Implementing Open Access Dissertation Deposit at the University of Chicago
Location
Online
Start Date
21-10-2025 12:30 PM
End Date
21-10-2025 12:50 PM
Description
As conversations around research accessibility continue to grow, universities play an important role in making scholarship widely available in response to federal mandates for public access to research and global initiatives such as the UNESCO Recommendation on Open Science. In Summer 2024, the University of Chicago Dissertation Office answered that call by requiring all doctoral dissertations be deposited in Knowledge@UChicago, the University of Chicago Library's institutional repository. This transition to making doctoral dissertations open access exemplifies the following principles of the University of Chicago Library: (1) meeting the information needs of the University both as stewards of an outstanding research collection and as leaders in open scholarship and (2) championing openness as the organizational default by opening scholarship for use and impact, facilitating the widest access to collections and spaces, and practicing transparency as an organization.
This presentation will explore the process and steps involved for implementing the Dissertation Office's open access dissertation policy as well as the motivations for opening access to UChicago's doctoral scholarship. Additionally, we will discuss concerns by students and faculty regarding embargo options, copyright considerations, and implications for future publication to offer insight and strategies for addressing potential barriers. We hope that our experience will provide a model for other institutions considering a similar transition to making their dissertations open access.
Implementing Open Access Dissertation Deposit at the University of Chicago
Online
As conversations around research accessibility continue to grow, universities play an important role in making scholarship widely available in response to federal mandates for public access to research and global initiatives such as the UNESCO Recommendation on Open Science. In Summer 2024, the University of Chicago Dissertation Office answered that call by requiring all doctoral dissertations be deposited in Knowledge@UChicago, the University of Chicago Library's institutional repository. This transition to making doctoral dissertations open access exemplifies the following principles of the University of Chicago Library: (1) meeting the information needs of the University both as stewards of an outstanding research collection and as leaders in open scholarship and (2) championing openness as the organizational default by opening scholarship for use and impact, facilitating the widest access to collections and spaces, and practicing transparency as an organization.
This presentation will explore the process and steps involved for implementing the Dissertation Office's open access dissertation policy as well as the motivations for opening access to UChicago's doctoral scholarship. Additionally, we will discuss concerns by students and faculty regarding embargo options, copyright considerations, and implications for future publication to offer insight and strategies for addressing potential barriers. We hope that our experience will provide a model for other institutions considering a similar transition to making their dissertations open access.
