Writing and filing the doctoral dissertation are the
key final steps leading to the award of the PhD.
At the University of Pennsylvania, the student presents the dissertation publicly, defends it, and, with the approval of the dissertation committee, submits the final manuscript for publication.
The University’s publication requirement is satisfied when the dissertation has been submitted online to ProQuest’s ETD Administrator and to the University Library for shelving in the permanent collection. Open Access publication in the institutional repository, Scholarly Commons, is also available at no additional cost.
The University’s requirements for dissertation format and submission are documented in the doctoral dissertation manual available for immediate PDF download below. Follow the instructions carefully and, should further questions arise, consult the Graduation Coordinator of the SAS Graduate Division Office (Suite 322A, 3401 Walnut Street; phone 898-7444; email ).
Dissertation Manual (revised March 30, 2012)
Graduation Calendar (May 2011 – August 2013)
Video instructions for using ETD Administrator
Dissertation Template for U Penn PhD Candidates (except Wharton)