Guidelines for Submission of Master’s Theses to the Library
FOR GRADUATING M.A. & M.S. STUDENTS
Directions, requirements, and restrictions that pertain to the department in which master’s degree level research is carried forward are available in that department. As departmental requirements may exceed those of the Library, the candidate must consult with his or her thesis committee before preparing the thesis manuscript. If HREB approval is required for master’s thesis research, it is the responsibility of the student and their faculty adviser to ensure that it is completed before the thesis is submitted to the library.
Note: In the case of multiple authors collaborating on a single thesis, each author must submit the full text of the thesis along with their own SOAR Thesis Release Form.
I. FORMAT REQUIREMENTS
- Documents
- 1) The thesis should be submitted as a single PDF, including the title and thesis approval pages.
2) The SOAR Thesis Release Form is to be signed, scanned, and submitted as a separate PDF. - Margins:
- Standard 1-inch margins on all sides.
- Typeface:
- Times new roman, calibri, or arial; double-spaced, with a 12-point font.
- Accessibility:
- Please save your Word Document as a PDF, selecting any option that includes “online” publishing (it’s fine to use the option to optimize for print and online, which may be of higher quality).
- Signature / Title page:
- Please type the names of your committee members on the page traditionally known as the “signature page” but which we will refer to as the committee approval page as it will not contain any actual signatures (committee signatures will be reserved for the SOAR release form). Please see these sample title and committee approval pages.
- Arrangement:
- Pagination must be correct (each page numbered). The main text is preceded by the title page and thesis approval page. Theses must be approved and the SOAR Thesis Release Form signed by committee members before the library will accept them.
II. PROCEDURES FOR DEPOSIT OF THESES WITH THE LIBRARY
- Your thesis and SOAR Thesis Release Form should be emailed to the following address:
- The Library Collection Management Team must notify the Records and Registration Office that the approved thesis and signed SOAR Release Form have been received before the degree will be granted.
- Students have the right to opt-out from submitting their work to SOAR.
- If you would like to opt-out from submitting your thesis to SOAR, please complete and submit this SOAR Opt Out Form when you email your thesis submission.
- For more information, or for other assistance with thesis submission, please contact Interim Collection Development Librarian Valerie Mittenberg.
Note: if you are interested in purchasing a bound copy of your thesis, Acme Bookbinding in Hatfield, Pennsylvania provides this service for a fee.
FOR GRADUATING M.F.A. STUDENTS
I. FORMAT REQUIREMENTS
- MFA SOAR Release Form (this must be digitally signed, or printed, signed, scanned, and submitted by email as a separate document when you submit your thesis)
- One single PDF document, which shall include:
- Cover page
- Complete text of your thesis (please use a standard typeface like Times New Roman, Arial, or Calibri)
- Accompanying images
- Any other elements (artists’ statement, resume) as desired or prescribed by your program
- Please save your PDF directly from your Word file, selecting an option that optimizes for “online” publishing (it’s fine to select an option that optimizes for both print and online publishing, and this may produce a higher image quality).
II. PROCEDURES FOR DEPOSIT OF MFA THESES IN SOAR
- Your thesis and MFA SOAR Release Form should be emailed to the following address:
- The Library Collection Management Team must notify the Records and Registration Office that the approved thesis and signed MFA SOAR Release Form have been received before the degree will be granted.
- Students have the right to opt-out from submitting their work to SOAR.
- If you would like to opt-out from submitting your thesis to SOAR, please complete and submit this SOAR Opt Out Form when you email your thesis submission.
- For more information, or for other assistance with thesis submission, please contact Interim Collection Development Librarian Valerie Mittenberg.
For MFA students graduating in Fall 2024, theses and SOAR thesis release forms must be submitted to the library by 3pm on Monday, December 23rd. If you are having trouble getting your Release Form signed digitally, here is a helpful how-to on signing forms digitally with Adobe Reader (PC) or Preview (Mac). You can also print the form, sign it, and then rescan it using a free scanner app on your phone if you do not own a scanner (CamScanner works well for this). It’s ok if it looks a bit messy – as long as we can read it we’re all set! If you’re still running into problems gathering your signatures, don’t hesitate to reach out to Madeline Veitch.