The thesis, for graduate students, or the dissertation, for doctoral students, represents the culmination of your academic program. It is a major achievement, reflecting your development as a professional in your chosen field. It provides you the opportunity to demonstrate your mastery in the discipline through the production of an original piece of research. While you will have the assistance of many others in completing this project, including faculty and fellow graduate students, the finished thesis or dissertation reflects your work, your effort, and your intellectual development. You should exercise great care in preparing your thesis or dissertation in order to produce a study of which you and ßÏÀÖÔ° can be proud! 

Important Dates

The following are deadlines to submit final drafts (already defended) of thesis and dissertations.

  • Spring 2025 Deadline: Friday, April 18th Graduation: Friday, May 9
  • Summer 2025 Deadline: Friday, July 11th (No Graduation ceremony after summer semester)
  • Fall 2025 Deadline: Friday, November 21st Graduation: December 12th

All submission deadline times are 3:00 pm. Submit final drafts to the Graduate School at gradreviewer@valdosta.edu no less than 3 weeks before graduation. Early submissions are encouraged. The Graduate School reviews for format and compliance with Graduate School requirements only. Please Note: The review process may extend beyond commencement. 

Students are then required to make corrections (if any) before submitting to V-Text and ProQuest.  (ßÏÀÖÔ° is required to maintain a final copy of every approved thesis and dissertation.  ßÏÀÖÔ°'s repository for this collection is the V-Text and ProQuest data bases.) See the "Helpful Hints" link.  

Guides and Procedures

  1. E-mail the final, defended version of the thesis or dissertation as a .pdf to gradreviewer@valdosta.edu by the published deadline.  Starting Fall 2024 all dissertation must be in APA 7th ed. Please e-mail questions separately. 
  2. Students may not graduate until the next term if the thesis or dissertations is received after the published deadline and/or all edits are not completed by the end of the semester.   
  3. Include the one signed signature page in the PDF document (the page signed by all committee members in black or blue ink or electronic signature – do not date when signing, only list the defense date at bottom of page).  Students can send the signature page seperatly when first submiting the thesis or dissertation for Grad School review, but the completed signature page with the Associate Provost's signature must be included in the final document prior to uploading to ProQuest & V:text and  prior to binding (forward the original to the graduate school for signing via email or campus mail or as a copy in DocuSign).
  4. Include your contact information (name, phone numbers, and ßÏÀÖÔ° e-mail address) if we need to contact you with additional instructions.
  5. Do not make further changes to your thesis or dissertation unless directed by the Reviewer to do so.
  6. The Graduate School reviews to ensure compliance with the required format.
  7. The Graduate School’s review can take up to 3 to 4 weeks, possibly longer depending on the number of theses and dissertations received at the same time (e.g. at the deadline). Please submit well before the deadline if possible.  The review process is completed as quickly as possible based on the order received.
  8. AFTER the review, the fully signed signature page (with the Associate Provost's signature) will be emailed to the student.  Insert the fully signed signature page in the thesis or dissertation prior to uploading it to the V-text and ProQuest data bases.
  9. ProQuest and V:Text: Students are submitting to both when they go through the ProQuest steps. (printable guidelines).

 Remember: Students are not required to submit copies to be bound – this is voluntary.  Please   read below if one chooses to order bound copies: 

  • Students may order bound copies for themselves, or their friends and family. There are many commercial binding companies that can bind your thesis or dissertation. While Odum Library does not endorse a particular company, we are happy to share a couple of options.

    •   can print and bind your dissertation from a PDF file. 
    • ProQuest allows you to purchase a bound copy when you upload the PDF file or at a later date