Special Collections Research Center
Special Collections Research Center
Thesis and Dissertation Submission
Congratulations! You have completed your Doctoral Dissertation, Master's Thesis, or Senior Honors Thesis, and now comes the time to make sure Swem Library and the University Archives get their copies to preserve and make accessible to future researchers. Below are the instructions and guidelines you will need including instructions for those of you who are creating your dissertation or thesis in an electronic format. If you have questions about any of the guidelines for the University Archives, please contact the University Archivist at 757-221-3094 or via email.
Honors Theses
Honors students graduating in May 2008 and forward MUST submit their theses both to the Digital Repository and in hard copy to the Special Collections Research Center in Swem Library.
One copy of your honors thesis will go to the University Archives in the Special Collections Research Center in Swem Library, to be catalogued and kept for future research. Please take this copy to the Special Collections Research Center on the first floor of Swem Library. This copy must be printed on acid free paper and not bound in any way. You should also make sure that the copy that has the original signatures on the title sheet is brought to the University Archives. See our sample title sheet, or even better our Word template for an example of a title page.
Your margins must be one and half inches on the left and one inch on the top, bottom, and right sides. These are the only guidelines for printed theses that the Archives requires. If you have any questions about formatting, or acid free paper, or having a copy bound for your personal use please call the University Archives at 221-3094 or email us. There is no deadline for handing in your thesis to the University Archives, but we would like to have the copy before you leave campus.
Electronic Copy for the Digital Repository
One way of supporting undergraduate research is to make it easier for students doing Department Honors to store their theses in a way that will give them wider exposure than the traditional practice of placing a hard copy in the library's stacks. The Charles Center has partnered with Swem Library and the Office of Information Technology to create a digital repository where honors theses (and other research) will be stored.
William and Mary’s digital repository is located at http://dspace.swem.wm.edu/. Instructions for uploading theses to the repository are available in the Digital Archive wiki.
To access the honors project space, click on Research of William and Mary Students. When you arrive at the undergraduate research community entry page, you have the opportunity to either read the work of other authors or to upload your own work. There are just two steps to submitting your work to the repository:
1) prepare your document to upload
2) upload your document
If you have technical questions about this process, please contact Amy Schindler (acschi@wm.edu, 757-221-3094) or Ute Schechter (uxsche@wm.edu, 757-221-7626).
Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations
General Information
Your margins must be one and half inches on the left and one inch on the top, bottom, and right sides. These are the only guidelines for printed theses that the Archives requires.
If your thesis or dissertation exists in an electronic format you will need to produce a copy on acid free paper for the Archives. If it is in the form of a Web page then you will also need to provide a copy of the page including all of its html encoding. That means two copies for the Archives on acid free paper, one with the coding. The reason for this is so that even if the page disappears, or the links break down, we will be able to reconstruct what you did for future researchers. The current minimum retention period for theses and dissertations at William and Mary is 50 years. Having a copy of your work on acid free paper helps us to guarantee that we can maintain the information for at least that 50 year time period.
Graduate students wishing to add their thesis or dissertation to the College of William and Mary's digital repository are welcome and encouraged to do so. It is not required at this time. An account is required to add any material to the digital repository. To request an account, contact Amy Schindler (acschi@wm.edu, 757-221-3094) or Ute Schechter (uxsche@wm.edu, 757-221-7626).
Arts and Sciences students should turn in three final copies of their masters thesis or doctoral dissertation to the Administrator of Graduate Services in Stetson House, 232 Jamestown Road.Individual departments may have requirements beyond the parameters provided here for the Library and the University Archives. Please consult the Graduate Program's Physical Standards for Theses and Dissertations.
School of Education students should turn in two copies of their thesis or dissertation to Cynthia Sadler at the Preservation Office on the ground floor of Swem Library. Consult the School of Education for requirements beyond those provided here.
VIMS students should deliver two copies of their thesis or dissertation to the library at VIMS and one copy to Cynthia Sadler at the Preservation Office in Swem Library on the ground floor. Consult VIMS for requirements beyond those provided here.
Swem Library no longer offers to bind personal copies of theses and dissertations for students. Individuals interested in a personal bound copy, should contact a bindery or store that offers reproduction services (Kinko's, etc.) for binding options in a variety of price ranges. There are many binderies available of all shapes and sizes. You can find binderies in the telephone book (search under "bindery" or "books") and by searching online in your desired geographic area. If you live somewhere other than Williamsburg, you may wish to contact your local library for a suggestion of a local bindery.
If you have any questions, please contact University Archivist Amy Schindler (757-221-3094).