Affirmation of Public Access

Submission of a thesis or dissertation to the Graduate School is the last step in many academic programs leading to the award of a graduate degree. The manuscript is a scholarly presentation of the results of the graduate student’s research and/or creative work. The University at Buffalo requires that research and scholarly work conducted by graduate students and incorporated into theses and dissertations be made publicly available through the University at Buffalo’s institutional repository (UBIR). The University at Buffalo’s Graduate School hereby affirms the principle that graduate students have a responsibility to share their work with scholars in all disciplines and the general public, and stands by the university’s commitment to ensuring public access to master’s theses and doctoral dissertations. The policy of the University at Buffalo is that graduate students own the copyright to their original works of authorship. The license granted to UB as required by the Public Access of Theses and Dissertations policy is fully consistent with university copyright policy.

Public Access

As one of the requirements for conferral of a degree, a graduate student must submit their thesis or dissertation to UB through the ETD Administrator website. Approximately three months afterward, the manuscript is made available for viewing through ProQuest's dissertations and theses database as well as the UBIR. Requests for delayed public access through either ProQuest or the UBIR must adhere to the Graduate School’s Embargo (Delayed Release) of Thesis and Dissertation policy.

Upon submission of their thesis or dissertation as a requirement for conferral of the degree, the graduate student shall grant a nonexclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, perpetual license to the University at Buffalo/SUNY as set forth in the University at Buffalo Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Reproduction and Public Access Agreement form.

Author Warranties

Upon submitting the thesis or dissertation as a requirement for conferral of a degree, the graduate student shall affirm that the work: (a) is the graduate student’s original work and that they have full power to enter into an agreement; (b) does not infringe copyright, intellectual property rights, or privacy rights of another; (c) contains no material that is libelous, defamatory or other unlawful material; and (d) the graduate student has not made, and will not hereafter make, any contract or commitment contrary to the terms of the agreement with UB or in derogation of the license granted to the university hereunder. The graduate student shall indemnify, defend and hold the university harmless from any losses, claims, damages, awards, penalties or injuries incurred, including reasonable attorney's fees, which arise from any claim by any third party of an alleged infringement of copyright or any other property right arising out of the access and use of the work.