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Dissertation and Thesis Guidelines

All the steps for submitting your dissertation, thesis, or clinical project to the Leatherby Libraries.

Vice Provost's statement

The thesis manuscript is a scholarly presentation of the results of the Chapman University graduate student’s research and/or creative work. The Office of the Vice Provost for Graduate Education affirms that graduate students have a responsibility to share the record of their work with scholars in all disciplines and the general public. As such, the Office of the Vice Provost for Graduate Education requires that scholarly work conducted by graduate students in MFA programs and incorporated into theses be included in Chapman’s institutional repository, Chapman University Digital Commons.

Please make sure you have followed the Initial Steps for Library Submission before proceeding with the procedures below. Your submission will not be accepted if you skip the Initial Steps for Library Submission.

Next Steps for Chapman University Digital Commons Submission

Chapman University Digital Commons is a repository for the scholarship and creative work of Chapman University's faculty, students, and staff.
 

To submit to Chapman University Digital Commons:

  1. Go to https://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/ and set up an account via the "My Account" link in the top right corner.
     
  2. Once logged in, go to https://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/creative_writing_theses/ and click "Submit Research" in the left sidebar (in the "Author Corner" section).
     
  3. Agree to the submission terms and follow the instructions on screen to submit your thesis.
    • While select information like title, author, degree, and committee information will be publicly viewable, the actual thesis file for all MFA submissions will be restricted access and only be readable/downloadable by you and select Creative Writing faculty and library staff. As a result, your thesis may receive a few downloads from time to time, but will not be publicly available.
       
    • The librarian will fill in the DOI and Recommended Citation fields, so please leave those blank. (FAQ: What fields should I fill in on the Digital Commons submission form?)
       
  4. The Dissertation and Theses Librarian will receive a notification to review and push your submission live through the system. You do not need to notify her that you have submitted it.

Have a question? Check out the Digital Commons Questions section of our Frequently Asked Questions page.