Doctorate of Business Administration

Directions for Submitting Your Electronic Dissertation

After you pass your oral defense and your final dissertation is approved by your committee, you can submit your dissertation electronically to the ProQuest/UMI ETD Administrator website. Before you begin the submission steps, please be sure you know or have available to you the following:

• Full text of your dissertation in PDF format. This must be one file. Fonts must be embedded. Security settings must be set to “no security.” Encrypted files cannot be processed for publishing. The maximum file size that can be uploaded is 1000 MB. The PDF file name cannot contain periods (except for the .pdf extension). Instructions for PDF conversion are available at the ProQuest/UMI ETD Administrator site under the “Resources and Guidelines” tab at http://www.etdadmin.com/cgi-bin/main/resources.
• Abstract text – 350 words or less, and must be in English.
• Optional supplementary files. These images, data, etc. may be an integral part of the dissertation, but not part of the full text or appendices.
• Advisor and other committee members’ names.  These should be listed exactly as they appear on your approved warrant.
• Subject category. You will choose one to three subject categories from the Subject Category list that best describe your dissertation subject area.

Step 1: Go to http://www.etdadmin.com. Click on the "Start the process" link, select UW-Whitewater from the list of schools and follow the steps to create a new account. If you already have an account, sign in using the "Login with your account" link.

Step 2: Under the "Submitting Your Dissertation/Thesis" tab, choose the "Submit my dissertation/thesis" link

You can start your submission, save it, and come back to finish it at any time.

Step 3: Complete every page of the submission process, unless it is marked (optional). Every page of each section has clear directions and links to explain the different options available to you for publishing.
The sections are

• Publishing information,
• About my dissertation/thesis, and
• Submission & payment.

You can move between sections by using the left hand menu, but the boxes will remain unchecked until you have submitted all the required information on that page

Step 4: At the submission page called PQ Publishing Options, you will see the following options:

• Traditional or

• Open Access publishing.

UWW recommends that you choose the option which allows major search engines to discover your work.

UWW recommends that you choose the option which makes your work “available in ProQuest as soon as it is published”. In case of pending patents, publication in another source, sensitive information, etc., you will be allowed up to a six-month embargo (delay) in publishing. You will however need to provide justification in order to enact it.

Step 5: At the submission page called IR Publishing Options, choose Yes. This is because the UW system requires that your dissertation be submitted to the UW Institutional Repository (IR) know as Minds@UW, in addition to ProQuest. This step allows anyone on the internet to have open access to your work ensuring wider dissemination of your ideas.

You are encouraged to choose the Open Access rather than Campus Access option.

Step 6: On the Creative Commons page in the Submission section, review the options and choose a Creative Commons license. 

The following are some commonly used Creative Commons licenses:

• CC-BY - Require attribution
• CC-SA - Require similar sharing if anyone else reuses your work 
• CC-NC - Allow reuse for noncommercial purposes only
• CC-ND - Don't allow adaptations or derivative work

Step 7: On the Dissertation/Thesis Details page in the Submission section, you will be asked to enter the following important information about your dissertation:

• Title: enter the full title of your dissertation, as it appears on the title page. Only some special characters can be used in this field. The title field does not accept subscript, superscript, or Greek letters, o will have to spell these out.
• Abstract: Enter the text of your abstract exactly as it was approved by your faculty advisor. There is a 350-word maximum.
• Select the year in which you completed your manuscript.
• Degree/Department Information: Select the year in which your degree will be conferred.
  • Select the degree you will receive and your department. If you are uncertain, please contact the Graduate School.
• Primary Subject Category is required;
  • Additional Subject Categories as well as Keywords are optional, but may make your work more discoverable.
• Advisor/Supervisor/Committee Chair: Enter your primary advisor’s name exactly as it appears on your approval page. Do not repeat your advisor in the list of committee members.
• Committee Members: Enter your committee members’ names exactly as they appear on your approval page

Step 8: You may choose to order bound copies of your dissertation and register copyright of your dissertation – both of these items are optional and at your own expense.
Your work automatically has copyright protection from the moment it is in a fixed medium. But registering your copyright may have some potential benefits for you such as proof of ownership and additional remedies should copyright be infringed. 

Step 9: If you choose any of the purchase options such as ordering bound copies or registering copyright, "A Pay for your order" page will appear. Review all options to ensure accuracy. Credit cards are the only accepted payment method.

Step 10: The School of Graduate Studies will approve and submit your dissertation to ProQuest/UMI Dissertation Publishing.  The UW-Whitewater Library will receive an electronic version of your dissertation shortly thereafter.

You will receive an official email notification when the School of Graduate Studies has approved your dissertation for publication.  Your submission of the dissertation is final and you are not allowed to make changes once it has been approved by the Graduate School.  Your submission is not completed until you receive the confirmation email from the School of Graduate Studies.