Dissertation Guidelines and Checklist

Congratulations on nearing the end of your doctoral work at The Graduate School of the Robert J. Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences! The following information is intended to assist you in completing the dissertation and submitting it through the online electronic dissertation system. Dissertations must be submitted by the deadline set by the University. Please email Christine Murphy with any questions about the dissertation submission process or deadlines.

Submit your dissertation online

eTD@BC website


Dissertation Checklist

Elements of Your Dissertation

The following should be submitted in this order:

  • Traditional Title Page
  • Copyright Page
  • Abstract
  • Dissertation

If you have any questions about the format of your dissertation contact the Dean's Office, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Gasson 108, at 617-552-3268. Dissertations not conforming to the minimum standards described here in may be returned to the candidate and the awarding of the degree delayed.

Dissertation Submission

Dissertation submission

  1. To qualify for graduation you must deposit your completed dissertation with the University by the date indicated on the University Academic Calendar.
  2. In order to graduate your graduation date must match your graduation date listed in Agora. If not, you must contact the Dean's Office at 617-552-3268 or gsasinfo@dos5.net to have this corrected.
  3. Follow the Dissertation Checklist to ensure you have completed all requirements.

All elements on the following checklist must be completed by the deadline for dissertation submission printed on the University Academic Calendar. 


University-wide policy on dissertation submission requirements to be used across all doctoral programs at BC


Management of dissertations at Boston College is online-only. The public dissemination of research fits with university social justice values supporting global access to scholarship. The University policy with regard to dissertations is as follows:

All final dissertations must be submitted and published online through ProQuest/UMI, as well as BC’s open access institutional repository, by the University required deadline.

The ProQuest ETD Administrator system is used for student submission, school administration approval, and library management of the process, as it is at the vast majority of Carnegie Tier 1 schools. BC also supports an institutional repository (IR) as its system of record, in which we are legally obligated to preserve all dissertations, and where materials are made available Open Access online according to Creative Commons licensing of the student’s choosing. For both repositories, embargoes may be placed for up to two years. Embargoes can be extended up to five years with school approval. Each system carries its own set of licenses, terms and options (e.g. ProQuest license, BC IR license.)

Exceptions to the requirement to submit digitally will be based on decisions made by individual schools or by the Provost. BC Libraries provide support, instruction, and infrastructure to enable the collection, approval, description, security, access and preservation of all Boston College dissertations and theses.

(February 2021)