SUNY Open Access Repository (SOAR)

When submitting your PDF to the Office of the College of Graduate Studies, that PDF file must meet certain formatting standards in order to

• produce a high-quality bound, physical copy, and
• ensure that the digital copy in SOAR is aligned with accessibility standards

Requirements:

• The file must be saved in 8.5” width x 11” height.
• Convert your file from Word to PDF in a way that will preserve headings, tagging, and document properties.
  • It is especially important for Mac users to be cautious with this step and not use the embedded PDF Creation tool. Instead, use the option to Save As PDF or XPS option. The other tools in Apple/Mac will cause problems in the acceptance of your file for both printing and acceptance to the Repository.
• Accessibility elements:
  • Title the document
  • Set the document language to English.
  • Use headings and structural tags.
  • Create alt text for images and figures.
  • Format clear tables with headers.
  • Use bullet or number formatting for lists.
  • Use colors with an adequate contrast to their background.

The Thesis and Dissertation deposit form should be used to submit theses and dissertations. In addition to the file to be uploaded, the following fields are required:

• Author name
• Title of the work
• Advisor name
• Type of work (dissertation or thesis)
• Institution (Upstate Medical University)

We advise adding the following information makes the work more discoverable:

• Abstract
• Keywords

A work may be embargoed (please consult with your advisor if you are unsure on whether to set an embargo) and a Creative Commons copyright license chosen.  If none is selected, an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs (CC BY-NC-ND) license will be applied by default; this is the most prohibitive license that does not allow derivatives or commercial use of works. 

The final step is to upload the thesis or dissertation in PDF format.