ETD Embargo Restriction Policy & Procedures

ETD Embargo Restriction Request form

Please email the completed form to manuscripts1@unm.edu. Submitting the form from your UNM email address will serve as your signature on the document.

Please upload the ETD Embargo Restriction Request form when submitting all of your manuscript forms in the Manuscript Form Submission Portal.

For questions, you may contact Manuscript Coordinators at manuscriptcoordinators1@unm.edu.

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, you may find it appropriate to request an embargo to delay the release of your electronically submitted thesis or dissertation (ETD) into open access. An embargo is a period of time during which researchers cannot access your ETD from external search engines. 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.

Embargos may be appropriate for authors

• Who are seeking patents,
• Who want to publish their work through a traditional press that considers open access publication to be equivalent to prior publication,
• Who have published material from their work with a publisher that does not allow open access release for a certain period of time, or
• Who need to protect sensitive data or information.

You should consult with your dissertation chair about the standards in your field before deciding whether or not to request an embargo. Be sure to consider the advantages of open access availability of your work before making a final decision. The Graduate Studies Manuscript Coordinators may be able to advise you as well.

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 manuscript associated with the dissertation or thesis will be embargoed. Please note that the title, author, and abstract is viewable to

the public during the embargo period. Only when the embargo time has expired, dissertation or thesis will be released to global open access.

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 and a receipt for the $40 Embargo Restriction Fee (paid to the Cashier’s Office in the UNM Business Center) when you submit all of your manuscript forms in the Manuscript Form Submission Portal.

Manuscript Coordinators will notify students when the embargo restriction request has been reviewed by the Dean of Graduate Studies.

In addition to submission to all manuscript forms, please note the electronic manuscript submission procedures to the UNM Digital Repository and ProQuest (for PhD only). Graduate Studies will monitor the embargo period and release the thesis or dissertation to open access upon expiration.

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