Overview
In the US, many graduate schools require electronic submission through ProQuest's ETD Administrator and a format review against the institution's thesis manual, and many also deposit in their own institutional repository. ProQuest currently offers traditional publishing without a submission fee and an optional open access route; authors keep copyright and grant a non-exclusive license. In the UK and elsewhere, the final thesis is deposited in the university repository; the British Library's EThOS service, offline after the 2023 cyber-attack, returned in July 2026 as a metadata index linking to theses in university repositories.
Common requirements include a specified title page and declaration, front-matter order, roman and arabic pagination, heading hierarchy, table of contents and lists of figures, margins for binding, embedded fonts and an archival PDF (often PDF/A). Embargo options (for patents, sensitive data or planned publication) and permissions for third-party material must be decided before deposit.
We format or guide you through formatting the final approved version — without changing its content — and check it against your institution's rules before you submit.
Who it’s for and the problems it solves
This is for you if you are…
- US master's and doctoral graduates facing graduate school format review and ProQuest submission
- UK, Irish, Australian and other candidates depositing the final thesis in an institutional repository
- Candidates whose thesis was returned by format reviewers with a list of fixes
- Candidates writing in LaTeX who need their PDF to meet archival requirements
- Candidates considering an embargo because of patents, publications or sensitive data
Common problems we help with
- Your thesis was rejected at format review for margins, spacing or page numbering
- Your table of contents and list of figures do not update correctly
- The repository requires PDF/A and your conversion fails validation
- You are unsure whether to choose traditional or open access publishing, or an embargo
- Your thesis contains figures or papers from publishers and you do not know if you can include them
- You have to combine chapters from different files or authors' templates into one document
What’s included — and what isn’t
Included
- Checking the thesis against your institution's formatting manual or template
- Formatting of front matter: title page, copyright page, abstract, declarations, acknowledgments, contents and lists
- Consistent headings, numbering, pagination, captions and cross-references in Word or LaTeX
- Reference list consistency check against your required style
- Conversion to PDF or PDF/A with embedded fonts, bookmarks and basic accessibility (tagged headings, alt text for figures)
- Guidance on ProQuest ETD Administrator options, institutional repository deposit and metadata such as keywords and ORCID
- Explanation of embargo options and considerations for patents, publication and sensitive data
- Checklist for third-party copyright permissions and use of published articles
Not included
- Changing the content of the examined thesis beyond approved corrections
- Submitting or depositing the thesis on your behalf
- Legal advice on copyright, patents or confidentiality agreements
- Guaranteeing acceptance by format reviewers, who apply their own final judgment
What you receive
- Formatted thesis file
- Your final Word or LaTeX file formatted to your institution's requirements, with styles and automatic contents that update correctly.
- Archival PDF
- A PDF or PDF/A file with embedded fonts and bookmarks, checked with a validator where your repository requires it.
- Compliance checklist
- A completed checklist mapping each formatting rule to your document so you can confirm compliance.
- Deposit decisions summary
- A short summary of your publishing, license and embargo options, with questions to confirm with your graduate school or library.
How it works
Gather rules
You send the formatting manual, template and any format-review feedback; we identify requirements that are commonly missed.
Format
We format the approved thesis file or guide you through doing it, without altering content.
Convert and check
We produce the PDF or PDF/A, validate it and check pagination, links and embedded fonts.
Deposit guidance
We explain your repository options and embargo choices so you can complete the submission.
Fix returns
If format review returns requests, we help you address them promptly.
Standards, platforms and options
- ProQuest ETD Administrator
- Used by many US and Canadian institutions for electronic thesis and dissertation submission. Options include traditional publishing and open access, plus embargo settings chosen by the author within institutional rules.
- Institutional repositories
- University repositories (often DSpace, EPrints or similar) that host the final thesis, sometimes with a separate redacted public version.
- EThOS (UK)
- The British Library's UK doctoral thesis index, restored in July 2026 as a metadata service that links to full text held in university repositories.
- PDF/A
- An archival PDF standard (ISO 19005) that embeds fonts and disallows features that can break long-term access. Many repositories specify a variant such as PDF/A-1b, PDF/A-2b or PDF/A-3u.
- Embargoes
- Delays in public access, commonly six months to two years, sometimes renewable, used for patents, pending publications or sensitive data. Rules and durations are set by your institution.
- Licenses and copyright
- You usually retain copyright; you may add a Creative Commons license. Third-party images and published papers may require permission or the accepted manuscript version.
Choosing an embargo
An embargo is worth considering if you plan to publish a book from your thesis, have pending patent filings, or used data with confidentiality restrictions. Many journals do not treat a thesis in a repository as prior publication, but policies vary, and book publishers sometimes prefer an embargo.
Embargo periods and renewal rules are set by your institution and may differ between the institutional repository and ProQuest. Some institutions require you to track expiry dates yourself. We help you understand the choices; the decision and any approvals are yours and your graduate school's.
Common format review rejections
Most rejections are small but repetitive. Checking them before submission saves weeks of back-and-forth close to graduation deadlines.
- Margins or page size not matching the manual
- Page numbering errors between front matter and main text
- Headings not consistent with the table of contents
- Landscape pages with incorrectly placed page numbers
- Missing or incorrectly ordered front matter such as the copyright page
- Fonts not embedded, or scanned signature pages in the public version
What the work can look like
Illustrative example — fictional data
Passing format review after a rejection
A fictional US doctoral candidate's 240-page dissertation was returned by the graduate school with 17 formatting issues, and the deposit deadline for graduation was 10 days away.
Issues found
Inconsistent margins on landscape tables, arabic numbering starting on the wrong page, heading levels not matching the table of contents, and non-embedded fonts in figures exported from a statistics package.
Fixes
Section breaks rebuilt, styles applied consistently, contents regenerated, figures re-exported at the required resolution, and a PDF/A-2b file produced and validated.
Deposit decisions
The candidate chose traditional publishing in ProQuest with a two-year embargo, confirmed with the graduate school, because a book proposal was planned.
Illustrative, fictional scenario; your institution's rules and options may differ.
What you’ll need to provide
- The final, approved thesis file(s) in Word or LaTeX
- Your institution's formatting manual, template and deposit instructions
- Any format review feedback
- Information on third-party figures and published papers included
- Your deposit deadline and graduation date
You don’t need everything ready to ask for a quote — tell us what you have and we’ll say what’s missing.
What affects price and turnaround
Price depends on
- Length of the thesis and number of tables, figures and equations
- Whether the file is in Word or LaTeX and the state of its styles
- Complexity of your institution's formatting rules
- Whether PDF/A conversion and validation are needed
- Deadline for format review or deposit
Turnaround depends on
- Thesis length and formatting condition
- Number of rounds with the format reviewer
- Graduation and deposit deadlines
Every project is quoted individually. How we price our work.
Questions people ask before starting
Will you change the content of my thesis?
No. We format the approved version only. If we notice a content issue, such as a missing reference, we flag it for you to fix.
Can you work with LaTeX?
Yes. We can adapt university LaTeX classes, fix layout issues and produce PDF/A output where required. We can also work in Overleaf.
Should I choose open access in ProQuest?
It depends on your goals, institutional policies and any publication plans. Many institutions already make theses openly available through their own repository. We explain the options; your graduate school has the final word on what is required.
Is EThOS back?
Yes. The British Library relaunched EThOS in July 2026 as a searchable index of UK theses that links to full text in university repositories. Deposit still happens through your own university.
Can I include published papers in my final thesis?
Usually, but check each publisher's agreement. You may need to use the accepted manuscript version or obtain permission, especially for the open repository copy.
Do you submit the thesis for me?
No. Submission and deposit must be done by you, because they involve declarations and licenses only you can agree to.