Digital Commons: How Do I Submit Work?

Congratulations upon completing your program!  To submit your thesis or capstone project to UW Tacoma Digital Commons, please have the following materials prepared before you begin:

• Final version of the paper in Word format following specifications set by your program.
   
• Saved in a separate Word document:
   
  • An abstract for the paper (up to 250 words) - The abstract is a stand-alone text that provides a concise description of your thesis.  It should summarize your research question, methods, and findings.  It will be used by search engines to help find your paper.
     
  • A list of up to six keyword descriptors – List keywords that are important to your thesis and/or terms that may not have been listed in your abstract.
     
• Any additional files you wish to include with you work, such as PowerPoint presentations, videos, images, etc.
   
•  Graduate students only: Consider which access option setting you'd like to choose for your capstone. Learn more about about access setting for graduate work.

If you have any questions about this process, please contact Megan Watson at megawat@uw.edu.

1. Create an account – Before you submit your thesis, you must create an account on UW Tacoma Digital Commons.  Please use your UW email for your login.  Under “Institutional Affiliation,” type “University of Washington – Tacoma.”
    
2. Activate account – Digital Commons will send you an automated email message.  Log in to your email and click on the link provided to activate it.
    
3. Submit paper – Use the link to the appropriate collection below to submit your work, or follow the "Submit research" link from that collection's page in Digital Commons.
   • Submit Ed.D. Dissertation
   • Submit Environmental Science (Undergraduate) Thesis
   • Submit Global Honors (Undergraduate) Thesis
   • Submit History (Undergraduate) Thesis
   • Submit MAIS Capstone Project

     Note: If you are submitting a thesis, please submit via the UW Graduate School ETD process.
   • Submit M.Ed. Literature Review
   • Submit MSW Capstone

    
4. Approve submission agreement – The submission agreement merely gives the Library permission to post your paper to Digital Commons.  By accepting the agreement, you will retain the copyright, and will be able to publish it in other venues in the future, if desired.
    
5. Submit thesis – When submitting your thesis please make sure to complete the following fields:
    
   • Title:  Please enter the complete title of your thesis, including a subtitle after a colon.
      
   • Date of Award: Please select appropriate season and enter the year of your graduation.
      
   • Author Requested Restriction (graduate students only): Please choose an access option appropriate for your work.
      
   • Document/Work Type: Select appropriate work type.
      
   • Degree Name: Select the appropriate degree.
      
   • Department : Select appropriate department name.
      
   • First Advisor: Please enter the full name of your faculty advisor without an honorific (ex., Dr) before the name or credentials after.
      
   • Keywords: Make sure to separate each keyword descriptor with comma.  Single or multiple word phrases can be entered.
      
   • Subject categories: Add subject categories to help others find your work, as appropriate.
      
   • Abstract: You may copy and paste the abstract into the appropriate fields.
      
   • Upload full-text: Select “Upload file from your computer.”  Click on “Browse” and you will be prompted to upload a file from your desktop.
      
   • Please ignore all other non-required fields not mentioned above.
      
6. Click submit – This will upload the paper and send a message for the Digital Commons administrator to post the paper.  You will receive a notification when the paper is available online.