An Electronic Thesis or Dissertation (ETD) is a requirement for graduation from Doctoral programs and available to graduates from Masters programs.

What is an ETD?

An electronic thesis or dissertation (ETD) is a digital version of a thesis or dissertation that will be deposited in the JScholarship repository managed by the Sheridan Libraries and be available online to the public.

Universities and colleges in the United States and abroad have been moving toward this type of publication for the past decade. Johns Hopkins started its own ETD program beginning in the fall semester of 2013.

Who does this apply to?

  • Required for all PhD Students
  • Optional for Masters students with a required thesis; contact your graduate office for information
  • Other graduate degrees: Consult with your graduate office

How and when do I submit my ETD?

  • Submit after you have defended your thesis or dissertation and made all edits required by your committee
  • Follow the formatting requirements
  • Login with your JHED ID to the JHU ETD submission system, fill in the required metadata, and upload a PDF/A file of your thesis or dissertation
  • The required PDF/A file format is different from a standard PDF. Please see the formatting requirements for further instructions

Fee Payment

The ETD submission fee is $60 and may be paid by credit card or by funds transfer from your department. The fee is due at the time of submission; payment verification is required for approval.

Pay by Credit Card – $60

IMPORTANT: If the card you are using is not your own (e.g., spouse or parent’s card), proceed with the payment at the site, but then email your name, your JHED ID, and the name of the credit card owner to etd-support@jhu.edu so we can link your submission with the payment.

Pay by Department Funds Transfer

NOTE: This option is available at departmental discretion. Request that the department administrator fill out the PDF form and submit it to etd-support@jhu.edu.

Learn More about ETDs

Video Tutorials

A video tutorial of the entire ETD process can be viewed on YouTube

Frequently Asked Questions

  • If I want a paper copy of my dissertation, will the library have it bound?

    No. If your department does not coordinate printing and binding, you might consider Thesis on Demand or PhD Bookbinding. You can upload your PDF, and they will print it, bind it, and ship it to you.

  • Is there a size limit for ETD files?

    Yes. No individual file can be larger than 512 MB, and the total size of all files cannot exceed 4 GB. If your thesis or dissertation is larger than that, please email etd-support@jhu.edu.

  • Where can I find a copy of my ETD after it is approved?

    Within two months following degree conferral, ETDs are published to JScholarship, our institutional repository. There are separate sections in JScholarship for masters theses and doctoral dissertations. If you placed an embargo on your ETD, only the metadata (author, title, abstract, etc.) will be available until the embargo period is up.

  • When will my ETD be published?

    Your ETD will be published to our institutional repository, JScholarship, within two months following degree conferral. An ETD is considered published when it is deposited in JScholarship, even if it is under embargo.

  • I just noticed errors in my published ETD. Can I fix this?

    Once published, changes cannot be made to your ETD. Your ETD will be published within two months following degree conferral. You are responsible for ensuring your ETD has been thoroughly proofread before you submit to the library.

  • I have a question about copyright in my ETD, who do I ask?

    Students submitting Electronic Theses and Dissertations are responsible for determining any copyright or fair use questions. For assistance, please consult the Copyright LibGuide or contact the librarian listed on the guide.

  • What information can you provide about embargoes?

    By default, ETDs are published to JScholarship within two months after you graduate. If you wish to temporarily restrict public access to your ETD, during the ETD submission process you can embargo your document for up to four years. Please note that the title and abstract of your document will still be visible during your embargo. You may release your document from embargo early or extend it up to the four-year maximum by emailing etd-support@jhu.edu. Once your document is publicly accessible, however, we cannot make changes to embargoes.

Contact ETD Office

Milton S. Eisenhower Library
etd-support@jhu.edu