Submitting your thesis

What type of thesis can be submitted?

Research Higher Degrees are eligible for inclusion in USQ ePrints and the Australasian Digital Theses Program. These include:

• PhD (Doctor of Philosophy)
• Doctor of Education, Doctor of Engineering
• Masters (by research), including Master of Health, Master of Arts, Master of Engineering, Master of Spatial Science, Master of Business

Coursework Masters or coursework Doctorate theses such as the Doctor of Business Administration and Doctor of Psychology can be included in USQ ePrints at the discretion of the relevant Faculty Dean.

How to submit an electronic copy of your thesis

In order for your thesis to made available in USQ ePrints and on the Australasian Digital Theses site you need to submit an electronic copy of your thesis to the Office of Research and Higher Degrees. Make sure you have:

• an accurate final electronic copy on which all of the corrections you were required to make for final approval of your degree have been made.
• read the University guidelines titled Examination and Award of Research Higher Degrees

Lodge your thesis with the Office of Research and Higher Degrees either on a CD-ROM or as an email attachment. Your submission should contain:

• The Research Dissertation Submission form (.docx 60KB) completed and signed, which gives information about the thesis and necessary permissions. The thesis will not be accepted unless the document is signed.
• your files (see below for the requirements for naming files, converting to PDF and document security).

Naming your files

Filenames should only contain letters, numbers or a combination of both. The only symbols permitted are a hyphen or underscore.

The following naming convention should be used:

1. Create an introduction file called 01front containing your initial pages as described in the University Calendar. This file is compulsory.
2. Create another file containing the whole of the thesis (including what is contained in the front file) and call this 02whole or alternatively break the thesis up into smaller files maintaining a relevant filename structure e.g. 01front.doc, 02chapter1.doc, 03chapter2.doc, 04bibliography.doc. Please note numbering of files is required no matter which filename standard is adopted.

Converting files to PDF

The Library will convert thesis documents deposited in Microsoft Word .doc format and other standard formats into PDF. Note that converting complex and large documents to PDF can be difficult. If you deposited your documents in PDF, the Library will check over the documents and will ensure that they meet the formatting standards. The Library will contact you at this stage only if there is a problem.

Document security

The electronic version of each thesis is kept on a server at USQ and the standard document security setting is to allow others to read and print only. No changes can be made to the PDF document and copying and pasting is not enabled.

Accessing your thesis online

At your discretion, the Library is able to make further amendments to your thesis deposit should you later find any issues regarding image quality, etc. but will make no other changes to thesis content.

If you have requested that access not be permitted for a certain period of time, the thesis will be held in the Office of Research and Higher Degrees and will not be added to USQ ePrints until after the restriction period has passed. 

Further information and assistance

Your primary contact for all issues relating to the submission of theses is the Manager, USQ Office of Research and Higher Degrees. Please refer to the Office of Research and Higher Degrees contact information for details.

For specific information about  the Australasian Digital Theses Program or filenames, formats and processes for converting and uploading theses please contact the Library.