Introduction

As of November 1, 2014, Doctoral and Master’s students are required to upload the examination and final copies of their theses and dissertations electronically via Carleton Central. Until that date, you should still submit hard copies of your thesis to your examination committee. Scroll down to find instructions on how to upload the final copy of your thesis/dissertation.

The procedures for defense, thesis approval and submission to your Thesis Committee can be found in section 12 of the Graduate Calendar.

An Electronic Thesis or Dissertation (ETD) is simply the electronic version of your thesis. It is the same as the paper version in content, formatting and organization.

Uploading The EXAMINATION Copy of Your Thesis/Dissertation

Once it has been determined that your thesis is ready for defence and your departmental secretary/administrator has been advised, you will receive an email notifying you to upload your thesis in Carleton Central.

Instructions for the Electronic Thesis Submission of the Examination Copy

Step 1: Formatting Guidelines

The content of your thesis must be formatted according to the thesis requirements found on the Graduate Studies site. Go to Thesis Requirements. It is the student’s responsibility to meet formatting requirements for the thesis and to verify the version for accuracy and completeness.

Note: File format for the examination copy must be in PDF or PDF/A format whereas file format for the final thesis upload is PDF/A only.

File Format Guidelines:

  • Your thesis must be submitted as a single document file in PDF or PDF/A format
  • File name must follow this format: StudentID_Lastname_Initial.pdf (e.g., 100123456_Smith_J.pdf)
  • Do not include supplemental or additional materials in your file as they are uploaded separately.
  • Your thesis/dissertation must be printable.
  • All files uploaded will be scanned for viruses.

Incompatible Formats:

  • No embedded forms (AcroForm and XFA)
  • No encryption or security settings applied to your file (e.g. no passwords)
  • No document restrictions (i.e. content copying, content modification)
  • Any proprietary fonts must be embedded into the document to be PDF/A compliant. To do this, open your document in Acrobat. Rest of the instructions are available here.
  • Document should not contain embedded multimedia (images may be uploaded as “supplemental files” – see below; other audiovisual material should be delivered in person to Graduate Studies)
  • Linking to JavaScript or other executable files is not allowed
  • No hyper-links in content or as references

Supplemental File Formats

The following file formats will be accepted during the upload of supplemental files. All other file formats will be rejected by the system.

  • PDF/A
  • PDF (image only)
  • TIFF
  • JPEG
  • JPEG2000
  • Printable ASCII (text and LaTex)
  • MS-WORD
  • ODT (Open Document)

Step 2: Log-In to Carleton Central

Once you are ready to upload the examination copy of your thesis, log in to Carleton Central and select ‘E-Thesis’ under Student Support Services. You will see three sections: 1) Thesis Details 2) Agreements and Licenses and 3) Thesis Components.

Step 3: Completing Agreements and License

Read and indicate if you ‘Accept’ the following agreements:
i. Academic Integrity Statement
ii FIPPA
iii Carleton University Thesis License Agreement
Once this section is complete you can continue to upload your thesis/dissertation electronically in Carleton Central. You will not be able to proceed to thesis upload until all three agreements are complete.

Step 4: Upload Thesis Components

Complete only the sections that apply to your thesis. Please note that once you select ‘Submit Examination Copy’, no further changes can be made.

(a) Thesis Upload

i. Complete Thesis Information.
ii. Upload PDF or PDF/A formatted thesis document. Files must not exceed 40 MB. You can delete and re-upload your thesis as required until you select ‘Submit Examination Copy’ on the main menu.

(b) Contributor Documents (Copyright authorizations and Integrated Thesis Only)

i. Complete this section only if you are submitting an Integrated Thesis or have other copyright permissions.
ii. Complete the form for each contributor document.
iii. Once the document is uploaded, it will appear in a table below. Documents can be deleted from the table if necessary.

(c) Supplementary Files

i. If you have supplementary files to include with your thesis, complete this section.
ii. Browse and upload supplementary files separately. Files must not exceed 2 MB.
iii. Once files are uploaded, they will appear in a table below. You may delete uploaded supplementary files from the table if necessary.

(d) Submit Examination Copy

i. Once all of your documents are ready, you can select ‘Submit Examination copy’. Once you select this option, you will not be able to alter the uploaded documents.

Approvals

(a) Supervisor Approval – Once your Electronic Thesis has been uploaded, your supervisor will be notified. Your thesis advisor must approve your uploaded thesis/dissertation. If more revisions are required, you will be notified by email and required to upload the revised copy.

(b) Chair Approval – Once approved by your supervisor, your thesis will be sent to the Chair/Director of your department for approval.

(c) Graduate Studies Approval (PHD only) – Once approved by the Chair/Director, your dissertation will be sent to Graduate Studies for final approval.

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Uploading Your FINAL Thesis/Dissertation

Once you have successfully defended your thesis and your revisions have been made, you will need to convert your final thesis to PDF/A format for upload and approval by your supervisor. Instructions on how to convert your document to PDF/A format are below.

It is the student’s responsibility to meet formatting requirements for their thesis, as well as to ensure that the final thesis is converted into a compatible PDF/A version and to verify the version for accuracy and completeness. The student is also responsible for ensuring that the upload of his/her thesis is completed in advance of the registration deadlines, in order to graduate at the next Convocation.

Once the Chair of your defence inputs the outcome of your examination, you will receive an email notifying you to upload your final thesis in Carleton Central.

Electronic Final Thesis Submission Instructions

Step 1: Formatting Guidelines

The content of your thesis must be formatted according to the thesis requirements found on the Graduate Studies site. Go to Thesis Requirements.

File format must be PDF/A format. You can easily convert your thesis to PDF/A from a Word document or PDF.

File Format Guidelines:

  • Your thesis must be submitted as a single document file in PDF/A format  [see below]
  • File name must follow this format:  StudentID_Lastname_Initial.pdf   (e.g., 100123456_Smith_J.pdf)
  • Do not include supplemental or additional materials in your file as they are uploaded separately.
  • Your thesis/dissertation must be printable.
  • All files uploaded will be scanned for viruses.

Incompatible Formats:

  • No embedded forms (AcroForm and XFA)
  • No encryption or security settings applied to your file (e.g. no passwords)
  • No document restrictions (i.e. content copying, content modification)
  • Any proprietary fonts must be embedded into the document to be PDF/A compliant. To do this, open your document in Acrobat. Rest of the instructions are available here.
  • Document should not contain embedded multimedia (images may be uploaded as “supplemental files” – see below; other audiovisual material should be delivered in person to Graduate Studies)
  • Linking to JavaScript or other executable files is not allowed
  • No hyper-links in content or as references

Supplemental File Formats

The following file formats will be accepted during the upload of supplemental files. All other file formats will be rejected by the system.

  • PDF/A
  • PDF (image only)
  • TIFF
  • JPEG
  • JPEG2000
  • Printable ASCII (text and LaTex)
  • MS-WORD
  • ODT (Open Document)

Step 2: Converting Your Thesis to PDF/A Format

Before uploading your thesis/dissertation, you must ensure that it is in PDF/A format. For instructions on how to do this, please go to this page. If you have any conversion issues, please contact the ITS Help Desk.

Step 3: Log-In to Carleton Central

Once you are ready to upload your final thesis, log in to Carleton Central and select ‘E-Thesis’ under Student Support Services.

You will see three sections: 1) Thesis Details 2) Agreements and Licenses (this will now include the decisions entered from the upload of your examination copy) and 3) Thesis Components.

Step 4: Completing Agreements and License

Read and indicate if you ‘Accept’ or ‘Decline’  the following agreement:   LAC Non-Exclusive License

i. Select the Primary and Secondary Subject Categories and click ‘Submit Information’.
ii. Complete and upload a signed LAC Non-Exclusive License.

Once this section is complete, you can continue to upload your thesis/dissertation electronically in Carleton Central. You will not be able to proceed to thesis upload until the agreement is complete.

Step 5: Upload Thesis Components

Complete only the sections that apply to your thesis. Please note that once you select ‘Finalize Submission’, no further changes can be made.

(a)   Thesis Upload

i.      Update Thesis Information. If you do not want your thesis to be available to the public, you can withhold it in this section for up to three months. Please notify your supervisor and department that you intend to withhold your thesis from publication. (Extension of the initial three month time period must be approved by Graduate Studies, prior to end date.) Once the withheld date expires, the thesis is automatically released to the Library for publishing.

ii.     Upload PDF/A formatted thesis document. Documents must be converted to PDF/A format prior to upload. Files must not exceed 40 MB. You can delete and re-upload your thesis as required until you select ‘Finalize Submission’ on the main menu.

(b)   Contributor Documents

i.      Complete this section only if you are submitting an Integrated Thesis or any copyright authorizations.

ii.     Complete the form for each contributor document.

iii.    Once the document is uploaded, it will appear in a table below. Documents can be deleted from the table if necessary.

(c)   Supplementary Files

i.      If you have supplementary files to include with your thesis, complete this section

ii.     Browse and upload supplementary files separately. Files must not exceed 2 MB.

iii.    Once files are uploaded, they will appear in a table below. You may delete uploaded supplementary files from the table if necessary.

(d)   Manually Submitted Documents

i.      Due to file size, some documents may be submitted manually (in person) to Graduate Studies. Indicate the Document Name and a contact telephone number for each document.

ii.     Once submitted, the documents will appear in a table below. You may delete manually submitted documents from the table if necessary.

iii.    A printable form will appear under ‘Thesis Components’ in the main menu. Print this form and submit it with your Manually Submitted Documents to Graduate Studies (512 Tory).

(e)   Finalize Submission

i.      Once all of your documents are ready, you can select ‘Finalize Submission’. Once you select this option, you will not be able to alter the uploaded documents.

Approvals

(a)   Supervisor Approval – Once your Electronic Thesis has been uploaded, your supervisor will be notified. Your thesis advisor must approve of your uploaded thesis/dissertation. If more revisions are required, you will be notified by email and required to upload the revised copy.

(b)   Graduate Studies Approval – Once approved by your supervisor, your thesis will be sent to Graduate Studies for final approval. Once approved by Graduate Studies, you will receive an email. Graduate Studies will send a copy of your thesis/dissertation to MacOdrum Library. Your thesis/dissertation will then be added to the ProQuest database and be publicly available.

Please note: A thesis deposit cannot be considered complete until it is authorized by your thesis supervisor. It is best to keep in contact with your advisor to ensure he/she has sufficient time to review and approve your uploaded copy in order to meet the thesis deposit deadlines for registration and Convocation.

Once you have graduated, Graduate Studies will send your thesis to the National Library and Archives.