PhD Dissertation/MS Thesis Instructions

Students completing their degree with a PhD Dissertation or an MS Thesis must adhere to the deadlines below for final PhD Dissertation/MS Thesis submission to the Graduate School of Engineering for the intended date of degree conferral. Northeastern University requires that students publish their PhD Dissertation or MS Thesis with Proquest Publishing. Whereas students previously completed this task by submitting a hard copy of the PhD Dissertation or MS Thesis to Snell Library, you must now self-publish using the Northeastern University Proquest/ETD Administrator Site.

Please click the link for the Guidelines below.

Due to COVID-19, the Graduate School of Engineering is not currently requiring students to submit a physical hard copy document of their PhD Dissertation of MS Thesis to our office.

Students should initiate the submission process only after they have successfully defended the PhD Dissertation or MS Thesis and made all necessary changes as deemed by the Committee members.  Once complete, students can begin obtaining Committee and Graduate School of Engineering signatures by using one of the “initiate you signature page” links below.  Students will be notified by the Graduate School of Engineering once all signatures have been gathered and when to submit an electronic copy of their PhD Dissertation or MS Thesis to Proquest.

If there are any questions about this process, please email coe-gradadvising@northeastern.edu and your advisor can assist.

Initiate your MS Thesis Defense Committee Signature Page

Initiate your PhD Dissertation Defense Committee Signature Page


PhD Dissertation/MS Thesis Deadlines

  • August 19, 2024: MS Thesis/PhD Dissertation Signature Page is due to the Graduate School by 5pm
    Students submitting after this date will be required to register for an appropriate course in the following semester and are responsible for any tuition incurred.
  • August 24, 2024: Submission to Proquest due and SED survey (PhD Only)
    The final MS Thesis or PhD Dissertation document should not be uploaded until the student has been notified of final approval by the Associate Dean for Graduate Education in the Graduate School of Engineering. Please do not upload the committee signature page with your document to Proquest. Instructions to complete the SED survey (PhD Only) will be emailed when the PhD Dissertation has been approved by the Associate Dean for Graduate Education in the Graduate School of Engineering.
  • August 23, 2024: Degree Conferral
  • December 9, 2024: Thesis and Dissertations due to the Graduate School by 5pm
    Students submitting after this date will be required to register for Thesis/Dissertation Continuation in the following term. Tuition is billed at 1 semester hour for this course.
  • December 14, 2024: Submission to Proquest due and SED survey (PhD Only)
    The final MS Thesis or PhD Dissertation document should not be uploaded until the student has been notified of final approval by the Associate Dean for Graduate Education in the Graduate School of Engineering. Please do not upload the committee signature page with your document to Proquest. Instructions to complete the SED survey (PhD Only) will be emailed when the PhD Dissertation has been approved by the Associate Dean for Graduate Education in the Graduate School of Engineering.
  • December 14, 2024: Degree Conferral
  • April 22, 2025: MS Thesis/PhD Dissertation Signature Page is due to the Graduate School by 5pm
    Students submitting after this date will be required to register for an appropriate course in the following semester and are responsible for any tuition incurred.
  • April 26, 2025: Submission to Proquest due and SED survey (PhD Only)
    The final MS Thesis or PhD Dissertation document should not be uploaded until the student has been notified of final approval by the Associate Dean for Graduate Education in the Graduate School of Engineering. Please do not upload the committee signature page with your document to Proquest. Instructions to complete the SED survey (PhD Only) will be emailed when the PhD Dissertation has been approved by the Associate Dean for Graduate Education in the Graduate School of Engineering.
  • April 26, 2025: Degree Conferral