All master's students writing theses and all doctoral students writing dissertations are required to submit their documents to University Dissertation and Thesis Services (UDTS) for both the Format Review and Final Submission. UDTS facilitates completion of requirements and submission of dissertations and theses. All thesis and dissertation submission procedures related to degree conferral in each semester and consistent with this policy are defined by UDTS. This encompasses all stated deadlines including, but not limited to, any for the required format review and final submission.
Please click on the links below to read more specific information about each step.
- Step 1: Working with Your Committee
- Step 2: Format Review
- Step 3: Submission Instructions and Embargo Policy
- Step 4: Attend Your Defense
- Step 5: Final Submission
Step 1: Working with Your Committee
- At some point in your graduate career, you will form your committee and begin working on your thesis or dissertation. If you have specific questions about the formation of your committee and the rules governing it, contact your college/school/department's graduate coordinator.
- While you are working with your committee, you will be writing your thesis or dissertation and making edits and changes based on their suggestions.
- Please confirm with your committee and/or department which style manual your discipline uses (e.g., APA, Chicago, MLA, IEEE, etc.). Neither Mason nor UDTS requires any specific style, as we work with students in many fields. It is your responsibility to confirm which style you should use, and it is your responsibility to make sure that you implement it correctly — UDTS does not check styles, and we cannot advise you regarding their usage.
- As soon as possible during the writing and editing process, please begin formatting your document according to our Formatting Guidelines. We provide templates, which are designed to make formatting your document easier.
- We also have a list of freelance editors and contractors who are available to assist you with editing, formatting, and transcription services. If you are interested in learning more about their services, please email us. Please note: these contractors are not employed by George Mason University. Their services are not free. They are independent contractors who set their own prices for the services they offer.
Step 2: Format Review
- All theses and dissertations must go through the mandatory Format Review, which is performed to ensure adherence to our University Formatting Guidelines.
- We have a variety of resources available, including templates.
- We strongly recommend that students submit their documents for the Format Review as soon as possible to avoid delays.
- When a document is ready for the Format Review, please email it to us: udts@gmu.edu. Students do not have to make an appointments for the Format Review.
- UDTS does not review content.
- We only review documents to confirm that they adhere to University Formatting Guidelines. Therefore, students may continue to make changes to their documents' content after passing the Format Review.
- We do not check to make sure that theses and dissertations adhere to any citation style (e.g., APA, Chicago, MLA, IEEE, etc.). UDTS neither requires nor forbids the use of any style manual.
- For the Spring 2025 Semester, we will accept first-time (initial) submissions of theses and dissertations for Format Review until 5:00 p.m. on Monday, March 31. Any document sent for an initial Format Review after 5:00 p.m. on Monday, March 31 will not be reviewed until Tuesday, May 6 at the very earliest.
- For the Spring 2025 Semester, we will perform subsequent reviews (i.e., reviews beginning with the second round) of documents until 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, April 30.
- Any students who have not passed the Format Review by 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, April 30 will not be eligible to graduate in the Spring 2025 Semester.
- We will recommence Format Reviews beginning on Tuesday, May 6.
- After we've approved your formatting, we will send you the Submission Instructions.
Step 3: Submission Instructions and Embargo Policy
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After students have passed the Format Review, UDTS will send an email that explains Final Submission requirements, including the paperwork to be turned in by the Final Submission deadline.
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All Master's students writing theses and all Doctoral students writing dissertations are required to submit the final copies of documents to UDTS, to be held in George Mason's Institutional Repository, MARS (mars.gmu.edu).
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All theses and dissertations will also be included in the library's catalog.
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Access to theses and dissertations in MARS is not limited to individuals directly affiliated with or connected to George Mason University.
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Unembargoed documents will become available in MARS as soon as they are uploaded.
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Once a thesis or dissertation becomes available in MARS (i.e., either immediately after upload or after an embargo lifts), any user who has access to the Internet can access and download the available document. Users do not have to register or pay for access to MARS.
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Embargo Policy
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Initial Embargo
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All students must submit a completed, signed Embargo Intent Statement (EIS) to UDTS at the time of Final Submission.
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Under circumstances determined by the student's school, college, and/or program, a student may, in accordance with University Dissertation and Thesis Services (UDTS) procedures, submit a signed petition to embargo, i.e. delay, all or part of their document, preventing online and on-campus access to it for a period of time (2 years, 5 years, or 10 years).
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All petitions are subject to the policies of the student's college/school and/or program and some may not permit a student to embargo their work.
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Each program and college/school shall publish on their respective university webpage whether they permit a student to embargo their work and, if so, the criteria used in their respective reviews
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Both the student's committee chair (or program designee) and the graduate associate dean of the college/school must approve the student's petition in writing in accordance with UDTS procedures by signing the EIS. Initial embargo request decisions are not reviewed beyond the college or school's leadership unit.
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All embargo petitions will be retained by UDTS.
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At the time of upload to MARS, the UDTS Coordinator will send an Embargo Notification statement to the student via their permanent email address (to be supplied by the student on the EIS), advising of the embargo lift date.
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The student should retain this statement, as it is their responsibility to keep track of the lift date.
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In the case of death, incapacity, or other similar circumstance, it is up to the author's estate, power of attorney, or other appropriate designee to ensure that the embargo continues.
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Embargo Renewal
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If an author (i.e., a student who has graduated from George Mason) wishes to extend the embargo past the document's initial release date, the author is required to secure the approval of the graduate associate dean of the author’s college/school and the Graduate Division in the Office of the Provost at the time of the extension request. Embargo renewal requests are not reviewed beyond the Graduate Division.
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Each college/school and the Graduate Division shall publish on their respective university webpages the process for initiating an embargo extension request and the criteria used in their respective reviews.
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Authors can request a renewal period of 2 years, 5 years, or 10 years, regardless of their original embargo limit (e.g., a student can request to renew their embargo for 5 years after an initial 2-year embargo).
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UDTS will retain a copy of the student petition and confirm to the student, graduate associate dean, and the Graduate Division in the Office of the Provost the decision and any applicable new release date.
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Initiating and completing the renewal of an embargo:
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To initiate this process, the author should contact the UDTS Coordinator via email: udts@gmu.edu.
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The UDTS Coordinator will send the author an Embargo Renewal Request Form.
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The author must fill out and sign the Embargo Renewal Request Form. The author is then responsible for collecting the signatures of the graduate associate dean of their college/school and the appropriate designee from the Graduate Division in the Office of the Provost at the time of the extension request, provided that they approve the author's request. An embargo will not be renewed without both signatures on the Embargo Renewal Request Form.
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Embargo Reinstatement
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If an embargo has been allowed to expire, an author (i.e., a student who has graduated from George Mason) may request approval to reinstate the embargo. The author is required to secure the approval of the graduate associate dean of the author’s college/school and the Graduate Division in the Office of the Provost at the time of the extension request. Embargo renewal requests are not reviewed beyond the Graduate Division.
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Each college/school and the Graduate Division shall publish on their respective university webpages the process for initiating an embargo extension request and the criteria used in their respective reviews.
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Authors can request a reinstatement period of 2 years, 5 years, or 10 years, regardless of their original embargo limit (e.g., a student can request to reinstate their embargo for 5 years after an original 2-year embargo).
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UDTS will retain a copy of the student petition and confirm to the student, graduate associate dean, and the Graduate Division in the Office of the Provost the decision and any applicable new release date.
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Initiating and completing the reinstatement of an embargo:
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To initiate this process, the author should contact the UDTS Coordinator via email: udts@gmu.edu.
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The UDTS Coordinator will send the author an Embargo Reinstatement Request Form.
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The author must fill out and sign the Embargo Reinstatement Request Form. The author is then responsible for collecting the signatures of the graduate associate dean of their college/school and the appropriate designee from the Graduate Division in the Office of the Provost at the time of the extension request, provided that they approve the author's request. An embargo will not be renewed without both signatures on the Embargo Renewal Request Form.
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Lifting an Embargo early
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An author (i.e. a student who has graduated from George Mason) who wishes to lift an embargo prior to the established termination date must notify the UDTS Coordinator via email: udts@gmu.edu.
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The UDTS Coordinator will take the appropriate steps, and the document will then be fully available in MARS.
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Step 4: Attend Your Defense
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All students in Doctoral programs must defend their dissertations.
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Some Master's programs require their students to defend; some do not. Master's students who are unsure should check with their academic programs.
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Your college/school/department/committee may require or ask you to place a copy of your dissertation or thesis on reserve at Fenwick Library two weeks prior to your Defense date. If your college/school/department requires you to place a review copy of your dissertation on reserve at the library, do not send this copy to UDTS. Instead, view the steps outlined in the Course Reserves InfoGuide on how to place your review copy on reserve.
- At the Defense
- Most students collect signatures on their Signature Sheets at the time of their Defense. UDTS will accept digital/electronic signatures.
- It is the responsibility of the student to collect signatures from everyone listed under "Committee:" on the Signature Sheet. That includes (but is not limited to) Program Directors, Department Chairpersons, Deans, etc. Colleges/schools/departments may have protocols in place to assist you with collecting signatures. Please contact the appropriate person within those units for assistance.
- At the Defense, committee members may ask students to make changes to their documents. Students may continue to make changes to the document's content after they have passed the Format Review. Should the committee require changes to content, the student is not required to resubmit the document for further review, as long as we have already approved your document's formatting.
Step 5: Final Submission
All Final Submissions take place via email. Please contact us with any questions regarding Final Submission procedures: udts@gmu.edu.
- Final Submission is the last step in the process. In order to reach this step, all students must fulfill all of the following criteria:
- UDTS has reviewed and approved the document's formatting through the Format Review;
- The author has successfully defended (if a Defense is a requirement for the degree/discipline);
- The committee has approved the document's content.
- Upcoming Final Submission deadlines are as follows:
- Spring 2025: 5:00 p.m. on Friday, May 2
- Special Registration under Summer 2025: 5:00 p.m. on Friday, May 16
- Summer 2025: 5:00 p.m. on Friday, August 2
- Fall 2025: 5:00 p.m. on Friday, December 6
- Final Submission requirements for Master's students:
- Turn in 1 copy of your Signature Sheet, signed--in black ink--by everyone listed under "Committee:";
- Turn in a soft copy (i.e., not printed) of your final document to us;
- Turn in 1 completed, signed Transmittal Sheet;
- Turn in 1 completed, signed Embargo Intent Statement (EIS). (Please note: we must receive a completed, signed EIS from every student, regardless of intent to delay the work. Students who do not plan to delay availability must still submit an EIS to UDTS. Some Mason units require immediate availability of all student dissertations and do not permit embargo of any length under any circumstances. Students should check with their academic programs before submitting embargo request.)
- Final Submission requirements for Doctoral students:
- Turn in 1 copy of your Signature Sheet, signed--in black ink--by everyone listed under "Committee:";
- Turn in a soft copy (i.e., not printed) of your final document to us;
- Turn in 1 completed, signed Transmittal Sheet;
- Turn in 1 completed, signed Embargo Intent Statement (EIS). (Please note: we must receive a completed, signed EIS from every student, regardless of intent to delay the work. Students who do not plan to delay availability must still submit an EIS to UDTS. Some Mason units require immediate availability of all student dissertations and do not permit embargo of any length under any circumstances. Students should check with their academic programs before submitting embargo request.)
- Complete and submit the Survey of Earned Doctorates;
- Submit your dissertation to ProQuest via the Administrator
Please take note of the following:
Once you have submitted the final (i.e. defended, formatted, and signed) version of your thesis or dissertation to our office, subsequent edits WILL NOT BE ALLOWED, EXCEPT under the following circumstances:
- A formatting error has been introduced into the PDF document when converting from another document type that affects the meaning of the dissertation. For example: in the process of formatting the document into a PDF, all of the ampersands (&) have disappeared and the error is not discovered until after final submission to UDTS. Re-submission would not be allowed to revise margins, fonts, or other non-substantive items.
- Incidence of fraud or plagiarism. The relevant college/school must conduct a review of the thesis or dissertation and determine an appropriate course of action in accordance with the university catalog and approved by the Dean. If the approved course of action includes allowing the student to resubmit a corrected version of a thesis or dissertation, the UDTS Coordinator must be informed in writing by an appropriate college/school or LAU official.
UDTS will not allow corrections of theses and dissertations for the following:
• Rewording the Dedication, Acknowledgments, Abstract, or Biography.
• Correction of citations or quotations.
• Addition of new text, or deletion of existing text, in the body.
• Correction of misspellings or grammar issues.
• Replacing, adding, or deleting Tables, Figures, or Equations.
• Correction of any other minor errors or omissions.
