Upon award of a research degree by the ACCE (Academic Council Committee for Examinations), a digital copy of a UCD doctoral or masters thesis by research is automatically deposited in the Research Repository UCD (RRU) and, without an embargo being set, is immediately publicly available to view.
UCD is a signatory to the National Principles for Open Access and all research degree theses completed at the university are expected to be made publicly available as soon as possible following the award of a degree. This allows the University to demonstrate the quality of its research and the rigour of its research degree programmes. Therefore, the default position of the university is to not place an embargo on a research thesis.
However, should the author of their research thesis wish to delay its online dissemination via the RRU for a valid reason including future publication of some or all of the content of the thesis or because the thesis contains confidential or sensitive materials, an application for an embargo may be made to the University Graduate Research Board (GRB). Please note that an embargo on a thesis should be sought prior to submission of the thesis for examination, normally three months in advance of the expected thesis submission date. The application must have the support of the student’s Principal Supervisor and be accompanied by relevant supporting documentation.
To seek an embargo on a research thesis, you apply to the Graduate Research Board (GRB) via this Google Form, prior to the research thesis being submitted for examination, providing supporting documentation that gives evidence that the research thesis contains personal, security or commercially sensitive information or the thesis contains material intended for future publication and the publishers specifically require that the thesis is restricted.
Procedure for Placing an Embargo on a Research Degree Thesis
In order to take into account the amount of time that may elapse between submitting your thesis and thesis examination, the embargo end date typically includes an additional 3 months which is added onto the period of time of your request.
The embargo expiry end date will not automatically change, for example if there are any changes to the originally planned thesis submission date. If you think that you may need to change the expiry date of your embargo, then please email grb@ucd.ie.
Please note that an embargo on a thesis should be sought prior to submission of the thesis for examination, normally three months in advance of the expected thesis submission date.
An embargo will prevent the transfer of your thesis to the Research Repository UCD (RRU). If your degree has been awarded then your thesis may have already been transferred to the UCD RRU and an embargo will not automatically remove it from this archive. If this situation has arisen then please contact grb@ucd.ie.
If an embargo has been approved, the embargo expiry date will be recorded on the University Student Information System and the thesis will not be transferred to the RRU until the approved expiry date.
Once the expiry date is reached the thesis will be made accessible on the RRU.
Please note that a citation to an embargoed thesis will always remain visible on the RRU.
In certain circumstances, an application to extend the initial embargo beyond the period approved will be considered. This request must be submitted by the School of the graduated author, and sent at least one month before the original embargo end date is due to expire. This can be the author’s Principal Supervisor or the relevant Head of the School where the graduated student had been registered. The application must be accompanied by substantive supporting documentation. Evidence must be provided that the research thesis contains personal, security or commercially sensitive information or the thesis contains material intended for future publication and the publishers specifically require that the thesis is restricted.
Procedure for Extending Thesis Embargo
If you are a current student and you think that the end date of your previously granted embargo needs to be changed please contact grb@ucd.ie.
UCD promotes compliance with Irish copyright law as regulated by the Copyright and Related Rights Act, 2000 and the Copyright and Other Intellectual Property Law Provisions Act 2019. However, in accordance with the Thesis Embargo Policy if the owner of the copyrighted material in a research degree thesis in the UCD RRU does not consent to the use of their work, they can seek a takedown of the relevant thesis by submitting a request to UCD Library, who will withdraw the material immediately. Subsequently, the Library will carry out an investigation to ascertain if there has been a breach of copyright and provide a recommendation to the Graduate Research Board (GRB) to uphold the request or otherwise.
Procedure to Request Rapid Takedown of UCD Thesis
Access a repository of the most relevant forms & policies for graduate research students
Information on final examination & thesis submission procedures for research degrees at UCD
A useful summary of guidance and policies on research degree programmes at UCD
View UCD Registry term dates for the academic year
