The Graduate School
Frequently Asked Questions
- What do you mean, electronic format?
- Are students being required to stop producing dissertations, theses, or reports in paper?
- What is being changed in the requirement?
- Can an individual faculty member refuse to review an electronic Dissertation?
- Does this mean that my committee has to read my dissertation on their computers?
- Where can I get my files converted to .pdf?
- Do I still need to worry about margins in my electronic dissertation, thesis, or report?
- Can I use .html files in my electronic dissertation, thesis, or report?
- Can I use audio or movie files in my dissertation, thesis, or report?
- How should I handle graphics?
- Can I put links inside my dissertation, thesis, or report?
- How do I submit my electronic files to the Office of Graduate Studies?
- Is there anything I still need to submit on paper?
- What are my options for publication of a dissertation?
- Will all this affect how I write my dissertation, thesis, or report?
- My dissertation is in LaTeX. Where do I get help?
- So, how do I get started?
- Where do I go for more information?
- What else do I need to know?
1. What do you mean, electronic format?
This simply means that the dissertation, thesis, or report is submitted as an electronic file (or group of files) instead of hardcopy. If you write your dissertation, thesis, or report on a computer using a word processing application, you are producing a digital (electronic) document. Students have been doing this for quite some time. For a more detailed answer, see http://www.utexas.edu/ogs/etd/etd.html
2. Are students being required to stop producing dissertations, theses or reports in paper?
The new requirement is that all dissertations be submitted as electronic files starting May 2001 (summer semester 2001). Doctoral students publish their dissertation to meet the requirements of the Office of Graduate Studies. Master's students have the option of submitting either paper or electronic versions of theses and reports to the Office of Graduate Studies.
3. What is being changed in the requirement?
Since the early 1990s, students have submitted a printout of electronic text files to the Office of Graduate Studies; the printout was treated as the dissertation. The new requirement states that you must publish an electronic version of the same dissertation for archival purposes. The requirement removes the necessity of creating a printout of the electronic files that constitute the dissertation; instead, you will publish the electronic files only, once they have been converted to an acceptable format. For most text-based dissertations, this format will be PDF, created in Adobe Acrobat (see http://www.utexas.edu/ogs/etd/formats.html for a list of acceptable formats).
Master's students choosing the electronic option for their thesis or dissertation may turn in an electronic version instead of a paper version to the Office of Graduate Studies.
4. Can an individual faculty member refuse to review an electronic dissertation?
An individual faculty member can refuse to serve on a committee for whatever reason s/he believes is an adequate one. It is the student's responsibility to communicate to his or her committee the structure of the dissertation. If an individual faculty member does not wish to review an electronic dissertation, and cannot reasonably judge the dissertation in printed form, that faculty member probably should not be on the committee.
5. Does this mean that my committee members have to read my dissertation on their computers?
No; it is acceptable for students to provide committee members with printouts of parts of the dissertation (and even the final version) and still publish an electronic version to meet graduation requirements of the Office of Graduate Studies. It is the student's responsibility to see that all copies (electronic or printed) are equivalent.
6. Where can I get my files converted to PDF?
Go to http://www.utexas.edu/ogs/etd/pdf/
7. Do I still need to worry about margins in my electronic dissertation?
Margin requirements will remain for PDF text files sent to UMI. Margins are useful in case someone wants to download your dissertation, print it out, and bind it. Refer to the dissertation format guidelines (.pdf) or master's thesis/report format guidelines (.pdf) for information on margins.
Please note: To access .pdf documents, you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed.
8. Can I use .html files in my electronic dissertation, thesis or report?
Yes. You could, in essence, create your dissertation as a "web site," with links to audio, video, or text (PDF or other .html) pages. Sometimes the nature of the document may require different formatting. However, UMI only accepts PDF files for upload if you are publishing a dissertation. If you are considering using a format other than PDF you should consult with a degree evaluator in the Office of Graduate Studies before preparing your documents.
9. Can I use audio or movie files in my electronic dissertation, thesis or report?
Yes. See http://www.utexas.edu/ogs/etd/formats.html for a list of acceptable file formats.
10. How should I handle graphics?
You can import graphics files into your word processing
application prior to creating the final PDF version. Generally, we
have found that .gif files translate to PDF better than do .jpg (JPEG)
files. For more info on when to use .gif versus .jpg, go to
http://www.faqs.org/faqs/jpeg-faq/part1/preamble.html.
11. Can I put links inside my dissertation, thesis or report?
Yes; however, links should be to other parts of the dissertation. That is, they should not link to objects in the "outside world" that might change between your submitting the dissertation and someone's viewing it. We want to make sure that someone viewing your dissertation a year or more from now can still access all of it. If you wish an exception to this, or need further clarification, please contact Graduate Studies prior to publishing.
12. How do I submit my electronic files to the Office of Graduate Studies?
Beginning summer 2004, all doctoral students (except those using an alternative publisher) will upload their dissertations electronically using the UMI/Proquest web site at http://dissertations.umi.com/utexas/. Doctoral students should check the Graduate Studies forms page to print the "Graduation Guidelines and Deadlines for Doctoral Candidates" and the "Checklist for Final Submission of Dissertation or Treatise" for the semester they plan to graduate.
Master's students will submit their electronic copy to the Office of Graduate Studies. Master's students should check the Graduate Studies forms page to print the "Graduation Guidelines and Deadlines for Master's Candidates" for the semester they plan to graduate.
13. Is there anything I still need to submit on paper?
There are some supporting documents that will need to be submitted on paper. See the Graduate Studies forms page.
14. What are my options for publication of a dissertation?
Go to http://www.utexas.edu/ogs/etd/submit.html.
15. Will this affect how I write my dissertation, thesis, or report?
Quite possibly, but not necessarily. The traditional linear text dissertation can be produced as a PDF file. However, if you are preparing a dissertation, you should note that UMI provides electronically the first 24 pages of the dissertation free to anyone via its web site. It might be fruitful to rethink how you organize these pages, as they are, in effect, a free advertisement to potential readers. If you are considering organizing the dissertation as a set of .html pages, this allows for a less linear experience of the dissertation for the reader. The author needs to take this into consideration during the organization process. How do you want the reader to proceed through the dissertation and its ideas? As always, you should work closely with your adviser on these issues.
16. My dissertation is in LaTeX. Where do I get help?
UT graduates and graduate students developed some pages containing LaTeX resources. Go to http://www.utexas.edu/ogs/etd/LaTeX/ or http://www.cs.utexas.edu/users/jbednar/latex/.
Check with your dissertation adviser and decide how you want to organize your dissertation. You will need to decide to what extent you want to take advantage of digital capabilities in your dissertation. Then go to http://www.utexas.edu/ogs/etd/.
18. Where do I go for more information?
Browse the ETD web site at http://www.utexas.edu/ogs/etd/. You can also view a comprehensive (and large at 5mb) PDF file produced by Virginia Tech that may answer general technical questions. It is located at http://etd.vt.edu/howto/pdfguide.html.
Questions about electronic dissertations, theses, or reports can be directed to the degree evaluators in the Office of Graduate Studies.
19. What else do I need to know?
Start early in deciding how you want to format your dissertation, thesis, or report. If you want to write a text-based document, you are required to produce a copy in PDF format and publish it. If you want to incorporate .html pages and/or audio/video files, you need to have a plan at the outset for doing so. If you are using unusual fonts, make sure they are in the public domain or you will have to purchase a license to use them in your digital files. Work closely with your adviser and committee. The burden of gathering, formatting, and producing multi-media files for your electronic document (and securing permission for any copyrighted software used) lies completely with you.