III. REQUIREMENTS FOR GRADUATION
Before you may graduate, the Dissertation Office must receive:
- Two identical, complete, unbound final copies of the dissertation printed or photocopied on one side only on approved paper, each copy in a separate box or boxes of the appropriate size for your manuscript;
- Two separate abstracts, with two additional copies of your title page, formatted for ProQuest Information and Learning/UMI;
- The departmental approval form signed (no stamps) by your department chair or school dean;
- The completed ProQuest Information and Learning/UMI publication agreement form;
- A current, signed Survey of Earned Doctorates; and the
- Library form.
One of the copies of your dissertation is deposited in the Library and becomes part of the circulating collection. The other copy is sent to UMI. After it has been microfilmed and digitized, it is returned to your department.
The deadline for delivery of the above is the Wednesday 3 1/2 weeks before convocation. Current deadlines are posted on our website, http://phd.lib.uchicago.edu/. It is every student's responsibility to submit materials to the department or school in time for the chair or dean to review them so that they can reach this office by the deadline. In particular, please make sure that your defense is scheduled early enough in the quarter to allow you to complete the requirements outlined in this document. If the deadline is not met for any reason, your graduation will be deferred to a later quarter.
Two final copies of the dissertation, the required abstracts and title pages, and your department's or school's approval form must be submitted together. The reason for this is that your school or department must approve the physical manuscripts that are to be published and placed in the Library. If you wish to make changes, your department or school must approve them in writing before the deadline.
If you are out of town, you should send your two final copies, required abstracts and title pages, library form, federal survey, and ProQuest Information and Learning/UMI form to your department or school, not to this office. If you send your materials to this office, we will have to send them to your department or school for approval, which will delay the approval process. Upon receipt, the department chair or school dean will review your dissertation and abstract, sign the approval form, and forward the entire submission to this office.
After your final copies and abstract have been submitted to this office, they are reviewed to ensure that they meet the University-wide requirements. If they do not, you and/or your school or department will be contacted by e-mail explaining what must be done to correct the deficiencies, and when the corrected pages must be submitted in order for you to graduate in that quarter. We may also require a new approval form from the department or school.
Students or departments may appeal decisions made in this office by contacting Sem C. Sutter, Assistant Director for Humanities & Social Sciences, in the University of Chicago Library at (773)702-0691.