Copyright: Copyright and PGR Theses

Submitting Open Access copy of your Thesis

Doctoral Students must deposit an electronic copy of their thesis in the University of Warwick's institutional repository, WRAP. This has been a requirement since 2009, when the Board of Graduate Studies introduced the condition that students deposit both a hard copy and an electronic copy of their thesis.

To avoid doubt, the requirement to deposit an electronic thesis in WRAP applies irrespective of when the degree commenced.

These pages contain information for Doctoral students about the requirements to deposit their theses and advice on managing this process. They also contain information for potential researchers and readers of theses. Information about submitting hardbound copies can be found on the Doctoral College’s website.

Any alumni wishing to have their thesis digitised and made open access are requested to contact the library at library@warwick.ac.uk to discuss their options.

Benefits of WRAP submission

• Wider visibility for your research through high search engine ranking and harvest by external services, including the British Library's Electronic Theses Online Service (EThOS) service.
• Extends the global reach of your research and encourages better use of your thesis by others and helps to get your work noticed, used and cited. Theses available physically take 150 years to be viewed three times on average, whereas electronic theses can be viewed thousands of times a month.
• Easy worldwide access for colleagues, collaborators, job applications and grant proposals.
• Helps meet your funder's expectations for open access, as detailed in the UKRI Training Grant terms and conditions and new UKRI open access policy.
• Speeds the progress of research.
• Plagiarism protection.
• Permanent guaranteed hosting with a unique URL.

Copyright Ownership and Responsibilities

As the author of your thesis, you typically retain ownership of the copyright in your work. Copyright protection is automatic upon the creation of your thesis, and there is no need to register it formally. However, it is advisable to include a clear copyright notice, such as "Copyright © [Year] [Your Name]," on your thesis. This ensures that your rights are explicitly stated.

Ownership Rules Exceptions:

• Sponsored Research: If your research was sponsored by a third party, the sponsor might hold rights to any intellectual property developed during your research. It is crucial to review the terms of your sponsorship agreement.
• Collaborative Work: If you collaborated with others in a way that leads to joint intellectual property, the ownership might be shared, or you might need to assign rights to the University or make the results publicly available. Your department should inform you of such arrangements before starting your research.

When Preparing to Deposit your Thesis

In advance of your thesis submission we would advise you do the following, guidance on each of these areas can be found in the following pages of this course:

• Familiarise yourself with the requirements for the presentation of your thesis for examination.
• Consider any third-party claims on the Intellectual Property (IP) and copyright of your thesis and obtain permission if necessary.
• Consider whether your thesis contains sensitive information and obtain permission if necessary.
• Considering your options for arranging storage of, and access to research data.
• Consider and discuss the appropriate access level for your thesis with your supervisor. You must complete the Library Declaration and Deposit Form and submit it along with your thesis. Remember that if you choose a restricted access level or embargo, this form will require the approval of the Academic Director of the Doctoral College.
• Consider what to do with the research data you generated during your PhD. Any data that supports your thesis, but won't be supplied to the examiners and examined as a part of your thesis can be deposited separately from your thesis and the two records can be linked in WRAP. Alternatively, if you have additional materials that are integral to the thesis and will be examined as part of your thesis, you will need to secure permission to include these with your thesis submission. Remember that if you are depositing additional materials to the examiners, they must be uploaded with your thesis and will form part of the thesis record. This may affect which access level is suitable for your thesis. Students can consult the 'Policy on the inclusion of additional materials with a thesis' before making an application to include additional materials.