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Thesis and Dissertation Steps

  • Proposal

    Upon submission of your thesis or dissertation proposal, a Thesis or Dissertation Committee Membership Form must be submitted to the Graduate School. All committee forms may be emailed to the Graduate School or mailed/dropped off at our office. The form(s) must have all signatures before submission. 

    • If your committee changes, you must submit a new Committee Membership Form and select that you are changing your committee.
    • If a non-graduate faculty member will be on your thesis or dissertation committee, your department must complete a Request for Non-Graduate Faculty Thesis/Dissertation Committee Member. Before submitting your Committee Membership Form, verify committee member have Graduate Faculty status.
    • If you would like to include an external committee member, you will need to submit the Request for External Thesis/Dissertation Committee Member Form and include a copy of their CV or resume. 

    IRB – Institutional Review Board and IACUC – Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee

    If proposed research for any thesis or dissertation is subject to the federal regulations pertaining to research involving either human or animal subjects, review by the UNF Institutional Review Board (IRB) and/or UNF Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) must be obtained prior to beginning such research. The measures taken to ensure the protection of human and/or animal subjects should be explicitly addressed in the researcher's discussion of methodology when applicable. Your thesis or dissertation director can advise you on whether your project requires IRB or IACUC review.

    Checklist

    • Thesis or Dissertation Committee Membership Form has been completed with all required signatures
    • If applicable, a Request for Non-Graduate Faculty Thesis/Dissertation Committee Member Form and/or a Request for External Thesis/Dissertation Committee Member Form has been completed
    • The form(s) has been submitted to the Graduate School
  • Writing the Thesis or Dissertation

    Different programs have different formatting policies and follow different style manuals. Please contact your thesis or dissertation chair for college requirements.

    Plagiarism

    Plagiarism is defined as “intentionally or knowingly presenting the work of another as one’s own (i.e., without proper acknowledgment of the source). The sole exception to the requirement of acknowledging sources is when the ideas, information, etc., is common knowledge.” - UNF Student Handbook

    Plagiarism is a very serious matter. If a student represents the ideas or words of another person as his own, this is intellectual stealing, and it is punishable by a range of actions, including even dismissal from pursuit of a degree. Students are warned to take pains to avoid all plagiarism, no matter how minor it may seem.

    Editorial Services

    The Graduate School requires that all dissertations and theses be submitted in final formats, ready for library submission and publication. Part of what is required for final submission of dissertations and theses is that documents be free from any errors related to language use. Grammar, spelling, and usage errors must be absent, and clarity must be uniform throughout the document. To aid in meeting this requirement, the Graduate School recommends that a student employ an editor. The Graduate School does not, however, require employing an editor, nor do we require hiring a particular editor. The hiring of an editor is a decision that should be made between the student and the thesis or dissertation director. If the decision is to hire an editor, editorial work should occur prior to the defense of the thesis or dissertation.

    Copyright 

    All theses and dissertations at UNF are published as electronic documents in PDF format and are made available through the UNF Digital Commons. As such, it will be easy for individuals to discover unauthorized use of copyrighted materials, so it is important to proceed carefully when using copyrighted works. 

    Students should think carefully about the materials they plan to use in their thesis or dissertation. Copyrighted items should be presented in a scholarly way by being labeled and thoroughly explained within the text. Also ensure materials used are properly cited within the body of the document and in references.

    In order to obtain copyright permission, students should:

    • Contact the copyright holder (usually the publishing company, not the author) by mail or email and request permission to republish the materials.
    • Indicate that their thesis or dissertation will be published electronically by the University of North Florida in their requests.
    • Add any copyright permission letters (or email permissions) received from copyright holders to the UNF Digital Commons as supplemental documentation. 
    • Complete a Request to Reprint/Reproduce Material Covered by Copyright. Theses and dissertations without evidence of permission to reprint or reproduce materials covered by copyright will not be approved.

    Each writing style has different standards for citing sources. Please review for specific information.

    American Psychological Association (APA)
    Chicago Manual of Style

    Modern Language Association (MLA)

    Checklist

    • The correct style manual followed by the program has been used
    • All work not originating with the student has been properly cited and referenced
    • If applicable, copyright permission has been received and a Request to Reprint/Reproduce Material Covered by Copyright document has been obtained
    • If the student and thesis or dissertation director deem it warranted, the services of a professional editor have been secured
  • Defending the Thesis or Dissertation

    The Graduate School strongly recommends that a student provide at least two weeks of reading time for the members of her/his thesis or dissertation committee. The student should provide each member of their thesis or dissertation committee with a version of the thesis or dissertation fully edited, corrected, and suitable for defense.

    All defenses must be held no later than posted deadline. If you are unable to defend by the posted deadline, please contact the Graduate School immediately to discuss your options.

    All students must have an announcement submitted to Osprey Update by their thesis/dissertation chair or advisor to announce their defense date to faculty, staff, and students. This should be done one to two weeks prior to the defense. The Osprey Update will not be approved unless the event is first added to the UNF Calendar of Events and then submitted by your committee chair or designee.

    The student will also need to provide the thesis or dissertation director with a Certificate of Approval. Only one Certificate of Approval is required.

    Checklist

    • Copies of the thesis or dissertation suitable for defense have been provided to all members of the thesis or dissertation committee
    • The thesis or dissertation defense has been added to the UNF Calendar of Events and announced via Osprey Update
    • The thesis or dissertation defense was held by the posted deadline
    • The Certificate of Approval has been signed by all committee members subsequent to the defense
  • Submitting the Thesis or Dissertation to the Department

    If department Chair approval of a thesis or dissertation is required by the degree program, the student should submit a copy of their thesis or dissertation to review in accordance with the department timeline. This will allow time for (1) the department Chair to read and comment on the thesis or dissertation and (2) the student to make any necessary corrections to the document. The student must upload all final documents to Digital Commons by the posted deadline.

    Checklist

    • The thesis or dissertation with corrections required by the thesis or dissertation committee has been submitted to the department Chair
  • Submitting the Thesis or Dissertation to the College

    If college Dean approval of a thesis or dissertation is required by the degree program, the student should submit a copy of their thesis or dissertation to review in accordance with the department timeline. The student is required to submit a clean, corrected copy of their thesis or dissertation to the college Dean. It is important to allow appropriate time for (1) the college Dean to read and comment on the thesis or dissertation and (2) the student to make any the necessary corrections to the document. The student must upload all final documents to Digital Commons by the posted deadline. 

    Checklist

    • The thesis or dissertation with corrections required by the department Chair has been submitted to the college Dean
  • Submitting the Thesis or Dissertation to the Graduate School and Digital Commons

    The student is required to upload the following items to UNF Digital Commons by the posted deadline. Emailed or hard copies of the following documents will not be accepted. Upon approval by the Dean of the Graduate School, the Graduate School will submit the approved documentation for deposit of your thesis or dissertation in the UNF Library. 

    • One original Certificate of Approval signed by the thesis or dissertation committee members.
    • A completed Thesis/Dissertation Availability Agreement Form
    • The final thesis or dissertation

    License Agreement for UNF Digital Commons

    The UNF Library would like to showcase your work in the UNF Digital Repository with your permission. This digital library makes UNF’s unique resources accessible on a global scale. To load your theses or dissertation into our institutional repository, please download and print the Thesis/Dissertation Availability Agreement Form and upload with your final thesis or dissertation to UNF Digital Commons. 

    Please include a blank Certificate of Approval page in your thesis or dissertation and upload the signed Certificate of Approval page to UNF Digital Commons. 

    The UNF Digital Commons makes the scholarship of UNF easily available in one location online, enabling increased access to colleagues, students and the greater internet community.  Works placed in the repository are more easily discovered in common internet search engines and in other academic search portals. This greater access makes it easier for researchers around the world to discover your work. The UNF Digital Commons is a valuable way to extend the scholarly output of the University of North Florida to include greater reach and increased circulation not only in Florida, but throughout the country and beyond.  This initiative is in line with universities nationwide as we attempt to better serve our far reaching communities. You are welcome to browse through our collection of campus materials on Digital Commons.

    Checklist

    • One original Certificate of Approval has been uploaded to UNF Digital Commons
    • A completed Thesis/Dissertation Availability Agreement Form has been uploaded to UNF Digital Commons
    • The final thesis or dissertation has been uploaded to UNF Digital Commons