tamu thesis submission

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Steps to Fulfill M.S. Final Exam and Thesis Requirements

If you have any questions, please arrange for a meeting with the graduate academic advisor or your faculty chair. Deadlines occur earlier than students often expect!

Review your eligibility for the Final Examination

To be eligible to hold a final exam, the student:

• Must have an approved degree plan on file with the Graduate and Professional School (submitted via DPSS)
• Must have a graduate GPR of at least 3.0
• Must have a graduate degree plan GPR of at least 3.0
• Must be registered in the university (in the term the final exam occurs)
• Must have completed or be registered for all remaining degree plan coursework
• Must have the thesis in final format and ready for distribution to all committee members

Action items

Once the student has reviewed the above eligibility, the student should:

• Establish the time, date and location for the final exam with the student’s committee.
• Establish the format and organization of the final exam with the student’s committee.  The final exam typically consists of a public presentation of the research work and a private exam held by the student’s committee.
• Submit the Request and Announcement of Final Exam three weeks  BEFORE  the exam date.
• Submit the thesis to the student’s committee at least two weeks  BEFORE  the exam date.
• Reserve a conference room, if needed, via the BME front office.

Schedule and advertise final defense

Request must be received by the Graduate and Professional School, in fully approved format, at least 10 business days before requested defense date.

• Submit request and announcement of the final exam via ARCS in the student’s Howdy portal.
• Must be approved by the graduate academic advisor, the committee chair, the director of Graduate Programs and the Graduate and Professional School.  Approvals can take several weeks so plan accordingly.

M.S. Deadlines

Expected Timeline:  Graduate and Professional School final exam request approvals, once received in that office, can take at least 10 business days for full approval.

Submit departmental final exam announcement form

Template will be sent to student via email after submitting the Request and Announcement of Final Exam for via ARCS. Should be returned to the Graduate Academic Advisor at least one week  BEFORE  exam date.

Submit final defense results

Votes due within 10 business days after final defense .

• Voting is completed via ARCS in the faculty’s Howdy portal by each committee member.
• Students will not be able to access results until the entire form is submitted and approved by the Graduate and Professional School.
• Must be approved by the graduate academic advisor, all members of the student’s committee, the director of Graduate Programs and the Graduate and Professional School. 

Expected Timeline:  Graduate and Professional School final exam votes approval, once received in that office, can take at least 10 business days for full approval.

Submit student evaluation

Submitted after the successful completion of the final exam.

• Form will be sent to student via email after submitting the Request and Announcement of Final Exam form via ARCS. Should be returned to the Graduate Academic Advisor.

Submit   Copyright and Approval Form

• Approval form completed via ARCS. Must be approved by the student’s committee chair and co-chair, the Director of Graduate Programs and the Thesis Office.

Submit thesis and   Written Thesis Approval Form

• Approval form completed via ARCS in the student’s Howdy portal.
• The final thesis document must be uploaded in Vireo and per the  Thesis Office requirements .
• Must be approved by the graduate academic advisor, all members of the student’s committee, the director of Graduate Programs and the Thesis Office.

Expected Timeline:  Thesis Office thesis approvals, once received in that office, can take several weeks for full approval.

Arrange for cap and gown.  Visit the Graduation website.

Additional information

Requirements listed above are for BME, and in some cases, are stricter than the university minimum guidelines. Failure to meet any of the above requirements could result in dismissal from the program.

Students must be continuously registered every fall and spring semester until all degree requirements have been met. 

All documents (e.g. proposal, thesis) must be submitted to your advisory committee at least two weeks prior to milestone completion.

Common pitfalls

Below is a list of common pitfalls for students. All students are encouraged to meet with the graduate academic advisor prior to scheduling the final examination:

• Having an inaccurate degree plan on file that makes you ineligible to take the final exam. All students are encouraged to maintain an accurate and updated degree plan with the university, including the most updated courses and committee membership. Changes can be made by using  DPSS  and submitting a long-form petition.
• Failing to submit the request and announcement of final exam in ARCS at least three weeks before the student’s exam date.
• Not arranging a meeting with the graduate academic advisor to discuss options.

TAMU-CC Repository

• Collection Policy
• Recommended Formats
• Which Version Can I Share?
• Submission and License
• TAMU-CC Theses, Dissertations, and Other Projects in TAMU-CC Repository
• Preservation
• DOIs at TAMU-CC

What is an Embargo? 

In publishing, an "embargo" is a delay placed on a publication. For Theses and Dissertations, an embargo is a restriction period placed on a thesis or dissertation that allows only the title, abstract, and other citation information to be released to the public, while the full text of the work is restricted for a limited period of time. Embargoes typically last from six months to two years following the submission of a thesis or dissertation to the TAMU-CC Repository or ProQuest. 

Why Embargo a Thesis or Dissertation? 

Most theses or dissertations are  not  embargoed, but are made publicly available following their formal defense as part of completing a masters or doctoral degree. Reasons to embargo a thesis or dissertation include: 

• Publication pending with another publisher
• Patent Pending
• Material under another copyright is contained in the work 
• Sensitive material is included
• Deferred degree date

What are TAMU-CC's Embargo Guidelines? 

When submitting a thesis or dissertation to the ProQuest Administrator Website , students have the option of selecting an embargo for 6 months, 1 year, or 2 years. Students are required to select one of the reasons outlined above for delaying release to the TAMU-CC Repository. 

Embargo Extensions

Any requests for an extension of an embargo past two years, must be formally submitted to the university by emailing the Embargo Extension Request Form to  [email protected] , and submitted at least one month prior to the expiration of the first embargo date. 

ProQuest Embargo Extensions must be requested by the author directly from ProQuest at [email protected] . The University does not process ProQuest embargo extensions. 

Should I Embargo My Thesis or Dissertation? 

Always discuss the pros and cons or embargoing your thesis or dissertation with your graduate committee prior to submitting your work to ProQuest. 

• Embargo Extension Request Form

Copyright Information

It is the student’s responsibility to be aware of and adhere to U.S. copyright laws regarding the thesis and its contents.

If you publish material that will be part of your thesis, dissertation, or record of study before you submit the final document (TAMU-CC policy):

The TAMU-CC policy is that graduate students may publish material that will later be used as part of the thesis, dissertation, or record of study. However, students must be aware of the agreement they sign when a journal accepts an article for publication. TAMU-CC eventually will release all manuscripts for public access in the TAMU-CC Repository. Do not sign any agreement that restricts TAMU-CC’s right to provide research results to the public.

If you are using your already published material in the thesis or dissertation (journal policies):

Students should be aware of the publishing agreement they sign when a journal accepts an article for publication. The corresponding author typically transfers copyright to the journal as publisher and may no longer possess the right to use this material without permission. The publishing agreement form can be modified before it is signed so that the student retains the right to include the material in the thesis, dissertation, or record of study. The publisher would still have the rights it needs to print, distribute, and sell the work. When negotiating with the publisher, remember to inform them that the thesis, dissertation, or record of study will be available online. Dissertations and records of study will be sent to ProQuest and can be purchased through them. TAMU-CC does not consider the posting of dissertations in the ProQuest repository a commercial venture. If you have not retained the right to use your previously published material in the document, you must get permission from the copyright holder to include it. A written statement of permission (email is accepted) should be provided. If the journal retains the right to an article and does not allow its exact reproduction in your thesis, dissertation, or record of study, we recommend that you contact them to ascertain whether a preprint version is acceptable, or whether you can revise or reword the printed version. Regardless of which rights students retain, authors are required to provide written documentation as evidence they have appropriate rights to include the pre-published material. This evidence might be a copy of the publication agreement, website documentation about author retained rights, emails, or other forms of written permission from the publisher.

If you are planning to use your thesis or dissertation material in a future publication

If you plan to publish any thesis, dissertation, or record of study material after graduation, investigate whether the journal of choice will publish material already made available to the public. Some journals insist on being first publisher. You have the option to restrict full-text access to your thesis or dissertation for two years before releasing it to the public through the TAMU-CC Repository. 

If you plan to include others’ copyrighted material in the thesis or dissertation:

If the manuscript contains any material (e.g., figures, tables, text) from copyrighted sources, you must determine if permission from the copyright holder is needed. There are numerous factors to consider, including whether the material is in the public domain or can be used under the provisions of Fair Use. Regardless of whether permission is required, proper credit must be given in the text. For material requiring permission, acknowledgment should be included in the text per the copyright holder’s instruction. For additional information regarding copyright and fair use, refer to Copyright and Fair Use Guide . 

Registering Copyright

Your manuscript is automatically protected under U.S. copyright as soon as it is finalized into a fixed form. Master’s and doctoral candidates may wish to take additional steps to register their copyright through the  P roQuest ETD site . Although it is not required, there are benefits to registering your copyright, including additional legal remedies if someone infringes upon your work.

Creative Common License

Students may wish to include a Creative Commons license in the same location as the copyright notice. Creative Commons licenses allow the author to retain copyright, while authorizing specific uses of the work to others. More information about Creative Commons licenses can be found on  their website .

To summarize, if using published material:

• Determine if the material is copyrighted. Non-copyrighted material may be reused freely if credit is given to the original source.
• If the material is copyrighted, determine if it may be included in your document under the provisions of Fair Use. If Fair Use applies, do not seek permission.
• If Fair Use does not apply, obtain permission (in either the publisher agreement or in a letter or email from the copyright holder).
• Give proper acknowledgment and citation of all work included in the thesis, dissertation, or record of study. 
• Doctoral students must inform the copyright holder that the dissertation will be sent to, and sold on demand by, ProQuest.
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• Last Updated: Nov 1, 2023 4:52 PM
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