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The University requires that the approved final version of all graduate dissertations, theses, or doctoral projects, which satisfy UNF degree requirements, be permanently and electronically deposited in the Thomas G. Carpenter Library. Since libraries no longer accept paper submissions, the term Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETD) is often used to refer to born-digital or online theses and dissertations.
Submitted theses and dissertations will be retained in the institutional repository, UNF Digital Commons, and students may also opt to submit their ETDs to the ProQuest database. (*If submitting to the ProQuest database in addition to the institutional repository, it takes an average of 6-12 weeks for the work to appear in the ProQuest database.) The Certificate of Approval with signatures of the thesis, dissertation, or project committee is submitted as supplemental material and retained in the system.
For more information on writing your thesis or dissertation at the University of North Florida, see the page below:
Provide alt-text for any informational images, charts, or graphs in the paper. If there are words in the image, the alt-text needs to convey those words as well. Alternative text (“alt text”) is a machine-readable tag that describes an image in words if the image cannot be displayed, for example for someone using a screen reader.
Only informative images need alt text. A decorative image that provides no information and only serves an aesthetic purpose does not need alt text (some applications allow marking such image as "decorative"). The recommended number of characters for alt text is 125 characters or less for compatibility with popular screen readers.
Theses and dissertations are only accepted electronically by the library. Do not submit drafts or preliminary versions of the paper with comments, edits, or "track changes" visible. Only the final version is acceptable for the repository. Copies of the signed Availability Agreement and Certificate of Approval are uploaded by students as supplemental files accompanying the paper.
After papers are approved by the Graduate School, the library commences its work behind the scenes ensuring that the electronic theses and dissertations (ETDs) have the appropriate metadata, bookmarks, name authority records, and archival versions. This process involves several members of the Digital Projects & Preservation department and may take up to 5 months from the date the paper is approved by the Graduate School.
Each paper must be accompanied by the Thesis/Dissertation Availability Agreement. Within this agreement you'll have the opportunity to choose a length of time for an embargo, if applicable, and a choice of whether to submit your paper to the ProQuest Theses and Dissertations Global database. *If you submit your paper to the ProQuest database in addition to the institutional repository, it takes an average of 6-12 weeks for the ETD to appear in the ProQuest database.
