T/D Format Review, Certification, and Submission Approval Process

All graduate students are required to submit electronic Microsoft Word* copies of their T/D to the School of Graduate Studies for format review by the posted deadlines shown below. The following Kuali forms should be submitted online when the T/D is submitted to SGS:

• Preliminary Approval (Kuali Form)
• MOspace License Agreement (Kuali Form)
• Thesis-Dissertation Delayed Release (Embargo) Form (Kuali Form) (optional) 

*If using LaTeX or a similar program and a PDF is the output, then students can mention that and submit a PDF instead of a Word document.

SGS will complete an initial review of the T/D document, providing the student with requested revisions. Immediately following the T/D defense, the primary advisor/committee chair should initiate the online Kuali forms for (1) the T/D defense results (to be completed by all committee members within 48 hours of the defense) and (2) the committee approvals of the final written document (due before the student can submit to ProQuest).

Any additional assessment/evaluation forms needed by an individual program/department will not be included in this SGS process.

After the SGS receives the required Kuali online committee forms and a student submits their final T/D via email, the SGS completes a final format check. After the T/D is finalized by the student, SGS staff will issue a certificate of acceptance of the T/D and provide the student instructions to submit their T/D as a PDF to UMKC’s Electronic Thesis and Dissertation (ETD) Administrator ProQuest. After acceptance in, and delivery to, ProQuest, full-text versions will be available through ProQuest and MOspace--a digital institutional repository of the University of Missouri System.

UMKC Formatting Guidelines

The “University of Missouri-Kansas City Guide to Formatting Theses and Dissertations” is the main document resource for formatting guidance. The formatting guide was revised in January 2025.

UMKC Formatting Resources

• T-D Format Guide (Revised September 2025)
• T-D Format Checklist (Revised September 2025)
• T-D Citation Styles (Revised August 2025)
• T-D Degree Program List (Revised September 2025)
• T-D Template (Revised August 2025) available - email Sarah Beach for a copy

Formatting Guidance Workshops

Formatting guidance workshops are typically held each Fall and Spring semester for students who are ready to start, or are already, working on their T/D. Attendance at a workshop is highly encouraged.

• February 2026 workshop dates and times to be announced
• Fall 2025 workshops were held September 10th and 18th in Administrative Center and via Zoom

• A recording of a September 2025 presentation of the workshop material

The deadlines listed below for theses/dissertations are also downloadable as a PDF.

Thesis/Dissertation Forms

• Preliminary Approval (see above)
• MOspace license (see above)
• Embargo request (see above)

• Interdisciplinary Ph.D. students: Forms for the Interdisciplinary Ph.D. Program
• Natural Sciences Ph.D. students: Forms for the Natural Sciences Ph.D. Program
• Graduate students outside of Interdisciplinary and Natural Sciences programs: Forms for Graduate Students

Additional Resources

• UMKC Digital Accessibility
  • Accessible Content Best Practices
  • CAFE Creating Accessible Documents: 7 Simple Steps
• UMKC Office of Research Services
  • Research Compliance Office (IACUC, IBC, IRB, RSC, HIPAA)
• UMKC Libraries
  • Graduate Writing Resources
  • Copyright Quick Guide
    • Email questions to a team of UMKC librarians: copyright@umkc.edu 
  • Citation Rules & Tools
• UMKC Graduate Writing Initiative (Consultations, Events, Groups, Resources)
• MOspace Institutional Repository
  • View Recent UMKC Theses and Dissertations on MOSpace
• Digital library of UMKC theses and dissertations
• Information from ProQuest on publishing your T/D
• UMKC ETD Administrator (ProQuest Submission Link) – Warning! Papers submitted to ProQuest before SGS format review and approval will be deleted from the system.