Dissertation, Project & Thesis

1. Approval of Candidacy

Approval of Candidacy (GR-2 Form) for graduate degrees is a confirmation that your research proposal has been approved by your thesis, dissertation or project committee. You must initiate the form and send it to your committee members and the Associate Vice Chancellor for Graduate Studies and Research for review and approval. There are guidelines to help you to prepare your proposal.

• Guidelines for Preparing a Proposal 

Complete the appropriate GR-2 eForm.

• Environmental Science & Policy, MS
• First Nations Education, EdD
• All Remaining Programs

2. Presentation

Defenses and presentations are major components to the thesis, dissertation and project process.

• Thesis Defense Forms (GR-3 eForms): Announce to the campus community the day, time and location of your defense. All defenses and presentations are open to the public, unless otherwise stated by the faculty committee. You must defend your thesis before the last day of your graduation term. Complete your defense/presentation form.
  • Master Degree Thesis Defense /Project Presentations
  • First Nations Education, EdD Dissertation Defenses
• Evaluation Forms will be completed by each member of your thesis committee for Environmental Science & Policy and Sports, Exercise & Performance Psychology defenses. If you are not in these two programs, please consult with your Major Advisor and/or committee members about your evaluation criteria in advance.
  • Environmental Science & Policy Thesis Evaluation Form
• Defense Completion Forms (GR-4 eForms) confirm to the Office of Graduate Studies that you have successfully defended your research. This form is initiated by each student following their defense, is signed by all committee members, and receives final approval from the Associate Vice Chancellor for Graduate Studies and Research.
  • Masters Degree Thesis Defense/Project Presentations Form
  • First Nations Education, EdD Dissertation Defense For

If you are defending your thesis after the last of classes or are accessing university resources to complete a project, thesis or dissertation, additional forms are required.

• Exception to 1-credit Thesis Defense Requirement: Complete this form if you are defending a thesis after the last day of classes of your graduation term.
• GRAD 693 Course Approval Form: Complete this form if you want to accessing university resources while completing a project or thesis, but you are not a UW-Green Bay student.
• GRAD 893 Course Approval Form: Complete this form if you want to accessing university resources while completing a dissertation, but you are not a UW-Green Bay student.

3. Review

Final documents will become part of the permanent collection of the UW-Green Bay Cofrin Library, and may be widely circulated. It is important that you follow format and style requirements to ensure the final document of the highest quality. You must submit your final document to the Office of Graduate Studies for a style and format review within 20 calendar days after the last day of your graduation term.

The Office of Graduate Studies will review your document based on the following guidelines:

• Style & Format Requirements Checklist
• Style & Format Manual

4. Archiving

Archiving your thesis, dissertation or project gives current and future students the opportunity to access the high-quality research you produced. Archiving cannot be completed until steps one through three on this page are completed in full. The University subscribes to a library service that publishes your thesis or dissertation, and makes it available for others to find and read.

The last step of the manuscript review process is to submit the final approved version, the signed title page, and your Release of Rights Form to ProQuest by following the UW-Green Bay Libraries submission guide. This guide will walk you through creating an account with ProQuest, and takes you through the process of submitting your materials. If you do not wish to share your work on ProQuest, complete the Archive Waiver eForm.

You must submit the following items to ProQuest within 42 calendar days after the last day of your graduation term:

• A PDF (one continuous file) of your thesis, dissertation or project presentation
• The Title Page to be inserted to your PDF and a physical copy after final signatures are received.
  • Dissertation Title Page (template download)
  • Thesis Title Page (template download)
  • Professional Project Title Page (template download)
• Grant of Permission & Copyright Form or an Archive Waiver eForm

After all items are sent to ProQuest, the Office of Graduate Studies will professionally print and bind physical copies for you at your request. Physical copies are optional for all programs with the exception of MS Environmental Science & Policy; if you are in this program, please consult with your faculty advisor to determine if physical copies are required. All physical copies are at your expense.

To search past graduate student thesis, dissertation or project documents, please visit:

• Cofrin Library Digital Collection
• UW Extended Campus Capstone Projects Digital Collection