The AUC Robert W. Woodruff Library, Inc. is organized exclusively to operate an academic library for the benefit of Clark Atlanta University, the Interdenominational Theological Center, Morehouse College, and Spelman College. As such, the Library has the non-exclusive right to archive, reproduce, and distribute master's theses and doctoral dissertations in whole or in part in all formats, reproduce and distribute for scholarly and research purposes only. AUC Woodruff Library gathers, archives and provides worldwide online access to master’s theses and doctoral dissertations to ensure that the scholarly works of graduate students at Clark Atlanta University are preserved and accessible.
To electronically submit theses and dissertations, authors must garner approval from Graduate Education and complete all required forms including the Statement of Understanding, Notice to Users, the appropriate Transmittal Form and all other degree requirements before gaining access to the ETD Submission Tool. Final versions of approved electronic theses and dissertations (ETD) should be uploaded as prescribed by procedures and adhere to copyright as stated in Clark Atlanta University’s Guidelines for Submitting Electronic Theses and Dissertations on the CAU Thesis & Dissertation Website.
While electronic master's theses and doctoral dissertations are freely available for access from the library’s institutional repository (RADAR), authors retain ownership of copyright. Authors wishing to restrict access can contact GraduateEducation@cau.edu to request an embargo. An embargo request indicates that an author does not wish to have their work accessible for a specified period of time.
As of the Fall Semester 2023, the AUC Woodruff Library stopped collecting physical copies of Clark Atlanta University master's theses and doctoral dissertations. Subsequently, the only library held copies of these materials are digital and are made accessible in the Library's Institutional Repository and preserved according to library practices.
For additional information contact: dsd@auctr.edu
Policy History
Revised, 04/17/2023
Approved, AUC Woodruff Library 2020
The CAU Graduate program will only grant an embargo if a student: 1) has a publication deal or 2) has time-sensitive research with a governing agency. If either of these purposes are relevant, the student must provide the publication deal or governing agency that will be willing to provide a letter of support.
If there are further questions, contact: GraduateEducation@cau.edu
In academia, an "embargo" is a restriction placed on a thesis or dissertation that allows only the title, abstract, and citation information to be released to the public, while the full-text of work is kept hidden for a limited period of time. An Embargo typically lasts from one to five years following the publication of a thesis or dissertation via the college or university's Institutional Repository. Since every school has a different set of rules about whether and how theses and dissertations can be embargoed, you are urged to contact the CAU Graduate Center for further information about the process and approval of an embargo request. Most theses and dissertations are not embargoed, and are made publicly available following their formal defense as part of completing a masters or doctoral degree.
The timeline for ETD Submission as well as general information about Theses and Dissertations is available on the CAU Graduate Education website.
Once it is available online, you can self-submit your thesis or dissertation to ProQuest for inclusion in the ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global database, following this guide:
https://about.proquest.com/en/dissertations/
The AUC Woodruff Library does not submit theses or dissertations on behalf of students.
