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Style Guide: Graduate Thesis, Capstone Project, and Dissertation

The style guide for Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations at Dominican University of California

Introduction and Student Responsibilities

The Dominican University of California Master’s Thesis and Capstone Project Guidelines (hereafter referred to as the Guidelines) were developed for use by graduate students and thesis readers when preparing or reviewing a manuscript to ensure that it complies with the Dominican University of California requirements and that it meets a level of professional work

It is crucial for students to read and understand the information presented in these guidelines and to contact the Library immediately when clarification is needed. Work not meeting the guidelines will not be accepted.

It is important to remember that the submission of the manuscript to the Library occurs after all of your thesis advisors have approved the thesis.  Your department may require that you submit your manuscript to the Library in order to graduate, be sure to check with your department.

Timelines

Time is critical during the "thesis season."  A student must allow enough time for:

  1. Preparation of the draft,
  2. Consideration by manuscript advisors by deadline dates set in the department,
  3. Review by the Library,
  4. Inevitable corrections and resubmission

It is the student’s responsibility to ensure that all readers are available to review the manuscript such that it can be submitted in final form to the Library by the deadline set by the author's department. 

Copyright

During the drafting of your manuscript, it's recommended that, early in the process, you meet with the Scholarly Communications Librarian for issues concerning copyright. Begin the process of acquiring copyright permissions as early as possible.  If, upon submittal, the Library determines that the manuscript does not meet the requirements described in this document, the manuscript will not be accepted, and corrections will need to be made before you graduate.