harvard gsas dissertation deadlines

What's on this page?

Step 1: format your dissertation according to the harvard griffin gsas policies.

• Step 2: Attach your Thesis Acceptance Certificate (TAC) as the first page of your dissertation.
• Step 3: Add required documents to ProQuest ETD
• Step 4: If applicable, request a delayed release of your dissertation.
• Step 5: Submit your dissertation using ProQuest ETD
• Step 6: Check the status of your submission
• Related forms

Who is this for?

Harvard Griffin GSAS students who are currently writing their dissertation or preparing to submit one

• After you submit your dissertation through ProQuest, the Registrar's Office will review your dissertation for formatting compliance. We will email you directly if  your dissertation does not meet the requirements. A sample dissertation can be viewed here .
• IMPORTANT:   If you don't resolve any noted formatting issues, your degree might not be conferred and you will need to apply for the next available degree period. 

Step 2: Attach your Thesis Acceptance Certificate (TAC) as the first page of your dissertation.

• Check to confirm that your TAC is complete and electronically signed.
• You must also upload the TAC to ProQuest ETD separately from your dissertation as indicated in Step 3. 

Step 3: Add required documents to  ProQuest ETD .

• Upload the TAC to the Administrative Documents section of ProQuest ETD. 
• Complete the Harvard Griffin GSAS Employment Exit Survey.
• Complete the Survey of Earned Doctorates.

Step 4: If applicable, request a delayed release of your dissertation. 

If you would like to request a delayed release of your dissertation longer than 2 years :

• Upload a signed  Dissertation Delayed Release Request   to the Administrative Documents  section of ProQuest ETD. The form should show Director of Graduate Studies approval of your request.
• If you do not have a completed document when submitting your dissertation, you must ask your Director of Graduate Studies to email  [email protected] , acknowledging approval of the delayed release request. 

Step 5: Submit your dissertation using ProQuest ETD .

• Harvard Griffin GSAS requires dissertations to be submitted using ProQuest ETD.
• You must submit your dissertation by 11:59 pm on the  deadline date  for the given degree period.
• NO EXTENSIONS ARE PROVIDED.

Step 6: Check the status of your submission.

• You can check the status of your dissertation submission at anytime by logging in to ProQuest ETD . 

Related Forms

Thesis acceptance certificate.

This form must be attached to the first page of your dissertation.

Dissertation – Delayed Release Request

Request that the full text of your dissertation will be unavailable for download for a limited period of time

Need Assistance?

Dissertation support expand_more.

Visit :  ProQuest Support

•  for assistance with printed copies of your dissertation such as order status and order changes

Email :  FAS Registrar's Office – Enrollment Services Team

•  with questions about submitting your dissertation

Harvard Griffin GSAS – Dissertation Formatting Guidelines

Harvard Griffin GSAS Degree Calendar

May degree dissertation submission deadline

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Deadline for May 2023 degree candidates to  submit their dissertation electronically to ProQuest ETD . Submissions must be made by 11:59 p.m. ET.

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• DISSERTATION

The preparation of a satisfactory dissertation normally requires at least four years of full-time research. All students are expected to provide a public presentation of their Ph.D. research as part of their program requirements. The final manuscript must conform to the requirements described in Dissertations . The dissertation defense includes:

• A public presentation of the student's Ph.D research to which members of the CCB community will be invited, followed by
• The private Ph.D. dissertation defense before the Ph.D. Thesis Committee.

Students must submit the dissertation to the Ph.D. Thesis Committee at least 7 days before the defense date. The final manuscript must conform to the requirements described online on the GSAS website  here .

Once the date, time, and location of the dissertation defense has been scheduled by the student with the Committee Members, the student must notify Kathy Oakley in the Department Office, who will send an email announcement to CCB faculty, graduate students, and postdocs inviting them to the public presentation. The  CCB Doctoral Dissertation Form  must be submitted 1-2 weeks prior to the defense to  Kathy Oakley  in the Department office, M-132.  Please note that the doctoral dissertation form also has a new section on scheduling an exit interview with Dr. Josh Cox before or after your defense. The purpose of the exit interview is for you to tell Josh what has and has not worked for you during your time in CCB. Please contact Josh with any questions about the exit interview, and contact Kathy with questions about the dissertation form. 

GSAS Thesis Requirements

All PhD candidates are required to submit a copy of the dissertation via the ETDs @ Harvard submission tool  by the deadline established for each degree conferral date. (See the  GSAS Degree Calendar  page for more information on deadlines.) Dissertations must be submitted electronically to ETDs following their guidelines, including the requirement of embedded fonts. Note that GSAS rules supersede those of ETDs for format.

Program Completion Date

For international students on an F-1 visa, the F-1 visa will end on the program completion date. The program completion date is not necessarily the defense date. It is the date the student stops working in the lab, and any salary/stipend would be ended on that date. International graduate students on an F-1 visa may continue working in the lab as students after their defense until the dissertation submission deadline, if the PI agrees to pay them and they are still completing graduate research in their lab.  International students should wait until the week of their program completion date before submitting their dissertation, while being careful to meet all GSAS deadlines. U.S. citizens may continue working in in the lab as students after their defense until the end of the term, if the PI agrees to pay them and they are still completing graduate research in their lab.

Dissertation Embargo Requests

If necessary, students may request to delay the release of (“embargo”) their work when submitting their dissertation to  ETDs @ Harvard . Embargo requests greater than two years must be approved by the Department. For embargoes over two years, students must first get the approval of their advisor. Written approval from their advisor and a strong written academic reason for the embargo must be forwarded to the Co-Director of Graduate Studies,  Joe Lavin , for departmental approval. Students should not begin the process until they have permission of their advisor.

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• Dissertation

In consultation with the advisor, who also serves as first reader of the dissertation, students invite faculty members to join the dissertation committee, which is ordinarily formed no later than one term after the completion of the general exam. The committee is typically comprised of three readers , though a student may have as few as two or as many as four .

What is the Dissertation Committee?

The dissertation committee is composed of either three or four members, at least two of whom are ordinarily members or formal affiliates of the History Department. The adviser must be a member of the History Department.

• First Reader / Adviser: The Dissertation Committee is chaired by a member of the History Department who has been designated as the student’s adviser. The Adviser works closely with the student at all stages of the dissertation, from formulation of the topic through writing and defense.
• Second Reader: a senior or junior faculty member from the history department, or affiliated with the department as listed in the Courses of Instruction. If a student wishes to include a second reader who is not affiliated with the department, he or she submits a petition to the coordinator for approval by the director of graduate studies.
• Third Reader: may be a member of another department, faculty, or university. With the permission of the advisor and the DGS, a candidate may choose not to approach a third reader for academic reasons. If a student wishes not to have a third reader, he or she must make that decision known to the Coordinator of Graduate Studies by the end of the spring semester of their fourth year.
• Fourth Reader: optional; may be added toward the completion of the dissertation. Note: the dissertation defense committee will consist of the student's dissertation committee plus one additional member (see "Oral Defense and Defense Committee" below.)

Throughout the research and writing phase, students are urged to maintain communication with all readers, and submit chapters as they are completed to the committee as a whole.

To complete the administrative process of forming the committee, students submit the dissertation committee form to the coordinator. The form requires the signatures of each reader, so please begin collecting signatures as soon as possible.

Changes to the Dissertation Committee

After establishing a dissertation committee, a student may choose to replace a reader. This decision should be made after careful consideration and consultation with his or her advisor. The student should initiate discussions with the current and potential reader; and it is important there should be no ambiguity about the new reader’s agreement to serve on the Committee. The Graduate Coordinator, once notified, will update the official record of committee names.

Oral Defense and the Defense Committee

Students defend their dissertation before it is approved by the  dissertation defense committee .* The defense committee consists of the student’s dissertation committee plus one additional member drawn from the History Department, another Harvard department, or outside the University. Prior to the oral defense, each member of the defense committee may write a detailed report on the dissertation, but this is not required. The defense itself should last approximately two hours. It is open to the intellectual community of faculty and graduate students as well as friends and family of the candidate. Once the dissertation has been successfully defended, the members of the  defense committee  sign the dissertation acceptance certificate, and append their reports to it.

Defense Deadlines

The defense needs to be held before the GSAS dissertation submission deadline, and final dissertations must be submitted to the members of the Dissertation Defense Committee at least one month in advance to give them time to prepare their reports. This suggests the following timelines:

For a May Degree : Dissertation due at GSAS by mid-May . Therefore, the defense must occur no later than early May (again, with final draft submitted at least a month prior).

For a November degree : Dissertation due at GSAS by mid-September . Therefore, the defense must occur no later than early September (with final draft submitted at least a month prior).

Students can also apply for a March degree . The GSAS dissertation submission deadline for March degrees is in mid-January, which means that students aiming for the March degree will need to defend by mid-December, before the winter break.

Where do I submit my dissertation?

Online submission of the dissertation via ETD @ Harvard is required by the Graduate School. Dissertations must be received by 11:59 pm on the deadline date for the given degree period. NO EXTENSIONS TO THIS DEADLINE ARE PROVIDED.

http://www.registrar.fas.harvard.edu/registration-enrollment-degrees/graduation-diplomas/phd-dissertation-submission

Dissertations should be submitted in their final format, in accordance with the guidelines listed in the Form of the PhD Dissertation booklet, and ready for publication. The Registrar’s Office will review the document for formatting compliance. Formatting errors may prevent the conferral of the degree and the student may need to apply for the next available degree period. A sample dissertation as well as the Top Ten Common Errors are provided for your convenience.

The following two surveys must be completed and completion confirmation codes provided during dissertation submission.

1. Survey of Earned Doctorates

2. GSAS Exit Survey of Postgraduate Plans

In addition to the electronic dissertation submission, an electronic copy of your signed Dissertation Acceptance Certificate must also be submitted. It must be signed by a minimum of three readers , two of whom must be members of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. The student name must match the legal name on file at the Registrar's Office .

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