The Graduate School of Arts & Sciences
The Graduate School of Arts & Sciences

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, most departments are using DocuSign for the forms linked below. You may want to check with your department. The forms required for the submission of theses are also available on the Academic Forms page for reference.

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 members and Director of Graduate Studies.
  3. After the form is fully completed with all signatures, send it to the Academic Affairs team in the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences Dean’s Office at gradstudentservices@georgetown.edu.
  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 your thesis.

Formatting Requirements and Templates

  1. Consult the Requirements for Dissertation, Doctoral Project and Thesis Writers formatting requirements before beginning your thesis.
  2. Download a thesis template to assist with formatting your work. Templates for PCs, Macs as well as a LaTex template appear on Basic Information and Templates for Dissertation, Doctoral Project, and Thesis Writers. The templates are unlocked and can be edited.

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 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 22, 2025 for spring graduation
    • August 18, 2025 for summer graduation
    • December 12, 2025 for fall graduation

Creating a 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.

Uploading and Completion Deadlines

May 2025: The initial deadline to upload your thesis is April 22, 2025. The PDF of your thesis must be accepted by the Graduate School, after completing formatting review, by 6:00pm on May 1, 2025, in order to graduate for May.

August 2025: The deadline to upload your thesis to the ProQuest site is August 18, 2025. All above steps must be completed and your thesis accepted by the Graduate School by 6:00pm on August 15, 2025, in order to graduate for August

December 2025: The deadline to upload your thesis to the ProQuest site is December 12, 2025. All above steps must be completed and your thesis accepted by the Graduate School by close of business on December 19, 2025, in order to graduate for December.