STEPS IN SUBMITTING AN ETD
(Please print a copy of this document for future reference. You will need it!) Printer Friendly Version

An Electronic Thesis or Dissertation (ETD) is similar to a bound thesis/dissertation. However, instead of printing a hard copy on a laser printer, the thesis/dissertation is printed to a Portable Document Format file (.pdf) and saved for electronic submission to the Graduate School. Submitting the ".pdf" version is done electronically through the on-line ETD Submission Process. ETDs are suitable for machine archives and can be viewed on the World Wide Web (WWW).

The following are the steps required for submitting your dissertation electronically.

Step 1: Become familiar with the UNC Charlotte "Manual of Basic Requirements for Theses and Dissertations." It is strongly suggested that you print a copy of this manual for ready reference. The "Manual" is available on-line at http://www.uncc.edu/gradmiss/gs_forms.html.

Step 2: All doctoral students interested in submitting a dissertation electronically are required to attend an ETD Workshop. For more information consult the ETD Workshop Web Page.

Step 3: Write your dissertation under the direction of your advisor and committee.

Step 4: In the semester prior to that in which you intend to submit your dissertation for graduation, submit your "Application for Degree" form along with the $57 graduation fee. Also, submit your "Application for Admission to Candidacy" form. The application deadline can be found in the "UNC Charlotte Academic Calendar" at: http://www.registrar.uncc.edu/calendar.htm.

Step 5: When you have completed the final draft of your dissertation, prepare the draft for an initial review by the Graduate School. Convert the final draft of your dissertation to ".pdf" format and save it. The conversion process requires the use of Adobe Acrobat. (See the section on this Web site entitled "ETD Preparation" to find more information about Adobe Acrobat and the conversion process.)

After converting your file to the ".pdf" format, be sure to check it for the following:

• Did you name the main file in the proper format? (lastname-first initial of firstname-year-degree.pdf—e.g., doe-j-2007-phd.pdf).

• Is the ETD file name in lower case letters?

• Check that the ETD has the proper pagination format: title/signature page (no page number), copyright page, abstract page and other preliminary pages (lower case Roman numeral); main body (Arabic page numbers, beginning with 1 and numbered consecutively to the end, including any appendices - note: the first page of each chapter is counted but not numbered).

• Are all margins, spacing, page number locations, etc.as required by the Manual of Basic Requirements for Theses and Dissertations?

• Does the Table of Contents match the actual text in the main body, and do the page numbers match?

• Are all internal and external multimedia objects and files linked and ready for submission?

• Have you checked for missing pages, poor font translation, and other anomalies?

• Have you made Bookmarks for ease of navigation in your ETD? You can only do this with Adobe Acrobat.

Make corrections to the ETD, if needed, and re-save the corrected version under the same file name.

Step 6: Submit your draft electronically following the instructions provided on-line:

• Access the University of North Carolina at Charlotte Dissertation Submission Site (http://dissertations.umi.com/uncc/) .

• You will be required to fill out several screens of information. (Note: When you are asked to insert a copy of your abstract into the form, do not include the title and your name with the abstract).

• After filling in the required information, you will up-load the ".pdf" copy of your dissertation.

• You will be notified by e-mail that your ETD has been successfully uploaded.

• After the review of the draft by the Graduate School, you will receive an email indicating any formatting corrections that are necessary before you resubmit the final version of your ETD.

Step 7: Schedule the defense of your dissertation well in advance of the final due date for the submission of the dissertation to the Graduate School. You need to be sure and leave adequate time to make any modifications required by your advisor and/or the committee. The deadline for receipt of the final dissertation in the Graduate School (equivalent to the final date for uploading the ETD to the Submission Web site) can be found in the "UNC Charlotte Academic Calendar" at: http://www.registrar.uncc.edu/calendar.htm.

Step 8: Defend your dissertation before your committee.

Step 9: Make any content changes to your dissertation as recommended by your committee. Also, make any formatting changes to your dissertation as recommended by the Graduate School.

Step 10: After passing your oral defense and making any changes to your dissertation, have your committee members sign: (1) the Title/Signature page of the dissertation and (2) the UNC Charlotte ETD Signature Form (click ETD-SignatureForm.pdf to view and print this form). Deliver an original hard copy of both of these signed forms to the Graduate School. These signed forms must be received in the Graduate School before you will be cleared for graduation.

Step 11: Complete the "Survey of Earned Doctorates" form which is available from the Graduate School.

Step 12: Send or deliver a check to the Graduate School for UMI microfilming ($55) and, if desired, Copyright Registration (additional $65). Thus, the check should be made out for either $55 or $120. The check should be made payable to "UNC Charlotte."

Step 13: Convert the final version of the dissertation to ".pdf" format. At this point you can scan and save your signed Title/Signature page into the final ".pdf" file or you can use the original title page with typed committee member names in your file. Once the scanned signature page is inserted in the ".pdf" file, submit it electronically to the UNC Charlotte Dissertation Submission Site.

Step 14: Work with the Graduate School as needed until your dissertation is accepted. If anything about your ETD needs to be changed before it can be approved, the Graduate School will send you a notice, which is a brief message describing the steps you need to take to complete your ETD. Notices are delivered as email messages to whatever author email address you entered for your ETD. Notices may also be sent to your committee chair if there are problems reaching you.

Upon approval of your ETD by the Graduate School, you will be notified by e-mail that it has been approved.

Step 15: Enjoy your new life! Upon your graduation, your electronic dissertation will be made accessible via the World Wide We b.