval. Ask your graduate program administrator how much advance notice is required for the departmental review.

Departments must review and approve your dissertation before you submit your final version. After your dissertation is in its final form and it has been approved by your department, you may submit your dissertation. You must upload a completed copy of the Departmental Approval Form, signed by the chair of your department or dean of your school, before Dissertation Office staff will process your dissertation submission.

  • Go to Knowledge@UChicago
  • Click on Submit
  • Choose Dissertation.
  • Log in with your CNetID, and then complete the form.
  • You will be asked for the following information.

Dissertation Submission Guidelines

Creator Information

Author & University/institution name*

  • Enter your name in Last name, First name order.
  • In the University/institution field enter “University of Chicago”
  • If you have an ORCID ID, enter it in the Identifier subfield in the form of a URL, i.e., beginning with https://orcid.org/… Choose ORCID in the Identifier Type drop-down menu.

Division*

  • Select the Division(s) and/or School(s) from which you will receive your degree.

Department

  • Select the academic department and/or academic committee within the Division(s) from which you will receive your degree.
  • This field is required if you selected a Division in the field above.
  • Do not enter a program within a School.

Center or Institute

  • You do not need to complete this field for a dissertation.

Advisor*

  • Enter advisor names in the natural order (Firstname M. I. Lastname). Any variation of the prefix “Doctor” or “Professor” should not be used in this field.

Committee Members

  • Do not repeat advisor names in this field.
  • Enter names of committee members in the natural order (Firstname M. I. Lastname). Any variation of the prefix “Doctor” or “Professor” should not be used in this field.

Item Information

Title*

  • Enter dissertation titles in title case, e.g. "Title Case." This means you must use both upper and lower case. Title case is used in the convocation program and is also known as headline style. See The Chicago Manual of Style for examples.
  • Use HTML tags as needed for formatting.
    • The tags for italics are: <i>...</i>
    • The tags for subscript are: <sub>...</sub>
    • The tags for superscript are: <sup>...</sup>

Abstract*

  • Your abstract should be approximately 300-500 words long.
  • Use HTML tags as needed for formatting.
    • The tags for separate paragraphs are <p>...</p>
  • For theses and dissertations with math equations or symbols, MathJax rendering is activated for Knowledge@UChicago. If there are two dollar signs ($) in the abstract, the text between them will be rendered as a single MathJax entity and look different than the rest of the abstract. To prevent this issue, remove the dollar signs and add “dollar(s)” in the abstract as appropriate, e.g., change “the price was $56 overseas two years ago but $108 in the country” to “the price was 56 dollars overseas two years ago but 108 dollars in the country.”

Date*

  • Enter your degree date as yyyy-mm. For this academic year, you will enter either 2024-08, 2024-12, 2025-03, or 2025-06.

Keywords

  • This field is required.
  • Each keyword should have its own entry. Do not enter a list of keywords as one entry even when they are separated by semicolons. Enter at least two (2) keywords and a maximum of six (6).

Related Resources

  • You do not need to complete this field for a dissertation. Students might use this field to attach a website or video created specifically for their submission. The drop down “Submission is supplemented by” should be selected for any related resource entered in this field.

Language

  • Leave the default value as is unless the dissertation is written in a language other than English.

Degree Type*

  • Choose J.S.D. or Ph.D. from the drop-down menu.

Notes

  • You do not need to complete this field. Notes entered here will be viewable on Knowledge@UChicago.

Resource Acknowledgements

Funding Information

  • This section is optional as not all students receive funding for their dissertation research.
  • Funder abbreviations should be spelled out. For example, NIH is National Institutes of Health, NSF is National Science Foundation.
  • Funder Identifier entered as a URL. For example, UChicago's ROR ID is https://ror.org/024mw5h28. This section is only necessary when the funder is UChicago.
  • Funder Identifier Type. For example, ROR if ROR entered above.
  • Fund Number is the number assigned to the fund awarded. May be the same as the Fund Identifier.
  • Fund Identifier is the unique identifier assigned to the fund awarded.
  • Fund Title is the name of the fund. For example, the Pulitzer Prize.

Other Resources

  • Dissertation authors do not need to complete this field.

License Information

Creative Commons (CC) License

  • This field is optional. You should be well-informed about the different Creative Commons Licenses before choosing one. Review information about CC licenses to better understand license types.

Copyright Statement (required)

  • This should be entered in the following format:
    © [year] [firstname lastname], i.e. © 2024 James Bond.

I Grant the Distribution License*

  • “I agree” must be selected in order to submit to the repository.

Identifiers

Generate new DOI*

  • Check this box to generate a persistent identifier for your dissertation.

Other identifiers

  • Dissertation authors do not complete this field.

Notes

Administrative notes

  • For internal use only. Dissertation authors do not complete this field.

File Uploads

Dissertation PDF (required)

  • Upload the dissertation file first and describe it as "Dissertation" in its description field. Attach the file in PDF format and choose either Public or Embargo Date under Access. If you choose Embargo Date you may enter any date before 2026-08-17, which is two years from the date of your graduation. More information about Embargo Procedures is available from the Dissertation Office.

Supplementary Files

  • If a dissertation has a supplementary file, upload the supplementary file using the descriptor “Supporting information” in the description field.

Departmental Approval Form (required)

  • Each dissertation needs an approval form, signifying that the dissertation has been approved for upload. Upload a copy of the completed Departmental Approval Form, signed by the department chair or dean of the professional school. Joint or dual degrees require signatures from both programs. The Access level for this type of file will be “Restricted to Admin Use” and the Description “Approval Form.”

Permission for Content Use (required if permissions needed)

  • If your dissertation includes material protected by copyright, and your use exceeds fair use, then you must obtain permission from the copyright holder. Documentation permitting re-use of the content must be attached to the record. These types of files can be "Restricted to Admin Use," described as “Permissions,” and be zipped into one file.

Manage File Metadata

Uploaded files will appear in this section.

Submit Your Submission

You may Save rather than Submit if you would like to continue your submission later.

Wait to Hear from the Dissertation Office

Check your email on a daily basis. We will let you know if you must revise formatting or upload additional files. We may have other questions. Please respond promptly so we can continue processing your dissertation. You are responsible for making any changes the Dissertation Office requires.

When we approve your dissertation submission, we will notify you. After this notification, your dissertation will appear in Knowledge@UChicago.

Dissertations for ProQuest

Please contact Colleen Mullarkey in the Dissertation Office if you would like your dissertation to appear in ProQuest Dissertations and Theses in addition to Knowledge@UChicago.

Print Copies of Dissertations

You may order a physical copy of your dissertation when you create a submission to ProQuest, and there are many alternatives. For example: