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Electronic Dissertation and Thesis Pre-submission Checklist





The checklist below lists tasks that need to be completed before you can submit your dissertation/thesis to BEARdocs (required for both dissertations and theses) and to UMI (required for dissertations; optional for theses). The checklist also identifies the person(s) responsible for each task.


  1. If the content from your dissertation/thesis has been published before in journals or other copyrighted resources, you must obtain the appropriate copyright permission from the publisher to ensure that the previously-published material can be published in your dissertation/thesis and that the previously-published material in your dissertation/thesis can be made available electronically. This type of permission is provided in the copyright agreements you sign with publishers. We recommend that you secure these permissions in the early stages of your writing to avoid last-minute delays.
    If you are uncertain about whether or not you have this permission, email Billie Peterson-Lugo, or call at 254.710.2344, before you sign any copyright agreements.
    Responsibility: Graduate Student

  2. Before your defense, print three signature pages (approved by the Graduate School) and the Result of Oral Examination form to be signed at your defense. Also print two copies of the Copyright and Availability form to be signed by you and your dissertation/thesis chairperson, allowing Baylor University to store your document digitally in the BEARdocs repository. You will also need to print and retain an unsigned signature page for insertion into the electronic submission copy. These forms can be completed online, then printed for signatures, and are available at:

    Forms Needed for the Process

    In signing the Copyright and Availability form, you and your committee chairperson are both confirming that there are no outstanding copyright issues associated with your dissertation/thesis (see #1 above) and defining how you want the BEARdocs access managed for your dissertation/thesis. You are also agreeing to the general BEARdocs licensing agreement which you will see again during the BEARdocs submission process.

    Responsibility: Graduate Student


  3. Scan one copy of the signed signature page, one copy of the signed Copyright and Availability Form listed in #2, and the unsigned copy of the signature page into pdf format, each saved as a separate file.

    Responsibility: Graduate Student


  4. If applicable, scan each of the copyright agreements from #1 into pdf format. Submit this pdf along with your final copy of your dissertation or thesis and your Copyright and Availability form.

    Responsibility: Graduate Student


  5. After the defense, submit paper copies of two of the three signed copies of the signature/title page, one of the two copies of the Copyright and Availability form signed and completed appropriately, including the dissertation or thesis chairperson as proxy, along with the Approval of Final Copy form signed by your dissertation/thesis chairperson, and the completed Preliminary Checklist to the Graduate School. At the same time, submit the dissertation or thesis containing the blank signature form in one pdf file, the signed signature page in a second pdf file, and the Copyright and Availability form in a third pdf file, all electronically to Mrs. Harman. See number 6 for naming appropriately.

    Responsibility: Graduate Student


  6. Please use the following naming convention for your final files:
    • Dissertation: bear_id_phd.pdf
        (e.g., robert_baylor_phd.pdf)

        (e.g., robert_baylor_edd.pdf)

        (e.g., robert_baylor_psyd.pdf)

    • Thesis: bear_id_masters.pdf
        (e.g., robert_baylor_masters.pdf)

    • Signed Signature Page: bear_id_signaturepage.pdf
        (e.g., robert_baylor_signaturepage.pdf)

    • Copyright and Availability Form: bear_id_copyright-availability.pdf
        (e.g. robert_baylor_ copyright-availability.pdf)

    • Copyright documentation: bear_id_copyright_abbreviatedjournaltitle.pdf
        (e.g. robert_baylor_copyright_jal.pdf)
        (for chapters that are previously published articles in journals)

    • Additional Files: bear_id_descriptionoffile
        (e.g., robert_baylor_dataset1.xls)
        (The file extension (xls, pdf, doc, ppt, psd, etc. will be assigned by the program you used to create the file)

    If you have problems with the PDF conversion, email the Help Desk or call them at 254.710.4357.

    Responsibility: Graduate Student


  7. Send the final versions of all pdf documents to Dissertation_Thesis@baylor.edu for a final review.

    Responsibility: Graduate Student


  8. Sandra Harman will review all the files, including checking to see if the files have been named according to the convention listed in #6. If the files are properly named and when the dissertation/thesis meets the Graduate School requirements, she will apply the Graduate School Dean's electronic signature to the signed dissertation/thesis signature page. This page may be printed and used in bound copies. She will return the dissertation/thesis copy with the unsigned signature page and give approval to submit to BEARdocs. This copy becomes the approved, final copy and no further changes can be made.

    If there are problems with the document, she will send it back to you, specifying the corrections to be made. Make the corrections and send the revised PDF document(s) back to Dissertation_Thesis@baylor.edu.

    Responsibility: Graduate Student


  9. Sandra Harman will give you the authorization to submit to the Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection in BEARdocs. She will send you an e-mail message with the approved pdf document attached and confirm that she's given you the authorization to submit to the Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection in BEARdocs.

    Responsibility: Sandra Harman


  10. Submit your document(s) to BEARdocs, following the instructions provided on the Submitting a Thesis or Dissertation to BEARdocs document.

    If you encounter problems with the BEARdocs submission process, email Billie_Peterson_Lugo@baylor.edu, or call at 254.710.2344, for assistance.

    Responsibility: Graduate Student


  11. Once the document is submitted to BEARdocs, the system will send Sandra Harman an e-mail message confirming the submission. She will then look at the submission. If there are any problems with the submission, she will "reject" it. The system will send you an e-mail message regarding the rejection, which will include the specifics from Sandra regarding any changes that need to be made. Because of the review process prior to submitting your document to BEARdocs, it's unlikely that the submission will be rejected.

    Responsibility: Sandra Harman


  12. Once Sandra has verified that the submission to BEARdocs is satisfactory, she will notify you that you can now submit the document to UMI. Submit the copy with the blank signature page inserted. Do not send the signed signature page or the Copyright and Availability form to UMI. The UMI submission site can be found at: http://dissertations.umi.com/baylor/. This is a required step for doctoral students and is optional for masters students.

    If you encounter problems with the UMI submission process, email Sandra Harman or call 254.710.3582.

    Responsibility: Sandra Harman


  13. Submit the document to the UMI site.

    Responsibility: Graduate Student


  14. Doctoral students are also required to complete the Survey of Earned Doctorates (available at https://websurvey.norc.org/sed2011).

    Responsibility: Graduate Student


  15. For the documents submitted to BEARdocs, library staff will perform a final review of the submitted documents and assign the final metadata (descriptive information) to the record for your dissertation/thesis. Once they complete this task, they will "approve" the submission and it will appear in the BEARdocs repository. The BEARdocs system should send you an e-mail message with the permanent URL to access your dissertation/thesis in BEARdocs. This process will take 2-3 months after graduation each semester.

    Responsibility: Library Metadata Staff


  16. Once the document has been formally submitted to BEARdocs, library staff will also assign any permissions that you specified on the Copyright and Availability form (i.e., anyone can view the full text of the dissertation/thesis or no one can view the full text of the dissertation/thesis). Please note that if you elect to embargo access to your dissertation/thesis, no one--not even you or your advisor--will have access to the full text of your dissertation/thesis from BEARdocs.

    Responsibility: Electronic Library Staff


  17. Once the document has been formally submitted to BEARdocs, library staff will also assign any permissions that you specified on the Copyright and Availability form (i.e., anyone can view the full text of the dissertation/thesis; only those with active Bear IDs can view the full text of the dissertation/thesis; no one can view the full text of the dissertation/thesis).

    Responsibility: Electronic Library Staff


  18. A record for your dissertation/thesis will appear in the libraries' online catalog (BearCat) at some point after it has been archived in BEARdocs.