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 the T/D defense results (due within 48 hours of the defense from the entire committee) and the committee approvals of the final written document (due before the student can upload to ProQuest). Any additional assessment forms needed by an individual department will not be included in this 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, 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.

• Submitting Your Thesis or Dissertation for Review

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 2025)
• T-D Format Checklist (revised 2025)
• T-D Guide Citation Styles (new 2025)
• T-D Template (2025) available - email Sarah Beach to receive 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.

• September 2025 Workshops TBA

• A recording from February 8, 2025, of a presentation of the workshop material
  • Please note: The form submission process and/or some deadlines are changing for Fall 2025 and beyond, and a new recording will be posted after the September workshops.

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 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 Upload Link) – Warning! Papers submitted to ProQuest before SGS format review will be deleted from the system.