Answered By: Monique Ritchie
Last Updated: 01 Jun, 2023     Views: 663

Under University regulations, you are required to deposit your thesis in BURA, the University's open access research archive following your Viva examination and after making corrections. However, if a period of confidentiality is required, it may be possible to request an embargo. These are granted for limited reasons, Embargoes are for a maximum period of up to 3 years, depending on the reason. As open access to research is a University and national requirement, an embargo will normally only be granted for a limited period, and in certain circumstances, for example, if it contains security sensitive material, which can't be redacted.

To apply for an embargo, you should complete the relevant section of the Thesis Deposit Licence form, indicating the reason for the embargo and the duration.

If you are doing so when you first deposit your thesis in the Library, your doctoral supervisor will review the request and countersign it where they are satisfied the embargo is justified. The completed form should then be submitted with an electronic copy of your thesis.

If you need to renew an embargo, you will need to complete a new Thesis Deposit Licence form well before it expires, again supplying the reason for the embargo, and obtaining approval from your supervisor. If your supervisor is no longer at the University, you should seek approval from the second supervisor or Vice-Dean of Research for your College.

Embargoed theses should be deposited in the Library in the usual way. The Library will store it securely until the embargo period expires. Metadata relating to your thesis (author, title, date, abstract) will appear on BURA, but the full text thesis itself will remain inaccessible until the embargo expires. 

A link to the Thesis Deposit Licence form can be found on our Submitting your thesis web page below.