Thesis & Dissertation

Composing Your Thesis or Dissertation

Let’s be honest: completing a thesis or dissertation is difficult, time-consuming work. Your advisor and/or committee will help assist you through this process by providing feedback focused on content and genre. CU Denver’s Writing Center is also available to help with a wide range of services, including reviews and feedback, so you have additional support throughout the process.  

Completing Your Thesis or Dissertation 

As you approach the completion of your thesis or dissertation, you will want to schedule a format review with the Writing Center. Please schedule your review at least two weeks before your submission deadline and/or defense date. 

Format Reviews 

The Writing Center will review your thesis or dissertation to ensure that it is clearly formatted and meets the standards developed by the Office of Graduate Education. Scheduling your review is easy: 

• Format your document as an MS Word file (.docx)  
• Email your document to the Writing Center at thesisdissertationsupport@ucdenver.edu 

(Sending links to documents in the cloud—Google Drive, OneDrive, etc.—will delay feedback.) 

Timeline and Feedback 

The Writing Center will review your document and send you feedback within three business days. Your feedback will include the following information: 

• A summary providing an overview of any revisions needed 
• In-text comments identifying and explaining specific revisions 

Once you receive your review, you can begin making any necessary revisions to your thesis or dissertation. When you have completed revisions, please resubmit your document for a final review. Final reviews will typically take one business day. If you have questions about the feedback or revisions, please contact the Writing Center at thesisdissertationsupport@ucdenver.edu.

Using ProQuest Page 

Completing Your Thesis or Dissertation 

Once your committee has approved your thesis or dissertation, you will need to submit your document to ProQuest for publication. The submission process is quick and easy.  

Submission Process 

Start by creating an account with ProQuest, which will only take a few minutes. When creating your account, be sure to select the correct institution and school/college. You are looking for “University of Colorado Denver” followed by your specific school or college (i.e.—School of Public Health, College of Engineering, etc.). 

You will need to submit your thesis or dissertation by the deadlines specified by your school or college.  

Costs 

Standard electronic publication with ProQuest is free.  

Other optional services, such as copyright, are available through ProQuest for an additional fee. In the U.S., you automatically own the copyright of your original creative authorship, such as your thesis or dissertation, once it is written down or recorded.  

Bound Paper Copies 

If your specific program, school, or college requires bound physical copies of your thesis or dissertation, you can place an order directly from ProQuest.