thesis on embargo

What’s a thesis or dissertation embargo, and when to use it?

As part of the degree requirements for theses and dissertations, students hold a public defense and will have their document published electronically in the ASU Digital Repository and with ProQuest. Publication in the ASU Digital Repository is required; however, students may elect to delay (known as “embargo”) publication of their thesis/dissertation for a period of two years with support from their committee.

Why embargo a thesis/dissertation?

Delayed publication can protect:

• information of commercial value
• patentable rights
• sensitive or classified information
• academic or commercial press from acquiring publishing rights
• other relevant scholarly issues related to the release of your work

How can a student establish an embargo?

• Consult with committee at the time of the defense (or earlier) to decide whether an embargo is necessary
• Complete the Delaying Publication of Thesis/Dissertation form and include the chair’s (or a co-chair’s) signature.
• Include the embargo form with the completed Pass/Fail form that will be submitted to the Graduate College.

If approved, an embargo allows for a temporary delay of the publication of your document for two years through the ASU Digital Repository, KEEP. Embargo requests made after publication cannot guarantee non-viewing or downloading.

Other considerations

In unique cases, students may be granted an embargo of their document for an additional two years by emailing [email protected] before the original embargo expires. The maximum allowable embargo period for the ASU Digital Repository is four years, while ProQuest may allow for an indefinate embargo. Those requests are to be emailed to [email protected] .

These embargo guidelines apply to other culminating experience documents (such as bound documents and DMA research papers) that are required to go through format review and submission to ProQuest. Please check with your academic unit if unsure if this applies to your culminating experience.

Embargo questions can be directed to [email protected] .  

Dissertations & Theses: Understanding Embargoes

• Introduction
• Task Definition
• Information Seeking Strategies
• Location and Access
• Use of Information
• Searching for Dissertations & Theses
• Accessing ETDs from Off-Campus
• Writing & Submitting ETDs

Understanding Embargoes

What is an embargo.

In academia, an "embargo" is a restriction placed on a thesis or dissertation that allows only the title, abstract, and citation information to be released to the public, while the full text of the work is kept hidden for a limited period of time. Embargoes typically last from one to five years following publication of a thesis or dissertation via the college or university's Institutional Repository or some other publishing service (e.g., ProQuest). Colleges and universities have different rules about whether and how theses and dissertations can be embargoed; however, most embargos can be extended under certain circumstances.

Why Embargo a Thesis or Dissertation?

Most theses and dissertations are not embargoed, but are made  publicly available following their formal defense as part of completing a masters or doctoral degree. Some reasons to embargo a thesis or dissertation include:

• The author wants to patent something described in the work.
• The author wants to publish the work in whole or in part in the future and is concerned that making the work public will interfere with this.
• The author has previously published the work in whole or in part, and the publisher is restricting public release of the work in some way.
• The dissertation includes data covered by a nondisclosure agreement for a specified period of time, including personal information, company secrets, or intellectual property.

Some colleges and universities encourage all authors to embargo their work, while others discourage embargoes except when they are absolutely needed. 

What are Georgia Southern's Embargo Guidelines? 

As a condition of enrollment at Georgia Southern University, each student grants the University a limited, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to reproduce and make publicly available the student’s dissertation or thesis, in whole or in part, in electronic format via Digital Commons@Georgia Southern  subject to the following voluntary elections:

• The student may elect to restrict access to the work to the Georgia Southern University campus.
• The student may embargo the work for a period of one or five years. After the ending date of the initial embargo period, the work will be made publicly available unless the student submits a written request, signed by the major professor, to the College of Graduate Studies for an extension. This request must be received prior to the ending date of the initial embargo period.

Embargoes are intended only for documents that meet one or more of the following criteria:

• Includes potential patent pending information
• Includes prospective trade secrets
• Includes sensitive security information that could be detrimental to the institution, agencies, state, or country if released.

If you have questions or concerns, please contact the College of Graduate Studies at [email protected] or 912-478-2647.

Should I Embargo My Thesis or Dissertation?

Always discuss the pros and cons of embargoing your thesis or dissertation with your graduate committee prior to submitting your work to Digital Commons@Georgia Southern . In addition, to help you with this decision, here are some recent articles that address this question:

• Dissertation Reviews: Embargo Your Dissertation, or Not?
• Indiana University: Should I embargo my dissertation?
• Daily Nous: Should PhD Students Embargo Their Dissertations?
• ScienceBlog: Why I Placed A Digital Embargo On My Dissertation, And Maybe You Should Too
• Chronicle of Higher Education: Embargoes Can Go Only So Far to Help New Ph.D.'s Get Published, Experts Say

How Do I Get Access to an Embargoed Thesis or Dissertation?

If you learn about a thesis or dissertation that you want to read but it currently is embargoed, your best bet is to contact the author. If you are having difficulty finding contact information for the author, try contacting your library or the library at which the author earned his or her degree. 

Librarian - Liaison for COE

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Theses & Dissertations

• Submitting your Thesis or Dissertation
• Depositing with ProQuest
• Understanding Copyright
• Understanding Embargoes
• Frequently Asked Questions

Acknowledgements

Special thanks to Jessica Benner , Library Liaison for Computer Science and GIS, for compiling the information on which this page is based. 

What is an Embargo?

Authors who share their work openly will gain more visibility for their research and are contributing to the scholarly record of work conducted at Carnegie Mellon University. Even so, a n embargo on your work may be appropriate in certain circumstances. An embargo is a specified time period to delay online access . Applying an embargo to your thesis or dissertation does not mean that your work will be completely hidden. A public record of your thesis will exist online, including the author’s name, title of the work, keywords, and an abstract. In either KiltHub or ProQuest, the embargo options can range from 6 months to 5 years, and will automatically expire. In most cases, an embargo is not needed, but you should discuss your options with your thesis advisor.

Embargo Dos and Don'ts

• When to apply an embargo
• When not to apply an embargo

Embargoes are recommended for a few typical cases: 

Non-disclosure agreement, patent agreements or commercially valuable research.

In this case, the authors believe the research is commercially viable and may want to protect intellectual property rights while securing a patent. The embargo period should be used to obtain the patent not for conducting more research.

Publisher Requirements

An embargo is not recommended if: .

• The author wants to do more research or believes the quality of the research is poor. Conducting more research is not an appropriate cause for an embargo.
• The author is against depositing their work in open access venues. They can deposit their dissertation in ProQuest, a subscription based database.
• The author believes everyone else in the department is obtaining embargoes so they want to follow the crowd. Each dissertation is unique and should be evaluated independently.
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Formatting your Thesis and Dissertation:Tools,Tips and Troubleshooting

• I am a new Graduate Student at Florida Tech!
• Thesis and Dissertation Templates
• Learn About Zotero
• Formatting Landscape Pages
• Line Spacing
• Page Numbers
• Page Break and Section Breaks
• Table of Contents or Figures
• Figures Turning Black
• Margin issues with Tables
• Page numbers not appearing
• PDF to PDF/A
• Section Breaks
• Landscape Page Numbers
• Troubleshoot LaTeX formatting issues
• Copyright and Creative Commons Licenses Primer
• Do I need to embargo my thesis or dissertation?
• I'm ready to submit my electronic copy - now what do I do?
• What is the process for obtaining print copies of my thesis or dissertation?

Understanding Embargoes

What is an Embargo?

In academia, an "embargo" is a restriction placed on a thesis or dissertation that allows only the title, abstract and citation information to be released to the public, while the full text of the work is kept hidden for a limited period of time. Embargoes typically last from one to five years following the publication of a thesis or dissertation via a university's Institutional Repository or some other publishing service (e.g. ProQuest). 

Some colleges and universities encourage all authors to embargo their work, while others (such as Florida Tech ) discourage embargoes except when they are absolutely needed.

Reasons not to Embargo

• The more accessible your thesis or dissertation is, the more likely it is to be cited.
• Making your thesis or dissertation accessible allows it to be scrutinized by others in the field, prompting collegiality.
• If you are worried about copyright infringement and/or plagiarism, then you should get your idea out there as soon as possible so that it is documented and accessible. That way, you have proof that the idea originated from you and that the alleged infringer had access to your work. While copyright protection is automatic, people who are concerned about copyright infringement can also register copyright in it with the U.S. Copyright Office. ProQuest will do this for you for an additional fee, or you can do it yourself at http://copyright.gov/eco/. Registration provides statutory damages and attorney's fees in the event of an infringement.
• Having theses or dissertations available helps future scholars about the process of scholarship.
• You do not intend to pursue a tenure-track position.

Why Embargo a Thesis or Dissertation?

Most theses and dissertations are  not  embargoed but are made publicly available following their formal defense as part of completing a master's or doctoral degree. Some reason to embargo a thesis or dissertation include:

• The author wants to patent something described in the work.
• The author wants to publish the work in whole or in part  in the future  and is concerned that making the work public will interfere with this.
• The author has  previously  published the work in whole or in part, and the publisher is restricting the public release of the work in some way. 
• The dissertation includes data covered by a nondisclosure agreement for a specified period of time, including personal information, company secrets, or intellectual property.

What are Florida Tech's Embargo Guidelines?

The standard embargo options for theses and dissertations at Florida tech include: Six months, One year, and Two years. If needed, you can also specifiy a different desired embargo timeframe. All requested embargos require a justification. The standard options for embargo justification are publishing process and patent filing process, However, if needed, you can specify a different justification.

Image o f Embarg o Options section of Electronic Theses and Dissertation (ETD) Access Form

Select access Option 1 or Option 2

Option 1: Immediate worldwide access - The thesis will be freely available on the Internet to all users. (Recommended)

Option 2: Embargoed access – Graduate students and their faculty advisor may request to embargo the release of their thesis or dissertation for up to 2 years (or longer by special request). The Embargoed Access Option is recommended if, for example, you plan to submit patent application or publication (although most publishers will not automatically dismiss papers derived from online theses). The thesis will not be available to anyone outside Florida Tech for (choose only one time period and indicate your justification):

Should I Embargo My Thesis or Dissertation?

Always  discuss the pros and cons of embargoing your thesis or dissertation with your advisor  prior  to submitting your work. Below are links to recent articles that address this question:

• Dissertation Reviews: Embargo Your Dissertation, or Not?
• Indiana University: Should I embargo my dissertation?
• Daily Nous: Should PhD Students Embargo Their Dissertations?
• ScienceBlog: Why I Placed A Digital Embargo On My Dissertation, And Maybe You Should Too
• Chronicle of Higher Education: Embargoes Can Go Only So Far to Help New Ph.D.'s Get Published, Experts Say

How Do I Get Access to an Embargoed Thesis or Dissertation?

If you learn about a thesis or dissertation that you want to read but it currently is embargoed, your best bet is to contact the author. Additionally, if you try to access a document that is embargoed, you will be directed to a form where you can request access.

If you are having difficulty finding contact information for the author, try contacting your library or the university library at which the author earned his or her degree. 

Many thanks to Kay Coates, Zach Henderson Library at Georgia Southern University and  Shayna Pekala , Scholarly Communications Office at Indiana University, for permission to reuse content.

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Dissertations, Doctoral Projects, and Theses: Embargoes

Should i request an embargo for my dissertation.

If you are concerned that public release of your research may be inadvisable, you may request an embargo, which will restrict access to your work for a limited period of time. Reasons for an embargo include: making public information about a pending patent application, violating privacy rights; disclosing sensitive data or information; and adversely affecting your chances of publishing a revised dissertation. In these cases, you should consult with your advisor and dissertation committee to determine whether an embargo would be appropriate.

In 2013, the American Historical Association released its Statement on Policies Regarding the Embargoing of Completed History PhD Dissertations  suggesting that doctoral students should be permitted to embargo online access to their dissertation for up to six years, with access being provided only for those on campus or with the student’s explicit permission off campus. If you are concerned that the availability of your dissertation in an open access repository will negatively affect your future publication prospects, you may find our Revising Your Dissertation for Publication page and the articles below of interest.

• Cohen, Philip N. " Sociologists: Don’t Embargo your Dissertation ." Family Inequality. 2021.
• " Can't Find It, Can't Sign It: On Dissertation Embargoes ." Harvard University Press Blog. 2013.
• Gilliam, Christian and Christine Daoutis. " Can Openly Accessible E- Theses Be Published as Monographs? A Short Survey of Academic Publishers ."  Serials Librarian  no. 1–4 (July 2018): 5–12.
• Gold, Alexandra. " The Great Embargo Debate ." Inside Higher Ed. 2018.
• McCutcheon, Angela M. Impact of Publishers' Policy on Electronic Thesis and Dissertation (EDT) Distribution Options within the United States . 2010
• Ramirez, M. L., J. T. Dalton, G. Mcmillan, M. Read, and N. H. Seamans. " Do Open Access Electronic Theses and Dissertations Diminish Publishing Opportunities in the Social Sciences and Humanities? Findings from a 2011 Survey of Academic Publishers ." College & Research Libraries 74.4 (2013): 368-80.
• Ramirez, M. L., G. Mcmillan, J. T. Dalton, A. Hanlon, H. S. Smith, and C. Kern. " Do Open Access Electronic Theses and Dissertations Diminish Publishing Opportunities in the Sciences ?" College & Research Libraries 75.6 (2014): 808-21.
• Rosen, Rebecca J. " You've Spent Years on Your Ph.D.: Should You Publish It Online for Free? " The Atlantic . 2018.
• Dissertation Embargoes and Publishing Fears
• Open Access and Dissertation Embargoes
• Publishing a Revised Dissertation
• To Embargo Your Dissertation, or Not?
• Dr. Audrey Truschke's follow-up tweets on this subject (2019)
• Weinberg, Justin.  Should PhD Students Embargo Their Dissertations?   Daily Nous. 2018.

If my work is embargoed, what information will be available?

The Graduate School allows two types of embargoes:

Common Embargo

The citation and abstract will appear in DigitalGeorgetown and ProQuest. The full text of your dissertation, doctoral project, or thesis will be withheld from public distribution but will be available to the Georgetown community (current faculty, student, and staff). Your work will also be available to any researcher who contacts the Georgetown University Library in advance and comes to campus to read it. Visiting readers are not permitted to print or download your work.

Restrictive Embargo

The citation and abstract will appear in DigitalGeorgetown and ProQuest. The full text of your dissertation, doctoral project, or thesis will not be available to anyone. This most restrictive option could be requested for a patent pending application and must be supported by a letter from your mentor or Director of Graduate Studies.

How do I request an embargo?

The Graduate School's embargo policy is set out in Part V.B. of the Graduate Bulletin, " Publication of Theses, Doctoral Projects, and Dissertations ." Additional information about requesting an embargo is on the Graduate School's Embargo Policy page. For questions about how to place an embargo, email [email protected] .

Is there a time limit on the embargo?

Both ProQuest and DigitalGeorgetown allow an embargo for up to two years. In rare circumstances, an extension beyond two years might be granted. Such request must be made before the expiration of any previously granted embargo and must be addressed in writing to the Dean of the Graduate School, accompanied by a letter of support from your mentor or the Director of Graduate Studies. The decision whether or not to grant such an extension will rest with the Dean. 

Requests to extend your embargo in ProQuest should be made directly to ProQuest by emailing [email protected] .

If you submit your thesis or dissertation through the ProQuest submission portal without requesting an embargo, your work will be made available openly in DigitalGeorgetown within a few weeks after graduation.  

Can I embargo my work after it has already been submitted to ProQuest and DigitalGeorgetown?

Requests to embargo a dissertation that has already been publicly available will not generally be approved. Even if an embargo is allowed, it is important to note that if your work has already been freely available in DigitalGeorgetown, and any copies made by others won't be affected by a later embargo.

WashU Libraries

How to submit your thesis or dissertation (etd).

• Dissertation Access Options
• Thesis Embargoes
• Binding Options
• Finding WashU Dissertations
• Undergraduate Honors Theses or Capstone Projects This link opens in a new window

Thesis Embargo Options

If you choose to delay the release of your work, access to the full text of your work will be delayed for the period of time that you specify based on  library polic y (refer to the Embargoes section) .

Reasons to request an embargo might include the author is pursuing a patent for the work; the research sponsor requires a specified embargo period; the submission includes sensitive or proprietary content, such as work conducted with a corporate partner or a risk of research participants’ identity exposure. Academic departmental policy may govern the use and duration of embargoes and students should consult their department for this information.

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Publishing Dissertations and Theses: Embargoes

• Master's Thesis FAQ
• Dissertation Research
• Publishing a Dissertation

What is an embargo?

An "embargo" is a restriction placed on a thesis or dissertation that allows only the title, abstract, and citation information to be released to the public, while the full text of the work is kept hidden for a limited period of time.

Embargos in ProQuest

From ProQuest: "Authors have the ability to embargo their work indefinitely or for a certain period of time. ProQuest honors the author’s wishes and can accommodate as needed... Contact [email protected] to make a request."

The author of the embargoed work is responsible for contacting ProQuest and coordinating their embargo request.

Should you embargo your dissertation?

Most theses and dissertations are not embargoed, and are made publicly available following their formal defense as part of completing a masters or doctoral degree. As your dissertation is your introduction to a scholarly conversation in your field, the LTU Library discourages aribtrary embargoes of your work .

Some valid reasons to embargo a thesis or dissertation include:

• The author wants to patent something described in the work.
• The author wants to publish the work in whole or in part in the future and is concerned that making the work public will interfere with this.
• The author has previously published the work in whole or in part, and the publisher is restricting public release of the work in some way.
• The dissertation includes data covered by a nondisclosure agreement for a specified period of time, including personal information, company secrets, or intellectual property.
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Guide to CaltechTHESIS

• Caltech Theses
• Deadlines and Letters of Completion
• Submission Information
• Grad Office Regulations and Required Forms
• Templates and Formatting Information
• Thesis Updates and Corrections
• CaltechDATA for Supplementary Material

Caltech Thesis Embargo Policy

Timeline questions and answers, embargo forms and types, length of an embargo, good reasons to embargo a thesis, *important* information expected by the thesis embargo review committee, "partial embargos" or how to embargo thesis chapters, embargo request is denied - next steps, who is on the thesis embargo review committee, text of caltech thesis embargo policy.

• Copyright Considerations
• Publishers' Policies on Publications in Theses
• Printing & Binding
• Senior Thesis Deposits
• 3MT: Caltech's Three Minute Thesis Competition This link opens in a new window

Author Services and Thesis Librarian

Library Staff

• Caltech Thesis Dissemination Policy The Policy describes the parameters under which thesis files may or may not be restricted to campus or fully embargoed. Please read it thoroughly to understand your options and limitations. Do note that even if the file(s) is/are restricted, the CaltechTHESIS record will be released to public access. The latest updated Thesis Dissemination Policy on Embargoes was approved by the Faculty on 6 December 2021. Scroll down to see the Full Text of Caltech Thesis Embargo Policy
• You should submit your request roughly at the same time, and preferably slightly earlier, as you deposit the final version of your thesis, after your defense.
• It usually takes a while to get a decision from the Thesis Embargo Review Committee, and we always honor the request until the decision has been made, regardless.
• Accept the decision and the Library will step down the thesis access to the lowest level of embargo if possible until the end of the embargo period. Any further extension requests will not be approved.
• Decide to appeal the decision. During the appeal process, we will continue to honor the embargo request. If the appeal is denied, the Library will step down the thesis access to the lowest level of embargo if possible until the end of the embargo period. Any further extension requests will not be approved.

Embargo Forms

Any Caltech student depositing a dissertation or thesis into CaltechTHESIS may use this form to make it easier to track their embargo request. The restrictions outlined in the  Caltech Doctoral Thesis Dissemination Policy apply exclusively to Caltech doctoral students - the stated reasons for wanting an embargo should fall within the Thesis Dissemination Policy's accepted parameters.

Carefully consider your reasons for wanting an embargo. Students and their advisors should have a discussion and mutually agree on its need before submitting an embargo request:   Good Reasons to Embargo a Thesis . 

• Request for Thesis Restriction to Campus-Only Access .  Use this form if you need to restrict thesis files to campus-access only for 6 months .  Readers logged into the Caltech IP range will have access to the files. First-time requests are automatically granted, but extension requests are sent to the Thesis Embargo Review Committee for approval.
• Request for Thesis Full Embargo . Use this form if you need to fully restrict access to your thesis files, even from campus.  All fully embargoed files are completely hidden from everyone except database administrators. Full embargo request are sent to the Thesis Embargo Review Committee for approval.
• Request for Thesis Partial Embargo . Use this form if you need to partially restrict access to your thesis files, even from campus. You must upload a redacted PDF copy of your thesis that can exclude the portions that you wish to embargo.  The redacted copy will become publicly available, and will be swapped with the full thesis once the embargo period has expired.   Any fully embargoed files are completely hidden from everyone except database administrators. Partial embargo requests are sent to the Thesis Embargo Review Committee for approval.
• Request for Thesis Embargo Extension . Use this form if you need to extend the current 6-month embargo for another 6 months, even if you are requesting a step-down from the current embargo status. Submit the extension request about 1 month before the expiration of the current embargo. Extension requests are sent to the Thesis Embargo Review Committee for approval.
• Appeal of Denial of Thesis Embargo Request . **Submit the Appeal within 1-2 weeks of the notification that the Embargo Request was denied.** Use this form if your embargo request has been denied and you wish to appeal the decision. You should include more detailed and complete information in the Appeal, which will be reviewed by the Thesis Embargo Review Committee.

The Library will honor your embargo request while awaiting the decision of the Thesis Embargo Review Committee, as well as the resolution of any appeals.

Detailed Reasons Required

Please provide detailed information in your Reasons for any embargo requests in order to speed up the processing of your request. The Thesis Embargo Review Committee requires much more detailed information to make an informed decision, and missing information will cause unnecessary delays. Here is the kind information that the Committee is generally looking for:  *Important* Information Expected by the Thesis Embargo Review Committee

Different Embargo Types

• Public : No embargo.  File is available worldwide as soon as CaltechTHESIS record is fully released.
• Restricted to Campus Access Only : Only readers logged into the Caltech IP range will have access to the thesis file(s)' contents.
• Partial Embargo: You may request an embargo for only certain portions of your thesis , rather than the full thesis.  You must upload a redacted PDF copy of your thesis in addition to the full thesis. Add pertinent information to the relevant embargo form.
• Full Embargo : Thesis files are completely hidden and unavailable to either the public or the Caltech community.
• A thesis may be embargoed for a maximum of two years with extension requests made every six months.  That is equivalent to the first six months plus three more 6-month extensions).
• In rare circumstances, particular chapters may be embargoed for more than two years, but no more than five years with an annual review after the first two years.
• If you anticipate needing to extend your accepted embargo, we highly recommend that you upload both a full thesis file as well as separate chapter files, into your CaltechTHESIS record.  This will make it easier to release portions of the thesis that no longer need to be embargoed during the extension period.
• If your thesis files were fully embargoed, you and your advisor(s) will receive an email notification approximately one month before your thesis' access is scheduled to become unrestricted.

The requestor must certify in the Embargo Request that both the student and the advisor(s) have discussed and mutually agree on the need for the embargo.

Pending Patents or License Agreements:

• You should already be in contact with OTTCP if you have any potentially patentable or licensable subject matter included in your thesis
• Either the full thesis and/or a particular chapter of the thesis can be fully embargoed.
• Your patent application or licensing agreement may be far enough along in the process to obviate the need for any access restrictions for your thesis. Double-check with OTTCP on the status

Ongoing Research or Fear of "Being Scooped":

• In exceptional cases, a full embargo may be considered when ongoing research in the thesis advisor's group would be severely affected by open access of the thesis.

Submitted Publications:

• Publishers are currently highly unlikely to require that a thesis chapter be restricted or embargoed either before or after publication in a journal.
• Publishers Thesis Policies Libguide . The overwhelming majority of publishers no longer require submitted papers to be embargoed. Many also treat CaltechTHESIS as the equivalent to many of the preprint servers now available, such as ArXiv.
• Sherpa Romeo . Sherpa Romeo is an online resource that provides summaries on embargo policies by publication status for individual articles on a journal-by-journal basis.

In all cases, add the need information to the Rationale  section of your embargo request form.

Publications:

• Provide a plan for publication. Include specific journal titles to which you are submitting the paper(s), what their submission embargo policies are, and the length of time you think you will need.
• Indicate if the journal is considered a high-profile journal in your field.
• Provide a list of tasks that need to be completed before the paper(s) can be published.
• Provide a projected timeline for bringing the embargo to an end.
• Include identifying patent or licensing agreement information provided to you by OTTCP.

Ongoing Research:

• A detailed explanation of why the research should be embargoed.
• A projected timeline for bringing the embargo to an end.
• Thesis advisor must document which current members in the research group would be affected, and how.

Embargo Extensions

• The requestor must provide a detailed background of the circumstances, and specific plans for moving forward.
• The thesis advisor must document which current members in the research group would be affected, and how.

Yes! You may embargo either your full thesis file, and/or separate thesis chapter files.

• If you are interested in restricting access to your thesis, ask yourself if you only need to embargo certain portions of your thesis. You may not need to embargo the whole thesis.
• The redacted thesis file can have the relevant material omitted.  On the page in the thesis where the omitted content would normally be, insert a blank page and add a statement to the reader saying something like "[This chapter is temporarily embargoed.]" or "[Intentionally redacted.]". Leave the Table of Contents as is, with the redacted sections still listed.
• Embargo levels for attached files in a CaltechTHESIS record do not need to match: each file can be either public, restricted to campus, or fully embargoed. For example, ch.1 could be publicly available, ch.2-3 could be restricted to campus, and ch.4 could be fully embargoed.
• The full thesis file's embargo status will always match that of the most restrictive embargo status of any of the other chapter files at any given time over the lifetime of the embargo.
• The full thesis will not become publicly available until the last of the restricted chapter files have been publicly released.

Notify the Thesis Embargo Review Committee of your Intentions:

• If a partial embargo will do, upload both your full thesis file AND a redacted thesis file.
• Be sure to tell the Thesis Embargo Review Committee of your interest in a partial embargo in the Reasons section of your  Embargo Form . You'll want include why and which portions of the thesis you want to be embargoed.
• The Thesis Embargo Review Committee does tend to look more favorably on partial embargos, especially when you are asking for an extension.
• If your embargo request is denied by the Embargo Review Committee, you may appeal the decision.  You must send your appeal request in writing, and it will be forwarded to the Committee for consideration.  It is highly recommended that any new and additional information that could boost your case be provided in the Reasons field.
•  If your initial full embargo request is not approved and an appeal has not been submitted, your thesis file(s)’ access status will be changed to Restricted to Campus-Only for the same 6-months length of time.  You and your advisor(s) will be notified of the change.
• If your request for an embargo extension is not approved and an appeal has not been submitted, your thesis' embargo status will be moved down to the next level, whichever is appropriate: from Full Embargo to Campus-Access-Only, or from Campus-Access-Only to Public Access. You and your advisor(s) will be notified of the change.
• If an appeal has been submitted, the thesis' current embargo status will remain unchanged while the appeal is under review.  You will be notified when the decision has been made by the Embargo Review Committee.
•  Both the student and the advisor must agree on the need for the appeal.

The Thesis Embargo Review Committee includes the University Librarian, the director of the Office of Technology Transfer and Corporate Partnerships (OTTCP) as needed, the student's Division Chair, the Dean of Graduate Studies and the Vice-Provost.  Unanimous approval from the Committee is needed for requests for a full embargo, an extension of a current embargo, or an appeal of a denied request.

Please contact us if you have any questions.

Doctoral Thesis Dissemination Policy David Chan, Dean of Graduate Studies Kaushik Bhattacharya, Vice Provost Update effective on December 6, 2021*

The degree of Doctor of Philosophy is conferred by the Institute primarily in recognition of breadth of scholarship, depth of research, and the power to investigate problems independently and efficiently. The work for the degree must consist of systematic studies of an advanced character, of research, and the preparation of a thesis describing these. A thesis is to be a substantial new contribution to the field that would be released into the stream of scholarship.

Dissemination of the thesis

1. The dissemination of a thesis is guided by the Caltech open access policy that states, "The Faculty of the California Institute of Technology is committed to disseminating the fruits of its research and scholarship as widely as possible."

2. Standard practice is to make a thesis openly available through CaltechTHESIS upon submission.

3. Graduate students and their advisors (either can make the request but both must agree) may request that either the entire thesis or a particular chapter of the thesis be embargoed for a period up to six months, during which time access will be limited to campus, in order to pursue publications and/or patents. The request must be made to the library in writing and must be approved by the University Librarian. The metadata associated with every thesis will be available worldwide upon submission. The embargo automatically expires after six months.

4. Exceptions, i.e., extending the embargo to include the campus or beyond six months, must be requested in writing. Either the graduate student or advisor can request, but the requesting party is expected to get the consent of the other, unless contact information is unknown. The request should provide a detailed background of the circumstances, specific plans for moving forward and a target date when the embargo can be lifted. The exception will require the consent of the University Librarian, the Division Chair, the Vice Provost, and the Dean of Graduate Studies. Examples of situations where an extension of the embargo may be granted:

• (i) Portions of the thesis are included in a publication under review in a journal whose policy explicitly requires embargo. The written request must include documentation, and an additional six-month extension of the embargo may be granted.
• (ii) A patent application or licensing agreement is under negotiation and the Office of Technology Transfer and Corporate Partnership advises continued embargo. The written request must include documentation, and an additional six-month extension of the embargo may be granted.
• (iii) In exceptional cases, an extension may be considered when ongoing research in the thesis advisor’s group would be severely affected by open access of the thesis. In such cases, the thesis advisor must document which members in the research group would be affected, and how.

5. The total period of the embargo is limited as follows:

• a. A thesis may be embargoed for a maximum of two years with the request made every six months
• b. In rare circumstances, particular chapters may be embargoed for more than two years, but no more than five years with an annual review after the first two years.

6. If the embargo extends to the campus, then a copy is made available on request to the Dean of Graduate Studies who can then make the copy available to others at his or her discretion.

*This document replaces the previous policy that was in effect since 1 March 2017

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Theses: Embargoes and making your thesis open

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Applying an embargo to your thesis

What is an embargo?

A mechanism whereby access to, or visibility of, the full text is hidden or delayed for a set period.

This is usually for a very defined period of time (i.e. 1-5 years) which can be determined by a range of circumstances e.g. publication plans, funder requirements etc. You should also speak to your supervisor about your publication plans, this will help clarify if you require an embargo or not. 

We have also made a video guide entitled When to consider an embargo of your thesis held in this LibGude.   The list of eligible reasons for an embargo is also contained on the Thesis Deposit Form.

There could be certain circumstances in which a bespoke embargo could be required, in instance like this please contact Rebecca Clarke, Open Research Librarian  to discuss your options.

When you DO need to consider an embargo on your thesis

Circumstances when you do not need an embargo on your thesis, reasons for an embargo to the thesis.

If the purpose of conducting research is to share it and make it available as soon as possible, why would anyone choose an embargo? 

One of the primary reasons why people decide to opt for an embargo is because they are preparing the work for publication. And they do not want their work to appear until it has been presented in a formal publication or publications. This could be in the form of a research article or articles, or indeed am entire book (sometimes called a monograph). So, people often choose to embargo the thesis while they are preparing the material for publication.

Find listed below some of the reasons why people embargo their thesis:

• Publication - the thesis is embargoed while you attempt to get your work published. 
• Commercial reasons – the thesis has potential to be commercial and that is why you are embargoing. 
• Confidential – the thesis contains confidential information – secrets of a business, process or maybe some legal and the embargo is needed because of the confidentiality of the content. 
• Copyright – maybe your thesis contains excessive amounts of third party copyright  and this is why an embargo is required.

How to apply for an embargo?

If you want to embargo your e-thesis you must indicate this on the  Thesis Deposit Form .

Please upload the  Thesis Deposit Form  to  Pure  with your e-thesis record. Both are required as part of your submission process.

The E-thesis Team will cross check the embargo in Pure with the embargo information provided in the  Thesis Deposit Form . 

If you wish to discuss your embargo options, please contact Rebecca Clarke, Open Research Librarian  

The Open Research Librarian for E-theses can help

Common questions about embargoed thesis content.

• Why is uploading my thesis the best thing for my visibility, and the visibility of my research?
• Can the thesis text be seen if it is embargoed?
• What does an embargoed e-thesis look like?
• What are the most common embargo lengths?

So, as a result of making your thesis open access, it will eventually be visible on Queen’s Research Portal and other platforms. I include an example of a thesis from 2019 that is open access here on Queen’s Research Portal. There is no embargo. 

On the right-hand side is the EThOs thesis record . EThOS is the UK’s national thesis service which aims to maximise the visibility and availability of the UK’s doctoral research theses.  

EThOS , which is run by the British Library, harvest our content and EThOS is the place to go to look for PGR theses. 

So, by uploading to Pure, it is visible on Queen’s Research Portal - on the left-hand side, as well as be discovered via EThOS and various search engines, including Google. This is the best news for you raising your visibility 

This is how an embargoed thesis will look on Queen's Research Portal - this is where we PGR thesis content is publicly made available. One the left hand-side there is an image of an open thesis. There is a paperclip symbol visible, which means it is open access – it is similar to the green padlock symbol which means open access now– so it is NOT embargoed.

On the right-hand side, the same thesis is embargoed. The embargo may be identifiable by the fact that there is no full-text content attached to the thesis. There is no paperclip symbol, which indicates the presence of full text now. No full text has been attached to the e-thesis record or is visible publicly. This indicates that there is an embargo on the thesis.

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Research Guides

Submit and publish your thesis.

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Thesis Embargo

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The preservation and public dissemination of original dissertation research is a principle to which the University, as a publicly funded institute of higher education, is strongly committed. Unrestricted release of theses means permanent worldwide access through the Internet. Students retain copyright on the thesis as the thesis author. However, in exceptional cases, the author, in consultation with the thesis supervisor and with the approval of the chair of the graduate unit, shall have the right to postpone distribution and publication for a period up to two years from the date of acceptance of the thesis. Discuss placing an embargo on your thesis with your supervisor.

When you choose to embargo your thesis, you must still submit the thesis. On the ProQuest website, there is an option to choose an embargo of six months, one year or two years. The Chair of your graduate unit must also sign a form, which you will submit to the Program Completion offices at the SGS. Your thesis will be virtually held until the date of release.

Students must agree to the ProQuest and University agreements when submitting their theses, providing ProQuest and the university with a non-exclusive licence to publish your thesis on ProQuest and in TSpace, the universitys repository.

►►The SGS form to  restrict thesis release date  - needs to be dated and signed by your graduate unit chair.

For further  submission instructions  see the  Electronic Thesis Submission section of the SGS website .

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Thesis / dissertation formatting manual (2024).

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UC Open Access Policy

The UC Policy on Open Access for Theses and Dissertations requires that all doctoral dissertations and master's theses be made available for public access.

Electronic copies of all UCI theses and dissertations submitted to the ETD system will be routed to the UCI Libraries shortly after the formatting of your manuscript has been accepted. The Libraries will preserve and make accessible to the public all theses and dissertations submitted electronically, in accordance with the Libraries policies and best practices. This includes publishing theses and dissertations online through the University of California’s open access repository eScholarship. 

Providing such access increases the availability and dissemination of your work at no charge to you, a benefit ProQuest will provide only for a fee. If you do not wish for your work to be published immediately in eScholarship, you may request an embargo (see below).

All students who submit an ETD must complete and sign the “Open Access” agreement form, which can be found as part of the Ph.D. Form II/Signature Page and Master’s Thesis signature page listed Consent and Release. This is part of the final paperwork packet submitted via Docusign to the Graduate Division.

Embargoes: Delaying the Release of your Manuscript

If you plan to publish your work elsewhere, you can request that ProQuest or the UCI Libraries withhold your manuscript for a period of 6 months or 1-6 years. This is requesting an embargo, and it means that your manuscript will not be published online through eScholarship or ProQuest in their databases until after the embargo period concludes.

Upon extraordinary circumstances (such as high legal or safety risk to the graduate student), an extended embargo may be granted for as long as such extraordinary circumstances exist pursuant to Section IV of the  UC Policy on Open Access for Theses and Dissertations . To do so, the student must submit a memo explaining the request via email attachment to the Graduate Dean at [email protected], including "Extended Embargo Request" in the subject line.

You can request an embargo in Proquest under PQ Publishing Options

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Q. Should I embargo my thesis or dissertation?

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Answered By: Repository, digital pub, open scholarship, embargo *SCDPS Last Updated: Jun 02, 2023     Views: 6522

An embargo is a restriction set on a work, typically to allow limited access to a work prior to wider dissemination. With reference to a thesis or dissertation, it similarly means limited access for a period, depending on a variety of considerations, followed by wider access thereafter. While physical deposit in library stacks or electronic deposit into an institutional repository is a form of publication, it is understood that theses and dissertations are typically transitional works.

When an author includes material in a dissertation in which they are not the (or sole) rights-holder, they have the options to get permission from the rights-holder, comply with fair use, or choose to exclude said material.

Reasons to request an embargo might include the author is pursuing a patent for the work; the research sponsor requires a specific embargo period; the submission includes sensitive or proprietary content, such as work conducted with a corporate partner or a risk of research participants' identity exposure. See our LibGuide for more information. Academic departmental policy may govern the use and duration of embargoes and students should consult with their department for this information.

Many degree candidates consider embargoes specifically because they have heard that publishers will not consider publication of a book if it is based on a dissertation that is available in an online institutional repository. It is true that this is the case for some publishers in some disciplines, but it is not universally true. There are pros and cons to making your work immediately available with open access. The University does not make recommendations on this decision. Please consult your department and research the options for your field.

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Dissertations and Theses

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Dissertation Research Librarian

A Note about Databases and Embargoes

Dissertations go into two databases: the ProQuest Digital Dissertations and Theses database and CUNY's open access institutional repository, CUNY Academic Works . Master's theses and all capstone projects are deposited only in CUNY Academic Works.

You can embargo (temporarily block public online access) to your dissertation, capstone project, or thesis in neither , either , or both databases — it’s up to you. If you embargo in both databases, you can select the same embargo length for both or choose different embargo lengths. For both databases, your initial embargo options are:

• six-month embargo
• one-year embargo
• two-year embargo

Limitations of Embargoes: Public access to a dissertation/thesis is a condition of the degree.  Embargoed dissertations and theses are not completely invisible or inaccessible.  

• Print copies: Print copies (if applicable) of embargoed works are available in the Graduate Center Library. (Note: The library stopped collecting print dissertations in 2016.)
• Microfilm copies:  Microfilm copies (if applicable) of embargoed works are also available in the library and may be lent through interlibrary loan. (Note: The library stopped collecting microfilm dissertations in 2014.)
• Electronic copies: Electronic copies of embargoed works remain accessible to individual researchers through interlibrary loan and to members of the Graduate Center community.
• Metadata:  Author, title, abstracts, and metadata are available even if an author chooses to embargo.

Changing Your Embargo

If you want to change your embargo settings after you've deposited or graduated, you must contact ProQuest and the Graduate Center Library separately.

• ProQuest: Contact ProQuest’s Author and School Relations group at  [email protected]  or 1-800-521-0600 x77020 to change your embargo settings at no cost. Provide your name, your dissertation/thesis title, your school, and, if possible, the publication number assigned by ProQuest to your dissertation/thesis. (You should have received this by email.)  
• Graduate Center Library: Email [email protected]  to change your embargo settings in  CUNY Academic Works , CUNY's institutional repository. Again, your options are no embargo, a six-month embargo, a one-year embargo, or a two-year embargo. As your embargo nears expiration, you can contact the library again to extend your embargo, if you wish. Options for renewal are the same as the initial embargo options: six-month renewal, one-year renewal, or two-year renewal.

To Embargo or Not to Embargo?

Open Access and the Graduate Author: A Dissertation Anxiety Manual by Jill Cirasella and Polly Thistlethwaite. This chapter was originally published in: Smith, K. L., & Dickson, K. A. (Eds.). (2017). Open access and the future of scholarly communication: Implementation . Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.

Hear and read  some key thoughts from the GC event “Share It Now or Save It For Later: Making Choices about Dissertations and Publishing,” featuring the MLA's Director of Scholarly Communications, two university press editors, and two recent alumni.

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Submitting your thesis to ORA: Embargo

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This page explains the embargoes that depositors can place on their thesis files when they submit to ORA.

On deposit you have a choice of selecting immediate release for your thesis via ORA, or a choice of a 1 year or 3 year embargo period (starting from the date you were granted leave to supplicate), enabling you to pursue publishing all or part of your research as a printed monograph or journal article(s) should you wish. If you want to extend the embargo on all or parts of your thesis beyond a 3 year period you will need to apply for dispensation from consultation. You may change access to your thesis to open access at any time during the embargo period, but may wish to consult with your supervisor before doing this.

If you are in receipt of funding the length of the embargo to be applied may be determined by the terms of your funding grant. If your are in receipt of RCUK funding please see the Funder/sponsor requirements section of this LibGuide.

ORA staff will send confirmation of which embargo period you have selected and the date that this embargo period expires to you upon creation of your thesis record page in ORA. 

Your thesis will be made available at the end of the applied embargo period unless you have opted for immediate Open Access or been granted dispensation from consultation. 

Dispensation from consultation

• Guidance on dispensation Dispensation from consultation offers you the means to a) extend the embargo applied to your work b) embargo specific content in your thesis from public release. more... less... If the embargo period does not meet the needs of restriction on consultation of your thesis, dispensation should be applied for.

Oxford Research Archive (ORA)

ORA (Oxford University Research Archive)   is the institutional repository for the University of Oxford and is home to the scholarly output of its research members. 

Contact us at:  [email protected] , or via our contact form .

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ETDs - Electronic Theses & Dissertations: Access and Embargos

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After you have submitted your electronic thesis or dissertation and your college approves it, it will be available as follows:

• The full text will be openly available in ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University, the University Library’s digital repository, at a unique, permanent URL you can use to share your ETD.
• A record will be added to the library catalog, with a link to the ETD in ScholarWorks.
• Your thesis or dissertation will be indexed and available through search engines such as Google. The keywords and abstract you enter when submitting your ETD influence how easy it is to find with a keyword search in a search engine.
• The metadata page, including author, title, and abtract will be indexed by search engines even if the ETD itself is embargoed.

Open access to your thesis or dissertation as described above does not affect your copyright or ownership of the content of your thesis or dissertation.

Restricting Access to an ETD (Embargos and Closed Access)

When you submit your thesis or dissertation, you will be offered several options for restricting access.  Access options should be discussed with your adviser.  Some colleges have embargo policies  or standard practices, so do not embargo or close your ETD without checking .

If you embargo or close your thesis or dissertation, it will still be listed and indexed in the Georgia Sta te University Library Catalog and in  ScholarWorks @GSU, and t he title, author, keywords, and abstract will be displayed on the web in the record for your thesis or dissertation.

When submitting your ETD, you will select either:

• No embargo required . By choosing no embargo you are agreeing to publish your thesis or dissertation in ScholarWorks@GSU immediately. This option will provide the broadest possible access to your work. The full-text of your thesis or dissertation and any supplemental files will be accessible on the internet, and your thesis or dissertation will be indexed and discoverable via major search engines.   
• Embargo.  By choosing an embargo, you are requesting that there be no access to the full-text of your Dissertation for a specified period of time. Your dissertation will be listed and indexed in the Georgia State University Library Catalog and in ScholarWorks@GSU, but the full text of your Dissertation, and any supplementary files, will not be accessible until the expiration of the embargo. The title, author, keywords, and abstract will be displayed on the web in the record for your Dissertation even if you have restricted access to the full-text copy.  If you are embargoing due to patentability concerns, make sure your abstract is written so as to not be considered prior art. If do not want an abstract displayed at all, enter “No abstract to protect patentability” in the abstract field when you upload your thesis or dissertation.

Closed Thesis or Dissertation

When you are uploading your thesis or dissertation, you have the option of Closed Thesis or Closed Dissertation. If you submit your ETD as Closed, access to it will be restricted to the Georgia State University campus as long as it remains Closed. You must take affirmative action to open your ETD to wider access. This level of access is the equivalent of the access that was available when theses and dissertations were only on a library shelf. Your thesis or dissertation will be shared as the result of an Interlibrary Loan request.

When to consider an embargo

• You plan to apply for a patent based on research that is discussed in your dissertation. After one year, the patent applicant’s own publication may be considered “prior art” that could prevent the issuance of a patent. Since electronic distribution of your dissertation through ScholarWorks is publication for this purpose, an embargo will delay the beginning of this one-year time clock against a potential patent application. By selecting a two-year embargo, therefore, you will have a total of three years (two-year embargo plus one-year window after publication) to submit a patent application.
• If you are planning to publish all or part of your thesis/dissertation and know that publishers in your field consider open access electronic thesis/dissertations to be a prior publication, you may want to consider an embargo.  Publisher treatment of dissertations as prior publication varies between disciplines so you should check on publisher policies before submitting your thesis or dissertation.
• If your thesis or dissertation contains data or material that was generated pursuant to a grant or contract and the thesis or dissertation is subject to review by the sponsor or grantor prior to publication, you should select at least a six-month embargo.
• Your work is based on data generated through research that will support other publications from people on the research team (such as your adviser). The embargo options in this situation should be discussed with your committee and research team.

Extending or Removing an Embargo

If you choose to embargo your thesis or dissertation when you submit it, and if at any time during the embargo period you subsequently decide that you wish to extend or remove the embargo on electronic access to your thesis or dissertation on ScholarWorks, email your college ETD administrator , who will tell you college procedures for embargo extensions and removals.  

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Embargo policy for theses and dissertations.

This policy lists conditions under which a student may seek an embargo on a thesis or dissertation and provides instructions for requesting an embargo.

Dissertations and theses produced by graduate students on the Lawrence and Edwards campuses

When an exception to the immediate release of a thesis or dissertation is necessary, an embargo provides a temporary, delayed public release of the work. Embargo periods of six (6) months, one (1) year, or two (2) years are available. While embargoes are not intended to be permanent, renewals of the original embargo period are permissible. Considerations that may be deemed reasonable for granting permission for an embargo include, but are not limited to:

• Patentable rights or other issues are contained in the work, the disclosure of which may be detrimental to the rights or interests of the author.
• There is a need to prevent disclosure of government information about persons, institutions, technologies, etc. that is contained in the work.
• An academic or commercial press has expressed interest in acquiring the rights to publish the work as a book that may require an embargo.
• The work contains content that has already been submitted to a peer-reviewed journal that may require an embargo.
• Approval for delay has been granted by the KU Restricted Research Committee (see Restricted Research link below for more information).

Requests for an extension of the embargo should be directed to [email protected] and must be received at least one (1) month prior to the expiration of the current embargo to ensure sufficient time to process the request. A request for an embargo submitted to the University of Kansas affects only the publication of the thesis or dissertation in KU ScholarWorks.  It is the graduate student’s responsibility to request an extension from both the University of Kansas for the copy in KU ScholarWorks and separately through ProQuest/UMI. ​  

While there is no limit to the number of times a student can request an embargo extension, embargoes that have been allowed to expire without a request for an extension will result in the thesis or dissertation being made publicly available. 

The embargo period will be calculated beginning at the end of the semester in which the student graduates with the specific dates being: December 31 st , May 31 st , August 31 st .

Theses and dissertations at the University of Kansas are made available in two (2) electronic databases: KU ScholarWorks and ProQuest/UMI Dissertations and Theses. Items in KU ScholarWorks are publicly accessible on the world-wide web and can be indexed by search engines such as Google, Bing, Yahoo, and others. 

A student who does not wish to have a thesis or dissertation made public in these two (2) venues for some limited period of time must receive permission to embargo the thesis or dissertation from the director of graduate studies in the student's department, the committee chair, the department chair, or the dean of the pertinent school/college. The student must request this permission with the Electronic Thesis and Dissertation (ETD) Release Form. The University of Kansas will accept the thesis or dissertation—thereby completing all degree requirements—only if the student signs this release form. Likewise, the University of Kansas will only entertain requests for an embargo on the publication of a thesis or dissertation through submission of this same form.

To ensure that embargoed work is restricted, students must take two (2) steps after receiving the appropriate signatures before graduation.

• First, the student must submit the Electronic Thesis and Dissertation (ETD) Release Form to the school office. If an embargo has been approved, this form will ensure that the work is temporarily restricted in KU ScholarWorks.
• Second, during the electronic submission process to ProQuest/UMI, the student must select the embargo option under the publishing restrictions section. If an embargo has been approved, this step will ensure that public view of the work is temporarily restricted in the ProQuest/UMI Dissertations and Theses database. See the related documents section below for more information.

Note : If a student does not receive permission for an embargo and/or does not submit the required documentation requesting such an embargo to Graduate Studies prior to graduation, the work will be made publicly available through KU ScholarWorks, and search engines like Google, Bing, Yahoo, and others will find and index the work. For this reason, once a work is released publicly, it is impossible to deploy an embargo in its entirety, because copies of a released work are likely to be stored on the web even if the KU ScholarWorks or ProQuest / UMI copies are retracted. It is therefore crucial for students who desire the embargo option to request it prior to graduation and to request extensions, if needed, prior to the work being exposed to public search engines.

Dissertation defenses are open to the public. In the event that an embargo is deemed necessary for a dissertation, the committee should consider holding an additional question period for the defense that is closed to the public. Any sensitive data may be discussed in the closed session.

Students from the following programs are permitted to request a permanent embargo of their thesis or dissertation (also see Related Forms section below):

• Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Creative Writing offered by the Department of English
• Ph.D. in English: Literature and Creative Writing tracks

Graduate Studies 785-864-8040 [email protected]

Statement on Restricted Research (applies to externally funded projects that contain contractual stipulations regarding required delays of publication)

Additional information on the steps necessary for placing an embargo

Doctoral Dissertation

Master's Thesis Submission and Publication

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Release Form 

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Release Form for Creative Writing MFA/Ph.D. Students Only

07/18/2023: Approved by changed to Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor, fixed broken links, updated renewal request contact to [email protected] . 07/05/2016: Updated to remove gendered pronouns. 10/17/2014: Graduate Studies added the link to the electronic thesis/dissertation release form for Creative Writing MFA/PhD students. 11/25/2013: Revisions approved by the Senior Vice Provost for Academic Affairs. 09/06/2013: Revisions approved by Graduate Studies, KU Libraries, Office of the Provost, and General Counsel. 10/20/2011: Revisions approved by Graduate Studies, KU Libraries, Office of the Provost, and General Counsel. 10/29/2010: Revisions approved by Graduate Studies, KU Libraries, Office of the Provost, and General Counsel. This policy pre-dates the KU online Policy Library. The dates listed in the approval and effective date fields reflect the date it was moved into the Policy Library.

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Thesis Embargoes

Version date: 28 Jul 2023

Upon award of a research degree by the ACCE (Academic Council Committee for Examinations) , a digital copy of a UCD doctoral or masters thesis by research is automatically deposited in the Research Repository UCD (RRU) and, without an embargo being set, is immediately publicly available to view.

UCD is a signatory to the  National Principles for Open Access and all research degree theses completed at the university are expected to be made publicly available as soon as possible following the award of a degree. This allows the University to demonstrate the quality of its research and the rigour of its research degree programmes. Therefore, the default position of the university is to not place an embargo on a research thesis.

However, should the author of their research thesis wish to delay its online dissemination via the RRU for a valid reason including future publication of some or all of the content of the thesis or because the thesis contains confidential or sensitive materials, an application for an embargo may be made to the University Graduate Research Board (GRB). Please note that an embargo on a thesis should be sought prior to submission of the thesis for examination , normally three months in advance of the expected thesis submission date. The application must have the support of the student’s Principal Supervisor and be accompanied by relevant supporting documentation.

To seek an embargo on a research thesis, you apply to the Graduate Research Board (GRB) via this Google Form , prior to the research thesis being submitted for examination, providing supporting documentation that gives evidence that the research thesis contains personal, security or commercially sensitive information or the thesis contains material intended for future publication and the publishers specifically require that the thesis is restricted.

• Procedure for Placing an Embargo on a Research Degree Thesis

In order to take into account the amount of time that may elapse between submitting your thesis and thesis examination, the embargo end date typically includes an additional 3 months which is added onto the period of time of your request.

The embargo expiry end date will not automatically change, for example if there are any changes to the originally planned thesis submission date. If you think that you may need to change the expiry date of your embargo, then please email  [email protected] .

Please note that an embargo on a thesis should be sought prior to submission of the thesis for examination , normally three months in advance of the expected thesis submission date.

An embargo will prevent the transfer of your thesis to the Research Repository UCD (RRU).  If your degree has been awarded then your thesis may have already been transferred to the UCD RRU and an embargo will not automatically remove it from this archive.  If this situation has arisen then please contact [email protected] .

If an embargo has been approved, the embargo expiry date will be recorded on the University Student Information System and the thesis will not be transferred to the RRU until the approved expiry date. 

Once the expiry date is reached the thesis will be made accessible on the RRU.

Please note that a citation to an embargoed thesis will always remain visible on the RRU.

In certain circumstances, an application to extend the initial embargo beyond the period approved will be considered. This request must be submitted by the School of the graduated author, and sent at least one month before the original embargo end date is due to expire. This can be the author’s Principal Supervisor or the relevant Head of the School where the graduated student had been registered. The application must be accompanied by substantive supporting documentation. Evidence must be provided that the research thesis contains personal, security or commercially sensitive information or the thesis contains material intended for future publication and the publishers specifically require that the thesis is restricted.

• Procedure for Extending Thesis Embargo

If you are a current student and you think that the end date of your previously granted embargo needs to be changed please contact [email protected] .

UCD promotes compliance with Irish copyright law as regulated by the Copyright and Related Rights Act, 2000 and the Copyright and Other Intellectual Property Law Provisions Act 2019 . However, in accordance with the Thesis Embargo Policy if the owner of the copyrighted material in a research degree thesis in the UCD RRU does not consent to the use of their work, they can seek a takedown of the relevant thesis by submitting a request to UCD Library, who will withdraw the material immediately. Subsequently, the Library will carry out an investigation to ascertain if there has been a breach of copyright and provide a recommendation to the Graduate Research Board (GRB) to uphold the request or otherwise.

• Procedure to Request Rapid Takedown of UCD Thesis

Useful Links

• Thesis Embargo Policy
• Research Repository UCD (RRU)
• eThesis Examination System

Further Resources

Documents & files.

Access a repository of the most relevant forms & policies for graduate research students

Final Examination

Information on final examination & thesis submission procedures for research degrees at UCD

Research Student Handbook

A useful summary of guidance and policies on research degree programmes at UCD

UCD Key Dates

View UCD Registry term dates for the academic year

Embargo — withholding a thesis

In keeping with worldwide academic practice, the University of Waikato endorses the principle that research theses are, by their very nature, available for public inspection. In so doing, it helps to ensure that intellectual developments can be appraised, used, and built upon by all interested parties. It is usually possible to write a thesis that can be made public based on research and data that may be confidential. Candidates and their supervisors should design their research to that end.

However, the University also recognises that in unusual situations, theses contain material that, for commercial or security reasons, should be withheld from the public for a period after the thesis has been completed.

The withholding of a thesis is an injunction against the release of the thesis for public consultation in the University Library and Research Commons which is an open access digital repository.

The request to withhold a thesis may be submitted by the student (with endorsement from the Chief Supervisor) or the Chief Supervisor. The request must clearly demonstrate that the thesis contains material of such a confidential or sensitive nature that its release to the public would do one of the following:

• breach prior contractual arrangements with, or seriously damage the interests of outside organisations connected with the candidate's research, or
• endanger the confidentiality of material that might be the subject of an application for a patent, licence or registration by the candidate, the University, or other interested parties, or
• contravene legislation or threaten national security.

Approval will not normally be granted for any other reasons. Material that the candidate would not wish to be available to the public on grounds other than those above should not be included in thesis.

Application to withhold a thesis

Once the need to withhold a thesis has been identified the appropriate university staff at the School of Graduate Research and/or  Research & Enterprise Office should be contacted so that all options can be explored to minimise the extent of the restrictions on the thesis.

Candidates who wish to apply for an embargo should complete the Embargo Application form . All applications are forwarded by the School of Graduate Research to the Research & Enterprise Office for approval.

An application for withholding a thesis should normally be made when the candidate applies for registration as a higher degree student of the University. If a candidate is receiving support from a commercial or governmental establishment for whom he/she is carrying out the thesis research, then it will usually be clear at the time of registration that conditions (a) or (b) for an embargo are likely to be fulfilled when the thesis is completed.

However, there are circumstances when the confidential/sensitive nature of the thesis research does not become clear until that research is near completion. For that reason, requests for an embargo may be made up to the time of submission of the thesis for examination. Applications will not normally be accepted after the thesis has been submitted.

Length of withholding period

The normal maximum period that a thesis is withheld is two years from the date on which the hardbound thesis has been submitted for final acceptance and confirmation of the student's grade.

A one-year extension to this limit will be granted only in the most exceptional circumstances, and where the lack of an extension would cause significant hardship to the author.

Related documents

To apply for an embargo, or restriction of access to your thesis, please complete the Embargo Application form , and return to Research & Enterprise Office.

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• Thesis and Examination: The Code of Practice

Embargoing a thesis

Guidance on the appropriate circumstances where an embargo of a thesis may be necessary.

All research degree theses are expected to be made publicly available as soon as possible following the award of the degree, for anyone to read, download, print, copy and reuse. The University fully endorses the principles of open access and requires all researchers to make their research open access where possible to maximise research impact and to comply with funder policies where applicable.

Public funders recognise that factors such as commercial, collaborative or publication arrangements may necessitate a delay in the process of making a thesis openly accessible, and where this is the case, an embargo may be necessary. The maximum length of embargo permitted is usually 12 months, other than in exceptional circumstances. Universities are expected to have in place a process for considering where exceptions can be granted to the requirement for publication within 12 months.

Reasons for requesting an embargo

Students are permitted to embargo their thesis under certain conditions, e.g. where there are commercial sensitivities or where it is necessary to delay access to a thesis until after publication of results. Students should discuss with their supervisor whether they require an embargo and, if so, for how long. This discussion should take account of the need to ensure that research is made available as soon as possible and a consideration of the benefits that early publication can bring.

Some faculties have their own additional guidance regarding the maximum length of embargo that is permitted, and this should also be taken into consideration. Students should check with their supervisors whether such guidance exists.  Students are reminded that it is not good practice to delay the publication of their research without good cause.

Requests for embargoes that exceed 12 months require faculty approval and must be accompanied by a clear rationale as to why a longer period is required. A form is available to request an extended embargo. Extended embargoes beyond five years will not normally be approved unless there are very exceptional reasons. Examples of this may include where a contract has been signed requiring a longer embargo, or where there is a threat to personal security. Where relevant evidence is available to support a request for an extended embargo, e.g. a copy of the contract, this should be attached to the request form.  

If an embargo is required, this must be indicated on the Access to Thesis form, otherwise, the thesis may be made publicly available. Students are responsible for setting any embargo options at the point they upload their eThesis to White Rose eTheses Online  and for requesting extensions to embargoes, if required. Failure to set or extend an embargo will result in the eThesis being made publicly available.

Access to Thesis (Word, 39.6kb) Extended embargo request form (Word, 21KB)

Examples of exceptions for granting an extended embargo

Planned publication (details of publication plans should be included).

• There is often a long lead-time to get papers published in quality journals.
• Cross-disciplinary research may also take longer to publish.
• Where we are able to demonstrate that reaching the highest levels of academic excellence also has a long lead-time, and where the thesis contains data likely to be included in future research by the supervisor or collaborator.
• To account for plans to publish, however, the extension should be for a maximum of a further 12 months and it is expected an agreement has been reached with the publisher that this is acceptable.

Commercial confidentiality (a copy of the contract should be included)

• Where there are contractual restrictions imposed by a sponsor. This could include industrial sponsors, overseas governments, etc. The contract must specify the details of the required embargo period and it is recommended that, wherever possible, this should not exceed 5 years.
• Where the research might lead to a commercial application or patent and IP needs to be protected.
• Where commercial confidentiality is a consideration details should be provided as to how these issues were dealt with at other stages of the research, e.g. ethics review, examination.

Contains personal data

• The thesis contains personally identifiable or ethically sensitive data.  However, the implications of undertaking research involving identifiable participants should be considered at an early stage via the ethical approval process. Where possible, research participants should not be identifiable within the thesis.
• Material obtained in the thesis was obtained under a guarantee of confidentiality.

Third-party copyright

• Where third party copyright has not been obtained, students may submit an edited eThesis, as an alternative to requesting an embargo. They would also need to submit an unedited hard copy.

Could endanger health and safety

• The thesis contains sensitive material (political or otherwise) which could put at risk the authors or participants if made openly available. However, details should be provided as to the steps taken throughout the research to ensure data security, such as the storage of data and sharing of material, e.g. with supervisors and examiners.

Could prejudice national security

• The thesis contains sensitive material, which must not be made publicly available. However, details should be provided as to the steps taken throughout the research to ensure data security, such as the storage of data and sharing of material, e.g. with supervisors and examiners.

Related information

Contact the Research Degree Support Team

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Dissertations and Theses: Access/Order a Thesis or Dissertation

• Music Dissertations and Theses
• Access/Order a Thesis or Dissertation
• Getting your thesis bound

UI doctoral dissertations approved since January 1, 1952 and electronic theses and dissertations approved since January 1, 2003 are available for purchase from Dissertation Express , a product of ProQuest.  You may choose from either unbound, shrink-wrapped print copies or PDF files.

Embargo information

The Graduate College has  information for graduates who wish to extend or add an embargo to their electronic thesis or dissertation.

Permission to Digitize your Thesis or Dissertation

Theses and dissertations previously submitted in print will be digitized with permission of the author or copyright holder. The University Libraries encourages graduates to provide this permission so that their work can reach the widest possible audience. If you would like to grant this permission to the University Libraries, please use this form . Theses and dissertations will be digitized as time allows and will not become immediately accessible.

Borrowing print

Theses and dissertations circulate to UI patrons like other books.  Since some are held in branch libraries, the libraries annex and storage, it is best to check the online catalog for location and availability information and check the hours the library building is open.  If you are not able to check-out the item in person, Interlibrary Loan (ILL) is an option.  Contact the ILL department at your local public, college, or university library and have them submit an interlibrary loan request from the University of Iowa. 

Accessing electronic

Iowa Research Online :  UI electronic theses and dissertations published online since 1999 may be accessed here.

ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Database:  Full-text access to University of Iowa titles listed in ProQuest's database, dated from 1861 to the present, is available at http://purl.lib.uiowa.edu/proquest/ui .   Access is limited to users affiliated with the University of Iowa.

Titles not held at University of Iowa Libraries

If a dissertation or thesis is not available online or at the University of Iowa Libraries and you are affiliated with the University of Iowa, please place a request through Interlibrary Loan .  They will try to borrow a print copy from another library.

Andrea Terrones Anderson

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• Last Updated: Feb 27, 2024 2:28 PM
• URL: https://guides.lib.uiowa.edu/dissertations

Search form

You are here, embargo requests.

An embargo is a restriction on public access to a thesis or dissertation for a limited period of time. Usually, ETDs are made publicly available in D-Scholarship@Pitt, the institutional repository at the University of Pittsburgh, with no embargo. The public availability of a thesis or dissertation helps the student with increased exposure, citations, and sharing of their scholarship. An embargo limits access to only people with University of Pittsburgh login credentials. (Please note that after graduation, this embargo will also exclude the student whose Unviersity Computing Account has expired.)

Students may choose to delay the public release of their document for a period of two years in order to:

• Protect intellectual property during the patent application process.
• Maintain confidentiality agreements protecting third-party proprietary information.
• Protect informants at risk of identity exposure.

Note that most reputable publishers do not consider a publicly available dissertation as a "prior publication" and therefore a publicly available dissertation will not negatively impact a student's ability to publish future work based on dissertation content, although there are some exceptions for dissertations that will be published as books. A student who is considering an embargo should discuss the option with their faculty advisor and the rest of their committee.

As of the Fall semester of 2019 , the University of Pittsburgh will now allow a maximum of a two year embargo on the initial approval of an ETD, with an optional two-year extension. If an extension is requested before the expiration of that embargo period, it will be automatically enacted for one to two years from the end of the initial embargo length. It is the student's responsibility to know when the embargo expires and make a request at the appropriate time. 

If the embargo request comes after the embargo has expired, or you have already enacted the initial automatic embargo renewal, you will need to provide a detailed explanation of the reason for the extension. It will be forwarded to your school and the Office of the Provost for approval. The decision will be shared with you via ETD Support.

To make a request for an embargo extension, please use the  Ask an ETD Specialist form.

A special note for dissertations : Dissertations are also deposited with ProQuest, which maintains a thesis and dissertation database that is independent from the Unviersity of Pittsburgh. Therefore, an embargo request or an extension with the University of Pittsburgh and D-Scholarship will not automatically apply to the dissertation in ProQuest. A student may independently choose among  several levels of embargo  for the copy of the dissertation that is deposited electronically with ProQuest. ProQuest also has a two-year maximum embargo length, and to request an extension of the embargo the student must contact Proquest at [email protected] . Make sure to include the full citation of the dissertation, your requested length of embargo extension, and your current contact information. 

• UNSW Library
• Library guides

Open access

• UNSW Open Access Policy
• Funder policies
• Author rights retention
• How to deposit

The copyright owner of a research output may impose access restrictions on research outputs for a specified length of time, otherwise referred to as an embargo.

Authors can deposit embargoed research in UNSWorks and continue to meet publisher requirements by selecting the relevant embargo period during the deposit process. Once the allocated embargo period has expired the manuscript will then be made accessible to the public via UNSWorks.

The UNSW Open Access Policy requires authors to deposit in UNSWorks upon publication without embargo where it is possible to do so. Many publishers allow authors to make content freely available immediately or with a short embargo period. Authors that have retained their rights to the Author Accepted Manuscript can deposit it to UNSWorks upon publication.

To assist you in the selection of the correct embargo period, ROS includes archiving advice from Sherpa Romeo . However, it is important that you refer to your publishing contract prior to uploading a version of a publication in UNSWorks.

Note: The maximum period that is applicable for all embargoes in UNSWorks is 24 months. All other options that may be presented in ROS are non-applicable.

• Last Updated: Apr 22, 2024 10:49 AM

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U.S. Considers Imposing Sanctions on Israeli Military Unit

Israeli leaders expressed alarm about the possible action by the Biden administration over rights violations in the West Bank.

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By Isabel Kershner ,  Adam Rasgon and Julian E. Barnes

The United States is considering imposing sanctions on one or more Israeli battalions accused of human rights violations during operations in the occupied West Bank, according to a person familiar with the deliberations.

Israeli leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on Saturday called the possibility of the Biden administration’s placing such sanctions “the peak of absurdity and a moral low” at a time when Israeli forces are fighting a war in Gaza against Hamas. Mr. Netanyahu said in a social media post that his government would “act by all means” against any such move.

The news about the possible sanctions, reported earlier by Axios , came only a day after the House approved $26 billion for Israel and humanitarian aid for civilians in conflict zones, including Gaza. The sanctions, if imposed, would not hold up the military aid that was just approved in Congress.

On Sunday, Palestinians in the West Bank went on a general strike to protest a deadly Israeli military raid at a refugee camp. At least 10 people were killed in the raid on Saturday, the latest operation in a sweeping economic and security clampdown in the Israeli-occupied territory.

Since the Hamas-led Oct. 7 attacks on Israel, hundreds of Palestinians have been killed and detained in raids in the West Bank, which Israeli officials describe as counterterrorism operations against Hamas and other armed groups.

The strike on Sunday “paralyzed all aspects of life” in the West Bank, with shops, schools, universities and banks shuttered, according to the official Palestinian news agency, Wafa. Public transportation also was halted.

The possible imposition of sanctions against the Netzah Yehuda and other battalions would come under the so-called 1997 Leahy Law , which bans foreign military units accused of human rights violations from receiving U.S. aid or training.

It was not clear what practical impact any sanctions might have, given that funding of specific Israeli units is hard to track and the battalions in question do not receive American training. But such a punitive move would clearly sting, especially coming from Israel’s closest ally.

Netzah Yehuda, which has been accused of violence against Palestinians in the West Bank in the past, was established for ultra-Orthodox Jewish men whose strict religious observance demands that men and women be separated. The battalion has attracted other Orthodox soldiers as well, including hard-line nationalists from the West Bank settler movement.

One of the most egregious episodes attributed to the Netzah Yehuda battalion involved the death of a 78-year-old Palestinian-American man who was detained, gagged and handcuffed by members of the unit in a night raid on his village in January 2022.

An autopsy showed that the man, Omar Abdelmajed Assad, had died from a stress-induced heart attack brought on by injuries he sustained while he was detained. An investigation by the Israeli military’s justice system found failures in the conduct of the soldiers involved, who, the military said, “acted in a manner that did not correspond with what is required and expected of” Israeli soldiers.

The Israeli military disciplined three of the unit’s commanders after the investigation. But no criminal charges were brought against the soldiers because, the military said at the time, no causal link was found between Mr. Assad’s death and the failures of the soldiers’ conduct.

Human rights organizations have long accused the Israeli military justice system of whitewashing wrongdoing, and the military of acting with impunity.

The Biden administration has been putting Israel on notice over rising levels of settler violence against Palestinians and anti-settlement activists in the occupied West Bank, imposing financial and travel sanctions on several people and, most recently, on two grass-roots organizations raising funds for some of those individuals.

Benny Gantz, a centrist member of Mr. Netanyahu’s war cabinet and a former military chief, said imposing sanctions on Israeli military units would set “a dangerous precedent.”

The fierce denunciations came just hours after Israeli officials welcomed the bipartisan vote in Congress to approve billions of dollars in aid for Israel, underscoring the dramatic swings and contradictions that have characterized recent relations between President Biden and Mr. Netanyahu.

Mr. Biden has chided Mr. Netanyahu over civilian deaths in Gaza while nonetheless coming to Israel’s aid in repelling an attack this month from Iran and providing weapons used in the war in Gaza.

Israel’s defense minister, Yoav Gallant, said that he talked recently with Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken and the U.S. ambassador to Israel, Jacob J. Lew.

“Our friends and our enemies are closely watching the ties between Israel and the United States, now more than ever,” Mr. Gallant said in a statement early Monday. “I call on the U.S. administration to withdraw its intention to impose sanctions on the Netzah Yehuda battalion.”

Mr. Biden has faced months of criticism and fury — even from some members of his own party — over his backing of Israel’s war in Gaza as the death toll there has climbed, and any imposition of sanctions against an Israeli unit could be seen as a kind of counterweight. More than 34,000 Palestinians have been killed during the six months of war, according to Gazan health officials.

Mick Mulroy, a former C.I.A. officer and senior Pentagon official, said in an interview that placing such sanctions on a close ally like Israel would be unusual, so “it should send a message.”

Charles Blaha, the former director of an office in the State Department’s bureau of democracy, human rights and labor, said he hoped any decision to impose sanctions “would provide incentives to Israel to improve accountability.”

The general strike in the West Bank on Sunday was not the first shutdown in the territory as an act of protest in recent months . The Israeli authorities have tightened restrictions there since Oct. 7, canceling thousands of permits that allowed Palestinians to work in Israel and squeezing the economy in the West Bank, where about 500,000 Israeli settlers live alongside roughly 2.7 million Palestinians.

Violence in the West Bank has sharply escalated in recent months. Nearly 500 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces there since the Israel-Hamas war started, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.

An earlier version of this article misstated a title once held by Charles Blaha. He is a former director of an office in the State Department’s bureau of democracy, human rights and labor, not a former director of the bureau.

How we handle corrections

Isabel Kershner , a Times correspondent in Jerusalem, has been reporting on Israeli and Palestinian affairs since 1990. More about Isabel Kershner

Adam Rasgon reports from Israel for The Times's Jerusalem bureau. More about Adam Rasgon

Julian E. Barnes covers the U.S. intelligence agencies and international security matters for The Times. He has written about security issues for more than two decades. More about Julian E. Barnes

Our Coverage of the Israel-Hamas War

News and Analysis

The tents that failed to keep out the cold when many Gazans first fled their homes have now become suffocating as highs surpass 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Here’s how the heat is exacerbating already dire problems  from Israel’s war in Gaza.

Israel welcomed a U.S. aid package signed by President Biden that will send about $15 billion in military aid to Israel, increasing American support  for its closest Middle East ally despite strains in their relationship over Israel’s prosecution of the war in the Gaza Strip.

The United Nations’ human rights office called for an independent investigation into two mass graves  found after Israeli forces withdrew from hospitals in Gaza, including one discovered days ago over which Israeli and Palestinian authorities offered differing accounts.

After weeks of delays, negotiations and distractions, Israel appeared to hint that its assault of Rafah  — a city teeming with more than a million displaced persons above ground and riddled with Hamas tunnels below — was all but inevitable. Here’s how it might unfold .

Mourning Nearly 200 Relatives: Adam and Ola Abo Sheriah absorb a loss few can imagine, and scramble to help surviving family members  in Gaza while trying to get their kids to their New Jersey school on time.

A Generational Clash on Seder: At Passover Seders, many families addressed the war in Gaza , leading to rising tensions, while 200 New Yorkers from pro-Palestinian Jewish groups were arrested after rallying  near Chuck Schumer’s home to protest aid to Israel.

PEN America’s Fallout: The free expression group PEN America has canceled its 2024 literary awards ceremony following months of escalating protests over the organization’s response to the war in Gaza , which has been criticized as overly sympathetic to Israel.

Fears Over Iran Buoy Netanyahu: The Israeli prime minister lost considerable support after the Hamas-led Oct. 7 attacks on Israel. Tensions with Iran have helped him claw  some of it back.

2024 Theses Doctoral

Essays in Development Economics

The primary focus of this thesis is to explore important factors affecting the manufacturing sector in developing economies, with a specific focus on India. The first two chapters of this thesis investigate how financial and land-related policy reforms can significantly impact firm dynamics and resource allocation in manufacturing industries. This contributes to our understanding of how targeted policy measures can lead to substantial changes in firm growth and innovation. Furthermore, the third chapter explores the development of contextually relevant measures to assess the scope of quality differentiation in manufacturing industries. The first chapter, Bank Expansion, Firm Dynamics, and Structural Transformation: Evidence from India’s Policy Experiment, examines the impacts of bank expansion on firm dynamics and labor allocation. This paper focuses on a policy experiment in India designed to encourage bank expansion in ``under-banked'' districts. Empirical findings demonstrate significant growth in manufacturing firms in these districts due to eased credit access, resulting in increased capital accumulation, sales revenue, and employment. However, the expansion predominantly benefited incumbent firms, with minimal stimulation of firm entry or product innovation. The reform also induced notable labor reallocation towards manufacturing sectors, particularly in areas with lower agricultural productivity. The second chapter, Land Constraints and Firms: Evidence from India’s Urban Land Ceiling and Regulation Act, empirically examines the effects of land constraints on resource allocation and innovation in manufacturing firms, leveraging the staggered repeal of the Urban Land Ceiling and Regulation Act (ULCRA) as a natural experiment. The ULCRA, enacted in 1976, imposed restrictions on land holdings and transfers in India. The findings suggest that the repeal of the ULCRA significantly reduced land market frictions, leading to increased landholdings and transactions among affected firms, thereby enhancing their productivity and growth. The results demonstrate that easing land constraints plays a critical role in reducing misallocation and driving economic growth in the manufacturing sector. In the third chapter, Plants and the Scope for Quality Differentiation: An Empirical Study in India, a new proxy is introduced for determining the scope of quality differentiation in manufacturing industries, based on the slopes of Quality Engel curves. This proxy is empirically validated by establishing a positive correlation between price-plant size elasticities and the scope for quality differentiation. These findings suggest that the Engel slope may serve as a more suitable proxy for evaluating quality differentiation scopes, particularly in the context of developing countries. In all, the thesis not only sheds light on the intricate relationship between policy measures and industrial development, but also contributes to the understanding of quality differentiation in the context of emerging economies

Geographic Areas

• Economic development
• Economic policy
• Manufacturing industries
• Banks and banking
• Resource allocation
• Supply and demand

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