Publishing Dissertations and Theses: Embargoes

An "embargo" is a restriction placed on a thesis or dissertation that allows only the title, abstract, and citation information to be released to the public, while the full text of the work is kept hidden for a limited period of time.

From ProQuest: "Authors have the ability to embargo their work indefinitely or for a certain period of time. ProQuest honors the author’s wishes and can accommodate as needed... Contact disspub@proquest.com to make a request."

The author of the embargoed work is responsible for contacting ProQuest and coordinating their embargo request.

Most theses and dissertations are not embargoed, and are made publicly available following their formal defense as part of completing a masters or doctoral degree. As your dissertation is your introduction to a scholarly conversation in your field, the LTU Library discourages aribtrary embargoes of your work.

Some valid reasons to embargo a thesis or dissertation include:

• The author wants to patent something described in the work.
• The author wants to publish the work in whole or in part in the future and is concerned that making the work public will interfere with this.
• The author has previously published the work in whole or in part, and the publisher is restricting public release of the work in some way.
• The dissertation includes data covered by a nondisclosure agreement for a specified period of time, including personal information, company secrets, or intellectual property.