Submit your ETD for Format Review and Publishing

The submission process for both formatting review and digital publishing is completed online, through the University Libraries’ Clemson OPEN ETD web portal, hosted by Digital Commons and powered by bepress® . Ultimately, your work will be available through the University’s repository, Clemson OPEN.

Begin by going to the Clemson OPEN Thesis & Dissertation homepage. On that page, click either the Submit Your Thesis or Submit Your Dissertation button. While the two academic manuscript terms are used interchangeably at many institutions, Clemson University prefers the term THESIS for master’s/specialists’ manuscripts, and DISSERTATION for doctoral manuscripts.

You will first be asked to log in (if you have an existing Clemson OPEN account) or to create your personal account. Use your Clemson University email address — with the domain either “@clemson .edu” or “@g.clemson.edu” — as your username. Create a password of your choosing; it does not have to be your official university password. Once you have created your account, or logged in, you will be taken to the Submission page. If you created a new account, you may be asked to read and accept the Digital Commons publishing agreement before you reach the Submission page.

On the Submission page, the information you’ll enter at each step is clearly described, and the required fields are marked in red. The “Author” field is automatically populated from your official email address. The Graduate School and Clemson Libraries encourage you to add keywords for open access.  You may include your permanent (non-University) address and email address in the Contact field. Once you click the “Submit” button at the bottom of the page, Clemson OPEN automatically sends an email to the manuscript reviewer to alert us that your ETD is ready for format review.

While uploading your manuscript, there are a few things to consider. In particular, we encourage you to discuss with your advisor, committee chair, and research sponsors whether a publication embargo (delay) may be prudent or even required by a research sponsor. The time to have these conversations is well before your defense date so that you can investigate the policies in your field and, if necessary, talk to others about the situation. Prior discussion will ensure that you make crucial publication decisions before the time pressures of graduation begin to weigh on you and your committee. There are no required fees for uploading, digitally publishing and permanently archiving your manuscript.

As part of the Clemson OPEN ETD account metadata you will enter, you’ll be given the option to embargo (to delay the publication of your thesis or dissertation without impacting your graduation status). A variety of situations warrant an embargo:

1. You are pursuing a patent (or plan to pursue one).

2. Your research includes sensitive or proprietary content; e.g, collaborative work with a military or governmental entity or a public or private corporation.

3. You’ve signed an agreement with a research sponsor that requires an embargo for a specified period of time, or a research partner has reserved the right to review your manuscript in full before it is published, as a condition for funding.

4. You have submitted or intend to submit part or all of your graduate research to a peer-reviewed journal or other publication in your field whose editorial board requires first publication rights; that is, they only accept previously unpublished content.

5. You intend eventually to publish your thesis or dissertation as a book with a commercial publisher or a university press.

The Graduate School permits embargoes on student manuscripts of up to one year in length, renewable for up to an additional year; however, certain circumstances may justify a longer embargo. Please note that an embargo should be placed when you submit your ETD, not afterward. Please discuss this with your advisor beforehand. Contact the Manuscript Review office if you have additional embargo-related questions.

Requesting an Embargo

When you submit your ETD, on the submission page, you’ll find a checkbox to enter your embargo request. An embargo is for one year as per Graduate School policy. Marking your request in your Clemson OPEN submission page is how you notify the manuscript reviewer that you wish to apply an embargo.

Candidates no longer have the option to order printed, bound copies of their manuscripts as part of the submission process. At this time, several departments still require their graduates to supply one or more bound copies of their ETD and may have a preferred print service. Clemson OPEN and the Graduate School do not provide ETD printing and binding services. You are free to choose any vendor whose services meet your and your department’s preferences. If you want bound copies for yourself and don’t prefer hardcover, local print and copy shops may be able to provide spiral-bound, soft-cover books. An online search will locate established North American and overseas printers/binderies that specialize in hardcover thesis or dissertation print production.  The Graduate School also has a  Bound Copies webpage that lists several online services.

DOI

The Clemson OPEN Digital Repository Coordinator will assign a DOI (Digital Object Identifier) to your ETD. You do not need to enter anything into this field .

ORCID number

If you have previously published research in peer-reviewed journals, you may already have, or know how to obtain, an ORCID (Open Researcher and Contributor ID) number. Information about ORCID and how to obtain your identifier free of charge may be found on the ORCID website. There is an optional field where you may enter your ORCID number

You will receive a results email from the Manuscript Review staff within approximately one to two business days, though it may take longer during peak submission times. Your email will contain information about one of the following:

1. Accepted manuscripts: If your manuscript is approved without needing revision, you have finished. CONGRATULATIONS!

2. Manuscript needing revisions: If revisions are required, you will need to make those revisions to your original manuscript file, convert the edited file to PDF, upload the new file to the same account as your original, and wait for a review response again. The reviewer will include details on how to make particular revisions, if any are tricky to format. Be aware that many manuscripts require one round of minor revisions, and occasionally more than one, but your reviewer will send you details about how to make specific revisions . If you get stuck, you may drop by the Manuscript Review office in E-106 Martin Hall for hands-on help.

Your official clearance for graduation will come via email as soon as our ETD manuscript is accepted, and Enrolled Services has received your signed GS7 and updated your approved-for-graduation status in the Registrar’s database.

In your acceptance email, you will be asked to complete the Survey of Earned Doctorates, sponsored by the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, the U.S. Department of Education, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Over 90% of doctoral degree holders nationwide participate in this important project. This optional survey helps these and many other agencies and entities assess the availability of highly-educated personnel.