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KU Thesis and Dissertation Formatting: Copyright and ETD Release Form

Information for University of Kansas graduate students on required content order, page numbering, creating headings, formatting table of contents, adding captions, creating a table of figures and embedding fonts for theses and dissertations.

Copyright and ETD Release Form

One of the graduation requirements at KU is to complete the Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETD) Release Form.  On that form, you certify that your work does not infringe upon copyrights owned by someone else by checking all of the boxes that apply:

KU Libraries can help students navigate this final stage of the thesis or dissertation process. We offer online resources, individual consultations, and workshop presentations.

A good place to learn more about Fair Use and how to copyrighted materials is our Copyright LibGuide. Clicking on the link below will open the KU Libraries' Copyright LibGuide in this window. Click the back arrow to return to the ETD LibGuide.

copyright.ku.edu

Embargoes of Theses and Dissertations

One of the decisions that the author of a thesis or dissertation must make as they prepare to graduate is whether to delay the release of the thesis or dissertation for a period of time after graduation.  This decision is often a balance between the need to make the work as visible as possible, and the desire to protect the work because the author wants to publish that research in journal articles or books, because of pending patents, or because the research is sensitive.

If an embargo is needed, KU's Embargo Policy for Theses and Dissertations spells out the circumstances under which an embargo may be requested and the process for doing so.

  • First, the student must submit the Electronic Thesis and Dissertation (ETD) Release Form to the school/College office. Embargo requests need to be approved by the Director of Graduate Studies in the author's department, the Department Chair, or the Committee Chair.  If an embargo is approved, this form will ensure that the thesis or dissertation file is protected from public view.  Keep in mind that the title, abstract, and keywords entered during the ProQuest submission will be visible, even if the file is protected.
  • Second, during the online submission process to ProQuest/UMI, in the Publishing Options section, the student must select I want my work to be available in ProQuest as soon as it is published > No, I have patents pending, or another reason why I need to delay access to the full text of my work, then select the embargo term.  If an embargo has been approved, this step will ensure that public view of the work is temporarily restricted in the ProQuest Dissertations and Theses database.

Embargoes may be renewed before the expiration date by filling out the Embargo Renewal form for the KU ScholarWorks copy AND, for the ProQuest copy, by contacting ProQuest at disspub@proquest.com or by phone at 1-800-521-0600 at least one month before the embargo expires.

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