Dissertation and Theses Submission

The Library at Metro State University serves as the information hub of the university and acquires and provides connections to a variety of print and digital knowledge resources. As such, the library seeks to collect student scholarship, including master’s theses and doctoral dissertations. The purpose of this procedure is to define a standard process for how the library, working with graduate programs, acquires and provides access to this scholarship to the university community.

Scope

This procedure describes how electronic copies of dissertations and theses (ETDs) may be submitted to the library for inclusion in its collections. The library does NOT accept physical (print) copies.

Platforms

The library offers two digital platforms that provide access to ETDs:

ProQuest’s “Dissertations & Theses @ Metropolitan State”

ProQuest distributes internationally and is considered the publisher of record for theses and dissertations. An ETD submitted to this platform is accessible to current Metro State students, faculty, and staff, as well as any student or faculty at a college or university that subscribes to ProQuest’s Digital Dissertations platform. ProQuest offers various levels of access and licensing, including embargoes and open access (OA).

MetroWorks

MetroWorks is the university’s institutional repository (IR). Any ETD submitted to this platform is freely accessible to anyone online, with the author maintaining ownership of their copyright. MetroWorks offers an embargo option and the option to license an ETD with Creative Commons.

For greatest dissemination and broadest access, the library recommends that students submit their ETD to both platforms.  A work submitted to either platform can be discoverable (findable) by Google, Google Scholar, and the library’s OneSearch tool.

Submission instructions

Before submitting an ETD, ensure your documents are accessible. Institutional Effectiveness and Technology offers help developing accessible documents. 

• ProQuest: Go to ProQuest’s ETD Administrator. The library provides a Submitting Your Thesis or Dissertation handout with additional information.
• MetroWorks: Go to MetroWorks, click on “Submit Research,” and then click “Theses & Dissertations.” The library provides an extensive MetroWorks online guide with additional information.

Additional policies

Directors of graduate programs, per their respective program or college policies, may elect to ask or require their master’s and doctoral students to submit their ETDs for inclusion in the library’s digital collections and specify submit to ProQuest, MetroWorks, or both.

To maintain consistency, an ETD submitted to either platform should be formatted per the specifications provided by the student’s graduate program, but the library is not responsible for verifying specifications or editing any ETD.

Review: This procedure will be reviewed as needed.

Originally published: August 2014
Last Revised: February 2026