Temporary Withholding of Theses and Dissertations from Public Disclosure

This document supersedes GFC Document 1080.

A limited withholding period for a thesis or dissertation is allowed for review and comment by a research sponsor or a peer-reviewed journal, and/or for the acquisition of intellectual property protection, keeping in the forefront the duty of a university to disseminate knowledge promptly and openly.

In collaboration with the student’s Major Professor, the student establishes an initial time period for the delay of publication of six months, one year, or two-years from the date the thesis or dissertation is submitted electronically. The student completes and submits an embargo form to the Graduate School following the successful defense of the thesis/dissertation, but prior to the electronic submission of the final thesis or dissertation as required for graduation. The Graduate School will review submitted forms and approve or disapprove requests for publication delays and inform the student and their major professor of the decision.

Subsequent extensions, not to exceed a total of two years from the time of electronic submission, will be considered for extenuating circumstances. Requests for subsequent extensions must be received by the Graduate School no later than one month before the expiration of each delay period.

In the event of disagreement between the student and Major Professor as to the necessity of or length of the delay, the student should first work with their Major Professor to reach a resolution. If a good faith effort has been made and has been unsuccessful, the student should contact their department chair and ask that the matter be reviewed by the department’s appeals committee. Only if the departmental appeals process fails, should the student appeal to the Graduate School to resolve any conflicts.

Doctoral students writing dissertations that predominantly consist of creative writing, such as fiction, poetry, or creative nonfiction, may submit a “request for exception” to the Graduate School for an exemption from the requirement that a dissertation be published online. Dissertations awarded an exemption will still be available in hard copy in the UWM library. The request for exception should explain why the exemption from the online publication requirement is necessary, and can refer to existing or anticipated publisher contract
requirements as a justification.

The Graduate School will inform students of the existence of the policy at suitable orientation and professional development events.