Cal Poly

Master's Theses

Accessing Master's Theses

Over 3000 master's theses created by Cal Poly students have been submitted to Kennedy Library and are part of the Library's collections. Since November 1, 2008, students submitting Master’s theses and project reports are required to submit their work in electronic format to DigitalCommons@CalPoly, Cal Poly's institutional repository. Master's theses are also cataloged in PolyCat.

Prior to electronic submission, deposit of printed copies of master's theses was required. Printed copies of Cal Poly theses were cataloged and added to the Library's main collections.

Both electronic and print master's theses can be found by searching in PolyCat using the terms "Cal Poly master's thesis."

Electronic theses can also be accessed at DigitalCommons@CalPoly's Thesis Page

Submitting Master's Theses

The following is a summary of steps for submitting a master's thesis to the Library at Cal Poly:

1. Secure final approval of your thesis content from your thesis committee, including committee members' signatures on the "Master's Thesis/Project Approval" form.
2. Pay the thesis digital archiving fee to University Cashier in the Admin Building, Room 131.
3. Secure final style and format approval of your thesis from the Office of Research and Graduate Programs
4. Upload the approved thesis to DigitalCommons@CalPoly using the upload instructions (PDF download).
5. Thesis is made public on the DigitalCommons@CalPoly site by the Office of Research and Graduate Programs.

The Library does not host web sites or retain three-dimensional theses in its collections. Changes to master's theses are not permitted after the materials have been submitted to Kennedy Library.

For more detailed information on the submission process, please visit the Research and Graduate Programs Office web site. Questions? Call Lori Ann Walters, Graduate Education Coordinator: (805) 756-2328.

Binding Options

An optional step is having a paper copy of your thesis bound for your own use. You can contact binding vendors, such as HF Group's online Thesis On Demand binding service, directly. Kennedy Library no longer requires deposit of bound copies.

Thesis Author Rights

As the author of the thesis, you retain all rights to the work, granting the university a non-exclusive license upon deposit in the DigitalCommons@CalPoly. The license confirms that you, as the creator and contributor of your work, grant the university permission to share your work in an open-access digital environment, which is intended for educational purposes.

You and any co-authors retain all intellectual property rights to your work. If you submit material for which you do not own copyright, you certify that you have obtained permission from the copyright owner make your materials available online.

You are giving the university permission to make your work available to all users and to migrate it to accessible formats as necessary. Requests for use of your work for purposes other than education will be referred back to you as copyright holder.

Authors who wish to share their work for specific purposes while retaining their copyrights may do so by using an appropriate Creative Commons License.

For more information about author rights and sharing your research with other scholars, please see the Library's web pages on scholarly communication and copyright.