This guide relates to the process of depositing theses to the Oxford University Research Archive (ORA).
Students should use this guide to check eligibility to deposit, how to deposit and how to comply with examination regulations.
Supervisors can find out which forms their students need to complete and how they can comply with exam regulations.
The University of Oxford is committed to the dissemination of its research, and in support of this commitment provides ORA. The Oxford University Research Archive (ORA) was established in 2007 as a permanent and secure online archive of research materials produced by members of the University of Oxford.
It provides a single point of public access to electronic copies of peer-reviewed journal articles, conference proceedings by Oxford authors and Oxford research theses, created in fulfilment of University of Oxford Awards. This also provides a means for institutional compliance with funders’ Open Access requirements.
ORA is maintained by staff within the Bodleian Digital Libraries System and Services Department (BDLSS) of the Bodleian Libraries. Contact details are available here.
There are a number of benefits to storing your thesis in ORA and making your thesis freely available:
Benefits for authors
Benefits for the University and wider society
Members of the ORA team are happy to come to departments to talk about deposit requirements for post-graduate research students, covering topics such as obtaining third-party copyright permissions and funder responsibilities. If you would like to arrange a session then please contact ora@bodleian.ox.ac.uk.
Your department may already have organised a session to take place within your usual student support programme and we recommend checking with your department to see whether sessions are available.
There are also scheduled sessions run within the Bodleian Libraries, via iSkills. For information on the next Bodleian Libraries iSkills workshop please see the website: Your thesis, copyright and ORA.
Hardbound thesis copy submission to the Bodleian has been suspended since March 2020 due to Covid.
The Research Degrees Panel agreed in Trinity term 2022, following staff and student consultation, that regulations should be revised permanently so that successful D.Phil, M.Sc., and M.Litt. students are required, on the granting of leave to supplicate, only to submit an electronic version of their finalised thesis to the Oxford Research Archive.
ORA (Oxford University Research Archive) is the institutional repository for the University of Oxford and is home to the scholarly output of its research members.
Contact us at: ora@bodleian.ox.ac.uk, or via our contact form.
