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Disseminating your Thesis or Dissertation: Introduction

Copyright Registration

You do NOT need to register with the US Copyright Office to receive copyright on your work. Copyright is automatically yours the moment you create your thesis.

However, there are some additional legal protections you may be afforded with registration. More information on registration, see copyright.gov, and the online copyright registration form.

How can I share my thesis?

When you've finally finished your thesis or dissertation, of course you want to make sure it is shared as widely as possible. How does that happen?

Part of the thesis submission process is to grant a non-exclusive license to Georgia to archive your thesis online, after all relevant embargo periods have passed. With SMARTech, Georgia Tech's institutional repository, your thesis is available for anyone with an internet connection to read, study, and cite. You still retain all copyrights to your work. unless or until you give that copyright to another entity.

And because you retain that copyright, your options for making your work available are nearly limitless. Here are some further ways you can disseminate your thesis. Here are a few examples:

  • Academia.edu: Includes 5 million uploaded papers, shared with 22 million members. Requires free account.  
  • ResearchGate: Accepts publications and data; 6 million members have posted 75 million documents, figures, and datasets. Requires free account registration.
  • Figshare: Began as a data and figure repository, now includes publications, code, and thousands of theses/dissertations. Requires free account registration.  
  • ProQuest (formerly UMI):  ProQuest has been archiving theses for many years, and recently stopped charging for digital submission. A subscription is required to access the full texts of the ETD's submitted to ProQuest. Indexed in several science and technology databases. Contact disspub@proquest.com for submission information. Georgia Tech stopped requiring submission to ProQuest in 2012.

Reminder, as with anything you decide to post online: *Always be sure to read the terms of service so that you know what you are agreeing to!*

The examples above are just a small sample. As long as you don't sign away your copyright, you can disseminate your work in any way you see fit. Do you have a website or a blog? Go ahead and post it there. Want to post it on a social network site you've joined? You can! You are not restricted to the "official" copy that is archived in SMARTech. When you have the copyright over your work, you can make your work available in a a wide variety of ways.