phd thesis submission qub

Theses: Embargoes and making your thesis open

• Queen's e-thesis
• Embargoes and making your thesis open
• Copyright: seeking permission
• Training & support
• Getting published
• Finding theses

Applying an embargo to your thesis

What is an embargo?

A mechanism whereby access to, or visibility of, the full text is hidden or delayed for a set period.

This is usually for a very defined period of time (i.e. 1-5 years) which can be determined by a range of circumstances e.g. publication plans, funder requirements etc. You should also speak to your supervisor about your publication plans, this will help clarify if you require an embargo or not. 

We have also made a video guide entitled When to consider an embargo of your thesis held in this LibGude.   The list of eligible reasons for an embargo is also contained on the Thesis Deposit Form.

There could be certain circumstances in which a bespoke embargo could be required, in instance like this please contact Rebecca Clarke, Open Research Librarian  to discuss your options.

When you DO need to consider an embargo on your thesis

Circumstances when you do not need an embargo on your thesis, reasons for an embargo to the thesis.

If the purpose of conducting research is to share it and make it available as soon as possible, why would anyone choose an embargo? 

One of the primary reasons why people decide to opt for an embargo is because they are preparing the work for publication. And they do not want their work to appear until it has been presented in a formal publication or publications. This could be in the form of a research article or articles, or indeed am entire book (sometimes called a monograph). So, people often choose to embargo the thesis while they are preparing the material for publication.

Find listed below some of the reasons why people embargo their thesis:

• Publication - the thesis is embargoed while you attempt to get your work published. 
• Commercial reasons – the thesis has potential to be commercial and that is why you are embargoing. 
• Confidential – the thesis contains confidential information – secrets of a business, process or maybe some legal and the embargo is needed because of the confidentiality of the content. 
• Copyright – maybe your thesis contains excessive amounts of third party copyright  and this is why an embargo is required.

How to apply for an embargo?

If you want to embargo your e-thesis you must indicate this on the  Thesis Deposit Form .

Please upload the  Thesis Deposit Form  to  Pure  with your e-thesis record. Both are required as part of your submission process.

The E-thesis Team will cross check the embargo in Pure with the embargo information provided in the  Thesis Deposit Form . 

If you wish to discuss your embargo options, please contact Rebecca Clarke, Open Research Librarian  

The Open Research Librarian for E-theses can help

Common questions about embargoed thesis content.

• Why is uploading my thesis the best thing for my visibility, and the visibility of my research?
• Can the thesis text be seen if it is embargoed?
• What does an embargoed e-thesis look like?
• What are the most common embargo lengths?

So, as a result of making your thesis open access, it will eventually be visible on Queen’s Research Portal and other platforms. I include an example of a thesis from 2019 that is open access here on Queen’s Research Portal. There is no embargo. 

On the right-hand side is the EThOs thesis record . EThOS is the UK’s national thesis service which aims to maximise the visibility and availability of the UK’s doctoral research theses.  

EThOS , which is run by the British Library, harvest our content and EThOS is the place to go to look for PGR theses. 

So, by uploading to Pure, it is visible on Queen’s Research Portal - on the left-hand side, as well as be discovered via EThOS and various search engines, including Google. This is the best news for you raising your visibility 

This is how an embargoed thesis will look on Queen's Research Portal - this is where we PGR thesis content is publicly made available. One the left hand-side there is an image of an open thesis. There is a paperclip symbol visible, which means it is open access – it is similar to the green padlock symbol which means open access now– so it is NOT embargoed.

On the right-hand side, the same thesis is embargoed. The embargo may be identifiable by the fact that there is no full-text content attached to the thesis. There is no paperclip symbol, which indicates the presence of full text now. No full text has been attached to the e-thesis record or is visible publicly. This indicates that there is an embargo on the thesis.

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• Last Updated: Feb 28, 2024 4:30 PM
• URL: https://libguides.qub.ac.uk/ethesis

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How do I find a Queen's thesis?

Answered By: Borrower Services McClay Library Last Updated: Aug 08, 2023     Views: 1040

If you're looking for a thesis by a Queen's student, you can search for it using the Library Catalogue.

Queen's theses are kept in the McClay Library store, and can be requested using either the Request buttons in the catalogue or the printed forms which are available from the McClay Enquiry Desks and Borrower Services Desks. Theses may not be borrowed.

To find a thesis, go to the Library homepage and use the Library Catalogue box to search for the thesis title, or type keywords to find all theses whose titles mention those words. Click  Submit .

Catalogue results will be displayed. To limit these to theses only, choose the  Queen's Thesis  format limit to the left of the results.

Alternatively, you can use  Advanced Search in Classic  Catalogue  and limit your search to Material Type: Queen's Thesis.

Please note: it can take several weeks after submission for a Queen's thesis to appear on the Library Catalogue.

For more information on finding theses, particularly those by students at other universities, click the link below to visit our Theses LibGuide.

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Academic Registry and Council Secretariat

Thesis submission and the viva,  please email  [email protected] to ask us a question., thesis submission .

To submit your thesis for examination you  must submit an electronic copy of the thesis to the Research Degrees Office in the approved format (a digital (PDF) file) by email to   [email protected] . The email submitting the thesis must be received in the RDO by 23:59 hours on the thesis submission deadline.

The thesis may be submitted by email to  [email protected]  or you may use the QMUL File Exchange Service at  https://collect.qmul.ac.uk/   (please email the link to  [email protected] ). If the File Exchange Service is used an email must be sent to  [email protected]  including the collect weblink on or before your thesis submission deadline. 

Please note: the QMUL File Exchange Service is scheduled to be closed on 31 st May 2024. We are working on an alternative system.

Please complete the PGR Thesis Submission Form (RD02) [DOC 39KB] and attach this to your email to RDO.

The two bound copies of the thesis are NOT required. The thesis must be submitted as a single combined document, preferably PDF. Appendices must not be submitted as separate documents. If you have any questions or need to submit additional material with your thesis, e.g. digital material, please contact   [email protected]   so that we can advise.

The date of thesis submission recorded on MySIS is the date on which the electronic copy of the thesis is submitted to RDO.

Thesis submission deadline

How to submit your thesis, embargo your thesis, presentation of the thesis, acknowledging support, examination outcomes.

The thesis submission deadline is determined by programme length and whether a student is studying full-time or part-time. Please see the table below for general guidance.

Students who have changed their mode of study from full-time to part-time (and vice versa), interrupted their studies, or have been granted an extension to their period of registration will have a different thesis submission deadline to the guide above.

A student’s thesis submission deadline is published in the  MySIS  Research Student Data view on the student’s home page. The submission deadline date is shown in the “Thesis” section.

Please contact the  Research Degrees Office (RDO) to confirm the thesis submission deadline. 

The formal entry for examination is the submission of the thesis to the Research Degrees Office before the thesis submission deadline. 

You must also submit a completed PGR Thesis Submission Form (RD02) [DOC 39KB] with the electronic copy of your thesis. The electronic copy of the thesis can be submitted by email to   [email protected] , or you can also use the QM 'Collect' file transfer service  for files up to 2GB. Please ensure that the maximum time limit for download is chosen.  

The date of thesis submission is recorded on MySIS by the Research Degrees Office. 

Once the Research Degrees Programmes and Examinations Board has approved your examiners (please see our page on the   nomination of examiners   for more information about this process), the Research Degrees Office will formally invite your examiners to act. 

Once the examiners have accepted the formal invitation, RDO will send the thesis to them electronically.

Your thesis will NOT be sent until BOTH examiners have accepted the formal invitation.

The two bound copies of the thesis will NOT be required . The thesis must be submitted as a single combined document, preferably PDF. Appendices must not be submitted as separate documents. If you have any questions or need to submit additional material with your thesis, e.g. digital material, please contact    [email protected]   

If you do not wish your thesis to be available online, you will be able to indicate it on the online form, when you submit the final version of the thesis to the library (post-viva).

The thesis must be presented in the format set out in the notes on PGR Presentation of Thesis Notes Apr 23 [PDF 122KB] . Bound copies of the thesis are not required unless the examiners request a paper copy. Please see the above guidance about thesis submission.

QMUL policy on editorial assistance for research degree theses

Please note that only a pdf of the thesis is required

Word limits.

The thesis must not exceed the following word limits:

• PhD – 100,000 words
• MPhil – 60,000 words
• MD(Res) – 50,000 words

For the degrees of DrPS, DPsych and DClinDent the minimum length of the thesis shall be no less than 25,000 words. [The bibliography is excluded from the word count; footnotes are included within the word count; appendices are excluded from the word count and should only include material which the examiners are not required to read in order to examine the thesis but to which they may refer if they wish.]

Your supervisor is responsible for arranging the viva and keeping you and the Research Degrees Office informed of these arrangements. If you have any queries about the viva, please speak to your supervisor in the first instance.

Research degrees oral examinations may be held remotely with all participants attending online or face to face on a Queen Mary campus in line with health and safety and travel guidance in place on the day of the viva. All participants must agree the format of the viva.  One examiner can attend remotely if the student and other examiner can attend in person together.  The student’s supervisor is responsible for organising the viva and will contact the examiners to liaise with them about these arrangements. This is subject to change according to Government guidelines. PGR Exam Guidance Notes August 2023 [DOC 67KB]

You must not contact the examiners yourself. You or your supervisor must not send the thesis to the examiners.  Your examination may be declared invalid if you do.  Please ensure that you or your supervisor(s) make it clear if your thesis needs to be printed and a hardcopy is to be dispatched to the examiner.  

Students who have received financial support from external funding bodies such as Research Councils should acknowledge this according to the format stipulated by their funding body. Research Councils require the following to be included on the appropriate page:

This work was supported by the [NAME of funding body] [grant NUMBER, if applicable]

Multiple grant numbers should be separated by a comma and a space. Where the research was supported by more than one agency, the different agencies should be separated by a semi-colon, with "and" before the final funder. 

For example:

This work was supported by the [NAME of funding body] [grant NUMBERS e.g.1234, 11223344]; the [NAME of funding body] [grant NUMBER, 12345]; and the [NAME of funding body] [grant NUMBER 000]

After the viva, your examiners will inform the Research Degrees Office of the outcome. They are required to do this within two weeks of the viva. They may inform you of the outcome of the examination at the end of the viva, but are not required to do so. There are eight possible outcomes:

• Pass subject to minor amendments to be completed and checked by one or both examiners within six months;
• Pass subject to major amendments to be completed and checked by both examiners within nine months.
• Not pass, but the candidate is allowed to revise the thesis and resubmit it within 18 months (for the PhD and MD(Res) degrees) or 12 months (for the MPhil degree);
• Not pass, but the candidate is allowed to take a written paper or practical examination;
• Not pass, but the candidate is allowed to submit to a second oral examination on the same thesis and by the same examiners within 18 months;
• [If entered for a PhD] Fail PhD but the candidate is deemed to have met the requirements for an MPhil (with or without minor amendments) or should be allowed to resubmit a revised thesis for the MPhil degree within 12 months;
• Fail outright: no re-entry permitted.

The Research Degrees Office will write to you to formally notify you of the outcome of the examination and advise you of the post-viva procedure. The RDO will send you a copy of the examination outcome form, a copy of the examiners’ report on the examination, and a list of amendments required by the examiners, unless you have passed outright or have already been provided with a list of amendments. You are responsible for submitting the revised thesis to the examiner(s) responsible for checking your amendments by the date stipulated on the examination outcome form. Please ensure that you keep your personal details up-to-date in  MySIS  to ensure that you receive this correspondence.

The outcome will need to be ratified by the Research Degrees Progression and Examinations Board which is held once a month. 

PhD thesis submission

WUR Library supports you in disseminating your PhD thesis. Your thesis will be archived in the WUR PhD theses database. The Library also ensures that your PhD thesis is distributed to a range of search engines and that it is available in Narcis.

When submitting your thesis, you need to do the following three things:

1. Register for a DOI

• The title pages of your thesis must list a DOI (Digital Object Identifier). This number makes it easy to find and to reference your thesis. On this website you can find further information on how to request a DOI . For any other questions please contact the Doctorate secretariat of the PhD services .
• Once you have submitted your thesis to the Library, the Library will finalise the formal registration of the DOI. The DOI can then be used to access your thesis. Your thesis will also be available under My Publications on your MyLibrary page.

2. Submit your thesis

2.a submitting paper copies, at least two weeks before your public defense, you must submit 15 paper copies (including one copy for the library) of your phd thesis to the  doctoral service centre in atlas..

Visiting address: Atlas, building no. 104, room no. D001. Droevendaalsesteeg 4, 6708 PB Wageningen.

2.b Submitting a digital copy

In addition, you must submit one digital copy of your thesis to wur library. the digital copy must be in pdf format. the digital copy must include your thesis, your propositions and your thesis’ front and back covers, in one pdf file. password protection should be disabled. please also check the correct publication name in the pdf properties., together with the digital copy, you need to send a summary (text file) of your phd thesis with a maximum length of 999 words (approx.3 pages in word). we will add the summary to the description of your thesis. you can submit the thesis (pdf) and the summary (text file) in one of the following ways:, via email attachments to [email protected], use surf filesender , to send the files to [email protected] (recommended), 3. request an embargo period - if needed.

Most scientific journals use plagiarism-detection software on new submissions. If your PhD thesis is publicly available through WUR Library, this software will flag your thesis as potentially plagiarised. Most journal publishers do allow you to publish part(s) of your thesis as articles, even when the thesis is publicly available. Make sure you mention in your cover letter to the journal that your manuscript is part of a publicly defended PhD thesis.

If you expect problems with journal plagiarism checks, the Library can put an embargo period on your PhD thesis. During the embargo period, the full text of your thesis will not be visible online and will not appear in plagiarism-detection software. The embargo will last for 1 year. One month before the embargo period expires, we'll email you or your supervisor to ask if you want to extend the embargo period. If you do not extend the embargo, or if you or your supervisor do not reply to the email within a month, the embargo will be lifted and your PhD thesis will become publicly available through the Wageningen University & Research PhD theses database. You can send a request for an embargo period to [email protected] .

To ensure that we can reach you during this process, please send us the following two email addresses: your private email address, especially if you will no longer be affiliated with WUR in the future, and the email address of a permanent WUR staff member associated with your PhD research, e.g., your supervisor. You can send these to [email protected] . 

Have you thought of publishing your data?

You may also wish to publish your thesis data. This is not required by Wageningen University & Research, but it  is required by some funders and journals. The Library can help you with publishing your datasets so that you can refer to the data in your thesis. More information on this webpage .

Should you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact us at [email protected] . 

• 2. Thesis submission
• Information and services
• Higher Degree by Research

If you have submitted your thesis for examination via UQ eSpace please read this document for information on how your examination will progress.

• iThenticate similarity report
• UQRDM upload
• COVID Impact Statement
• After your thesis is submitted

1. Overview

Uploading your thesis for examination is a 2-step process:

• iThenticate Similarity Report: Generate and share your iThenticate similarity report with your principal advisor.
• UQRDM Upload : Upload files separately: Thesis + Abstract + iThenticate report + COVID impact statement (DOCX, 28.7 KB) (if applicable). Note: name your files based on the content type (thesis, abstract, etc.).

Should you require assistance, please contact the Graduate School .

You can find instructions on how to track the examination via the HTE request on our systems training hub guide . 

If you feel you are not ready to submit, read our Thesis Submission Date and Scholarship Extension information.

• 1. Thesis preparation
• 3. Thesis examination
• 4. Award of degree
• Thesis submission date and scholarship extension

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