Submitting an Electronic Thesis or Dissertation (ETD)
Before submitting your ETD
The ETD submission system you will use to submit your thesis is the result of a partnership between the Graduate College and the University's digital repository for research and scholarship, the Illinois Digital Environment for Access to Learning and Scholarship (IDEALS). After your thesis has been approved by the Graduate College Thesis Office, it will become available in IDEALS according to the release option you choose during submission.
To begin your ETD submission, your thesis should be formatted according to Graduate College thesis requirements and approved by your department.
- The thesis must be submitted as a single Portable Document File (PDF).
- The file should be named Lastname_Firstname.pdf (e.g., Smith_John.pdf)
- Security settings should not be applied to the PDF file.
- The PDF file should not contain embedded multimedia.
(Note: For a few tips on getting started with the PDF conversion process, please see our ETD FAQs. Please note that the Thesis Office does not assist with the conversion of thesis files to PDF.)
In addition to the PDF file of your thesis, you will need:
- Any supplemental appendix files. (An appendix page with a brief description of the content of the supplemental file must be included in the main PDF file of the thesis. See the Graduate College thesis requirements for further information.)
- A familiarity with the IDEALS deposit agreement.
- A knowledge of your options regarding the release of your ETD into IDEALS.
- Your primary adviser's email address.
- Your departmental thesis reviewer's email address.
- An active NetID or a temporary password. (If your NetID is no longer active, you will be able to create your own temporary password once you begin the submission process.)
Submitting your ETD
To create your ETD submission profile and submit your thesis to the Graduate College Thesis Office for review, click on the link below:
Submit an ETD
After you have submitted your thesis for review, you will receive a series of emails from the Graduate College Thesis Office that will notify you that we have received your ETD and alert you to any required corrections or other steps you will need to take to complete your thesis deposit. You may also check the status of our review of your ETD at any time by returning to your submission profile via the button provided above.
After submitting your ETD
Your thesis deposit is not complete until you have made all corrections requested by the Graduate College Thesis Office and have submitted all additional materials required for the deposit.
Materials required for a master's thesis deposit
- One original, signed Certificate of Committee Approval (CCA)
- (If applicable) One copy of each permission letter to reprint previously copyrighted material
The Thesis Office must receive the hard-copy CCA with original signatures before your deposit can be completed. You may bring this form to the reception desk on the 2nd floor of Coble Hall between 8:30 a.m. and 4:45 p.m.; you may arrange for a proxy to do so on your behalf; or you may send the CCA to the Thesis Office via USPS or other delivery service.
Copies of permission letters (if applicable) may be sent to the Thesis Office via email or fax at 217-333-8019.
Materials required for a doctoral dissertation deposit
- One original, signed Certficate of Committee Approval (CCA)
- One ProQuest/UMI publishing agreement, signed by student
- One abstract, formatted according to ProQuest guidelines (an example is provided in the sample thesis pages)
- One completed Survey of Earned Doctorates
- (If applicable) One copy of each permission letter to reprint previously copyrighted material
The Thesis Office must receive the hard-copy CCA with original signatures before your deposit can be completed. You may bring this form to the reception desk on the 2nd floor of Coble Hall between 8:30 a.m. and 4:45 p.m.; you may arrange for a proxy to do so on your behalf; or you may send the CCA to the Thesis Office via USPS or other delivery service.
All additional materials except the CCA may be sent to the Thesis Office via email or fax at 217-333-8019.