Submitting your Thesis or Project to the Library

At CSUSM, every Master's degree program is required to include a culminating experience. The form of this experience differs according to degree programs, but all Master's students must satisfactorily complete either a thesis, a project or a comprehensive examination. A finished Master's thesis is a scholarly work that is the product of extensive research and related preparation. 

Electronic theses, projects, and dissertations are also known as ETDs. This guide contains all of the information that you will need to submit your thesis, project, or dissertation. Please be aware that this process may take several days. DO NOT wait until the last minute!

The instructions listed on this page are for graduate students at CSUSM. If you are in the Joint Doctoral Program with UCSD, please use the instructions on the tab marked "Joint Doctoral Program with UCSD."

The ETD submission deadlines are always at noon on the last Thursday that classes are scheduled:

• The Fall 2024 Deadline is December 5th at noon
  • The Fall ADA deadline is November 18th. (Drafts are OK!)
• The Spring 2025 Deadline is May 8th at noon
  • The Spring ADA deadline is April 21st. (Drafts are OK!)
• The Summer 2025 Deadline is August 7th at noon

Make sure that you have several days between your project presentation/thesis defense and the submission deadline. You will need that time to get your documents in order and your final edits in. If you decide that you want to handle the ADA formatting yourself, you still need to send your thesis or project to the library for verification of ADA compliance. Send it in using the form on the ADA formatting tab. The validation may take a couple of days, so do NOT wait until the day of the final deadline!

If you know that you will not make the deadline or you have an emergency, you may request an extension. Please contact your faculty advisor as soon as you know that you need an extension! Your faculty advisor will need to route the request through your program coordinator!

Graduate Coordinators may request an extension for students by emailing the Office of Graduate Studies with the student's name, program, the reason for the request, and the number of days needed (extensions can be anywhere from one day to a maximum of one week) with a cc to both the thesis/project advisor and Carmen Mitchell. Requests are subject to approval and must be made before the ETD deadline. Any requests made on the day of the deadline (or after the deadline) will not be approved. Note that direct requests from students will be routed back to their graduate coordinator.
If you need more than a one week period of time, you will need to enroll for a course the next semester.