Thesis Instructions

Students in a cafe writing

Please read the instructions below in their entirety.  Failure to follow the submission instructions correctly may delay acceptance of your thesis.

General Information

Students writing the thesis: you are required to grant Carroll College perpetual non-exclusive right to reproduce, copy, and distribute your thesis at the time of filing.

All required forms are located in MyCarroll under the Academic Documents area.

Due Date

December 1 (for fall semester graduates) and May 1 (for spring semester graduates) are the deadlines for submission of a Senior Thesis to the library.  Submissions must conform to the formatting guidelines listed below (including document margins).

The Library will need 3 completed documents (see A,B,C below) in order for your thesis to be accepted: 

A. Senior Theses are to be delivered to the library electronically by submitting a PDF file with "Thesis" and student's name in the subject line to theses@carroll.edu by the deadline. In order to be accepted, a thesis must comply with the formatting requirements (see below) and include the following elements in a single PDF file:

  1. a title page including the author's name
  2. an abstract
  3. the thesis itself

B. In addition to the thesis, you must also include a PDF of the completed Reader Signature Form ("signature form instructions") with your submission to theses@carroll.edu in order to receive approval for your thesis.  (This form shows that your readers approve your thesis).

C. You must also complete a departmental Final Approval Form (see "final approval form instructions" below) in addition to sending the signature form (B above). (This form shows that your department approves your thesis).

Thesis Formatting Requirements

  1. Top and bottom margins must be one (1) inch; left and right margins must be one and one-quarter (1.25) inches.
  2. Pages should be numbered.
  3. The thesis itself should be saved directly into electronic PDF format from your word processor (i.e. Microsoft Word). Scans of entire theses made from a physical printout will not be accepted (however, scans of any drawings, images, figures, or graphs are accepted; these must be merged into the PDF document in the correct order).
  4. The thesis must include an abstract (<250 words).
  5. The thesis should be formatted correctly according to your style manual.   Students should check with their directors regarding their department's required style manual.  
  6. Any drawings, figures, photographs, and audio files are acceptable.  Video files are also accepted; please see the Library staff in advance if your thesis includes a video file, so that we may make necessary accommodations.  
  7. Any scanned elements (including images) must be made using a high resolution, e.g. 300 dpi. 

Signature Form instructions

Student Begins the Process

  1. Login to MyCarroll via Okta
  2. Navigate to the Signature form under Students->Senior Thesis  (https://my2.carroll.edu/senior-thesis/signatures)
  3. Page 1: Fill in the necessary fields (thesis title, select readers and director)
  4. Page 2: Page 2 contains the unsigned fields for readers and directors (students cannot make changes to the signature fields)
  5. Scroll to the bottom and Save
  6. Upon submission, email notifications will be sent to your Director and Readers, prompting them to login and complete their signatures.

Director/Readers Sign

  1. Login to MyCarroll via Okta
  2. Click the link provided in the notification email you received from your senior student
  3. Go to Page 2 of the form and complete your signature
  4. Save the submission.

Student Verifies Signatures

Students can check to see if their submissions have been signed by their Readers/Director.

  1. Login to MyCarroll via Okta  
  2. Go to My Account ->Submissions (all webform submission created by the student will be located here)
  3. Find the signature page submission, click on it to view
  4. When your readers/director have signed, there will be a green check mark next to the names that have completed their signatures.

Once all the signatures have been completed, the student can print their submission to PDF.

Student: Print Submission to PDF

  1. Follow steps 1-3 above ( under Student Verifies Signatures)
  2. Find your signature page submission and click to view it
  3. Print the page, and select "Print to PDF" (how to here)
  4. Include the PDF signature page with your thesis submission email to the library
  5. Next, work on the departmental Final Approval Form (instructions below)

Final Approval Form Instructions

Once you have submitted your thesis to the library according to the instructions above, you are required to fill out a departmental final approval form online.

Student (kicks off final approval process):

  1. Login to MyCarroll via Okta
  2. Navigate to Students -> Student Thesis -> Final Approval Form:  https://my2.carroll.edu/senior-thesis/final-approval 
  3. Complete all the required fields and submit the form
    1. Student: receives confirmation email 
    2. Director: receives notice to complete their signature on the director signature form  

Director

  1. Login to MyCarroll via Okta
  2. Director clicks the 'LOGIN TO SIGN' link in the notification email they received from the student (see above director email notification above)
  3. The Director Signature form will be prefilled with all fields except the director's signature field on page 2
  4. Click Next Page
  5. Sign the form and Submit
  6. Email Notifications will be sent to:
    1. Student: receives confirmation that the director has completed their signature 
    2. Dept Head: receives notice to complete the dept head signature form 

Dept Head

  1. Login to MyCarroll via Okta
  2. Dept Head clicks the 'LOGIN TO SIGN' link in the notification email they received from the director (see above dept head email notification above)
  3. Like the Director Signature, the Dept Head Signature form will be prefilled with all fields except the dept head signature field on page 2
  4. Dept Head completes the signature field and clicks Submit
  5. Email notifications are sent to:
    1. Student: receives confirmation that the dept head has completed their signature
    2. Library: receives notice to complete the librarian signature form

Library Approval Process

The student will be notified by email when the Library has reviewed and approved the PDF file.  The Library Staff will notify the Office of the Registrar in order for the student to receive credit for the thesis.

Copies of the Senior theses will be stored solely in electronic format and are publicly accessible from the college's institutional repository, Carroll Scholars.