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Submitting your Thesis or Project to the Library

This guide contains all of the information that you will need to submit your thesis, project, or dissertation to the library.

ADA Compliance Campus Requirement

When working on your thesis, project, or dissertation, it is a campus requirement that it must be made accessible. What does "accessible" mean? It means that assistive technology such as screen readers, braille printers and other assistive computer technologies will be able to interact with all information in your file. Amy Carpenter provides ADA formatting assistance Monday - Friday, 8 AM - 5 PM by email, acarpenter@csusm.edu, and virtual meetings. 

For instructions on how to make your own files ADA compliant, please visit our Document Accessibility Guide. Graduate student documents formatted for ADA compliance must be verified by library staff before final upload to the library. Use the ADA Formatting Form below to verify ADA compliance. 

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 below. The validation may take a couple of days, so do NOT wait until the day of the final deadline!

ADA Compliance Instructions

If you are anticipating graduating this semester, you will need to make your thesis or project American Disability Act Compliant before it can be uploaded. The ScholarWorks team will make theses and projects ADA compliant for you. In order to handle the volume of students graduating this semester, please send in a draft of your work by the ADA compliance deadline of July 22nd. An ADA compliant version of the draft file will be returned to students no later than August 5th.  

Make sure to follow all instructions carefully when submitting your thesis or project to the ScholarWorks team. If you miss a step or forget something, it could delay the processing of your file. Gather the materials of your draft thesis or project and review the "File Types for ADA Verification" list to ensure you have the correct document types. Then submit the draft of your file for ADA compliance. 

File drafts are acceptable. Make sure to include your unsigned departmental signature page (found on the Signature Page Template tab) as well as a title page! 

For students using LaTeX please contact thesisada@csusm.edu for unique instructions!

Upload your Files

Please read the ADA Verification Instructions and File Types for ADA Verification before submitting your file via the form below.

ADA Formatting Form  

File drafts are acceptable. Make sure to include your unsigned departmental signature page (found on the Signature Page Template tab) as well as a title page! 

For students using LaTeX please contact thesisada@csusm.edu for unique instructions!

Missed the ADA Deadline?

Submit your draft through the ADA Formatting form ASAP!

Your name will be added to the list of students that we are working with. Keep in mind that we work on the files in the order we receive them. If you send your files in after the ADA deadline, we cannot guarantee your file will be ready by August 5th. 

Summer 2024 Timeline

Timeline for ADA Compliance
When Student Action
July 22nd This is the ADA deadline! You must submit a draft of your Thesis or Project by July 22nd. Submit the draft via the ADA Formatting form.
July 22nd through August 5th 

We are working on making your file ADA compliant - keep an eye on your email for any questions or updates from us.

All edits and changes to your draft must be transferred into the ADA compliant document, so keep track of your revisions. 

August 5th The ScholarWorks team will email you the ADA compliant version of your thesis or project by end of day on August 5th
After your Defense and you have your final, edited version of your Thesis or Project

Upload the final, ADA compliant version of your thesis or project, including the appropriate, unsigned signature page as the first page. Signature pages can be found on the Signature Page Template tab.  

The ScholarWorks team will do a final ADA check of your file and alert you if we have any questions, so please keep any eye on your email. 

 

File Types for ADA Verification

Below is a list of format types and extra files that are sometimes included in theses and projects. If you are planning to include any of the items in the below list, please make sure to send them in the appropriate format. If you aren’t sure if the below materials should be included in your thesis/project, check with your advisor. You and your advisor should determine what content to include in your thesis or project.  

  • Tables: make sure that the tables are editable and are not images 
  • PowerPoint slides: submit the original slides in addition to your thesis/project 
  • Survey or Form: submit the original PDF or Word file in addition to your thesis/project 
  • Companion Website: please include a link to your website 
  • Podcasts, videos, or other multimedia files: please include a link to the files or submit them in addition to your thesis/project 
  • Worksheets: Make sure that the worksheets are editable and a part of the Word document. Do NOT take an image of a worksheet and insert it into your thesis/project. 
  • Official correspondence such as permission letters, approval emails etc.: submit the original Word file or PDF of the correspondence. Do NOT insert an image of the correspondence in your thesis/project.