This guide to Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETD) was created expressly for faculty and staff. Learn more about formatting guidelines and the submission and approval process.

Overview of ETD and the Formatting Advisor

Theses and dissertations represent the culmination of a student's research or creative endeavors while at MSU. A well-prepared document speaks highly of a student's abilities as a scholar and The Graduate School is available to ensure ETD formatting is of the highest quality. The Formatting Advisor ensures ETDs conform to the formatting guidelines and officially accepts ETD on behalf of The Graduate School. Students should contact the Formatting Advisor with any questions and review the guidelines before submitting a draft. Please visit the ETD website to view the Formatting Advisor's office hours and contact info.

Formatting Guidelines

  • The Standard Option is appropriate for most students and involves following The Graduate School approved guidelines for formatting (e.g. margins, headers, spacing, etc.).
  • The Manuscript Option is available to those who have or will publish chapter(s) from their ETD.
  • Students may use the style manual accepted by their discipline for formatting references (APA, Chicago, MLA, etc.), citations, etc.
  • Students should review the applicable formatting guidelines before submitting a draft. Students are encouraged to review the sample pages and templates available on the ETD website. Should students choose to use LaTeX, they are responsible for ensuring the resulting document conforms to the formatting guidelines.

Submission

All ETDs must be approved (not just submitted) on/before the deadline date of the semester in which the student plans to graduate. It is highly recommended that students submit a draft for initial review well in advance of the deadline. Draft and final submissions can be uploaded to the Submission Portal. Students will receive draft feedback via email.

PhD and EdD students will also complete a short survey online after their ETD is approved.

Approval and Publication

Students are responsible for making changes required by the Formatting Advisor and resubmitting their document for final approval in time to meet the deadline. Changes required by the committee must also be made in time to meet the deadline. Although it may be possible to defend on the deadline day, it is not recommended as substantive content or formatting changes may be required.

Students are advised to submit a draft to the Formatting Advisor at least 2-4 weeks prior to the defense/ETD deadline date. Students are welcome to submit drafts well ahead of this, and ETD content does not need to be final in order to review formatting.

The Formatting Advisor will review each ETD in the order it is received, and an email notification will be sent to the student and committee when the document is approved. This email serves as official notification that an ETD has been accepted by the Graduate School. The Graduate School handles the remainder of the publication process for students. Once a document has been approved, changes cannot be made, so students should be sure to check for typos and numerical errors.

For further information about ETD, please visit the Graduate School ETD webpage.