Thesis & Dissertation Services
Your thesis, dissertation or record of study marks the apex of your graduate career, showcasing the knowledge and skills you have developed throughout your program. The Graduate and Professional School provides the resources you need to create a final product that meets Texas A&M University’s high scholarly standards.
At the Graduate and Professional School, we are striving to amplify the impact of our graduate students’ research. Our goal is to ensure that the valuable insights captured in theses and dissertations are accessible to a wider audience beyond academia. By promoting digital accessibility and innovative dissemination strategies, we strive to create an environment where scholars, professionals, and the public can easily discover, engage with, and benefit from the groundbreaking work of Texas A&M graduate students.
Digital accessibility ensures that everyone, including people with disabilities, can access and use digital content and services. To help meet Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA standards, Thesis and Dissertation Services has developed a new Word Template and Walkthrough Guide designed to ensure accessibility when converting to PDF. We are also working on updated resources for our LaTeX Template and anticipate releasing a new version in the near future. We strongly encourage students to use these tools so their final thesis or dissertation is fully accessible.
Thesis and Dissertation Services’ initial goal is to pass five key accessibility checks in the Adobe Accessibility Checker. These checks and detailed instructions for remediating issues in PDFs using Adobe Acrobat Pro are outlined in our PDF Accessibility Check Guide. We understand that not all graduate students have access to Adobe Acrobat Pro. That’s why our Word Template and Walkthrough provide formatting and step-by-step guidance to ensure accessibility upon conversion to PDF. As noted above, we are also developing a LaTeX Template and Walkthrough to achieve the same accessibility standards.
Supporting You Throughout Your Thesis, Dissertation or Record of Study Process
The Graduate and Professional School does more than review submissions. We help you navigate the process. While your chair and committee ensure that you produce work that meets academic standards, we can give you the tools and guidance to meet formatting and documentation standards set by Texas A&M, freeing you up to focus on your document’s content.
Further, our services include reviewing each electronic thesis, dissertation and record of study (ETD) for uniformity, consistency and adherence to university guidelines and coordinating the ETD’s timely release for public access.
Getting Started
Once you complete your proposal, you will soon begin thinking about writing your thesis, dissertation, or record of study. Here are a few resources to help you begin your process.
VIRTUAL DOCUMENT PREPARATION CONFERENCE
The Virtual Document Preparation Conference provides an overview of the process for submitting your thesis, dissertation, or record of study as well as the university's formatting and graduation clearance requirements. Following early and specific guidance as you craft your manuscript will help ensure the process goes smoothly. Watch the video below.
For any questions or to receive a copy of the slides, reach out to us at thesis@tamu.edu.
WRITING, EDITING AND DOCUMENTATION TOOLS
The Graduate and Professional School offers its Guidelines for Theses, Dissertations and Records of Study, partners with campus offices and initiatives, and subscribes to useful software programs that you may find helpful as you research and write.
Guidance for Artificial Intelligence in Relation to Theses and Dissertations
The Graduate and Professional School recognizes the ever-changing dynamics of artificial intelligence (AI) in academia. As graduate students are integrated into Texas A&M’s research and teaching enterprises, we will refer to the best practices/guidance put forth by the Vice President for Research (VPR) in Resources on Generative AI in Research and the Center for Teaching Excellence (CTE) in AI Initiatives.
Guidelines for Theses, Dissertations and Records of Study
The Guidelines for Theses, Dissertations and Records of Study provides in-depth guidance for both students and faculty about how to prepare electronic theses, dissertations, and records of study, including sample pages.
Document Templates
Microsoft Word and Overleaf sample templates are available. Although these don’t eliminate the need for you to manually apply some formatting, they do come with most of our formatting requirements embedded, particularly for the preliminary pages. We highly recommend you use a template to save time and avoid confusion. Be sure to follow the accompanying instructions closely.
University writing center
The University Writing Center offers graduate students assistance with writing and public speaking, including class assignments, CVs, journal articles, research posters, oral presentations, theses or dissertations, and the oral defense.
Power writing support services
POWER (Promoting Outstanding Writing for Excellence in Research) provides motivational and instrumental support for graduate students’ academic writing through services such as individual writing consultations, writing and practicing in writing studios and graduate-level writing productivity classes.
Resources for degree completion
The Graduate and Professional School works to ensure a smooth process from matriculation to graduation. Here, you’ll find links and information for everything you need to know to successfully complete your degree.
Nearing Completion
Congratulations! You are nearing the end of your doctoral or master’s journey. Here’s what you need to do before you can submit your thesis, dissertation or record of study and be cleared for graduation.
1. Apply for graduation through the Howdy portal.
2. Pass your final examination/oral defense.
3. (Doctoral Only) Complete the SED/AAUDE Survey and submit proof of completion in ARCS.
4. Request your Copyright and Availability form in ARCS.
5. Submit your Thesis, Dissertation, or Record of Study to Vireo.
6. Submit (if necessary) copyright permission for previously published work.
7. Submit (if necessary) permission for figures and tables, or indicate that a Fair Use Analysis was done.
8. Request your thesis or record of study/dissertation Approval Form in ARCS
9. Pay Thesis and Dissertation Review fee through the Howdy portal.
Note: If you are unable to see any of the screens or any of the landing pages do not appear, please contact the Grad School at GradARCS@tamu.edu.
Completion of steps 1 - 8 are necessary for the Graduate and Professional School to clear you for graduation.
Submit your thesis, dissertation, or record of study to Vireo!
All theses, dissertations, records of study and copyright permissions (if needed) must be submitted electronically to Vireo in final PDF form. Vireo is also where you will retrieve a list of corrections once a review has been completed.
Vireo Thesis and Dissertation Submission System