Once the Student Administrators – doctoral – are advised by an examination Convener that a candidate has completed all amendments to their thesis, (what is termed the "final sign-off"), the administrators will process this in eVision and the candidate will receive an alert from eVision advising them that they can proceed with uploading the final version as below. Candidates are advised not to do this until they receive this alert or have verbal or email confirmation from their Convener to proceed.
The final submission involves the deposit of e-Thesis to the University research archive.
Deposit of the e-thesis
Candidates must submit an electronic copy of their finalised thesis to the University Library via the Otago University Research Archive (OUR Archive). This must be in PDF format, and an exact replica of the corrected thesis that was accepted for their degree – this is the version that was bound.
At the time of submission, candidates must select the level of access to the thesis. Normally "open access via OUR Archive" would be chosen so that the thesis is available to the public. However, in some cases it may be appropriate to select "abstract only for six months to safeguard content while publishing” (and this can be extended at the end of the period, on request). Alternatively, a thesis may be embargoed with no access for a set period (see below.
Deposit your e-thesis direct in the Otago University Research Archive
Find out more about e-thesis submission on the University of Otago Library Subject Guides pages
Embargo of thesis
In situations where the thesis contains sensitive material or has been funded or helped by external research grants, or has publications pending that require longer than 6 months restriction, it may be necessary for the completed thesis to be placed under an embargo, with access restricted for a period of time. This may also be necessary for intellectual property reasons. Restricted access will be permitted only in exceptional circumstances and requires the permission of the Dean of the Graduate Research School.
In the first instance, the candidate will complete the application, only once they have the date for their oral exam or they have completed the oral exam, and pass this on to their primary supervisor and Head of Department for sign off. Applications must be made and the process completed prior to final thesis amendments being approved. Minimum embargo period is 12 months; please apply for more than you need as this can be reduced later.
Application to embargo a thesis form (PDF)
Applications should be forwarded for approval by the Dean of the Graduate Research School as per the application form:
Email phd@otago.ac.nz
Losing access to resources, including your Otago email address
During the examination process you should be able to continue accessing resources such as your ID card, wifi, the Library, Blackboard, and after-hours access to buildings. If you do lose access to these resources, support is available to determine whether you should continue to have access.
Email phd@otago.ac.nz
When you submit your final thesis after completing the examination process, you will only be able to access the above resources for a further two weeks. This allows you time to tidy up your office and prepare to leave the University.
Your Otago email address and Office365 should still be available, at least until you graduate.
In preparation for losing your email address, you are strongly encouraged to generate a permanent and professional email address. Also, before graduation, you should ensure you have transferred any files you need from your Otago Office365 account.