Dissertation Policies

All dissertations must follow the instructions provided in the University-Wide Requirements for the Ph.D. Dissertation.

-The University of Chicago Student Manual, Dissertation Requirements

Doctoral dissertations are original contributions to scholarship. As a condition for receipt of the doctorate, all students are required to execute a publication agreement with ProQuest, granting ProQuest non-exclusive rights to reproduce, distribute, and sell their dissertations. If a dissertation includes copyrighted material beyond fair use, the author must obtain permission from the holder of the copyright.

-The University of Chicago Student Manual, Dissertation Requirements

The public sharing of original dissertation research is a principle to which the University is deeply committed, and dissertations should be made available to the scholarly community at the University of Chicago and elsewhere in a timely manner. If dissertation authors are concerned that making their research publicly available might endanger research subjects or themselves, jeopardize a pending patent, complicate publication of a revised dissertation, or otherwise be unadvisable, they may, in consultation with faculty in their field (and as appropriate, research collaborators), restrict access to their dissertation for a limited period of time according to the guidelines outlined by the Dissertation Office. If a dissertation author needs to renew an embargo at the end of its term or initiate an embargo after graduation, the author must contact the Dissertation Office with the embargo request. Embargo renewals may be approved only in rare instances, and in general no more than one renewal will be allowed.

-The University of Chicago Student Manual, Dissertation Requirements

Students with questions about continuous registration requirements, time limits on registration eligibility, dissertation deposit timelines, and the impact of leaves of absence on registration time limits should consult with their area dean of students.

-The University of Chicago Student Manual, Registration for Students in Ph.D. Programs

The Office of the University Registrar certifies the graduation of all candidates for all degrees.

Students who expect to receive a degree at the end of a quarter must file a degree application by the end of the first week of the quarter in which they wish to graduate. A degree application is valid only for the quarter for which it is made.

-The Office of the University Registrar, Graduation and Application to Graduate