For Authors
Questions about Submission and Discoverability
- Why should I allow ProQuest, a commercial provider, to disseminate and archive my dissertation?
- How does ProQuest make dissertations available to academic databases?
- What are the best channels to use in disseminating my work?
- Does ProQuest make dissertations discoverable via search engines such as Google?
- How much does it cost to submit my dissertation to ProQuest?
- I want to submit a dissertation in a non-PDF format [e.g. audio file, video file]. How can I do that?
- My university doesn’t submit dissertations to ProQuest. How can I include my thesis or dissertation?
Questions about Publication and Embargoes
Questions about Publishing Rights
- Does ProQuest “publish” dissertations?
- Can I distribute my dissertation elsewhere if I submit it to ProQuest?
- If my dissertation is published into a book, will the copyright shift to the book publisher and will the dissertation need to be removed from the ProQuest database?
- Will my dissertation be available for sale?
- Does ProQuest sell dissertations on commercial sites such as Amazon?
- Will ProQuest have the right to reproduce the thesis in other formats ("microform and print formats") and sell them?
- Does ProQuest pay author royalties?
- Do you allow Open Access discovery?
- Are there author rights concerns for theses and dissertations once they are submitted to Turnitin/iThenticate?
- How can I have my work removed from Turnitin/iThenticate?
Questions about the Submission Process
Why should I allow ProQuest, a commercial provider, to disseminate and archive my dissertation?
ProQuest is not a “new media” publishing company jumping into a perceived market opportunity. We have been partnering with scholars and academic institutions to publish dissertations since the late-1930s and have proven our commitment to the academic community.
Working with ProQuest provides unparalleled dissemination of authors’ dissertations and theses to the scholarly community. ProQuest’s dissertations services exist and evolve to fulfill the information requirements of academic institutions and their authors. Disseminating and archiving dissertations is an investment for both ProQuest and our partner institutions. Our dissertations solutions add value for authors and institutions on several different levels, such as the following:
- ProQuest assists researchers and institutions in the discoverability and dissemination of their dissertations and theses; the database is accessed by researchers at more than 3,100 institutions worldwide.
- Inclusion in ProQuest provides access to an author’s dissertation alongside decades of groundbreaking research from doctoral and master’s institutions.
- Metadata is made available to key subject indexes and database services including PsycINFO (psychology), ERIC (education), MLA (modern languages, literature, folklore, and linguistics), MathSciNet (mathematics), Compendex (engineering), etc. ProQuest continues to develop and expand partnerships in order to raise the visibility of dissertations and theses through high-quality, relevant indexes and databases.
- inclusion in PQDT enables discovery alongside the work of established leaders in their fields. ProQuest aggregates content from thousands of publishers that are used every day in every major research library in the world. ProQuest’s acclaimed research platform cross-searches journal databases with dissertations content, enabling your dissertation to be viewed along with other major works on the topic.
How does ProQuest make dissertations available to academic databases?
ProQuest plays a key role in the aggregation of dissertations ─ preserving, archiving and making them accessible at the authors’ discretion and direction to researchers at more than 3,100 institutions around the world. Through our dissemination program, we also make un-embargoed works available to major academic databases including PsycINFO (psychology), ERIC (education), MLA (modern languages, literatures, folklore, and linguistics), MathSci.Net (mathematics), Compendex (engineering) – full list here. This enhances discovery within the author’s discipline and enables the authors’ works to be showcased for use in other academic journals, working papers, reports and studies. ProQuest continues to develop and expand partnerships in order to raise the visibility of dissertations and theses through high-quality, relevant indexes and databases.
What are the best channels to use in disseminating my work?
ProQuest recommends that authors explore all available options for the dissemination of their work. We encourage authors to consult with their universities to understand how institutional policies might impact their dissemination options. ProQuest’s author agreement for dissertations and theses is non-exclusive. Authors have the full right to make their works available to other commercial services or for open access outside of the ProQuest service. Further dissemination options, such as distribution via an Institutional Repository, can occur in parallel with availability through ProQuest. Our view is that dissemination via a combination both of ProQuest and an Institutional Repository provides maximum exposure for authors and institutions.
Does ProQuest make dissertations discoverable via search engines such as Google?
Authors submitting their dissertation to ProQuest have the option to allow discovery of their work via ProQuest’s partnership with Google Scholar. However, note that it is also possible for search engines and other vendors to harvest your work if it is posted in a university institutional repository. Authors always have the option to opt-out of this offering.
How much does it cost to submit my dissertation to ProQuest?
For authors that submit electronically, there’s no charge to disseminate and archive dissertations and theses in ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global.
I want to submit a dissertation in a non-PDF format [e.g. audio file, video file]. How can I do that?
To do this using ETD Administrator, please upload a PDF containing the title of your graduate work and any other relevant written material in the “PDF” section of the site. In the "Supplemental Files section, please upload the non-PDF component of your graduate work. (You may upload multiple files as needed in the “Supplemental Files” section).
My university doesn’t submit dissertations to ProQuest. How can I include my thesis or dissertation?
Authors that wish to include their work in ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global outside of their university program can submit their request to disspub@proquest.com.
Questions about Publication and Embargoes
ProQuest Dissertations & Theses is a dissemination channel and is not a publisher in the traditional definition applied to journals or monographs. Generally, the submission of an author’s graduate work to the ProQuest platform does not qualify the work as being “published.” However, each publisher/editorial board sets its own policy as to whether the dissemination of a dissertation or thesis via ProQuest disqualifies the author from submitting a journal article or monograph on the same subject for future publication. While most publishers do not find the wide distribution of a full-text dissertation or thesis problematic, potential conflicts should be carefully considered and explored by students, with the advice of their faculty advisors. If there is concern about publishing the final version of an article as part of a dissertation, ProQuest recommends including the preprint version of the article in the dissertation instead. Should a concern arise, ProQuest can apply a full-text embargo to the graduate work upon request. Requests can be made at disspub@proquest.com. Further information is available here.
Why are some dissertations/theses embargoed?
At any given time, some of the works from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses are unavailable due to embargoes. Embargo restrictions are typically requested by authors as copyright holders, in consultation with their universities, and may be placed for various reasons. Some examples include patents pending on elements contained within the graduate work and concerns about data privacy and the privacy of subjects involved in the studies.
What are the specific embargo options?
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 them as needed. ProQuest also upholds a policy for the removal of works within 48 hours of receiving the request. Find details on ProQuest’s Full Text Take Down process here. If an author wishes, he/she/they may contact disspub@proquest.com to request that their work be embargoed or removed at any time.
Questions about Publishing Rights
Does ProQuest “publish” dissertations?
Primarily, ProQuest is an archiving and dissemination partner for thousands of institutions worldwide, enabling the works of their graduate students to become part of the larger scholarly record. Authors retain the copyright to their work. ProQuest retains a non-exclusive right to disseminate the dissertation. Because ProQuest assigns ISBNs to dissertations, inclusion in the database could be considered to represent a form of publishing. However, most publishers do not hold this viewpoint, dissemination via ProQuest complements and is in no way a substitute for monograph or scholarly journal publishing.
Can I distribute my dissertation elsewhere if I submit it to ProQuest?
Yes, submission to ProQuest is non-exclusive, and authors are totally free to publish their work or make it available elsewhere at any time. Authors retain copyright and direct decisions regarding the dissemination of their work. Dissemination choices can be modified at any time after submission to ProQuest by contacting our customer service team.
If my dissertation is published into a book, will the copyright shift to the book publisher and will the dissertation need to be removed from ProQuest’s database?
The copyright of the dissertation is held by the author. The author grants ProQuest the “license” – i.e. the right to display the dissertation on the ProQuest platform. The license is non-exclusive: the author has full authorization to publish a book or to have the dissertation available on another website. The work can exist in both places – both with ProQuest and elsewhere. In most cases, a book has considerable changes from the original dissertation and is defined as a derivative and not an exact replication. In some instances where an author has their dissertation turned into a monograph, the author can contact ProQuest at the request of the publisher and put a “do not sell” restriction on the work. This would prohibit ProQuest from selling the dissertation in formats such as downloadable PDFs and print copies. If you wish to request this option, please email disspub@proquest.com.
Will my dissertation be available for sale?
Unless authors choose to embargo their work, copies are available for sale directly from ProQuest via the Dissertation Express service and the PQDT index database – for researchers or libraries to purchase copies. These services focus on serving the information needs of the global research community. Dissertations and theses are also made available in the libraries of more than 3,100 academic institutions around the world via subscriptions to our databases such as ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Full Text and ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. Authors earn royalties based upon the print copy sales and downloads of their work. For questions contact dissroyalties@proquest.com.
Does ProQuest sell dissertations on commercial sites such as Amazon?
No, ProQuest no longer provides graduate works to third-party retailers for distribution. Our reseller program with Amazon was discontinued in 2014.
Will ProQuest have the right to reproduce the thesis in other formats and sell them?
Many researchers and academic libraries want a bound print copy for archival purposes. ProQuest offers print formats as purchase options for these reasons. Authors receive royalty payments on all purchases of their work. See above Author royalty question for details.
Does ProQuest pay author royalties?
Yes, ProQuest pays royalties to authors based on copy sales and usage of dissertations. ProQuest pays royalties of 10% of its net revenue from sales of your dissertation or thesis in all formats, including PDF, hardbound, softbound, and microfilm formats. We also pay royalties for downloads as part of a ProQuest Dissertation & Theses Global subscription. Sales in all formats are added together on an annual basis and checks remitted to authors. Royalties are paid when they reach a total of $25.00 USD. If royalties in a single year do not reach $25.00 USD, the funds are rolled over to the following year. Royalties are not paid if they do not accrue to $25.00 USD after 25 years. You must maintain a current address on record with ProQuest to receive royalty. For further questions about royalties, or to update your address for future royalty payments, please contact dissroyalties@proquest.com.
Do you allow Open Access discovery?
Yes. For authors and institutions wishing to make their works available via Open Access, ProQuest supports the dissemination in two different ways:
Institutional Repository Dissemination: Authors and institutions are at liberty to make their works freely available through their Institutional Repositories or other Open Access sites to be discovered through Google or other search systems. We also partner with libraries to make it easier to secure author approval and post-graduate works to institutional repositories. Where university sites have enabled the functionality, authors can even specify rights granted for the version of their work in the Institutional Repository through a Creative Commons license. ProQuest helps to enhance the discoverability in the IR by enhancing keywords and metadata for improved search results.
ProQuest Open Access Service: At participating institutions, authors who wish to extend discovery of their works via open access, can pay a publication fee ($95) to have their full-text work made discoverable and accessible through several additional channels:
- PROQUEST.COM
- Search Engine Optimization – ProQuest allows Google, Bing, etc. to index PQDT to retrieve bibliographic information. Additionally, discoverability for Open Access titles is enhanced through ProQuest’s metadata editorial process and a ProQuest partnership with Google Scholar.
Are there author rights concerns for theses and dissertations once they are submitted to Turnitin/iThenticate?
No, students retain the copyright of documents submitted to Turnitin/iThenticate, which has a limited license to use the works as part of the plagiarism prevention system. Turnitin's use of student papers under Fair Use was settled in a United States District Court of Law in 2007 and affirmed upon appeal in 2009.
How can I have my work removed from Turnitin/iThenticate?
While most authors appreciate inclusion in the Turnitin and iThenticate databases, some authors do not want their work included. To request the removal of the ProQuest copy of graduate works, authors should contact disspub@proquest.com. Please note that while the ProQuest copy of the dissertation or theses will be removed from Turnitin/iThenticate, if the work appears on other open access websites or institutional repositories, those copies may continue to be included in TurnitIn/iThenticate because of the work’s availability online.