Forms and Petitions

Guide to Filing Theses and Dissertations

Assistance with the manuscript-writing process is available from the following:

• CLAS (Campus Learning Assistance Services). Writing lab provides individual assistance with writing, with a limit of one hour/week. Building 477, ext. 3269.
• Statistical Consulting Lab. Assists with evaluation of statistics for research. Will not write programs for students, but will give advice on how to interpret statistical sets. South Hall 5516, ext. 2007 or 2129.
• Counseling & Career Services. Conducts stress reduction workshops, counseling, and biofeedback. Building 599, ext. 4411.
• Graduate Student Peer Advisor dissertation writing and support groups. Information on scheduled workshops may be accessed via the Graduate Division Calendar.
• The Association for Support of Graduate Students is a service organization of graduate students, graduate-student organizations, and graduate-degree-granting institutions. ASGS services and products assist graduate students in completing their theses and dissertations. ASGS provides links to Doc-Talk, a moderated e-mail discussion list about theses and dissertations; a professional consultant directory; computer template disks for editorial styles; and several other useful services.

There are several places on campus that provide access to computers and printers: Instructional Computing in Phelps Hall; Edstar laboratory in 3525 Phelps Hall; Humanities and Social Science Computing Facilities in 2626 Ellison and 1203 Humanities and Social Science Building (HSSB). Learning Resources in Kerr Hall occasionally has room for graduate students in its classes for faculty on how to use standard word processing programs. Students who wish to hire someone to help them with word processing or typing can consult their departmental offices, the Internet, the local newspapers, or the telephone yellow pages. A copy of these guidelines should be provided to hired assistants.

Resources

• Manuscript formatting, filing and formatting requirements, and degree verification letters Graduate Academic Services
• Transcripts and diplomas Office of the Registrar
• Copyrighting The Library of Congress provide information about the basics of copyrighting law and links to downloadable copyright registration forms, and seek to encourage discussion of real-world issues arising from the Internet, digital dissertations, entertainment world, and new media law.
• Questions regarding use of previously published, copyrighted work Copyright Law & Graduate Research: New Media, New Rights, and Your Dissertation, by Kenneth D. Crew
• Questions regarding publication and retrieval of dissertations ProQuest Information & Learning (ProQuest/UMI) Dissertation Services
• Access to other students' dissertations The UCSB Library, in participation with the California Digital Library (CDL), offers access to Digital Dissertations, a service of ProQuest Information and Learning (formerly known as UMI). The database includes citations for materials ranging from the first U.S. dissertation to those accepted as recently as last semester; those published from 1980 forward also include 350-word abstracts. Approximately 1.5 million titles are listed, of which over a million are offered in full text.
• Other sites dealing with copyright issues and intellectual property rights
  • "The Copyright Website"
  • "Copyright in the Electronic Environment for Students"