GSD Masters Thesis Submissions

As of the Fall 2020 all GSD master theses and doctoral dissertations are being submitted through ProQuest, an ETD tool that Harvard University has subscribed to. Submission of theses is now be managed through this tool.

Start your Submission

To start the submission process, please go to this website, where you will see the GSD logo in the top right section. Once there, you will see the "Welcome to the ETD Administrator @ Harvard Graduate School of Design" banner, where you can start the process of submitting your thesis.

The "My ETDs" tab will guide you through the submission (you will basically navigate the left navigation menu step by step). You will log in using your GSD email address.

  • Please read the instructions included in the Instructions page.
Items before Submission
  • A PDF copy of your dissertation/thesis. This must be a single file. If your manuscript is in Word or RTF format, you must convert it into a PDF.
  • Abstract
  • Optional Supplementary files (images, data, etc.) that are an integral part of the dissertation/thesis, but not part of the full text.
  • Advisor and other Committee Members' Names
  • Subject Categories: 1-3 that best describe your dissertation/thesis' subject area. These categories are fixed subject categories.
  • Keywords: You will have the option to then add additional tags that you think would enhance discovery and access to your thesis.
  • Read the text outlined by a box on the Instructions page:
    • It includes information about a cover sheet (for master theses) and/or dissertation acceptance certificate (for doctoral dissertations) that you will need to include with your PDF. The academic department administrators and/or coordinators will provide guidelines for that.
    • You can start your submission, save, and come back later to finish. When finished, remember to hit the Submit button.
  • Questions about the submission process? Ask your academic department administrator/coordinator.

A Couple of Options for you to Consider

You will be presented with two ProQuest publishing options. Harvard University recommends that you choose Traditional Publishing. Choosing this option, theses will be available online as open-access publication through Harvard’s institutional repository (IR), DASH. You also have the option of putting an embargo (delaying the access to your full theses). We do not recommend this unless you have patents or other significant reasons to deny public access to your theses (e.g., personal safety of individuals described or mentioned in your thesis). The attached document explains the reasoning behind this recommendation.

You will be presented with the option of registering your copyright. After uploading your thesis/dissertation and submitting information about it, you will be presented with the option of having ProQuest register it with the US Copyright Office. Harvard University does not recommend this option. You already hold the copyright by having authored your thesis and putting it in tangible form, and you will avoid paying a fee to ProQuest for that service.

  • Questions about these options? Ask the Harvard Office for Scholarly Communication: osc@harvard.edu

GSD Dissertation Submissions

Doctor of Design Dissertations

Guidelines can be found on the GSD website.

In terms of submission process everything under Master's Thesis Submissions is true for Doctor of Design Dissertation.

Doctor of Philosophy Dissertations

Please follow policies and procedures established by Harvard University's Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS), which can be found on the FAS website.