Reviewing the procedures and the “University of Missouri-Kansas City Guide to Formatting Theses and Dissertations” well in advance, marking deadlines on your calendar, and being realistic about the amount of time you will need can save you time and reduce stress.
All graduate students are required to submit electronic Microsoft Word copies of their T/D to the School of Graduate Studies (SGS) for initial format review, additional review(s) if needed, and final format review. Initial submission to the SGS should coincide with the submission of the draft to one’s supervisory committee (which could occur at least three weeks before one’s defense) or by the posted deadlines—whichever comes first. The following forms should be submitted to the SGS with the T/D:
Email your files as attachments to UMKC School of Graduate Studies or directly to SGS Program Manager Sarah Beach.
Optional:
After a student has submitted their T/D and required forms, they will typically be notified within 2-3 weeks that the initial format review is complete. Students will be informed what formatting revisions, if any, they need to complete. They will also be offered the opportunity to schedule a meeting with Program Manager, Sarah Beach, to discuss the review and receive formatting guidance. Then students complete formatting revisions and follow the instructions provided.
After the T/D defense and a student’s committee approves of the final version of the T/D, then students email it, by the posted deadline to the SGS or directly to Sarah Beach for the final format review.
After the SGS receives T/D report of results/final evaluation forms completed by each committee member, from committee chairs, and finishes the final format review, then students will be issued a certificate of acceptance of the T/D and given instructions on how to upload it as a Portable Document Format (PDF) to UMKC’s Electronic Thesis and Dissertation (ETD) Administrator ProQuest.
Research doctoral students must also complete the Survey of Earned Doctorates before uploading the final version of their dissertation to ProQuest. More information is available here.
After a student uploads their PDF and completes their submission to ProQuest, then it is checked. If it is the correct file and the submission is complete, then it can be accepted. Next, the SGS staff finish the certification process—to show a student completed the T/D requirement for graduation—by finalizing the certificate and emailing it and the T/D report of results/final evaluation forms to the Office of the Registrar for processing.
If a T/D is found to be unacceptable or incomplete, students may be asked to consult with their advisor and supervisory committee and reapply for graduation and resubmit their T/D for the following semester.
After an ETD has been delivered to ProQuest, then the abstract and citation, and in most cases the full-text version, will be available through ProQuest and MOspace, the digital institutional repository of the University of Missouri System.