Depositors may deposit files in any format in ORA. It is expected that most files will have been created using current common or recent software applications. Some older, obsolete or more obscure file types may present preservation or dissemination difficulties and depositors should be aware of such limitations.
Due to the current COVID-19 pandemic ORA services are remote working with limited access. Please use the contact us form or email ora@bodleian.ox.ac.uk directly. Phones are currently unmanned with voicemails being accessed intermittently.
The requirement to submit a hardbound copy of your DPhil thesis to the Exam Schools has been temporarily suspended for the remainder of the academic year. However, to graduate at a degree ceremony you will still need to submit an electronic copy to the Oxford University Research Archive (ORA) a minimum of five working days prior to your graduation date. It is anticipated that it will be possible to submit theses with the Exam Schools from October 2021, but this will be subject to confirmation.
Up to date guidance for students and staff can be found on the Covid-19 FAQ page: http://www.ox.ac.uk/news-and-events/coronavirus-advice “
In order to have your degree conferred at a graduation ceremony you must submit one hard-bound copy of the final version of your thesis (including any approved minor corrections) for deposit in the Bodleian Library.
Candidates for the degrees of DPhil, MLitt and MSc by Research are also required to deposit a copy of their thesis with ORA. Deposit of a copy with the archive is optional for candidates for the degrees of DClinPsych, MPhil, Master of Studies in Legal Research (MSt) or Bachelor of Philosophy (BPhil) in Philosophy.
Further details for depositing the hard-bound copy are available at http://www.ox.ac.uk/students/academic/exams/research
In addition to these notes, please see the relavent Examination Regulations Governing Research Degrees.
Two copies of your thesis should be submitted to the research archive. An archive version and a dissemination version.
Archived version: The version of your work that is required for deposit to the research archive in order to comply with the terms of your graduation is a copy that is as close to the examined work as possible, with all images and text in place and no security settings applied for the purpose of preservation – this may be a Word doc, Latex, PDF (depending on how the file has been created) or another source (files can be zipped together to send to the archive as necessary).
The original source file(s) will be kept secure in the dark archive for preservation and will not be made accessible for general use.
Dissemination version: A PDF version of the work should also be added to the archive as the version for dissemination (once any embargo periods have ended). Please try to ensure that the pagination of your e-thesis matches that of the hardbound version of your thesis.
If you are unable to make the full version of your thesis available online we must still receive a full archive version of your thesis, but you can - with dispensation from consultation - provide an edited dissemination version. Please see: Edited/dissemination copy of your thesis
PDFs are a good form for dissemination as they display as the author intended, retain pagination (and therefore correct cross-referencing) and can have security settings enabled.
Software for converting files to PDF is available on many departmental or college workstations, but if you have any problems additional support can be given from by IT Services, Banbury Road.
Additional notes
Oxford University Research Archive (ORA) is an institutional repository for the University of Oxford and is home to the scholarly output of its research members. It holds publications, theses and research data.
Contact us at: ora@bodleian.ox.ac.uk
NOTICE: Due to the current COVID-19 pandemic ORA services are remote working with limited access. Please use the contact us form or email ora@bodleian.ox.ac.uk directly. Phones are currently unmanned with voicemails being accessed intermittently.