Thesis guidance
The University of Bristol requires students to submit their thesis electronically. The option is also open to current members of staff who completed their thesis at the University of Bristol.
Section 25 of the ‘PGR Code’ sets out the expectations for depositing dissertations and public access.
Postgraduate researchers may wish to consult the following detailed guidance related to depositing their dissertation.
- Deposit requirements: guidance on depositing your final dissertation (thesis) to the Library, including timelines and what documents are required
- Deposit instructions: detailed instructions on adding your thesis to Pure
- Delaying public access: guidance on when a delay for public access may be appropriate and how to request one, if necessary
What does public access to eTheses mean in practice?
It means immediate open access to postgraduate research theses via the Bristol Research Portal for all users worldwide. Where appropriate, content which cannot be published is redacted and public access can be delayed.
Open Access for eTheses
Open access means free, unrestricted access to research outputs, including postgraduate research theses. The University of Bristol supports free public access to theses and has mandated electronic submission and deposit.
Under the PGR Code, Bristol's postgraduate researchers are required to create a record and deposit a copy of their postgraduate research thesis in the institutional repository, Pure.
Bristol theses are deposited under a CC BY-NC-ND licence (a Creative Commons licence). The author retains ownership of the copyright and communicates to users what use is permissible and what use requires the interested party to contact them beforehand.
PGRs who wish to make their thesis available elsewhere under a different licence are free to do so. The Creative Commons licence chooser tool can help you pick an appropriate licence. It will also generate the relevant licence icons and descriptive text for you. We recommend including the licence text in a cover page on the thesis file, as well as in any metadata fields wherever you choose to make it available.
Immediate Public Access
Theses deposited without a deferral (embargo) are freely accessible to all. Once the record is processed, the full text will be discoverable to everyone without restriction through the public interface of the institutional repository, the Bristol Research Portal.
Many research funders, including UKRI, also expect a full-text version of theses supported by training grant funding to be made available open access no longer than 12 months following award of the degree.
Content which cannot be published
Some types of content cannot be published (Personal Data or third-party copyrighted material, for example). Postgraduate researchers are encouraged to read our guidance on Content which cannot be published before depositing their thesis in Pure.
There may also be information which is relevant at an earlier stage in the research process, around clearing copyright permissions and planning for data minimization (reducing the amount of identifiable data).
Deferred Public Access
There may be exceptional circumstances where delaying public access to a thesis is appropriate. The University has specific provisions to permit this, and separate guidance is available on when and how to arrange a delay to public access, if you feel this is necessary.