Masters Theses and Research Projects

Evaluation Process
Each master’s degree student undergoes an individual evaluation process at the end of his or her program. This evaluation process is defined as satisfactory demonstration of mastery of subject matter in which the graduate student is seeking the master’s degree. This demonstration is an individualized evaluation of each master’s candidate that is monitored and documented by at least two faculty members, at least one of whom must be a member of the graduate faculty. In some programs, the final evaluation may be done in the form of a comprehensive exam or research project; in others, the final evaluation may appropriately be a recital, performance, or exhibition. The specific nature of the final evaluation is determined by the academic unit offering the master’s degree program. If questioned, the appropriateness of a final evaluation will be decided by the University Graduate Council.

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation (ETD)
All theses must be published in electronic format on OhioLINK, a consortium of Ohio’s college and university libraries and the State Library of Ohio. Students are encouraged to investigate the wide variety of resources available on how to prepare their theses electronically. Information about electronic theses can be accessed at Electronic Thesis and Dissertation website. For questions not addressed on this site, contact the ETD Helpdesk (Room 110, Van Wormer Hall), phone 556-1496 or email: etd@uc.edu.

The Student Technology Resources Center (STRC), located on the fourth floor of Langsam Library, is another potential source of help for students preparing electronic theses and dissertations. The STRC helps students with their instructional technology needs beyond the scope of a typical on-campus computer lab. The Center’s workstations provide students with access to a variety of computer software and hardware. The STRC can be contacted at 556-1980.

Submission of Thesis
Once a thesis has been approved by his/her committee, the candidate for the master’s degree will be required to follow the thesis submission procedures. A brief overview of the process is provided below, but students are responsible for reviewing the most current and detailed instructions on the websites referenced above.

The student must submit the following to the Graduate School in a 9” X 12” brown manila envelope:

• One electronic file in PDF format of the thesis and the text-only/plain-text file abstract. This abstract must be approved by the student’s advisory committee and shall consist of not more than 150 words.
• The student is responsible for any conversion of formulas and characters when the abstract is saved in a text-only file.
• Two original Committee Approval Forms with original signatures on each, downloaded on acid-free paper
• Copyrighting of the thesis is optional through ProQuest/UMI. If copyrighting is desired, the $45 fee is paid by check or money order to the Graduate School. A student who wishes to apply for a copyright through ProQuest/UMI must also pay for publication through ProQuest/UMI for an additional $45 fee, paid by check or money order to the Graduate School.
• Publication Embargo Form, completed and signed, if applicable.

Publication of Thesis
All theses developed and produced by students at the University of Cincinnati must be made accessible to the public through publication. All theses must be submitted in electronic format. Published works are works that have been made available to the public in some way, usually by the sale or public distribution of copies. The reproduction of a thesis through ProQuest/University Microfilms, Inc. (UMI) and /or OhioLINK is regarded as publication.

At the University of Cincinnati, completed and approved electronic theses are available through OhioLINK at the University of Cincinnati library and, if the student pays an additional fee, through ProQuest / UMI. University of Cincinnati students are required to submit their master’s theses electronically to OhioLINK. They are not required to submit their master’s theses to ProQuest/UMI; it is an option. ProQuest/UMI charges a fee for publication of an abstract of the thesis in Thesis Abstracts and for preparation and storage of a microfilm master negative of the full text. OhioLINK submits the thesis to ProQuest / UMI for the student upon request and payment of a fee. The microfilm negative is kept on deposit by ProQuest / UMI, which lists the abstract in its cumulative and annual indexes and services requests for copies of the thesis from individuals or from libraries. A print of the microfilm is deposited in the Library of Congress. The thesis abstract in text-only/plain-text on a computer disk must accompany all full-thesis documents.

A student may apply to the Senior Assistant Dean of the Graduate School, in the Graduate School, to embargo (delay) electronic publication of the thesis for up to three years. Once the initial request has been granted, additional one-year extensions may be requested. It is the student’s responsibility to request all extensions. If an embargo period expires and no request for an extension has been granted, OhioLINK will automatically release the document for electronic dissemination. The student must complete and return to the Graduate School the Request for Embargo Form along with his or her dissertation prior to the submission deadline.

Information about electronic theses and dissertations, including a description of the advantages of preparing a thesis electronically, can be accessed on the ETD website. For questions not addressed on this site, contact the ETD Helpdesk (Room 110, Van Wormer Hall), phone 556-1496 or email etd@uc.edu.

Students may opt to copyright their theses. To do so, the author of the thesis is required to sign an agreement form which is provided to students on the OhioLink Submission Form. The copyright law defines the date of publication as “the earliest date when copies of the first authorized edition were placed on sale, sold, or publicly distributed by the proprietor of the copyright or under his authority.”