Theses and Dissertations: Archiving
KAUST Thesis and Dissertation Archiving Policy
As a condition of graduation, KAUST requires master’s students who complete a thesis and doctoral students who complete a dissertation to have an electronic copy of it deposited in the KAUST research repository.
KAUST makes no claim of ownership of student dissertations or theses; however, the university retains a non-exclusive license to make copies of dissertations or theses as needed for the academic or archival purposes of the institution. This includes providing open access to the work on the Internet.
If necessary to protect legitimate proprietary interests (such as patent rights), students may opt to delay temporarily public access to the full text of their dissertation or thesis.
At KAUST’s discretion an institutional embargo on the public release of a thesis/dissertation through the KAUST research repository can also be placed by the Vice President for Research, the Provost or the student supervisor for a period to be indicated through email instruction to the Library Director.
Thesis Deposit Instructions
KAUST requires that your master's thesis or doctoral dissertation be deposited in the KAUST Research Repository. After your Committee has approved your thesis or dissertation, you must submit the Final Approval Form to your advisor and submit the final version of your thesis and dissertation to the repository.
Please see the below user guide for step-by-step instructions on how to submit to the repository
After you submit your thesis to the repository, your submission will go through two approval steps:
- Thesis format check by the Registrar's office
- Archiving approval by the Library
After all approvals are complete you will receive an archiving confirmation with the permanent link to the record for your thesis in the KAUST repository.
You cannot graduate until archiving is complete. The Registrar's office will also receive notification that archiving is complete so that they can initiate the graduation process.
Why Archive Student Works?
Maintaining an institutional repository of theses and dissertations is consistent with international best practice. KAUST’s purpose is to increase the visibility and discoverability of student works via web search engines, showcase the high caliber of studies underway at KAUST, increase overall education and research productivity through effective sharing, and harness the intellectual capital of the university.
Copyright and Permissions
For more information about the copyright and availability options that apply to theses and dissertations at KAUST, please consult the below document:
As the author of the thesis or dissertation, you will be asked to certify that any copyrighted material used in your work, beyond "fair use," is with written permission of the copyright owner.
Be prepared to submit letters and/or emails documenting that the copyright holder (e.g., photographer, author, creator, etc.) gives you permission to use their materials, and/or a statement documenting your evaluation of the four fair use factors and determination that your use is fair.
Please refer to the below website to learn more about copyright: