Guidelines for Dissertation Format and Submission

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Dissertations will be deposited into the College’s open access repository, and the entire dissertation (including text, images, and appendices) must be freely and openly available to the public, subject to a requested delay of access (“embargo”) of up to two years.

Dissertation Format

Dissertations should be written in the normative style of their discipline, and additional protocols for citation and style may be established by the director of the dissertation. Dissertations must include an abstract of no more than 350 words and be accompanied by a vita. Dissertations must follow the GSAS dissertation formatting requirements, available through the GSAS Student Resource Moodle site. Please use the following naming convention for the PDF file of your dissertation: MonthYear_LastName,FirstName_Department.

Pre-defense Submission of the Dissertation

After the Dissertation Director approves the submission of the dissertation to the Ph.D. Supervising Committee, the Ph.D. candidate should submit the dissertation and a separate vita to the members of the Ph.D. Supervising Committee and the GSAS office by completing the online Pre-defense Dissertation Submission Form that requires downloadable OneDrive sharing links for the PDF files of the dissertation and vita. The deadlines for submitting dissertations for May and December degrees are listed on the GSAS Academic Calendar. The Ph.D. candidate should provide a paper copy of the dissertation and vita for any member of the Supervising Committee who prefers a physical copy. When the pre-defense Dissertation Submission Form is submitted, the submitted dissertation link will be automatically sent to the LITS staff member, who oversees dissertation formatting, for preliminary format review.

By the day of dissertation submission, the Dissertation Director should email the other members of the Ph.D. Supervising Committee and the GSAS office a PDF file of a confidential recommendation letter addressed to the committee members. This letter should include brief critical comments and a recommendation for acceptance of the dissertation.

Final Submission of the Dissertation and Ph.D. Degree Completion

After passing the Final Oral Examination (defense of the dissertation), the student should produce a Final Version of Dissertation that is free of mechanical errors and incorporates all suggestions for revision made by the Supervising Committee and the LITS staff who oversees the dissertation format. The student should present the Final Version of Dissertation to the LITS staff who oversees dissertation formatting for final format review at least three days before it is presented to the Dissertation Director for final approval. 

By the Deadline for deposit of Final Version of Dissertation, as specified in the GSAS Academic Calendar, the student must:

• Submit a Certification of Final Version of Dissertation signed by the Dissertation Director and the student to the GSAS office.
• Submit the approved Final Version of Dissertation to the GSAS office and the College's open access repository by completing an online Final Dissertation Deposit Form.
  In this form, students will be asked to provide downloadable OneDrive sharing links for the final dissertation and vita, and to indicate whether you are requesting that the dissertation be made openly accessible immediately or with a one-year or two-year embargo. If you choose to embargo your dissertation, indicate whether you will allow individual non-Bryn Mawr researchers to gain access to your dissertation upon request to LITS.
• Create an online account with ProQuest and upload your complete and final dissertation. You may choose to embargo your dissertation from publication to the ProQuest dissertations database for up to two years.
• Complete the Survey of Earned Doctorates.
• Complete the Post-doctoral Employment Information form.
• Submit a signed hard copy of the  Ph.D. Completion Checklist to the GSAS office.