Guidelines for Dissertation Format and Submission

Completing your Degree  Policies & Forms 

Completed dissertations are deposited into the College's open access repository. The entire dissertation, including text, images, and appendices, must be freely and openly available to the public. Students may request a delay of access, or "embargo", of up to two years.

Dissertation Format

Dissertations should be written in the normative style of their discipline, and additional protocols for citation and style may be established by the Dissertation Supervisor. All dissertations must also adhere to established formatting guidelines in order to be accepted for deposit. These guidelines, set by the Graduate Council of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, may be accessed via the GSAS Student Resources Moodle site. 

Please note that all dissertations must include an abstract of no more than 350 words, be accompanied by a brief student bio, or "vita", and be saved as a PDF using the following naming convention: MonthYear_LastName,FirstName_Department.

Pre-defense Submission of the Dissertation

Once the Dissertation Supervisor(s) determine(s) that the dissertation is ready to defend, the student should submit their dissertation and a vita (in a separate file) to the GSAS Office via the Pre-defense Dissertation Submission form. The form asks students to provide a downloadable OneDrive sharing link for each of the files. The GSAS Office will then distribute the files to the student's full Dissertation Committee, along with instructions for conducting and certifying the defense. In the case that a committee member prefers a paper copy of the dissertation, it is the student's responsibility to provide it.

On the same day that the student submits the Pre-defense Dissertation Submission form, their Dissertation Supervisor should email the GSAS Office (gsas@brynmawr.edu) a PDF file of a confidential recommendation letter for the dissertation, addressed to the other committee members. The letter should include brief critical comments and a recommendation for acceptance of the dissertation. This letter will be circulated with the dissertation to the student's full Dissertation Committee.

Timing: Students may complete their degrees in either the fall or spring semester. There is no summer graduation. The GSAS Academic Calendar lists the deadline for submitting each semester. GSAS rules also stipulate that the dissertation must be submitted no later than 6 weeks before the proposed date of the defense (for GGACHA students), or 3 weeks before the proposed date of the defense (for GGSM students). Departmental administrators coordinate scheduling for the Dissertation Defense, also called the Final Oral Examination, in consultation with the student and all committee members. Scheduling may take place before or after the Pre-Defense form has been submitted, but all faculty and staff involved should keep in mind the 3- or 6-week rule.

Initial Formatting Review: Camilla Mackay, Director of Library Research, Instruction, and Patron Services and Scholarly Communications Librarian, will receive a copy of the dissertation when the Pre-defense form is submitted, and will provide initial formatting and general editing guidance to each student in preparation for their deposit. They will automatically receive a copy of the dissertation when the Pre-defense form is submitted. The student should use this opportunity to ask Camilla any questions they have about copyright, embargo, accessibility, using images, etc.

Finalizing the Dissertation

Following a successful Dissertation Defense, the student should revise their dissertation to 

a) be free of mechanical errors; 

b) incorporate all recommendations for revision made by the Dissertation Committee; and 

c) adhere to all formatting guidelines, incorporating recommendations made by Camilla and/or GSAS Office staff.

Once revisions are complete, the student should submit a Certification of Final Version of Dissertation form, signed by the student and their Dissertation Director, to the GSAS office. Note: the checklist attached to the form no longer needs to be signed and submitted, though it is still a useful reference document.

Additional Administrative Tasks for the Deposit

In advance of the dissertation deposit, the student must submit the following surveys:

1. The Survey of Earned Doctorates, an annual census of new doctorate recipients sponsored by the Department of Education and other federal agencies. The student should notify the GSAS Office once they have completed the Survey of Earned Doctorates.
2. The GSAS Post-doctoral Employment Survey. This survey collects information on graduating students' employment plans. The GSAS Office automatically receives confirmation that the student has completed the survey.

The Dissertation Deposit

Bryn Mawr uses ProQuest's ETD Administrator to collect and approve dissertations for deposit. To begin the deposit process, the student should create a free online account with ProQuest. The student should upload the final version of their dissertation to ETD Administrator at least three days before the deposit deadline. At this time, the student will also upload any documents related to copyright and will indicate if they wish to embargo publication of the dissertation. The three-day lead time is needed to allow time for review and potential revisions, but if the student needs more time due to exceptional circumstances, they should request an exception from gsas@brynmawr.edu.

Both surveys and all tasks listed above must be completed before the dissertation may be approved. Students are encouraged to use this checklist to track completion of their tasks.

If there are no formatting or glaring mechanical errors in the final version of the dissertation, the GSAS Programs Manager will approve the dissertation for deposit. The student will receive an email from ETD Administrator notifying them that their dissertation has been accepted.

If there are formatting or significant mechanical errors in the final version of the dissertation, the Programs Manager will return the dissertation for revisions. The student will receive an email from ETD Administrator notifying them that revisions are needed, with additional instructions for resubmitting. The student should email gsas@brynmawr.edu with any questions related to the requested revisions.

Once the dissertation has been approved for deposit, the student has completed all requirements for the Ph.D.