Open Access Theses

Until your thesis has is open access, it is an untapped resource of original research. A thesis under embargo cannot be downloaded or read, limiting the impact your research can have.

By making your thesis freely available online, you help to advance scholarship in your field. It also becomes available to other researchers, students, policy makers, and practitioners, who could build on your research in meaningful ways.

For University of Melbourne graduates, your thesis being open access in Minerva Access results in it being discoverable through Google, the National Library of Australia’s Trove database, and other search tools.

When your thesis is open access it stands as an example of your work and expertise, helping to raise your researcher profile.

It can also help to build your impact narrative, spark conversations, and lead to exciting collaborations. Once open, your thesis can also start gathering views, downloads, shares, and citations.

Researchers in low- and middle-income countries often face significant barriers to accessing research. Their institutions may struggle to afford expensive journal descriptions or costly books (Tennant et al., 2016). Making theses open access means more high-quality research is available to researchers in the Global South.

Most major journal publishers now have clear policies relating to theses. Most support the submission of articles derived from theses, including publicly available theses. In doing so, they are following COPE best practice guidelines, treating theses like preprints. Neither should be considered "prior publications" for the purpose of publishing.

In the University’s experience, it is today very rare that an open access thesis is ultimately a barrier to publication.

Consider the following publisher policy examples:

According to their prior publication policy, Elsevier do not consider online theses to be prior publications. Like preprints, they are seen as prior uses of a work suitable for submission. They note, however, that Lancet journals, Cell Press journals, and some society-owned journals may have differing policies.

Likewise, Springer’s journal author FAQ states: “Springer will consider submissions containing material that has previously formed part of a PhD or other academic thesis including those that have been made publicly available according to the requirements of the institution awarding the qualification.” Other Springer Nature imprints have similar policies, affirming that theses are not prior publications. See, for example, BMC, SpringerOpen, Palgrave, and Nature policies.

Sage’s prior publication guidelines follow COPE guidelines and state: “Excerpts or material from your dissertation that have not been through peer review will generally be eligible for publication.”

Taylor & Francis’s Editorial Policies state that the publisher supports “the need for authors to share early versions of their work.” The policy does not mention theses specifically, although they would appear to fulfil T&F's definition of Author’s Original Manuscript. Preprints and other Author's Original Manuscript versions can be shared anywhere, without embargo.

Wiley's Ethics Guidelines confirm that theses available in institutional repositories do not constitute "duplicate or redundant publication." This reflects Wiley's Preprints Policy, which allows the submission of preprints available online. Wiley journals’ author guidelines often confirm that theses do not count as prior publications. For example: “Articles submitted to Journal of Anatomy are done so on the following conditions: that the work described has not been published previously (except in the form of an abstract or as part of a published lecture or academic thesis)” (Journal of Anatomy Author Guidelines).

Academic book publishers differ in their approaches to publishing monographs based on theses. Most, however, are happy to consider book proposals based on theses in institutional repositories. Some publishers have clearly stated that open access theses do not present barriers to publication. Others consider matters on a case-by-case basis.

Palgrave Macmillan, for example, provides the following advice on their Early Career Researcher Hub: “Palgrave Macmillan will consider submissions containing material that has previously formed part of a PhD or other academic thesis including those that have been made publicly available according to the requirements of the institution awarding the qualification. Prospective authors should bear in mind that every PhD thesis will need to undergo rigorous revision in order to be published as a monograph with our press.”

Likewise, Cambridge University Press considers theses and dissertations to be preprints. As noted in their Green Open Access Policy, preprints and theses can be shared at any time in an institutional repository. So if a book is based on a thesis, the policy supports that thesis being open access, including under a Creative Commons licence.

Some other major publishers, such as Routledge, do not have policies of this kind, but consider requirements on a case-by-case basis. Such publishers will usually take into account university open access requirements.

Be aware that some publishers who do not accept monograph submissions based on open-access theses for may ask the author to assign rights that the author does not have, such as requiring the author to assign exclusive rights for all time. Embargoes are only for a limited period, after which the University will exercise its right to make the thesis available. This right cannot be removed by the author and thus cannot be assigned in a publication contract. Some publishers go further, for example requiring that the material has not and never will be used for academic assessment, which means that they cannot consider material such as a thesis that was used in award of a degree.

Creative Commons licences make it clear to authors and readers how a work can be shared and used. University of Melbourne graduates can apply a Creative Commons licence to their thesis in Minerva Access using the following process:

1. Choose a Creative Commons licence that would be suitable for your thesis. See “Selecting a licence for your work” on our Copyright website for guidance.
2. Receive written permission from your thesis supervisor to apply the chosen licence.
3. Email minerva-access@unimelb.edu.au to request your chosen Creative Commons licence be applied to your thesis. Attach your supervisor’s written permission.

Note that if your thesis includes publications, you may be restricted in what licence can be applied. Consult your publishing agreement or your publisher’s website for more information. For further advice, contact the University’s Copyright Office.

The University of Melbourne requires all PhD, Doctorate, and Masters Research candidates to make their final thesis open access in Minerva Access. Only in exceptional circumstances can full embargoes or ongoing access restrictions be applied.

This requirement is established in the Graduate Research Training Policy (MPF1321) and the Intellectual Property Policy (MPF1320). The latter policy reads:

4.19. Student theses must be made openly available to the public through the University’s Institutional Digital Repository, unless otherwise agreed with the University (for example where an embargo has been approved by the University). The University is deemed to have been granted by the Student a non-exclusive, royalty free, world-wide and irrevocable licence to use and reproduce the Student theses for non-commercial educational, teaching and research purposes, including making the thesis available to the public through the University’s Institutional Repository.

Students must retain all necessary rights to enable the University to publish and share the thesis. They must not grant exclusive copyright licence to a thesis to any other person or organisation.

Likewise, our Principles for Open Access to Research Outputs at Melbourne states:

10. Graduate researchers are expected to make their research thesis publicly available via the University’s institutional repository unless otherwise agreed with the University, and to make their thesis available within the University via the repository in all but exceptional cases. Note that the University’s right to publish and share a thesis is irrevocable and cannot be overridden by a private publication agreement.

For information on embargoes and permanent access restrictions, see the FAQ item below and consult the “My thesis in the library” page.

University of Melbourne graduate researchers may request a temporary embargo of their thesis when certain criteria are met. Permanent access restrictions are also possible in exceptional circumstances.

Graduate researchers can request a two-year embargo when submitting their final thesis in the Thesis Examination System (TES). This can be either:

• an external embargo, where access is limited to the University community (including interlibrary loans);
• a full embargo, where all access is restricted to protect sensitive information.

Note that a full embargo is only granted in exceptional circumstances with approval from the Pro Vice-Chancellor (Graduate Research). Supporting documentation and supervisor approval must be provided. As noted above, full embargoes are very rarely necessary when publishing work from your thesis.

The two-year embargo period can be shortened with the support of your supervisor. Requests for shortening embargoes can be sent to the Minerva Access team.

Embargo extensions require approval from the Pro Vice-Chancellor (Graduate Research) and will only be granted in exceptional circumstances. Applications to have embargoes extended for publishing reasons are only granted when extenuating circumstances apply.

Under very exceptional circumstances, such as in relation to personal safety, ongoing access restrictions can be approved by the Pro Vice-Chancellor (Graduate Research). Requests for permanent access restrictions to comply with publisher contracts are never granted.

Further information, including relevant request forms, can be found on the “My thesis in the library” page. Also see the Graduate Research Training Policy (MPF1321) and the Policy's FAQ.

Note that embargoes and access restrictions can also be applied to portions of your thesis. This may be through the redaction of third-party copyright material or the embargo of certain chapters or appendices.

Yes. Any University of Melbourne graduate who opted to embargo their thesis can choose to release it from embargo early. To end an embargo before its original end date:

1. Check to make sure that ending the embargo early would not conflict with any agreements made with third parties (for example, publishers).
2. Receive written permission from your thesis supervisor to shorten the embargo period.
3. Email minerva-access@unimelb.edu.au to request a change to embargo end date. Attach your supervisor’s written permission.

When preparing a thesis with publications, candidates should refer to the following guidelines:

• “Incorporating your published work in your thesis”
• “Submitting my thesis”
• “Preparation of Graduate Research Theses Rules”

If your publication is still in editorial or peer review, you should include the submitted manuscript in your thesis.

Once accepted for publication, you should use the Author Accepted Manuscript (AAM). This is the final manuscript accepted for publication after peer review and revisions.

When your work has been published, you should use the final published version, if possible. Open access publications with Creative Commons licences can always be used. In other cases, publisher policies may allow the use of published versions in theses.

For example, the publisher Sage allows the published version of an article to be included in the author's thesis and made available online. Their Author Archiving and Re-Use Guidelines states: “You may use the Final Published PDF … in your dissertation or thesis, including where the dissertation or thesis will be posted in any electronic Institutional Repository or database.”

If you are unable to use the published version of your work, check publisher policies to determine which version can used. In the absence of policies relating specifically to online theses, candidates should follow policies governing what can be shared in institutional repositories. These policies should be available on journal or publisher websites. They may be referred to as open access policies, sharing policies, or self-archiving policies. Many journal and publisher sharing policies can be found in the Open Policy Finder.

For more information, see the “My thesis in the library” page, along with the advice contained on the Copyright Office’s “Copyright and your thesis” page. The “Declaration for publication incorporated in a thesis” form can be found on the “Submitting my thesis” page.

Some theses contain information that cannot be made public. This may be confidential or private data, or third-party copyright material without permission to reproduce. In these cases, it may be necessary to submit a redacted version of your thesis with third-party copyright content removed. You would then be submitting two copies:

• The original, examined thesis, which will be archived (not available for online public access).
• A redacted “public access” copy, with non-compliant material removed. (Ensure you maintain page number integrity.)

Guidelines on seeking permissions, recording copyright, and redacting copyright material can be found on the “Copyright and your thesis” and the “My thesis in the library” pages. For more information, please consult the Copyright Office.