Jumpstart Your Thesis/Dissertation Conference 2023

Formatting and Submitting your thesis/dissertation

The UMKC guide to Formatting Theses and Dissertations is online at http://sgs.umkc.edu

On the Current Students Link, click on Thesis/Dissertation Guidelines

Approval Process

• Supervisory Committee
• School of Graduate Studies
• University

Institutional Review Board (IRB)

• The UMKC IRB is located in the Office for Research Services
• If your project involves human subjects, be sure to have your project approved by the IRB

Supervisory Committee

• Preliminary Review of Manuscript
• Time Frame
  • Make sure your committee chai and committee members are available during the semester when you plan to finish your thesis or dissertation. This is especially important if you are trying to graduate in the summer.
• Working with your committee chair, determine when your drafts are ready for review by the rest of your committee.
• Give your committee a reasonable length of time for review.
• Do NOT leave your document in their office mailbox and assume it will be reviewed! Always transmit your document along with a memo explaining your intent to graduate this semester and the date by which you would appreciate their feedback.

School of Graduate Studies

• Approximately 6 weeks prior to graduation you will turn in a copy of your thesis or dissertation to the School of Graduate Studies for format review.
• You may turn in a hard copy or an electronic copy.
• All copies should be accompanied by a preliminary approval form signed by your advisor and a MOspace License form.

MOSpace License Form

• MOSpace is the digital institutional repository of the University of Missouri System. It is a permanent digital storehouse of research and knowledge, focusing on works created by those connected to the University of Missouri. MOSpace is a place where faculty, staff and students can store their intellectual output, and depend upon a permanent URL.
• https://MOspace.umsystem.edu
• UMKC theses and dissertations can be found here:
• https://MOspace.umsystem.edu/xmlui/handle/10355/7513
• All UMKC theses and dissertations are published to MOSpace. In some cases you may delay the release of your document online, but you must have permission from the Dean of the School of Graduate Studies to do so.
• The MOSpace license form is available on the Thesis/Dissertation Guidelines page.

Preliminary Approval Form

• This form is also available on the Thesis/Dissertation Guidelines page
• This form lets SGS know which bibliographic reference style you used in you paper, i.e., APA, Chicago Manual, IEEE, ACM, etc.
• You may use any bibliographic reference style you wish, but you must follow a consistent style
• If you are using a journal style, please provide SGS a copy of the notes to authors from that journal
• If you are using EndNote, make sure you know what reference style you chose when creating your reference list

To submit electronic copies:

1. Your thesis/dissertation should be in a single MSWord file and named in this manner:
   • Lastname-Thesis(or Dissertation)-Draft-Spring2023
2. Example: Hoover-Dissertation-Draft-Spring2023
3. The MOSpace License Form should be a PDF containing your advisor's signature and named:
   • Lastname-Spring2023-PreliminaryApproval.pdf

electronic copies, cont;'d:

• Email your document as an attachment to Nancy Hoover in the School of Graduate Studies at hoovern@umkc.edu. Make sure you include your telephone number in your email.
• If your document is too large for email, please use the UMKC Digital Dropbox at https://dropbox.umkc.edu/. You may upload your large document to the dropbox and the recipient will be notified by email to log in and retrieve the document.
• If you are using OneDrive, please make sure that you have granted the correct permissions for me to download the document. (I would prefer that you use DropBox).

To submit paper copies:

• Your hard-copy document should be brought to the School of Graduate Studies reception desk where you will complete a contact form.
• SGS is located in room 120 of the Atterbury Success Center at 5000 Homes Street.
• Submit hard copies of your MOSpace License form and Preliminary Approval form with your document.

School of Graduate Studies

• After your draft has been reviewed, I'll send yo a marked-up PDF to make corrections. If necessary, I'll have you come in and go over the corrections with me.

Supervisory Committee

• With your committee chair, schedule your oral defense.
• Your defense must take place while UMKC is in session and no later than the last day of the semester.
• Take along the final evaluation forms and final examination forms to your defense.
• After your committee is satisfied that you have made all necessary corrections to your document, your supervisory committee chairperson will sign and send all of the committee members' final evaluation forms to SGS.

After Defense

• Once your defense is complete and all final evaluation forms have been received by the School of Graduate Studies, you will be issues a Certification of Acceptance.
• This Certification will be e-mailed to you along with instructions for uploading a final PDF copy of your document to ProQuest.
• ALL UMKC theses and dissertations are published on ProQuest.

Submitting Final Copy to ProQuest

1. You have about 2 weeks to complete all paperwork for graduation and upload to ProQuest. The deadline date is published on the SGS website.
2. The UMKC upload link is: http://etdadmin.com/cgi-bin/school?siteId=324
3. You will need a single PDF copy of your thesis or dissertation. There are no required fees to upload, but if you choose to register the copyright or order copies, there will be a charge.

Submitting Final Copy to ProQuest

4. Copyright registration - You are not required to register your copyright, but if you choose to do so, ProQuest will expedite that process for you (for a fee).
5. You may order hard copies from ProQuest.
6. When your upload is complete, an email is sent to the School of Graduate Studies. SGS determines that you've uploaded the correct copy and that all questions have been answered.
7. SGS pushes the document onto ProQuest and notifies the Registration office that you have completed your thesis or dissertation degree requirement.
8. ProQuest then provides a digital copy of the document back to the MOSpace repository.

Standards for Formatting

• UMKC Guide to Formatting Theses and Dissertations
• Turabian - A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations
• Bibliographic references and alternate style guides

Technical Requirements

• Know your software!
  • Do you know how to insert section breaks?
  • How to format page numbers?
  • Typeface/type style
• Margins
  • 1.25" on the left, 1" on the right, side, and bottom
• Page Numbering
  • No page numbers on the title page or copyright page
  • Lowercase roman numerals beginning on the Abstract with iii
  • Chapter 1 in arabic numerals beginning on page 1

Technical Requirements continued

Front Matter:

Title page

Blank or copyright page

Abstract (keep under 350 words)

Approval page

Table of contents

List of tables (if you have tables)

List of illustrations (if you have any figures)

Acknowledgements (optional)

Dedication (optional)

Technical Requirements continued

Choose a logical subheading scheme and be consistent

Some science disciplines will use a double numbering scheme - 1.1, 1.2, etc.

Tables should be numbered and have titles above them

Figures should be numbered and have labels below them

Backmatter may consist of:

Appendices

References

Vita - in paragraph form, written in third person. Not a curriculum vita.

UMKC Writing Studio

The UMKC Writing Studio exists to assist students with any aspect of writing, from class assignments to personal statements. You can schedule an individual consultation with a writing tutor to meet face-to-face or to have an online appointment.

http://www.umkc.edu/asm/writing-studio/

Make an Appointment

UMKC is a campus full of diverse, busy students, and at the Writing Studio we understand that traveling to campus for a writing session is not always possible. As an alternative, you can seek advice electronically from your home via Skype or email. All online consultations are by appointment only and, as with in-person consultations, are restricted to a 50-minute session.

If this is your first time using our online services, please read our FAQ section* to get started. Online services are available to UMKC students, faculty, and staff online.

Onsite session              Email session             Skype session

Onsite Session

Schedule a one-with-one appointment at one of our Volker campus locations. You must have an active Single Sign-On (SSO) to access the schedule and make appointments.

*The FAQ webpage is no longer active. Answers to FAQs can be found at the bottom of the Writing Studio Homepage linked, under the section titled Writing Studio Instructions, Information & Resources

If you have questions about the submission process or formatting, please contact Nancy Hoover in the School of Graduate Studies

Email: hoovern@umkc.edu

Phone: 816-235-1731

Room 120 of the Atterbury Student Success Center at 5000 Holmes Street

Please see the next video for technical instructions on preparing and formatting your thesis or dissertation.

We have a list of typists editors who are available to hire to complete your document formatting.