ETD Embargo Restriction Policy/Procedures

ETD Embargo Restriction Request form

Please email the completed form to Rikk Murphy (rikk@unm.edu, 505-277-1206). Submitting the form from your UNM email address will serve as your signature on the document.

Theses and dissertations are submitted to Graduate Studies in an electronic PDF format to the UNM Digital Repository. The university encourages open access to all electronic theses and dissertations (ETDs) that are produced in the course of graduate work at UNM. To facilitate this, ETDs will be made available on a server housed in the UNM Digital Repository, and will be available for search and download through web search engines such as Google. Doctoral dissertations are also sent to ProQuest, where they are made part of their digital dissertation database.

In some cases it is not appropriate for the dissertation or thesis to be immediately accessible in this way. Thus, UNM has implemented an embargo (restriction on availability) policy for the theses and dissertations. The embargo will allow you to restrict public-wide access to the UNM Digital Repository until the embargo expires. While embargoed, the manuscript must be available within the University of New Mexico academic community for satisfying the program degree requirement.

All requests for embargo of ETDs and for extensions of embargos will be reviewed by the Dean of Graduate Studies, with the goal of providing maximum protection of the student’s right to ownership and control of her/his work. When an embargo is granted, the metadata (or the “citation”) associated with the dissertation or thesis will be embargoed. Only when the embargo time has expired, the title, author, and keywords associated with dissertation or thesis will be released to global open access.

Discuss with your committee chair whether or not an embargo is appropriate for you; embargo petitions must be submitted at the same time as you submit the Announcement of Examination form — at least two weeks before your thesis or dissertation defense.

The option for embargo restriction at UNM is for an initial period of two years, which generally provides sufficient time for the clearance of patents or the traditional publishing of your work. In some cases where more time is needed, you may petition for a two year extension of the original embargo. Requests for an extension of the initial embargo should be received three months prior to the expiration date.

To request an embargo, please submit the ETD Embargo Restriction Request form for review by the Dean of Graduate Studies. If approved, you must submit the following:

• Receipt for Embargo Restriction Fee ($40.00) – is required and paid for at the Cashier’s Office in the UNM Business Center.

Lastly, complete the electronic manuscript submission procedures to the UNM Digital Repository. Graduate Studies will monitor the embargo period and release the thesis or dissertation to open access upon expiration.