The ETD Process

Complete Your Project
Submit for Format Check
Convert to PDF
Enhance Your PDF File
Insert Approval Sheet
Submit Your ETD to OhioLINK ETD Center
Final Approval

Complete Your Project

It is the responsibility of the graduate student working with the thesis advisor and committee to create, edit, and prepare the thesis for submission according to departmental and School of Graduate Studies guidelines. The requirement for electronic submission does not impact the way you choose to share work in progress with committee members or the approval process at the department level.

Submit for Format Check

The School of Graduate Studies encourages students to submit their completed theses for a format check prior to final deposit. The format check is intended to insure that the thesis will not be rejected after deposit for failing to conform to the School’s guidelines for format and style. For more information on the format check, refer to the School of Graduate Studies’ Thesis and Dissertation Handbook.

Convert to PDF

The first step in electronic submission of your thesis is to convert your document into a PDF file. See complete instructions. The full version of Adobe Acrobat software (Adobe Acrobat Professional) is required for the conversion. This software is available on computers in the Student Technology Assistance Center (STAC) in the University Libraries.

Enhance Your PDF File

After you have converted your document to PDF, you can enhance it by adding bookmarks, links, audio, or video. Instructions for adding these enhancements are provided below. If you need additional assistance, please visit the Student Technology Assistance Center.

Insert Bookmarks Instructions
Insert Links Instructions
Insert Audio Instructions
Insert Video Instructions

Insert Approval Sheet

The final step in creating the PDF file is the insertion of the approval page. To insert your approval page, follow the instructions Inserting Your Approval Form into the PDF Document. The approval page should be inserted immediately following the copyright page (or the title page if no copyright page is included) of your ETD. Your committee members’ names should by typed in on the approval form; please do not include their actual signatures.

You will also need to submit two paper copies (with signatures) of the approval form directly to the School of Graduate Studies.

Submit Your ETD to OhioLINK ETD Center

Once your PDF file is complete, the next step is to submit it to the OhioLINK ETD Center. You will be asked to provide information about your institution, yourself, and your paper; in addition, you will be given the option of submitting your approved paper to Proquest/UMI and registering your copyright. After you have completed the required information, you can upload your document to the ETD Center.

Final Approval

After your ETD has been successfully submitted to the OhioLINK ETD Center, it will be held in a secure location and the School of Graduate Studies will be notified of your pending submission. The School of Graduate Studies will review the document and, if it meets all requirements, approve it and release it to the public ETD Center (subject, of course, to any agreed upon delay).