Dissertations go into two databases: the ProQuest Digital Dissertations and Theses database and CUNY's open access institutional repository, CUNY Academic Works. Master's theses and all capstone projects are deposited only in CUNY Academic Works.
You can embargo (temporarily block public online access) to your dissertation, capstone project, or thesis in neither, either, or both databases — it’s up to you. If you embargo in both databases, you can select the same embargo length for both or choose different embargo lengths. For both databases, your initial embargo options are:
Limitations of Embargoes: Public access to a dissertation/thesis is a condition of the degree. Embargoed dissertations and theses are not completely invisible or inaccessible. The library may provide limited access to Graduate Center program faculty, program Executive Officers, and Graduate Center administrators at our discretion.
If you want to change your embargo settings after you've deposited or graduated, you must contact ProQuest and the Graduate Center Library separately.
Open Access and the Graduate Author: A Dissertation Anxiety Manual by Jill Cirasella and Polly Thistlethwaite. This chapter was originally published in: Smith, K. L., & Dickson, K. A. (Eds.). (2017). Open access and the future of scholarly communication: Implementation. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
Hear and read some key thoughts from the GC event “Share It Now or Save It For Later: Making Choices about Dissertations and Publishing,” featuring the MLA's Director of Scholarly Communications, two university press editors, and two recent alumni.