HKU Policy

 

Theses Submission Policy

Research Postgraduates (RPg): In the Fall of 2000, the Policy Board of Postgraduate Education (Policy Board) reviewed recommendations made by the HKU Academic Council for Information Technology (ACITE) on theses submission.  In November 2000, the Senate considered and approved this recommendation.  Subsequent to this decision, RPg students entering MPhil and PhD programmes on or after 1 January 2001 are required to submit an electronic copy (ETD) of their theses along with the print copy.  For more information, please refer to "Regulations Governing the Format, Binding and Presentation of Theses for Higher Degrees by Research".

Taught Postgraduates (TPg): In 2000 and 2001, the Libraries canvassed all HKU faculties on the benefits of ETD creation especially in regard to online discovery and research visibility.  In the year 2002, TPg programmes began to adopt this ETD requirement.  Since 2013 the Libraries only accession TPg ETDs and no longer accession print TPg theses.  TPg students should check with their Faculty Office on the requirement for ETD submission.

 

Restricted Access

Authors of theses may request the proper authority to grant them permission to block access to their theses, print and electronic, for up to five years for Research Postgraduates and Taught Postgraduates.  Students should apply for this restriction when filling out the theses submission form. Applications for access restrictions to theses are considered by the respective Faculty Board.

If the Libraries receives a thesis submission form requesting restricted access, and has been duly informed by the Faculty Board on the approval of access restrictions, the Libraries will 1) create a bibliographic record in the catalogue but suppress it for up to the approved period, and 2) mount the e-thesis but block access to it for up to the approved period.