Before submitting your committee:

• Check that all members are listed on the Graduate Faculty website; if not, the program must nominate them.
• Complete the UCF Institutional Review Board (IRB) and Human Research Protection Program (HRPP) Webcourse, download the certificate, add your name, and save it. Attach this certificate when submitting your committee (see info below).
• Initiate the Doctoral and Thesis Advisory Committee Form; this will route to your committee members, your program, your college, then CGS for final processing.
• CGS will notify you when your committee is approved and added to your UCF records.

Committee Submission Timing

There is an Initial Thesis/Dissertation Committee Submission Deadline listed on the UCF Academic Calendar for each semester.

All thesis and dissertation committees must be submitted at least one semester before the anticipated start of thesis or dissertation hours (e.g., submit by deadline in the summer semester if starting in fall).

To change a committee member, a new Doctoral and Thesis Advisory Committee Form must be completed.

You can review your official committee information in your myUCF Student Center under Graduate Students, then Thesis and Dissertation Status.

Remember: You cannot complete your final defense without the proper committee listed in your records!

Candidacy is the time between when a doctoral student has completed required coursework and other prerequisites such as exams, but before the completion of their dissertation.

• Check the Graduate Catalog and your Program Handbook for candidacy and dissertation requirements.
• Your program will submit your candidacy application to CGS once you have completed requirements such as the candidacy exam and only have six credit hours of coursework or less left to complete.
• Your dissertation committee and candidacy must be approved by CGS before you can enroll in dissertation hours; UCF requires at least 15 dissertation credit hours, though your program may require more.
• You cannot take all 15 required dissertation hours in one semester.
• Enrolling in at least three dissertation credit hours post-candidacy counts as full-time status.

A thesis is original research or creative work that’s required for students in thesis-based graduate programs, usually starting near the end of your coursework.

• Check the Graduate Catalog and your Program Handbook for candidacy and dissertation requirements.
• Your thesis committee information must be on file with CGS before you can start thesis hours.
• UCF requires at least 6 thesis credit hours, though your program may require more.
• To be considered full-time, students taking both thesis and coursework must enroll in at least 9 credit hours in fall and spring, or 6 credit hours in the summer.
• Master’s students taking only thesis hours can be full-time with at least 3 thesis credit hours.

Format Help

During formatting help hours, students can meet with the thesis and dissertation Graduate Ambassador in the Graduate Student Center (Trevor Colbourn Hall 213) or online to receive assistance with the Microsoft Word Template and address any structural or formatting concerns they have with their thesis or dissertation document.

Formatting help is available at various times. Please list the specific issues you need addressed when making your formatting help appointment on our calendar at https://calendly.com/etdhelp/booking.

Students can also send formatting questions to ETDHelp@ucf.edu.

Digital Accessibility

UCF offers resources such as the Student Introduction to Digital Accessibility Webcourse and the Digital Accessibility Lab to help you get started. We encourage you to explore these resources and begin incorporating accessible practices into your work as soon as possible, as they are required for formatting compliance.

IRB Support

The Office of Research offers office hours to help students navigate UCF’s Institutional Review Board (IRB) application process in the following ways:

• Provide guiding information to students who are ready to apply for IRB approval to conduct research
• Answer questions relating to the IRB application and approval process
• Offer help navigating the Huron IRB platform

Students should have their research proposal and study design complete and reviewed by their faculty advisor and thesis/dissertation committee members prior to meeting with the IRB Office for study application assistance. Students can use the IRB Office Meeting Scheduler to make an appointment or email irb@ucf.edu.

UCF Libraries Graduate Student Services

UCF Libraries offer a range of services to support graduate students. Visit the John C. Hitt Library on the main campus or access services at UCF’s regional campus libraries. For quick help, stop by a Research Desk or use the Ask Us! online service.

• Librarian Support: Librarians are assigned to each college/program to assist with research and teaching. They offer library instruction, group or one-on-one consultations. Find yours on the Your Librarian page
• Graduate Research Guide: This guide includes tips for literature reviews, citation tools, graduate workshop listings, and helpful how-to videos
• Interlibrary Loan (ILL): Use ILL to request books and articles from other libraries, have UCF books held for pickup, or get scanned journal articles not available online

Research Computing Support

The UCF Office of Research Cyberinfrastructure (RCI) offers weekly virtual office hours to support researchers with a range of computing needs, including cloud services, high-performance computing (HPC), software development, and LaTeX. Researchers can drop in during the scheduled times or request individual consultations as needed. More information is available at: https://rci.research.ucf.edu/resource/virtual-office-hours/

The following workshops help thesis and dissertation students learn about formatting, final semester steps, the STARS final submission, and more. For additional workshop topics, including sessions for writing support, please see our Events Calendar.

Thesis and Dissertation 101: Formatting Demo. Join us to learn how to compile your work into UCF’s official Microsoft Word Template so your electronic thesis or dissertation (ETD) is formatted to be compliant with UCF’s requirements and policies, including digital accessibility. This workshop will also include an overview of the Format Review process and expectations.

Thesis and Dissertation Formatting Drop-in Hours. Finishing this semester and planning to graduate? Don’t miss this in-person intensive session designed for graduating students. Drop by anytime during the open session hours to receive hands-on support using UCF’s official Microsoft Word Template and ensure your thesis or dissertation meets formatting and digital accessibility requirements because misunderstandings of these requirements can delay your graduation! You’ll also get a clear overview of the Format Review process and expectations.

Submitting Your Thesis/Dissertation to STARS. Are you a graduate student completing your thesis or dissertation this semester? Attend this session to learn all about the final submission process including setting up your STARS account and what to expect when submitting your final document. 

Your final defense is a public presentation of the written thesis or dissertation and will typically occur in your final semester. Use the following steps to prepare for your defense.

Confirm Your Defense Date: with your chair and committee, making sure it’s on or before the Defense Deadline in your final semester (check the UCF Academic Calendar for this date).

Find a Location: work with your department to secure a defense space. If none is available, you can book the Graduate Student Center. Defenses are usually on campus, but if necessary, ask your program about the option for a virtual defense.

Confirm Your Committee Information: The proper committee and roles must be listed in your records BEFORE defending. Please check this in your myUCF Student Center under Graduate Students, then Thesis and Dissertation Status before submitting your announcement. Contact your program if committee members are not listed correctly.

Seek Feedback: Send your final thesis or dissertation to your committee well before the defense date to avoid major changes afterward. Ideally, send it at least two weeks prior. Remind your chair to conduct the required “Review for Original Work” via iThenticate. Faculty can access iThenticate through the Office of Research Apps page.

Students must submit their final defense announcement using the Defense Announcement Form (available on the Forms and References page) at least three weeks before their defense to allow time for processing.

All defenses must be public and announced at least two weeks in advance, per UCF policies. Approved defenses are posted on the Thesis and Dissertation Announcements webpage.

Before submitting the announcement form, be prepared with the following information:

• Date, time, and location for the defense
• Thesis/Dissertation title
• Brief Abstract (200-300 words)
• Committee member names and their current roles (e.g., external member, co-chair, etc.)
• A link for online defenses; please note that UCF Zoom student accounts only allow up to 40 minutes for meetings, so your chair may need to create the link
• Form will be routed to your committee chair, program, then the College of Graduate Studies

All final thesis and dissertation approvals are completed through the Thesis and Dissertation Approval Form. This is a Dynamic Form completed electronically. See the next section for routing information.

Before completing this form, please check your committee information in your myUCF Student Center under Graduate Students, then Thesis and Dissertation Status.

The committee listed in the TD Status area MUST be the same listed on the Thesis and Dissertation Approval form. If the committee is not listed correctly in your records, you may need to submit a committee revision using the Doctoral and Thesis Advisory Committee Form.

• Once you defend, you will initiate the Thesis and Dissertation Approval Form and fill out your information
• The form will next route to your program who will verify your information then the form will go to your committee members, department/program representative, and finally your college’s dean’s office for signatures
• Keep in mind that your committee may not sign until requested thesis/dissertation document corrections have been made, so ensure that you leave time for this following your defense
• The fully signed form must be routed to the College of Graduate Studies (CGS) by the Final Submission Deadline in your completion semester
• The form will not be processed by CGS until after your final thesis or dissertation submission is reviewed and accepted in STARS
• Your UCF records will be updated after CGS receives your approval form and final thesis or dissertation submission; please keep in mind that this will likely occur AFTER the Final Submission Deadline

All UCF theses and dissertations are displayed in the UCF Graduate Theses and Dissertations collection in UCF’s institutional repository, STARS. Only manuscripts that meet university requirements and pass the CGS format review will be accepted for degree completion and added to STARS.

Final submissions must be made by the deadline for your graduation semester to be eligible for commencement (check the UCF Academic Calendar for this date).

Students planning to graduate in the next three semesters must access the Graduate Thesis and Dissertation Webcourse for formatting and submission instructions.

Doctoral students must complete the Survey of Earned Doctorates, ideally after defending their dissertation. The SED gathers information annually from the approximately 58,000 new research doctorate graduates across the United States regarding educational histories, funding sources, and postdoctoral plans.

UCF is committed to maintaining both high-quality graduate programs and student experiences. Your responses to this survey will be used to assess and improve the graduate education experience at UCF and beyond.

Additional information is available on the Survey of Earned Doctorates site as well as at the SED Annual Data Tables and related Publications.

The Institutional Review Board (IRB) protects the rights and welfare of human participants in research.

UCF faculty, staff, and students must get an IRB approval before conducting any research involving human subjects (including theses and dissertations), even if using secondary data. Your IRB approval or exemption letter must be included in the appendix of your thesis or dissertation.

Are You Doing Human Subjects Research?

If you are not sure if your research involves human subjects, please review the NIH “Am I Doing Human Subjects Research?” Decision Tool to help determine if you need IRB approval. 

• Generally, if you select any of the first four options in the tool, you need to apply to the IRB
• If you select the fifth option and still have questions, contact UCF’s IRB Office
• The UCF IRB website provides resources for the submission process, including instructions for using the Huron IRB system, forms, and templates
• For support, contact the IRB Office at irb@ucf.edu
• You can also reach out to the IRB Ambassador (see IRB Support below)

IRB Webcourse (Required)

All graduate students completing a thesis or dissertation must complete the UCF Institutional Review Board (IRB) and Human Research Protection Program (HRPP) Webcourse and include the completion certificate when submitting their thesis or dissertation advisory committee.

IRB Support

The Office of Research offers office hours to help students navigate UCF’s Institutional Review Board (IRB) application process in the following ways:

• Provide guiding information to students who are ready to apply for IRB approval to conduct research
• Answer questions relating to the IRB application and approval process
• Offer help navigating the Huron IRB platform

Students should have their research proposal and study design complete and reviewed by their faculty advisor and thesis/dissertation committee members prior to meeting with the IRB Office for study application assistance. Students can use the IRB Office Meeting Scheduler to make an appointment or email irb@ucf.edu.

University policy and federal law require that intellectual property (IP) from federally funded and other sponsored research be reported to the Office of Technology Transfer (OTT).

If you’re unsure whether your research involves IP or patents, ask your thesis or dissertation chair, as faculty, staff, and students must disclose any inventions resulting from research completed at UCF.

Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) is information that requires safeguarding or dissemination controls consistent with applicable law, regulations, and government-wide policies.

It’s not recommended that students use CUI in their thesis or dissertation, as it can’t usually be publicly published, but talk with your committee chair about these implications.

If you must work with CUI, a Technology Control Plan must be completed with UCF’s Office of Export Compliance.