Williams College Thesis Submission

Turning in the department copy
A first semester thesis must be in the hands of the department in acceptable form by 5pm on the final day of the Winter Study period. A second semester thesis or year-long thesis must be in the hands of the department in acceptable form for final grading not later than one week preceding the first day of the final exam period. (Please note that individual departments may have stricter deadlines than those listed above.)

Releases
At the time a student turns in the department copy, s/he and the thesis advisor should complete and sign a release form. This form specifies the administration of literary property rights (copyright), access, and reproduction of the thesis. (Please contact the Archives' staff if you would like more information regarding the release.) A copy of this form, printed on acidfree paper and signed by both the student author and his/her advisor, should be submitted with the archival copy of the thesis to Sawyer's Acquisitions/Serials Department.

Turning in the archival copy
The permanent archival copy of the thesis is accepted in Sawyer Library's Acquisitions/Serials Department. Their office is open Monday through Friday, 8am - 4pm, tel: x2506, x2512. The archival copy of a first semester thesis is due in Acquisitions/Serials by 4pm on the day before spring recess. The archival copy of a second semester or year-long thesis must be turned in to Acquisitions/Serials by 4pm on the last day of final exams. In 2010, this will be Monday, May 24. (Please note that the Acquisitions/Serials Department will not be open over the weekends; they will be open until 5:30 on Friday May 21st and until 5:00 Monday May 24th to receive theses.)

Turning in the electronic copy
When you turn in the archival hardcopy of your thesis, send an electronic copy of your work as an email attachment to theses@williams.edu. Computers will be available in Sawyer's Acquisitions Department for this purpose. (You must send the electronic copy from a Williams email address.) The content of the electronic file/s must be idential to that of your hardcopy thesis. We are requesting original Word files; do not send pdfs. If the file is in a format other than Word, please contact Walter Komorowski, Head of Library Systems (tel: x2084).

Science and Psychology theses
In addition to providing an acidfree copy for the college's archives, thesis students in the sciences and Psychology are required to print out a second copy of their work so that the Schow Science Library may have a bound copy for their collections. This copy, which may be produced on regular (non-acidfree) paper, should be turned in to Sawyer Library's Acquisitions/Serials Department along with the archival copy. Please include a photocopy of the release form with this copy.  (Please note that this policy does not apply to authors of theses in Environmental Studies.)

Theatre theses
Due to the performance nature of many honors projects in the Theatre Department, documentation of this work usually does not fit neatly into the guidelines for a 'traditional' written thesis. Here are suggestions for elements that Theatre honors students may submit to help document their projects.

Personal copies
Extra copies of a thesis, to be bound for the student's personal use, may be turned in to Sawyer Library's Acquisitions/Serials Department with the archival copy. Students must pre-pay for binding of personal copies with cash or personal check. Credit cards and cash cards cannot be accepted. Costs are currently running approximately $9.00 per thesis plus shipping charges.

Questions -- If you have questions concerning thesis submission deadlines, please contact your thesis advisor or the Dean's Office. Questions regarding the physical preparation of your thesis can be directed to Sylvia Kennick Brown, College Archivist
(tel: x2596).

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