Electronic Theses & Dissertations (ETDs)

Students in the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences are required to submit an electronic copy of their thesis or dissertation (ETD) to the Wake Forest University ETD collection, maintained by the Z. Smith Reynolds Library, and to the ProQuest Dissertations and Theses database. ETD records and full texts are publicly available approximately 6-8 weeks after graduation.

In certain circumstances, students may wish to delay release of the full text of their ETD by selecting an embargo period of 6 months, 1 year, 2 years, or 5 years. During the embargo period, ETD records in both WFU and ProQuest collections are publicly available. This means that the title, abstract, author name, committee members, subjects, and keywords will be discoverable; the full text will not be publicly available. After the embargo period ends, the full text will be available through both WFU and ProQuest. Note that both ETD records and full texts are always available on WFU networks (on campus or VPN), regardless of any embargo, per the license terms in the Student-Advisor ETD Agreement.  

ETDs are submitted using the ProQuest ETD Administrator. Students submit their ETD after their defense and any requested revisions are complete. Information about the submission process and helpful considerations for preparing an ETD may be found through the links below.

Questions? Contact Molly Keener, Director of Digital Initiatives & Scholarly Communication, Z. Smith Reynolds Library.

Ordering Print Copies

The Graduate School does not require submission of print copies of theses and dissertations. However, students and departments may wish to order print copies for personal collections. For students and departments that plan to purchase print copies, the following services are recommended.

Thesis On Demand (thesisondemand.com) – A professional binding service specializing in theses and dissertations. Standard binding options only. Users create an account and upload their ETD file to begin a step-through creation process. Cost will be based on size and configuration. Discounted pricing begins when ordering 4+ copies.

Lulu (Lulu.com) – A self-publishing website that supports various sizes and cover configurations, including the standard 8.5×11 size. Users create an account and upload their ETD file to begin a step-through creation process. Note that users will need to adjust margins for double-side printing; traditional single-side printing is not possible without inserting blank pages into the original file. Alternatively, the original file can be converted to print at a different size. Cost will be based on size and configuration. This is likely the most economical option.

ProQuest – Students have the option to order print copies when submitting their ETD via the ETD Administrator System. Standard binding options only. Cost will be based on the number of copies ordered. For departments that wish to order copies for departmental and/or advisor collections, this option will require students to purchase the copies and be reimbursed by the department. This is likely the most expensive option, and there have been issues with print quality in the past.

Copyright, Author Rights, & Your ETD

Questions? Contact Molly Keener, Director of Digital Initiatives & Scholarly Communication, ZSR Library.