Electronic Dissertation Submission Pilot Launches in 2009
During 2009, the UCI Libraries, in partnership with the Graduate Division, will launch a pilot program to provide doctoral students with the opportunity to electronically submit dissertations.
Doctoral students who choose electronic submission will no longer need to print multiple copies of the dissertation on expensive special paper, or even physically visit the Libraries to file the dissertation. Instead, students will create the dissertation using their preferred software and submit an electronic version from the comfort of their home or office. The process is expected to make it easier, less expensive, and less frustrating for students to submit their dissertations, particularly for those who no longer live near the UCI campus.
In addition to simplifying the submission process, electronic dissertations offer a number of advantages over the print format. For example, electronic dissertations allow for new and creative methods of scholarship by facilitating the integration of multimedia and the use of interactive elements. They also conserve paper and library storage space, and they are typically accessible to readers more quickly than their print counterparts.
Other schools that have offered electronic submission have reported that it quickly becomes the preferred option for doctoral students.
More information about the dissertation submission process is available on the Libraries’ Special Collections and Archives website: lib.uci.edu/libraries/collections/special/uci_td.html