Deadlines and Review Process

The Review Process

All graduate theses, projects and dissertations must be submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies for format review; content is determined by the faculty committee chair. Theses, projects and dissertations are published on CSUSB ScholarWorks, the university's electronic repository. 

The manuscript submission process is described below. Formatting guidelines are found on the Formatting page.

1. Consultations 

We encourage you to meet with a thesis reviewer for formatting assistance before submitting your manuscript on ScholarWorks. (Meetings are not required.) Meetings are available in-person or via Zoom.

Click on the button below to schedule an appointment with our thesis reviewer. Keep in mind that formatting consultations do not constitute a full review of the manuscript and reviewers may not be able to catch all errors. You may make up to two appointments; additional appointments will be scheduled if time permits. Appointments will be limited to 30-minute sessions and are not available after the consultation deadline. 

Make an Appointment

2. Submission Process

Your initial submission includes three steps:

• Pay the $30 Digital Archiving Fee. The fee can be paid online through your MyCoyote Student Center; email the receipt to Graduate Studies at gradstud.csusb.edu. (Instructions for paying the Digital Archiving Fee.
• Turn in your signed Committee Certification Form. This process is now digital; the student initiates the process, and the committee chair and graduate coordinator sign the document through Adobe Sign; it will then automatically be routed to Graduate Studies and all parties will receive a copy via email.  (We will continue to accept forms that have been scanned and signed. Email them to gradstud@csusb.edu)
• Submit your manuscript on CSUSB ScholarWorks.  (See the Library Guide for instructions on how to submit to ScholarWorks.) 

Manuscripts will not be reviewed until all three steps are completed. The steps can be completed in any order. 

Once we receive all of your materials your manuscript will be checked for plagiarism via Turnitin.com and reviewed for formatting. Watch for an email from Scholarworks notifying you of the status of your submission; most students are asked to make some formatting corrections. After you make the corrections, upload your corrected manuscript via your ScholarWorks account. (Do not make a new account. See Instructions for resubmission. )  When all corrections are made, you will be published on ScholarWorks.    

Manuscripts must be complete before they are submitted. If you are required to defend your thesis, project, or dissertation, please complete your defense and make any required content changes before submitting it to Graduate Studies.

3. Publication Deadline

All manuscripts must be approved for posting on ScholarWorks by the publication deadline.  Do not wait until the publication deadline to make corrections – reviews take several days. Manuscripts typically go through two reviews before they are accepted for publication. Allow at least three days for each review. You will be notified via email when your manuscript is accepted; please forward the notification on to your program coordinator or committee chair so that they may award your grade for your thesis, project, or dissertation.  

Students whose manuscripts are not accepted for publication by the deadline, as well as those whose manuscripts are rejected, must postpone their graduation and resubmit next semester.

Publishing Options

CSUSB ScholarWorks offers two options for access to your work: open access and restricted access.

1. Open Access: Your document can be accessed by anyone via the internet.
2. Restricted Access: Only current CSUSB students, staff and faculty can access your manuscript.

You will choose the type of access you prefer when you first submit your manuscript through ScholarWorks.

Please contact Graduate Studies if you have any questions about the process. Please see our Workshops page for upcoming formatting and submission process workshops.