The Thesis/Dissertation Approval (TDA) form indicates that the student's committee and department approve of the content and format of a student's thesis. There are separate versions of the TDA for master's and doctoral students. This form must be completed and fully signed prior to submission to the Graduate College. The Graduate College cannot begin the formal format review of a student's thesis until the TDA has been recieved in satisfactory condition.

Doctoral TDA Form

The Doctoral TDA form is generated at the time the student's Final Exam is appointed by the Graduate College. This request is made by students through the Graduate College Student Portal. To learn more about the Final Exam appointment process, please review the Submitting Preliminary and Final Exam Appointment Requests page.

Master's TDA Form

The Master's TDA form is generated through the Graduate College Student Portal. We recommend that you submit this request at least one week before you plan to deposit your thesis with the Graduate College. Please note that once your department approves of your master's TDA it takes around 30 minutes for the form to be generated, so it is important to plan ahead.

Instructions for Master's students

1. Login to the Graduate College Student Portal.
2. Select "Master's TDA Form" in the "Forms and Resources" section.
3. Click "Start Master's Thesis Approval Request."
4. In the box that pops up, select "Master's Student Thesis Approval Request Form" in the drop-down list. Then, click the grey button to start your request.
5. Select how many committee members you have. (Note: Many master's students just have one adviser/committee member!)
6. The first individual you enter must be a member of the Graduate Faculty. Please search the Graduate Faculty Database in order to fill in the name on the form. The Graduate College requires at least one Graduate Faculty member review all master's theses.
7. If you have additional committee members, you can enter their names in the following blanks.
8. Click "Submit." Your TDA request will be sent to your department for approval.

Instructions for Departments

1. When a student has submitted their TDA form, you will receive an email notifying you that the form is ready for review. You can access the form through the link provided through the email.
2. When you open the form, you will enter:
   • the 599 starting and ending terms,
   • the departmental decision (approve/reject),
   • the decision date, and
   • additional departmental email notifications (optional).
     Note: The "decision date"  indicates that the student and their committee is listed correctly. It does NOT indicate approval of the thesis.
3. Click "Save."
4. When the paperwork is ready, you will receive an email and you may download the PDF forms from Slate. Please note that it can take up to 30 minutes for the paperwork to be generated.

Signatures

Required signatures for the doctoral TDA form: 

• director of research (adviser)
• all voting committee members who voted to pass the student at the final exam (defense)
• the department head or Director of Graduate Studies

Required signatures for the master's TDA form:

• student's adviser (at least one signature in the adviser approval section or additional approval section must be that of a Graduate Faculty member)
• department head or Director of Graduate Studies

All signatures must be on the same form. Alternatively, departments may attach an email from the committee chair/adviser with all committee members cc'ed that indicates that the thesis is ready for deposit.

The signature from the EO or DGS at the bottom of the of the form must be a copy of the wet signature or a verfied electronic signature (with a time stamp or Adobe audit report included).

Only authorized departmental faculty and staff can submit a scanned copy of the TDA form via the appropriate secured link on the Graduate College website.

Do not use correction fluids or tapes on this form. Do not modify the PDF file.