Guidelines for Electronic Submission of Master's Theses

Congratulations on arriving at this final stage of the thesis process. In writing a thesis, you have contributed to your field through your research. Members of the academic community share their research in a collective attempt to further our understanding of central questions.

Accordingly, to fulfill your thesis requirement for your master’s degree, you must upload a digital copy of your thesis to the both CUNY Academic Works and to ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global. Once your thesis has been successfully uploaded to these two services and reviewed, you will receive email confirmation that it has been accepted.

What you will need:

  • The final, approved version of your thesis in PDF format that does NOT include any signatures
  • Brief abstract
  • Any supplemental files
    • Note: No signature files should be included, either within thesis document itself nor as uploaded supplemental files.
  • Scan or photo of completed and initialed Graduate Program Director Thesis Approval Form (please do not upload the thesis signature page)
  • Subject categories for your thesis
  • List of key words to help classify and identify your work
  • PDF of your Academic Works submission confirmation email to upload to ProQuest (see below)

Note: Your thesis should not include copyrighted or other materials that should not be posted on the internet. A thorough guide on fair use and copyright is available from our library at http://guides.lib.jjay.cuny.edu/fairuse. If you are unsure about the status of certain materials, please consult your advisor, program director, or Kathleen Collins, Graduate Studies librarian, at kcollins@jjay.cuny.edu.

Please follow the instructions below to upload your work to the two services. If you have any questions at any point in the submission process, please contact librarian Kathleen Collins at kcollins@jjay.cuny.edu or the Office of Graduate Studies at graduatestudies@jjay.cuny.edu. If you have questions about formatting your thesis guides/resources are also available on the JJC library website.

Questions about specific thesis requirements should be directed to your program director or advisor. Click here for contact information.

Submitting Your Thesis to CUNY Academic Works

  1. Visit the John Jay section of CUNY Academic Works. Select “My Account” from the top menu bar, then create a new account or log in using existing credentials. Ideally you should use an email account that you will continue to access after graduation.
  2. Select "Submit Research" in the Author Corner section on the left side of the page.
  3. Read the Submission Agreement, click the checkbox if you agree, and select “Continue.”
  4. Enter all required fields, following the onscreen instructions. For the "date of award," please select December, June, or August and the year according to whether you are submitting for Fall, Spring, or Summer respectively. You do not need to enter a day.
  5. You can determine when the text of your thesis will be publicly available online via the CUNY Academic Works by selecting one of the following embargo options: no embargo (available immediately), 6 months, 12 months, or 24 months. Title, author, and other metadata remain viewable even if a work is embargoed.
  6. Add keywords describing your thesis to improve discoverability.
  7. Choose subject categories, selecting the discipline that best describes your work, for example, Social and Behavioral Sciences -> Legal Studies -> Forensic Science and Technology.
  8. After you have entered your information and selected your file, double-check your entries and click “Submit” at the bottom of the page.
  9. That’s it! You should also receive an email confirmation that your submission was received. Please save this email as a PDF to upload during the ProQuest submission process (see below).

Submitting Your Thesis to ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global

  1. Visit John Jay’s ProQuest ETD Admin website.
  2. If you are logging in for the first time, click the red button toward the bottom of the page that says “Sign up and get started today!”
  3. Follow the onscreen instructions for providing all required information. (You should see “City University of New York (CUNY)-John Jay College of Criminal Justice” already inserted under “Institution.”) Then select “Create.”
  4. Select whether you would like your thesis to be discovered by search engines through ProQuest. Also, select your access options or your embargo (delayed release) decision. If you would like the release of your work delayed, select no and then choose from the following options: 6 months, 1 year, or 2 years. This option determines when the full text of your work will be publicly available online. Note: Title, author, and other metadata remain viewable even if a work is embargoed.
  5. Read the Traditional Publishing Agreement by ProQuest. If you agree to the conditions, click the “Accept” button.
  6. Enter all required fields according to the onscreen instructions. You must include a Primary Subject Category for your thesis. If you have questions as to which category to select and which keywords are appropriate for your thesis, consult your program director or a librarian. Enter your abstract, and click “Save & Continue” to proceed.
  7. Upload your thesis in PDF format. Indicate whether you have any copyright permission documents to submit. If so, select Yes and then upload that file.
  8. Upload any supplemental files, such as datasets, graphs, and multimedia if you have them. This step is optional.
    • Note: No signature files should be included, either within thesis document itself nor as uploaded supplemental files.
  9. On the Administrative Documents screen, upload: (1) a scan of your initialed thesis approval form, and (2) a PDF of your CUNY Academic Works submission confirmation email, in the appropriate places. Note: Please verify that your program director has only initialed, and not signed, the approval form. Signatures are not allowed in the electronic system.
  10. After uploading your files, you will be given the option to register your copyright for the work with the U.S. Copyright Office through ProQuest for a $55 fee, payable by credit card at the time of submission. This service is optional. Alternatively, graduates may choose to register their copyright directly with the U.S. Copyright Office. Please see http://copyright.gov/about/fees.html for more information. Registering your copyright is optional, and you own the copyright to your thesis regardless of whether you officially register it.
  11. John Jay requires all master’s students to purchase one library copy for $25 that will automatically be sent to and archived in the Lloyd Sealy Library. You also have the option of ordering print copies for yourself. To do so, select options according to the onscreen instructions. Single copy orders of a hardcover 8½ x 11 inch copy are $56.00 each, plus tax. Though ordering a library copy is required, personal copies are optional.
  12. Verify the details of your submission summary and click “Continue with submission” at the bottom of the page.
  13. Enter your credit card information and billing address. Click “Submit Dissertation/Thesis & Pay” to finalize your submission.

That’s it!

The Office of Graduate Studies will be notified that your thesis has been submitted, and once your submission has been reviewed and approved, the Office of Graduate Studies will inform the Office of the Registrar that your thesis requirement has been met.