Frequently Asked Questions

• Which publishing option should I choose? Traditional or open access?

  On the "Publishing Options" screen you will have the choice between Traditional and Open Access Publishing. Traditional publishing is free; Open Access currently costs $95. Please read the information describing the different options. The choice is yours to make.

  It is worth noting that as a UCR student, you do not need to pay for Open Access Publishing through ProQuest to ensure global distribution of your work. All theses and dissertations from UCR are published in eScholarship, The University of California’s open access institutional repository. This increases the availability and dissemination of your work.

  This screen also includes options to limit or widen the availability of your work in ProQuest. Again, these choices are up to you, so please think about what is best for your situation. You will not be able to make adjustments to these choices after the format review.

• What happens if I limit search engine access through ProQuest?

  If you choose to limit access to search engines, that decision will only be applied to the ProQuest repository. All UCR documents available in eScholarship will be accessible to major search engines. Someone searching for your work through Google or another major search engine will see the eScholarship document, but not the ProQuest listing.

• Should I delay the release of my work?

  Most students find it is not necessary to delay the release of the document. Future publishers understand that your research and your dissertation/thesis will have been published as part of the degree granting process.  This academic publication should not affect the future publication of your work.

  If you decide it is necessary to delay release of the document, the delay options are 6 months, 1 year or 2 years.  You may request an embargo of up to 5 years.  If you wish to request a delay beyond 2 years, please make a note to the administrator in the Notes section.  The Dean of the Graduate Division must review and approve all requests to delay release past 2 years.

  If you choose to delay the release of your work, you will select that option in the IR Publishing Options section. Both ProQuest and eScholarship will honor the selection made here.

  Most students opt to give broad reach to their work immediately rather than choosing an embargo. Reasons students have chosen to embargo their theses/dissertations include:

  • It is based on data that will be used for other/future publications of a research group, and the research group wishes the thesis/dissertation embargoed until these other works are published. If you think this situation applies to you, discuss it with your research group and advisor.
  • The student plans on obtaining a patent based on work in their thesis/dissertation.
  • The student is currently under grant or contract obligations that forbid publication in these circumstances. (Future publication is not a valid reason for embargo.)
  • The student plans on, or already has a contract to publish the thesis/dissertation with a publisher who requires that the work not be published elsewhere.  Generally, theses and dissertations require revision and editing prior to publication to such an extent that publishing this original version is not necessarily an obstacle to a later publishing contract.  For more information, please visit The Chronicle of Higher Education article here.
• What is the university agreement?

  The "University Agreement" screen in ProQuest informs you about what will happen to your document after publication. You must confirm that you have read and understand this information before continuing the submission. It is very similar to the eScholarship section at the bottom of this page.

• What is Creative Commons?

  Choosing a Creative Commons license is optional. This screen gives you the opportunity to apply a Creative Commons (CC) License to your dissertation or thesis. Creative Commons Licenses inform others of how they can use your work. CC Licenses are useful for authors who want their work to be easily shared and built upon. You may choose from 6 different Creative Commons Licenses or elect not to use one. If you need assistance in selecting the appropriate CC License, the Creative Commons website has a tool to help you.

  The Creative Commons License selected will apply to your document at the UCR Library and in eScholarship. ProQuest’s use of your work is governed by the ProQuest Publishing Agreement.

  If you have chosen to delay the release of your document, it will not be available until after the embargo period ends. Selecting a Creative Commons License will not change this. Please visit Creative Commonsfor additional information on CC Licenses.

• What are copyright permission documents?

  On the PDF upload screen, you will see an option to upload copyright permission documents.  It is up to you to determine if you need to obtain permission for any material being used in your document that you do not hold the copyright to. The permission you receive is uploaded here along with the PDF of your dissertation/thesis.  Please see our Copyright and Fair Use Resources page for more information.

• Should I register for a U.S. copyright?

  Registering for a U.S. copyright is optional. You do not have to file for copyright through ProQuest - you can do it on your own or not at all. Registering your work with the Library of Congress gives you additional recourse under the law if someone uses your work without permission. The copyright page can be included in the document even if you do not register with the Library of Congress.  Please visit our Copyright and Fair Use Resources page for more information.

• Do I need to order bound copies from ProQuest?

  You are not obligated to order printed copies from ProQuest. There are other options for printed copies, such as Printing and Reprographics on campus. If you do order printed copies from ProQuest, keep in mind that it may take several months before your order is processed and delivered to you. ProQuest does not begin processing your order until the documents are uploaded from campus.

  If you choose not to order copies through ProQuest at the time you submit your document for format review, you will have another opportunity later using an order form provided by ProQuest. This order form is included in an email once your document is complete. If you decide you no longer want the copies you ordered originally, you will need to withdraw your entire submission and start over.

• If I click the SUBMIT link, will my document be sent to ProQuest Immediately?

  Please do not be concerned that you are submitting a final copy of your document directly to ProQuest by clicking the submit button - you are not. Only the Graduate Academic Affairs staff can submit your document to the publisher. Completing this step sends the staff an email and allows them to see your submission. The format review cannot be completed until you click the submit link.

• What is eScholarship?

  eScholarship is the institutional repository for the University of California.

  After the document is submitted and published by ProQuest, the UCR Library will receive the file.  The University Library is granted full discretion in the use to be made of your manuscript for research purposes.

  Since the function of a thesis or dissertation is to make your research available to other scholars, it is the policy of the University of California to encourage the distribution of all theses and dissertations. Digital copies of all UCR theses and dissertations will be routed to the Library. The Library will preserve and make accessible to the public all theses and dissertations in accordance with Library policies and best practices. Such access includes, but is not limited to online access to the public through platforms such as eScholarship, the University of California’s open access institutional repository. If a student chooses to delay the release of his or her dissertation in ProQuest, the Library will provide access to the electronically submitted dissertation only after the embargo period concludes.

  In addition to the Library, each PhD Dissertation and Master’s Thesis student signs an agreement with ProQuest allowing specific rights of reproduction. ProQuest reproduces the documents and offers them for purchase to allow wide distribution of your research results.

  To learn more about eScholarship, visit https://escholarship.org/uc/ucr. 

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