Your thesis or dissertation must be approved by the Graduate School by the published deadline dates of your graduating term in order to graduate in a given semester. Additionally, all required forms must be completed by the published deadlines.
Once approved, the document is locked and no revisions are allowed. If a student withdraws an approved thesis or dissertation from ProQuest and submits a new one, the new document will not be reviewed for the same semester and their graduation will be delayed until the following term.
Please familiarize yourself with the required submission process, copyright registration, and the student and advisor responsibilities prior to the semester you plan to graduate.
You are required to adhere to the Colorado State University Graduate School formatting and submission guidelines. The guidelines found in your department, listed on any other CSU webpages, or any previously published ETDs may not meet current formatting guidelines.
The word “thesis” refers to both the thesis and the dissertation unless otherwise noted.
Submitting Your ETD
Step 1
Find tips and “how-to” resources below and you may also review detailed instructions on the Organizing and Formatting Your Thesis and Dissertation page.
Contact the Graduate School at grad_etd_inquiries@mail.colostate.edu or 970-491-6817 if you still have formatting questions.
ETD Formatting Checklist and Sample Pages
- Pagination. Check all pages in your ETD to ensure all pages are numbered correctly as shown in the sample pages below and there are no blank pages.
- Copyright Page is inserted after the Title Page with no page number
- Abstract Page is ordered after the Copyright Page with small roman numeral ii
- First page of main text is page 1.
- All page numbers are 1/2″ from the bottom of the page and centered.
- Check the Master’s Thesis Title Page Sample, Ph.D. Dissertation Title Page Sample, Abstract Sample Page and Copyright Sample Page to ensure your pages conform.
- Verify that the title on your Title Page and Abstract matches the title on your GS30 Thesis/Dissertation Submission Form.
- The Abstract and Acknowledgements are located only in the Preliminary Section.
- Check that your department name and degree name are correct.
- Check that your graduation term is correct. (Spring, Summer or Fall and year.)
- Check margins. Correct margins are 1 inch: top, bottom, left and right.
- Check that your Tables and Figures are correctly titled and numbered:
- Table captions go above the table.
- Figure captions go below the figure.
- All tables and figures must conform to margin requirement.
To assist fellow graduate students in the development of their thesis or dissertation, a pilot project was initiated by the Graduate Student Council to create a trial offering of a LaTeX template. The The CSU Graduate School and the Morgan Library are unable to provide troubleshooting support for students who opt to use this template. If you opt to use the template, it is your responsibility to ensure your thesis or dissertation meets current Graduate School formatting requirements. Please use only use the template if you are knowledgeable and familiar with the program. View information on the the Colorado State University LaTeX Thesis/Dissertation Template.
How-to Guide for Page Numbering
Having trouble getting Microsoft Word to behave? Try using the Page Numbering for a Thesis or Dissertation Guide (PDF).
Step 2
Each semester, Graduate School staff provide a preliminary review of document formatting and help students with common issues. Documents are reviewed in PDF format. If you are using LaTeX, formatting can be checked if you bring a PDF file for review; however, we are unable to offer support for LaTeX.
If you would like your document reviewed for formatting before submitting to ProQuest, please send it as a PDF to grad_etd_inquiries@mail.colostate.edu by June 27. We will do one preliminary review. All subsequent revisions must be submitted through ProQuest.
Step 3
Part 1
Begin your electronic GS30 Thesis & Dissertation Submission form. Start the form in RAMWeb to ensure approval routing to your advisory committee:
- Ph.D. students must attach the Certificate of Completion from the Survey of Earned Doctorates to the GS30 form.
- If an embargo is required, complete the embargo section on the GS30.
- Do NOT attach your thesis/dissertation to the GS30 form.
The form is not complete until it reaches the Graduate School, after all committee members have signed the GS30 form.
You are responsible for ensuring form completion; and are encouraged to remind your co-signers to review and sign the form. To send automated reminders in Dynamic Forms, click on “Actions”, then “Manage Co-Signers.”
To monitor the approval status of the form, login to Dynamic Forms to view your pending forms.
Part 2
Submit your thesis or dissertation electronically to ProQuest/UMI through the Colorado State University Libraries ETD Submission Website.
You can submit the final, committee-approved version at any time, as long as it’s before the deadline for your graduating term.
You are almost there! If any revisions are required, ProQuest will send an email to the address you used to set up your ProQuest account. Please make sure ProQuest is on your safe sender list or monitor your junk mail.