Texas Tech University

Electronic Theses/Dissertations (ETD)

Official TTU Thesis/Dissertation Submissions

The Graduate School no longer requires that students submit a paper copy of their theses or dissertations as their official copy. Official copies are now received electronically as ETDs.


Electronic Document

An Electronic Thesis or Dissertation (ETD) is the document that represents the final project of a graduate student. An electronic thesis/dissertation is formatted like a paper thesis or dissertation; it contains figures, tables, footnotes, and references. It has a title page with the author's name, the official name of the university, the degree conferred, and the names of the committee members. However, the document is submitted as an electronic PDF (portable document format) file instead of as a paper print out.


Formatting

ETD documents must be prepared in accordance with the Graduate School formatting guidelines for theses and dissertations. These guidelines are explained in the Thesis/Dissertation Manual. Please be careful when using existing templates you may have received from colleagues. Many templates do not have the correct formatting. Always check final documents prepared with templates against the published manual.


PDF Review Draft

Once you have made all committee recommended edits to your thesis/dissertation and have formatted it according to the Graduate School guidelines, upload a Review Copy of your document in PDF format to your ETD account.

Check the posted Deadlines for the date that review drafts must be submitted by during your graduating semester.

Name your review document as follows: LastName_FirstName_Thesis(or Diss)Review.pdf

The thesis coordinator or dissertation supervisor will review your draft and will post a marked-up copy on your ETD account.


Integrity Review of Draft

All TTU/TTUHSC theses and dissertations are submitted to review with turnitin.com for academic integrity. For more information about the Graduate School policy concerning turnitin.com, please see Integrity Review Process.


Official Final PDF Document

Once you have made the required formatting corrections, upload the Final Copy, naming it as follows: LastName_FirstName_Thesis(orDiss).pdf

Check the posted Deadlines for the date that Final Copies must be submitted by during your graduating semester.

The thesis coordinator/dissertation supervisor will review the document again and:

  • If there are still further corrections to make, a note will be made on your ETD account and the system will automatically send you an email informing you that there are further corrections to be made
  • If there are no corrections needed, the document will be approved and the system will automatically send you an email verifying the approval. The document will then either be published for worldwide web access or will be embargoed for the period of time you have indicated in your account. After the embargo period, the document will be published for worldwide web access. Published documents can be viewed through the library web site.

*** Documents CANNOT be edited once they have been approved. ***

 

Other, Non-Thesis ETD Submissions

MM and DMA students must also create an ETD account and upload PDF versions of their performance programs. More Info. . .

Interdisciplinary Studies students must create ETD accounts and upload pdf versions of their portfolios. More Info . . .


ETD Submission

More Information . . .