melbourne university thesis library

Graduate Research Hub

• Examination

My thesis in the library

Deposit requirements.

The Library only requires an  electronic copy of your thesis. The electronic copy must be deposited to the University of Melbourne Institutional Repository, Minerva Access, via the Thesis Examination System (TES) once a final 'pass' has been recommended.

• Your thesis must meet the  Preparation of Graduate Research Theses Rules . Please also refer to the sample thesis title page .
• Your thesis should not include your signature, e.g. on the declaration page, as this can be harvested by Google and appear in Google images.
• The signatures of others should not be included in your thesis, these should be redacted, e.g. ethics approval signatures.
• If your thesis contains complete publications, you should use the author accepted manuscript. For information on author-accepted manuscripts visit the ARC and NHMRC Open Access Policies page for advice on what versions of articles can or cannot be accepted.  If you are certain you will not breach your agreement with your publisher, you may include the published version in your thesis.

Durable record of all components of thesis

A durable record refers to a permanent file or archive that ensures the preservation and accessibility of all components of the thesis. This record typically includes any multimedia material (streaming or downloading), content on web links, or data sets that are integral to the thesis.

• You must submit a durable record of all components of your final thesis for preservation purposes.
• If you are submitting multiple files, upload them individually. They should not be compressed or zipped together into a single file.
• If your thesis contains other copyright material, you must obtain permission. See the Copyright Office page on Copyright and your thesis .
• Refer to the FAQs for depositing the final thesis.
• Download the Final Thesis for Degree Completion Submission Checklist to assist you in preparing your final thesis.

Thesis with creative works or other additional material

• The thesis title listed on the written component is usually recorded on your official academic record. If you wish to have an alternative thesis title recorded which better reflects all components of your research, contact the Examinations Office when submitting your final thesis to TES.
• If your thesis consists of multiple components that are an integral part of the thesis, useful information is available on the  Depositing multiple files for your final thesis record page.

The University of Melbourne scholarships do not provide a thesis allowance as of 1 February 2017.  If your department/school requires a printed copy, this won’t be covered by a thesis allowance as this copy is not a requirement for completion.

Public access to my thesis

Until it is made publicly available, your thesis is an untapped resource of original research. The University is committed to ensuring that all research outputs are disseminated as widely as possible. This allows the University not only to meet the open access policies of national and international granting bodies but also ensures the results of research are made available to the public, industry and researchers worldwide, for the benefit of society. Individual researchers, likewise, have a responsibility to other researchers and the wider community to disseminate a full account of their research as widely as possible. In keeping with these commitments, the electronic copy of your thesis will be made available on the web, via the University's institutional publications repository,  Minerva Access .

Most major scholarly journal publishers now have clear policies supporting submission of articles derived from theses that are publicly available in an institutional repository, such as Minerva Access.

Making your thesis publicly available via Minerva Access , has the following benefits:

• The general public, which has invested in the University, can access your findings
• Allows more exposure and influence for your research
• Helps build your scholarly reputation and research profile
• Practitioners can apply your findings
• Other researchers, especially in developing areas, can see and easily access your work.

Through Minerva Access, you:

• Ensure that a digital copy of your thesis is preserved for future generations of researchers
• Receive a permanent and citable web link to your thesis
• Can track usage of your thesis.

You can find out more about the Principles for Open Access to Research Outputs, different pathways to open access, and funder policies on the Open Scholarship website.

In some circumstances, however, it may be necessary to delay or to withhold online access to the thesis.

Public access options

There are three options for access to your thesis in the repository. Once your decision is made about these options, this information is included as part of the data you enter into TES when submitting your thesis for examination. The same access option will usually apply to all submitted components unless you indicate restriction to any additional files that you submit through TES.

Embargo Criteria

The criteria for which an embargo may be sought include:

• The research was conducted under a contract or third-party arrangement that places restriction on access to the thesis
• An application for a patent or intellectual property protection is planned but not yet submitted
• The thesis contains material that must remain confidential due to legal, cultural, ethical or national security reasons
• The prospective publisher of articles from the research requires that the thesis has not been made available (usually external embargo only).

Redacted Version of Your Thesis

Some theses contain information that cannot be made public, such as confidential or private data, intellectual property agreements, or third-party copyright where permission to publish it has not been obtained.

In these cases, you will be required to provide two versions (original and redacted) of the online thesis to the Thesis Examination System:

• a full version of the thesis, as examined including any required amendments and the confidential or third-party material. This copy will not be made publicly available but will be stored in Minerva Access for long-term preservation.
• a second “public access” copy of the thesis, with confidential or third-party material for which there is no permission removed or “redacted”. Redacted material must be entirely removed and may be replaced with a statement such as "This image/material has been removed by the author of this thesis for copyright reasons”. When removing material from the digital copy, a placeholder should be included to retain the pagination of the original document.

Where possible, confidential information should be presented in an appendix rather than in the body of the thesis. The body of the thesis can then be available on open access, while the appendix is not.

Reducing an Embargo Period

Once your thesis is deposited to Minerva Access if you selected embargo to your thesis, you may lift the embargo before its expiry by submitting an email request, along with your supervisor’s endorsement, to  Minerva Access .

Research funded from ARC and NHMRC

The ARC Open Access Policy applies to all research outputs stemming from grant funds, including publications produced by graduate researchers whose scholarships are funded by the ARC. If you are funded by the ARC, the policy requires that you make your thesis openly accessible within 12 months from the date of submission to Minerva Access.  If you are unable to do so due to legal or contractual obligations, or due to sensitive information contained in your thesis, you may opt to embargo your thesis for the standard two year period. The Primary Chief Investigator on your grant will then need to explain why your thesis was not made openly accessible, and the compliance options that were investigated to make your thesis open, when they submit their Final Report to the ARC.

The NHMRC, released a new open access policy on 20 September 2022.  This policy requires full and immediate open access form NHRMC-funded research outputs.  The 2022 policy applies to new NHRMC grants and scholarships issued from 20 September 2022.  Those under the previous policy, the NHMRC strongly encourages funded graduate researchers to make their thesis and any peer-reviewed publications Open Access.

Further information about the ARC and NHMRC Open Access Polices can be found in the  University of Melbourne Open Access Library Guide .

Third Party Copyright in My Thesis

Whether choosing immediate open access or seeking an embargo, the Preparation of Graduate Research Theses Rules require you to list third party copyright material included in your thesis and whether you have gained permission from the copyright owners to make this material publicly available as part of your thesis. You should obtain copyright permissions as early as possible to avoid delays in submitting your thesis.

When creating the list of third party copyright material included in your thesis, please use the Template for Listing Third Party Copyright Material .

Please ensure that:

• The inclusion of publications in the thesis complies with your publisher copyright agreement. Usually this means the post‐print ( author-accepted manuscript ) should be used rather than the publisher PDF as it appears in the final published version at the publisher site.
• Informed consent has been obtained for the use of research participants’ photographs (eg. patients), and particularly for the use of images of Indigenous Australians.
• The identity of participants in the research is adequately protected.

If you have not been successful in obtaining these permissions, you will need to deposit two copies of the thesis. Likewise, if your thesis includes confidential or sensitive material you should consider depositing two copies. See Redacted Version of your Thesis above.

For information on copyright, what constitutes as third-party copyright, including copyright in creative works and dealing with the copyright of others visit the Copyright Office .

• What is copyright?
• Copyright and your thesis

Exceptional Circumstances

In rare cases it may be necessary to prevent access to all versions of your thesis for a limited time. For example:

• Your thesis contains material which could have legal repercussions if published
• Your thesis contains material for which you intend to apply for patent protection, or there are other possible commercial benefits which would be prejudiced were the thesis to be made public immediately after acceptance
• There are other exceptional circumstances.

You must consider carefully whether applying for restricted access will unduly impair your ability to publish your research or make your work and achievements known to potential employers. Discuss these issues with your supervisors before applying.

Embargo Extensions

If you need an extension beyond two years, approval from the Pro Vice-Chancellor (Graduate and International Research) is required and will only be granted under exceptional circumstances.

If your request is related to publication for your research, many publishers now allow the thesis to be made open access in an institutional repository, such as Minerva Access. Please review your publisher’s policy and agreement to check if your thesis can be placed on open access in Minerva Access.

To request an extension, submit a completed application to the Graduate Research Examinations Office .

No access means that the thesis metadata (including title, author, abstract, keywords) may not be displayed and must be approved by the Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Graduate and International Research) and is normally approved for up to one year. Restriction for longer periods may be approved in exceptional circumstances only. To apply for no access, submit a completed application to the Graduate Research Examinations Office by email .

When submitting your thesis for examination to TES you should select the Full Embargo option.

How users discover my thesis

Your thesis, whether in print or online, can be discovered by users around the world. Users can search for theses from the University of Melbourne Library Catalogue or Discovery tool or from search engines such as Google and Google Scholar .

All records about Australian theses held in university library catalogues and digital repositories are also made available via Trove , the National Library of Australia's database.

Search engines return results based on the metadata associated with your thesis: author, title, keywords. Some publishers provide tips for authors on how to optimise metadata for search engine discoverability. Wiley's Author Services site is one example.

If you are pursuing an academic career, the discoverability of your work is important. It is also important that your work is attributed correctly to you.

• You must include your ORCID in your thesis as specified in the Preparation of Graduate Research Theses Rules
• Manage your researcher profile by obtaining other appropriate researcher identifiers for citation databases
• Track usage of your thesis on Minerva Access .
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