Submission of Thesis

All master’s students who are required or have chosen to write a thesis must follow the steps outlined below. As of April 2020, many departments are using DocuSign for the forms linked below. You may want to check with your department. Additionally, please note that the forms required for the submission of theses are also available on the Academic Forms page.

Thesis Proposal Form

1. File a Thesis Proposal using the Thesis, Doctoral Project or Dissertation Proposal Form (MS Word).
2. If your research involves human subjects, obtain approval from the Institutional Review Board (IRB) before beginning the process outlined on this page. Information is available in Section IV.B.2 Research on Human Subjects of the Graduate Bulletin. Consult the IRB website for additional information and forms. If required, ensure that your IRB approval number is included on the Thesis Proposal Form. This form must be signed and approved by your advisor, committee and Director of Graduate Studies.
3. After the form is fully completed with all signatures, submit it to the Academic Affairs team in the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences Dean’s Office.
4. Once your proposal has been approved by your advisor, committee and Director of Graduate Studies, you may proceed with writing your thesis.
5. Some programs require master’s students to defend their theses, while others do not. Follow your program’s policies and procedures for defending and/or submitting your thesis.

Formatting Requirements & Templates

1. Consult the Guidelines for Dissertation, Doctoral Project and Thesis Writers formatting requirements before beginning your thesis.
2. Download the thesis template to assist with formatting your work. The templates are unlocked and can be edited. We recommend using Mozilla Firefox, Safari or Google Chrome browsers to download.

• Windows PC

• Download the combined Master’s Thesis / Doctoral Project / Doctoral Dissertation Template for Windows

Note for LaTeX Users: These LaTeX template materials are provided for the use of those who are already proficient in the use of LaTeX. Neither the Graduate School nor the faculty who helped develop this template are able to provide support or training in the use of this specialty software.

Pre-Defense Forms

1. If your program includes a defense, check with your administrative contact on whether you should submit a Master’s Thesis Reviewers Report (PDF) signed by your committee and advisor to gradstudentservices@georgetown.edu.
2. Follow your program’s policies and procedures for defending your dissertation.

Post-Defense Forms

1. After you have defended and/or submitted your thesis and it has been accepted by your committee, submit the Cover Sheet (MS Word) (PDF) with all the appropriate signatures to the Academic Affairs team in the Graduate School Dean’s Office at gradstudentservices@georgetown.edu.
2. Send a completed Electronic Thesis and Dissertation (ETD) Release Form (MS Word) (PDF) to gradstudentservices@georgetown.edu.
3. Create a profile on the ProQuest site and upload the PDF of your thesis, so that the Graduate School can begin formatting review. The deadlines for this initial upload are:

• April 19, 2023 for spring graduation
• August 15, 2022 for summer graduation
• December 9, 2022 for fall graduation

ProQuest Profile

1. Setting up the ProQuest profile and submission requires a number of decisions. The Library has information about uploading Dissertations, Doctoral Projects, and Theses into ProQuest. You can also check the Resources & Guidelines section of the ProQuest website for instructions on using the site. Additional information on copyright, publishing options and other topics is available on Lauinger Library’s Scholarly Communication webpage.
2. You will receive an email from etdadministrator@proquest.com detailing the required formatting edits: there will likely be more than one round of edits. Complete the edits and upload the new version of the PDF to ProQuest. The best approach to streamlining the review process is to read the formatting requirements and modify your document accordingly before uploading it.
3. These edits must be completed and the thesis accepted by the Graduate School by the following dates for each graduation month. If it is not accepted, your thesis will not be approved and you will not be eligible to graduate in that month.

Deadlines

Deadline dates for each graduation term:

• May 2023: The initial deadline to upload your thesis is April 19, 2023. Though we make every effort, we cannot guarantee that PDFs uploaded to the ProQuest site after April 28 will be reviewed and accepted in time for May graduation. The PDF of your thesis must be accepted by the Graduate School by close of business on May 1, 2023.
• August 2023: The deadline to upload your thesis to the ProQuest site is August 14, 2023. PDFs uploaded after this date cannot be guaranteed to be reviewed and accepted in time for August graduation. All above steps must be completed and your thesis accepted by the Graduate School by close of business on August 18, 2023.
• December 2023: The deadline to upload your thesis to the ProQuest site is December 11, 2023. PDFs uploaded after this date cannot be guaranteed to be reviewed and accepted in time for December graduation. All above steps must be completed and your thesis accepted by the Graduate School by close of business on December 15, 2023.