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Theses & Dissertations

    Obtaining the master’s degree or doctorate is the culmination of your graduate studies at Georgia Tech. For all doctoral and many master's students, that means completing a doctoral dissertation or master's thesis, respectively.

    Electronic Thesis/Dissertation Submission

    All theses and dissertations must be submitted electronically via the GT Library-Graduate Studies joint ETD web site at http://etd.gatech.edu.

    For more information about how you submit your thesis electronically, visit http://www.gradadmiss.gatech.edu/thesis/electronic_submission.php.

    Policy on Publication of Theses

    Georgia Institute of Technology policy states that Doctoral and Master's Theses should be openly published. Upon the request of the student and with the consent of the student's advisor, an ETD can routinely be withheld from circulation for one year. Research arrangements that would preclude publication for an extended time or permanently for reasons of national security or a sponsor's proprietary interest, however, are not appropriate for dissertations or theses. It is anticipated that all doctoral work and a significant amount of master's research will be published in the open, refereed literature.

    In all cases, doctoral research should meet the "Guidelines for Ph.D. Dissertation Research" [excerpted below].

    Guidelines for Ph.D. Dissertation Research

    • Doctoral research should provide a useful educational experience for the student emphasizing creativity, independent action and learning, research methodology, and scholarly approach.

    • The contributions to knowledge must be original and as such, should represent a substantial addition to the fundamental knowledge of the field or a new and better interpretation of facts already known.

    • The research should possess the major characteristics of the scientific method, namely objectivity and reproducibility. Assumptions should be clearly stated in both experimental and theoretical research.

    • The dissertation should reflect a level of competence indicative of significant achievement beyond the master's level. Thus, the research is expected to draw directly upon advanced learning in the student's major field and demonstrate mastery of that knowledge.

    • The research should result in at least one paper publishable in a suitable refereed journal of engineering, science, management or architecture, as appropriate.

    • The scope of the research should be such that it requires at least the time and effort equivalent to one year of full time graduate study.

    From POLICY ON THE ADVISEMENT OF GRADUATE STUDENT RESEARCH AND THE APPOINTMENT OF THESIS ADVISORY COMMITTEES