Thesis Requirements

Students must email the Thesis & Dissertation office at thesishelp@purdue.edu to notify staff members as early as possible that their thesis or dissertation contains controlled content. Students who are working with data that is subject to EAR, ITAR, DFARS Clause 252.204-7012, Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI), Covered Defense Information (CDI), or other controlled data must follow a specific process to submit their thesis or dissertation. Please follow all information below:

• Students are REQUIRED to email thesishelp@purdue.edu to schedule an in-person controlled format review.
• Students are REQUIRED to use a desktop version of one of the Microsoft Word thesis Templates (web/cloud-based templates and software applications are NOT allowed to ensure the security of controlled content).
• The deposit is CANNOT be submitted through the public Hammer repository.
• The deposit CANNOT be run through iThenticate or any other plagiarism checker or AI tool.
• Students must follow all Controlled Thesis Deposit Requirements and document marking requirements in the
  Guidance Document – Controlled Thesis Submission Process to successfully complete the secure deposit.

POST-RELEASE PROCESS

For controlled theses/dissertations that have been released for publication by their sponsors, current or former Purdue University students must follow the Controlled Thesis Post-Release Publication Steps for the deposit to be published in the public Hammer Research Repository.

For questions, please contact thesishelp@purdue.edu.

WCAG 2.1 Level AA Compliance
Last Updated: 05/13/2026

Beginning Spring 2027, all theses and dissertations deposited with Purdue University must comply with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA standards.

This requirement ensures that graduate research is accessible to individuals with disabilities and aligns with federal accessibility obligations.

Student Responsibility

Students are responsible for ensuring that their thesis or dissertation file is fully accessible prior to submission. This includes verifying that all required accessibility elements are present and that the document passes an accessibility check before it is deposited.

Submissions that are reviewed and found to be non‑compliant with WCAG 2.1 Level AA standards will be returned to the student for correction. Accessibility compliance is required for final acceptance.

What This Means for Your Submission

To meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA requirements, your thesis or dissertation must be created using accessible authoring practices, such as:

• Headings. Your thesis or dissertation must use built‑in heading styles (for example, Heading 1, Heading 2, Heading 3) to show the structure of the document. Headings are not just visual formatting. They create a navigable outline that screen‑reader users rely on to move through your work.
• Color Contrast. All text, charts, graphs, and figures must have enough contrast between foreground and background colors so they can be read by users with low vision or color‑vision deficiencies. For normal text, WCAG 2.1 Level AA requires a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 between text and its background. Color should never be the only way information is conveyed.
• Alternative Text. All meaningful images, including charts, graphs, diagrams, and figures—must include alternative text (alt text) that describes the information the image conveys. Complex images require a two‑part text alternative. The first part is a short description that identifies the image and, when appropriate, directs readers to the long description. The second part is the long description itself, which explains the key information the image communicates.
• Accessible Tables. Tables must be created using Word or LaTeX’s built‑in table tools, not by using tabs, spaces, or images of tables. Tables should have a simple, logical structure, with clearly identified row and/or column headers so screen readers can correctly associate data cells with their headers.
• Logical Reading Order. The logical reading order must be manually checked to ensure that a screen reader will read content in the same order a sighted reader would expect. If your final submission is a PDF, it must be a tagged PDF. Tags provide the underlying structure (headings, paragraphs, lists, tables, figures) that assistive technologies use to read the document correctly.
• Selectable Text. All text in your thesis or dissertation must be real, selectable text, not scanned images of text. Screen readers cannot read scanned text unless it has been properly converted using OCR, and OCR errors often make documents inaccessible.

Recommended Tools for Checking Accessibility

Before depositing your thesis/dissertation, students must ensure that their document meets current ADA accessibility requirements using the following tools when preparing their document:

• Microsoft Word Thesis Template users: Students are required to check their thesis/dissertation for accessibility compliance and resolve all outstanding accessibility issues using the built-in accessibility checker. You can learn more about the accessibility checker from the Microsoft Accessibility page.
• LaTeX/Overleaf Thesis Template users: Students are required to check their thesis/dissertation for accessibility compliance using Adobe’s built-in accessibility checker and resolve all outstanding accessibility issues. For more information, review Adobe’s Accessibility information.

Running these checks early and addressing issues throughout the writing process will help avoid delays at the time of deposit. However, automated accessibility checkers are not sufficient for confirming compliance. Manual checks are still needed to ensure that the thesis or dissertation file meets all WCAG 2.1 Level AA standards including color contrast requirements and logical reading order.

Timing and Impact on Graduation

Accessibility compliance is a required component of the thesis and dissertation deposit process. Students should plan adequate time to address accessibility issues before their final submission deadline. Failure to submit an accessible document may delay acceptance of the thesis or dissertation and could impact graduation timelines.

Additional Support

Students are encouraged to review these materials early in the writing process.

• Purdue Innovation Learning offers workshops and resources to aid students with document and content accessibility.
• Purdue Libraries offers a Digital Accessibility Skills Resource Guide to support the creation of accessible digital content.
• FAQs and accessibility resources are available on the ADA Title II Compliance FAQs webpage provided by Innovative Learning at Purdue University.
• The Assistive Technology Lab (ATL) provides assistive technology resources to support faculty, staff, and students with accessible information access and computing.

1. Complete the Electronic Thesis Acceptance Form (ETAF) and Required Surveys

• The Form 9 ETAF is available in the student’s Graduate Student Portal dashboard and it should be submitted after you have passed and received approval of your final defense. A helpful guide to initiating your ETAF is available here: Student Instructions for Initiating the Thesis Acceptance Form (DOCX). You will not be able to make any edits to a submitted Form 9 ETAF, so if your selections need editing, please contact thesishelp@purdue.edu for assistance. Please allow AT LEAST 5 business days for the Form 9 ETAF to be signed by all committee members and to receive departmental approval. Please note that the Processor signature, which is the last signature on the Form 9 ETAF, does not get completed until after your deposit is submitted, reviewed, and is ready for approval.
• Survey links will become available in the student’s Graduate Student Portal dashboard during the semester in which they register as a candidate for graduation.  The following must be completed prior to depositing the thesis or dissertation:
  • Purdue West Lafayette and Purdue Indianapolis: 
    • Master’s students must complete the Master’s Exit Questionnaire.
    • Doctoral students must complete both the Doctoral Exit Questionnaire and the Survey of Earned Doctorates.
  • Purdue Fort Wayne and Purdue Northwest (Hammond):
    • Doctoral students must complete the Survey of Earned Doctorates.

2. Submit your Electronic Thesis Deposit (ETD)

• After all committee members and the program’s designated Thesis Form Head have approved your Form 9 ETAF, you are then eligible to deposit. You must submit your thesis or dissertation to the designated repository at least 24 hours in advance of the designated Deposit Deadline based on your registered candidacy. Please see below:
  • Non-Controlled Thesis Deposit Requirements
  • Controlled Thesis Deposit Requirements (for theses/dissertations that contain and are subject to EAR, ITAR, DFARS Clause 252.204-7012, Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI), Covered Defense Information (CDI), or other controlled data).
• After your deposit is submitted, a Thesis & Dissertation Office staff member will review your deposit. Deposits are reviewed in the order they are received. If formatting revisions are required, the deposit submission will be returned to the student for editing with instructions.
• Purdue policy requires all deposits to be submitted and be in proper formatted condition before the deposit deadline passes. If not, the deposit will be considered late. Please see the information below, which is based on registered candidacy:
  • For CAND 99200 registrants, there are NO deposit deadline extensions.  If the deposit is not in acceptable formatted condition before the deposit deadline passes and/or the deposit is submitted after the deposit deadline, the deposit will be considered late. If this occurs, candidacy registration will be converted to CAND 99100 and students must then abide by CAND 99100 deadlines.
  • For CAND 99100 registrants, if the deposit is not in acceptable formatted condition before the deposit deadline passes and/or the deposit is submitted after the deposit deadline, the deposit will be considered late.  If this occurs, students will be required to submit a Form 14 to request approval to extend the deposit deadline to provide additional time to correct formatting, and a $200 extension fee will be billed to students. An approved Form 14 provides students with a 2 week extension from the original deposit deadline date to complete formatting revisions and receive deposit approval.  If a Form 14 is not submitted or approved, the deposit will not be valid for the current semester, and the student will need to register in the following semester.

3. Pay the Deposit Fee

All Master’s thesis option candidates and Doctoral candidates are required to pay a deposit fee. 

• Thesis Fee: $90.00
• Dissertation Fee: $125.00

Purdue West Lafayette and Indianapolis Campus:
Purdue West Lafayette and Indianapolis candidates will be billed through their myPurdue accounts within 10 business days after the Form 9 ETAF is approved.

Purdue Northwest and Purdue Fort Wayne Campuses:
Purdue Northwest and Fort Wayne candidates will be billed through their campuses and students must pay the deposit fee through their campus Bursar’s office.