Important Deadlines
| Fall 2026 | Deadlines |
|---|---|
| Submission Deadline | November 20, 2026 by 4pm |
| Publication Deadline | December 18, 2026 by 4pm |
| Spring 2027 | Deadlines |
|---|---|
| Submission Deadline | April 30, 2027 by 4pm |
| Publication Deadline | May 21, 2027 by 4pm |
| Summer 2027 | Deadlines |
|---|---|
| Submission Deadline | July 23, 2027 by 4pm |
| Publication Deadline | August 11, 2027 by 4pm |
Submission deadline: Your final, committee-approved thesis must be uploaded to Digital Commons by this date to begin Graduate Education’s formatting review.
Publication deadline: All required formatting revisions must be completed and your thesis officially published by this date to complete your thesis requirements for the degree.
Submit early when possible! The submission deadline is the latest date to enter the formatting review process. Submitting earlier gives you more time to complete any required revisions.
Master’s Thesis Formatting Guidelines
The Master’s Thesis Formatting Guidelines outline the university-wide requirements for formatting your thesis. Review the guidelines early in the writing process and refer to them throughout the development of your thesis to help avoid formatting issues later. The guidelines address requirements for preliminary pages, the main text, tables and figures, references, appendices, and other elements of the thesis.
Master’s Thesis Template
We recommend using the Master’s Thesis Template as a starting point for formatting your thesis. For best results, download the template to your computer and open it in the desktop version of Microsoft Word, as formatting may display differently in Word for the web or SharePoint. Refer to the Master’s Thesis Formatting Guidelines for complete formatting requirements.
Thesis Editing Appointments
Schedule a one-on-one appointment with a thesis editor via our Calendly Link for help with thesis formatting. Appointments are available virtually or in person at the Graduate Education office.
Your thesis does not need to be complete to schedule an appointment. In fact, we encourage you to meet with an editor early so we can help identify formatting issues before your final submission.
Appointments become more limited as thesis deadlines approach due to increased thesis review volume, so we recommend scheduling early.
Master’s Thesis Submission Process
Final approval of your thesis involves committee approval of the content and Graduate Education approval for the formatting. If your Master’s program requires a thesis, your degree requirements are not complete until your thesis has been approved by Graduate Education and officially published.
Your final, committee-approved thesis must be uploaded to Digital Commons by the thesis submission deadline. Graduate Education will review your thesis for compliance with the Master’s Thesis Formatting Guidelines and send you any required formatting revisions.
The period between the submission and publication deadlines is an active review and revision period. Please plan to remain available and responsive during this time, as your thesis may require multiple rounds of revisions.
All required revisions must be completed and your thesis officially published by the final publication deadline. If your thesis is not published by this deadline, completion of your thesis requirement and degree will be delayed to the following term.
Step by Step Submission Process
Beginning November 1, 2008, students submitting Master’s theses are required to submit their work in electronic format to Cal Poly’s DigitalCommons. Please contact the Graduate Education Office at (805) 756-2328 for information on the submission and review of theses. All of the electronic theses will be made publicly available on the DigitalCommons @ CalPoly.
Download the Electronic Thesis Style and Format Guide
All theses must be in compliance with the Master’s Thesis Formatting Guidelines set forth by the Graduate Education Office.
Initiate: Master’s Culminating Experience Approval (E-Form)
- Once initiated an Adobe form will be sent to the student email provided, complete the Adobe form.
- After your defense, the form will route to your thesis committee for approval signatures signatures. Consult with your thesis committee about what option of electronic access you would like to select for your thesis.
- If you and your committee agree to place a restriction on your thesis for patent or security reasons, you must indicate this restriction on your Master’s Culminating Experience Approval.
- If you opt to restrict access, your thesis will not be viewable or accessible for a period of one year or three years.
- After the one-year or three-year restriction expires, your thesis will be made publicly available by the Graduate Education Office. The library will provide access to the documents by creating a bibliographic record in the library catalog. A link to the document will be available through the library’s online card catalog.
Pay the $56 Digital Archiving (Master’s Thesis) fee online through My Cal Poly Portal.
- Login to My Cal Poly Portal.
- Select the Money Matters tab
- Select the Make a Payment Now button
- Once redirected to Student Accounts Transact page, scroll down and select “View all” next to “Available items”
- Select the “Senior Project & Master Thesis Fees”
- Pay the $56 Digital Archiving (Master’s Thesis) fee and email a copy of your receipt to thesis@calpoly.edu
Please note that your Master’s Culminating Experience Approval Form (E-Form) will not be processed until our office receives your receipt.
Upload electronic Master’s thesis to the DigitalCommons @ CalPoly (Formatting Review Requirement)
Submit your electronic thesis to DigitalCommons@CalPoly, a digital archive for the University.
Download student instructions on how to upload (PDF).
Once your thesis has been uploaded to Digital Commons and your completed Master’s Culminating Experience Approval has been submitted to the Graduate Education Office, the thesis editor will check your document for formatting and style according to the standards set forth in the Master’s Thesis Formatting Guidelines. If corrections are needed, you will receive a memo by email from the thesis editor detailing what needs to be done. Once you make all your necessary formatting corrections, the Office of Graduate Education will upload you FINAL revised document to Digital Commons.
All thesis content edits must be completed before your document is uploaded to Digital Commons; content edits cannot be made once the thesis editor has begun reviewing your document for formatting and style. Your thesis is not considered complete until all content edits have been addressed. This final version is due by the publication deadline listed above.
Document is made public on the DigitalCommons@CalPoly site
After the thesis editor approves your document, the Graduate Education Office will “post” your thesis to DigitalCommons, making it publicly accessible to anyone on the web. You will receive an automatically generated congratulatory email to let you know your thesis has been published. The library will create a bibliographic record in the library catalog. Paper versions will not be collected by the library.
Once the Graduate Education Office has signed your form, if you would like to check on the status of your degree, we recommend contacting the Office of Evaluations at evaluations@calpoly.edu
An optional step is having one or more paper copies of your thesis bound for your own use. You can contact binding vendors, such as HF Group’s online Thesis On Demand binding service directly. The library no longer requires deposit of bound copies.