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Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs): Undergraduate Honors Theses

Overview

The Institutional Repository at UF (the IR@UF) includes the Undergraduate Honors Theses collection. During their graduating term*, Honors students are invited to submit their their final Honors project for inclusion in this collection. This is a free service of the UF Libraries. After students who have completed their submission graduate with Honors, the Libraries will add their works to the IR@UF and email a permanent link to them that they can include in applications, résumés, social media, or share with friends, colleagues, and family.

Honors degree requirements vary by department, so be sure to check with your advisor and/or undergraduate coordinator to see whether your department requires you to submit your thesis or other project to the IR@UF.

Your Honors thesis or project must have received final approval from your thesis sponsor and/or department before you submit it to the Libraries (approval practices vary by department). Please do not submit your work before it is completely finalized. Any changes you need to make after you complete your Libraries submission require explicit approval from your thesis advisor/sponsor/mentor or appropriate department staff.

*Students in the Medical Honors Program complete their theses during their third undergraduate year because they start their first year of medical school during their last year as undergraduates.

The Basics

Guidelines vary by degree program

Be sure to talk to your thesis or project advisor and/or your department's Honors coordinator about department-specific guidelines. Departments can set their own deadlines for Libraries submissions and we provide them with a list of successful submissions after the department's deadline passes.

Libraries' default submission deadlines

  • Spring 2023 Graduates - April 26
  • Summer 2023 Graduates - August 11
  • Fall 2023 Graduates - December 13

Important: If your department requires you to defend your thesis or project, your Libraries submission deadline might be different. Please contact your faculty advisor or Honors coordinator if you do not already know your department's deadline for Libraries submissions.

Graduation requirements

Libraries: Deadlines to submit to the Libraries will not affect your graduation unless your department requires a completed Libraries submission.

Department: Deadlines to submit your Honors thesis/project to your department might affect your graduation.

Submission assistance

Department: Contact your academic mentor and/or your department's undergrad coordinator.

Libraries: Contact the submissions team at IRManager@uflib.ufl.edu or 352-294-3785.

Submitting to the Libraries

  • For most departments, you must submit the final version of your work to the department for approval before you can graduate summa cum laude or magna cum laude.
    • Your faculty advisor and/or your department’s undergrad coordinator can tell you whether you must submit a thesis or other terminal project.
  • For preservation purposes, you need to submit the approved version of your Honors work to the Libraries.
  • When you are completing the Libraries' online submission form, you have the option of including your work in the Undergraduate Honors Theses collection in the Institutional Repository (IR@UF).
    • You also have several options for restricting access to your thesis or project; see the document linked below for details.
  • If you unfortunately fail to graduate with Honors but your faculty advisor accepted your Honors thesis or project, we can include it in our Undergraduate Works collection. Please email IRManager@uflib.ufl.edu to let us know that you want to take advantage of this service.

Thesis or project file(s):

  • For traditional research papers, essays, and articles, please submit a standard PDF file.
    • "Standard" here means a plain PDF saved from Microsoft Word or another word processor.
    • Please do not scan a printed copy of your work to send to us.
  • Media, dataset, and other types of submissions must conform to the acceptable formats list.

If necessary, a signed letter (or letters) of permission to quote or reproduce copyrighted material for all copyrighted material included beyond fair use (i.e. entire graphics and large portions of text or data where someone else holds the copyright). If you cannot get the answer you need from the copyright guide, you can email your question(s) to copyright@uflib.ufl.edu.

  • If you are the sole copyright holder of your work, you do not need to submit a Permission to Quote form.
  • If you have co-authors who are not UF faculty, staff, or graduate students, you will need a signed Honors Co-author Grant of Permissions from them.

Please do not submit your Honors thesis or project until you have final approval of your work from your department.

Write to us at IRManager@uflib.ufl.edu if you have any questions while you are preparing your Honors submission to the Libraries.

  • Keep copies of your work and the form(s) that you submit to your department.
  • Submit your work and any required forms to your department by their deadline.
    • Requirements vary by department. Be sure that you understand yours well before their deadline.
  • After you log in with your GatorLink credentials, complete the online form at http://apps.uflib.ufl.edu/Honors/ to submit your work to the libraries by our deadline (see the Basics box on the left for deadlines). If you are not using a campus computer, connect to the VPN.

Note: If you see an Honors level that seems wrong to you, or no Honors level at all, please do not be concerned. The form uses the Honors pre-certification data. Not all colleges/schools enter that data and the final Honors level is occasionally different from what colleges enter for pre-certification.

  • If your project file is larger than 15 MB, you will not be able to upload it to the form. Please do not compress the file; instead, write to IRManager@uflib.ufl.edu and we will assist you. There is effectively no file size limit and we want to archive the highest possible quality version of your work.
  • Publishing your work in the IR@UF is a free service
  • You get a permanent link to your Honors project that can help you:
    • Enhance résumés and applications
    • Show off to friends and family
    • Support ongoing scholarship by enabling others to cite your work in their own
  • Including your work in the IR helps improve and sustain UF's reputation as a leading research university
    • Prospective students can see the variety and strength of undergraduate research opportunities at UF

Need research help?

Be sure to talk to your thesis or project advisor and/or undergrad coordinator about department-specific requirements.

For research help, you can:

You can also explore resources in the ProQuest Theses and Dissertations database:

ProQuest Dissertations & Theses web page showing Foundational Research box to the right of a UF dissertationThe Similar Dissertations box below a dissertation at ProQuest

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