Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETD) Requirement

Winfred M. Phillips, Vice President for Research and Dean of the Graduate School

The Graduate Council voted at its October 19, 2000 meeting to require all graduate students seeking thesis degrees admitted for Fall 2001 and thereafter to submit theses and dissertations in electronic form following procedures specified by the Graduate School. Exceptions will be considered on a case-by-case basis when submitted in writing by the department to the Graduate School. Exceptions will be considered when the student is off-campus during the semester the thesis is to be considered.

UF is a national leader in the development of electronic theses and dissertations (ETD). Since the Graduate Council formally authorized the ETD option in December 1998, about 100 theses and dissertations have been submitted electronically. Among the benefits of ETDs are greater accessibility to scholarship, opportunities to include multi-media, and cost/space savings for libraries. Access issues are addressed by a three-tiered system allowing students options to post to the World Wide Web, to the university only, or totally restrict access for a certain period of time for patent and other publication purposes. The Graduate School is working with the Office of Instructional Resources and the Smathers Libraries to provide editorial, technical and archival support for the ETD program.

For additional information regarding ETDs, contact Helen Martin in the Graduate School Editorial Office at 392-1282 or hmartin@ufl.edu.