Thesis Handbook
Chapter II: Requirements For
Depositing and Graduating
This chapter provides a detailed outline of the eight steps necessary to deposit a thesis and graduate successfully. Please print out the appropriate checklist in appendix A as you read through this chapter. The checklist will help ensure that you do not overlook a step.
Eight Steps for Thesis Deposit and Degree Conferral:
1. Registration Requirements
The Graduate College does not require students to be registered at the time of deposit. However, all doctoral candidates must be registered for the entire semester or term during which they take the final examination. For this purpose only, "term" is defined as extending through the day prior to the first day of the following term. If enough thesis credits have been accumulated, registration for 0 hours is acceptable. There is one exception to the registration requirement. A student who was registered during summer session need not register for the fall semester if the final examination occurs on or before the final October examination deadline for the doctoral degree students. This date is published at www.grad.uiuc.edu/thesis/deadlines.htm. This exception provides a grace period at the beginning of the fall semester for students who are unable to assemble their dissertation committees over the summer. For example, in Fall 2007, a doctoral student who wants to defend but does not want to register for the fall term must: (a) have been registered for Summer 2007 and (b) successfully defend by September 14, 2007, the deadline for holding the final examination for October 2007 graduation.
The date of degree conferral is determined by the date of deposit. For example, suppose an anthropology student who was registered during Summer 2007 takes the final examination on September 14, 2007 (the defense deadline for an October 2007 degree) and deposits the thesis on November 7, 2007 (after the deposit deadline for an October degree and before the deadline for a December degree). That student does not need to register for the fall semester, and would be eligible for the December 2007 degree list.
2. Application for Graduation
The University of Illinois confers graduate degrees four times each year: August, October, December, and May. Only master’s students are eligible for August graduation. All graduate students must apply for graduation prior to the deadline. Deadlines for each term are posted at www.grad.uiuc.edu/thesis/deadlines.htm. If you apply for graduation and then do not deposit in time to graduate during that term, your name is removed from the Pending Degree List and is not automatically added to the next degree list. You must reapply for graduation.
The Main Menu page of UI-Integrate Self-Service displays three menu options. Students can use one of these, “Graduation Information,” to add themselves to the Pending Degree List for the next degree conferral. This online option is only available for students until the 10th day of classes. After that, students may apply for graduation by submitting an official Application for Degree form to their department office. This form is available online at www.grad.uiuc.edu/forms/Application_for_Degree.pdf or in paper at the Thesis Office.
3. Title Page Check in the Thesis Office
The Thesis Office requires that you format your title page according to the guidelines defined in this handbook. See chapter III and appendix B for more details.
It is essential to ensure that your name, previous degree(s), and degree and department information, printed on your title page, on your Departmental Format Approval form, and on your Certificate of Committee Approval form, correspond exactly with University records. Therefore, it is best to have a title page check early in order to allow time for making any necessary changes. You should ask your department to check to see how your name is written in the Person block of the SPAIDEN form in Banner, before you submit any paperwork for deposit or obtain signatures on any forms. If you need to make corrections or wish to change the way your name appears, consult the Name Change Procedure located at www.grad.uiuc.edu/pubs/contacts/05c.cfm. You may be asked to provide official documentation to the Office of Admissions and Records (OAR) to clarify any discrepancies. You will not be permitted to deposit until your name corresponds with University records and is used consistently in all deposit materials.
4. Departmental Format Review
All students depositing theses or dissertations must follow the Graduate College guidelines for thesis format as defined in this handbook. Some departments, however, have additional format requirements. To ensure that any departmental requirements have been met, a departmental format review must take place before the Graduate College format review.
After your thesis has been approved by your adviser and you believe it is formatted correctly, take a complete copy to the designated thesis reviewer in your department. If you do not know who this is, check with your department or contact the Thesis Office. Many departments have deadlines each semester for the departmental format review. The departmental reviewer will provide you with a signed Departmental Format Approval form (available at www.grad.uiuc.edu/forms/DeptFormAppr.pdf), which you will need to bring to the Graduate College. The Thesis Office will not begin the format review of your thesis without the original of this signed form.
5. Thesis Office Format Review
After finishing the departmental format review and making any required format changes, bring a complete copy of your thesis and your signed Departmental Format Approval form to the Thesis Office. Sign in at the Graduate College reception desk; students are seen in the order of arrival. Thesis Office staff will review your thesis with you and will note any format changes required for deposit. You will receive a list of required changes on a lavender form called the Master’s/Doctoral Thesis Format Review Form. Keep this form: it is necessary for any additional reviews in the Thesis Office and for the final deposit. Failure to provide this form will require a new review by the Thesis Office and could potentially delay your deposit.
6. Deposit
Deposit your thesis at the Thesis Office during regular office hours prior to the deposit deadline. There are no exceptions to deposit deadlines.
Materials Required for Master's Candidates:
- Two single-sided, unbound copies of the thesis on plain white 8 ½” x 11” paper.
- Two accordion pocket folders that hold 8 ½” x 11” paper. Do not use legal-size folders. Each copy of the thesis should be in a pocket folder for protection during storage and shipping to the bindery. Acceptable folders are available in several campus bookstores and local office supply stores.
- Two extra title pages.
- One original Departmental Format Approval form, signed. This form must be typed or laser printed, and your name must be consistent with its appearance on the title page. Find a copy of this form at www.grad.uiuc.edu/forms/DeptFormAppr.pdf.
- One original Certificate of Committee Approval form, signed by department chair and adviser. If there is a committee, signatures of members are optional. This form must be laser printed or typed. Your name and title must be consistent with their appearance on the title page. The use of erasers, correction fluids or correction tapes is not permitted on this form. Electronic or faxed signatures are not accepted. Please note that a UIN field has recently been added to this form—this information must be included. Find a copy of this form at www.grad.uiuc.edu/forms/certificate/CertCommitteeApproval.pdf.
- $20 deposit fee. This fee will be charged to your student account within 3 business days after your thesis has been deposited. The Thesis Office no longer accepts checks.
- Graduate College Survey form (optional). This survey is optional, but it is an important opportunity for graduate students to relay their graduate experience at the University of Illinois to the Graduate College. Find a copy of this form at www.grad.uiuc.edu/forms/ExitSurvey.pdf.
Materials Required for Doctoral Candidates:
- Two single-sided, unbound copies of your thesis on plain white 8 ½" x 11" paper.
- Two accordion pocket folders that hold 8 ½” x 11” paper. Do not use legal-size folders. Each copy of the thesis should be in a pocket folder for protection during storage and shipping to the bindery. Acceptable folders are available in several campus bookstores and local office supply stores.
- Three extra title pages.
- One original Departmental Format Approval form, signed. This form must be typed or laser printed, and your name must be consistent with its appearance on your title page. Find a copy of this form at www.grad.uiuc.edu/forms/DeptFormAppr.pdf.
- One original Certificate of Committee Approval form, signed by the entire committee. This form must be laser printed or typed. Your name and title must be consistent with their appearance on the title page. The use of erasers, correction fluids, or correction tapes is not permitted on this form. The date must indicate the month, date, and year of your final examination. Electronic or faxed signatures are not accepted. Please note that a UIN field has recently been added to this form—this information must be included. Find a copy of this form at www.grad.uiuc.edu/forms/certificate/CertCommitteeApproval.pdf.
- Two copies of any permission letters for use of previously copyrighted material. Students are encourage to make inquiries regarding copyright ownership of their previously published material.
- Completed and signed ProQuest/UMI Publishing Agreement. Every doctoral candidate must complete and sign the ProQuest/UMI Publishing Agreement. This allows ProQuest to archive a microfilm copy of your dissertation. See Chapter IV, Section 1, for more information regarding ProQuest. The Agreement and related material are available at www.grad.uiuc.edu/thesis/ProQuest.htm.
- ProQuest Abstract. An abstract is required for publication in Dissertation Abstracts International (see www.umi.com/products_pq/descriptions/dai.shtml for more information). The abstract should state the problem, describe the methods and procedures used, and give the main results or conclusions of the research. The ProQuest abstract must adhere to the formatting guidelines described in Chapter III, Section 4.
- $90 deposit fee. This fee will be charged to your student account within 3 business days after your thesis has been deposited. The Thesis Office no longer accepts checks. The fee will be increasing for May 2008 graduates.
- Survey of Earned Doctorates. The University of Illinois participates in a long-standing national survey of doctoral students conducted by the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) at the University of Chicago for the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, and other supporting institutions. While all doctoral students are required to complete the survey, students may decline to answer any or all of the questions. Students must indicate refusal with the word “refused” for each question they decline to answer. Even if you decline to answer every question, you must still submit the form. Find a copy of this form at www.grad.uiuc.edu/forms/SurveyOfEarnedDoctorates.pdf.
- Completed Graduate College Exit Survey form. This survey is optional, but it is an important opportunity for graduate students to relay their graduate experience at the University of Illinois to the Graduate College. Find a copy of this form at www.grad.uiuc.edu/forms/ExitSurvey.pdf.
7. Update Your Address Information
Diplomas are mailed to your “Diploma Address” (as it appears in UI-Integrate Self-Service) eight or more weeks after the degree conferral. You must go to the following link to enter or update your “Diploma Address”: https://apps.uillinois.edu/selfservice/ , before leaving campus to ensure delivery of your diploma to the correct location.
8. Post Deposit Considerations
Fellowship Appointments
Students holding fellowships must notify the Graduate College Fellowship Office in advance of thesis deposit, as it may result in a change in the terms of an award, including termination. Please visit the Fellowship Office (209 Coble Hall) during one of your deposit visits or contact them at (217) 333-0036 or gradfellowships@uiuc.edu.
Certification of Degree
Often an employer requires confirmation that a student has completed all degree requirements for graduation. After you have deposited your thesis, you may request a certification of degree letter from the University if you need it for employment or visa purposes. To do this, download the “Request for Certification of Degree Letter,” which can be found at www.grad.uiuc.edu/forms/Cert_of_Deg.pdf. Fill out the form, and the Thesis Office will verify on it that the thesis has been deposited. Then you must take the form to your department for approval that you have met all departmental requirements for graduation.
After your department has confirmed that you have met all degree requirements, the department must send the form to the Office of Admissions and Records (OAR) for processing. Students will not be allowed to deliver the form after the department has verified that requirements have been met. Once OAR receives the request, the letter will be mailed as soon as it can be done, usually within 1 to 2 weeks. If you need it quickly, you may take the form to your department and request they expedite it by immediately completing their part of the form and faxing it to OAR with a note that pick-up is desired and the pick-up box checked. You will be notified by OAR when your letter is ready to be picked up. Letters will not be issued until OAR can confirm that all requirements have been met.
Each term there is a deadline to request the certification of degree letter that corresponds to the date on which degrees will be posted to the transcripts. Students who miss the deadline but cannot wait to receive the diploma in the mail can request a transcript when their degree is posted. To do this, visit www.oar.uiuc.edu/current/transcripts/index.html and follow the instructions. Check the box that says “HOLD FOR DEGREE” in order to receive your transcript as soon as your degree is posted. You must pay for each transcript copy.
Participation in Commencement Ceremonies
Campuswide commencement ceremonies are held each May for all degrees conferred since the previous May. Students are eligible to participate in commencement if they have graduated since last May or will finish their degree requirements this May. If you are planning a May deposit and want to be listed in the campuswide commencement program, you must apply for the degree before the deadline, usually April 1. The exact deadline to apply for the 2008 program will be noted in the graduation materials you receive from the Chancellor’s Office.
If you are a master’s student and have 8 or fewer credit hours remaining and expect to complete your master’s degree requirements in August, you may participate in commencement; however, your name will not appear in the campuswide commencement program. In this situation, check with your department for more details about attending graduation.
Doctoral students must have deposited their dissertations in the Thesis Office by the May deposit deadline in order to participate in the campuswide commencement ceremony, and they must register and obtain tickets in advance. See www.grad.uiuc.edu for details during the spring semester.
Departments and colleges hold separate ceremonies and have separate guidelines for participation. For more information about the campuswide ceremonies and convocations sponsored by colleges, schools, or departments, contact the Commencement Office at (217) 333-8834 or visit the Web at www.uiuc.edu/commencement/.
Binding of Personal Copies
The two copies of your thesis that you deposit in the Thesis Office will become the property of the University of Illinois Library. If you wish to have copies of your thesis bound for yourself, your family, or your adviser, you will need to procure them independently. Three options are:
- Book binderies. At present, the Lincoln Bindery is the only company in central Illinois that does hardcover binding. Contact Lincoln Bindery at, 1601 Coler Avenue, Urbana, IL 61801, (217) 328-2613, info@lincolnbindery.com or visit the Web at www.lincolnbindery.com. You can search for additional binderies in other locations on the Web.
- Copy shop. Local copy shops (e.g. Kinko's, and UpClose Copies) can make softcover copies.
- ProQuest (doctoral students only). ProQuest provides an order form for hardbound copies in its publication Publishing Your Graduate Work with UMI Dissertation Publishing. Please note that ProQuest copies can take as long as 1 year to arrive. The ProQuest order form is available at www.grad.uiuc.edu/forms/diss_pub/1-07dpa-4.pdf.
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