Request embargo with Dean's approval
The Board of Doctoral Graduations has stipulated that as from 1 September 2015 all dissertations should be freely available to the public, unless the graduate has obtained prior approval from the dean of his/her department to deviate from this rule.
Valid reasons for imposing a temporary embargo are:
- Chapters from your dissertation are still to be published separately as journal articles
- A patent is to be applied for based on research results described in your dissertation
- Your dissertation is to be published as a commercial edition
The 'Approval from Dean for Dissertation Embargo' form must be completed and signed by the dean in consultation with the doctoral graduate. This approval form is on page 2 of standard form 'Statement of Addition of Dissertation to Library Collection and to TU/e Repository'.
Both signed pages of the form may be supplied via IEC.Digitaal@tue.nl, when you also supply the pdf of your dissertation, at least six weeks ahead of the graduation.
Download form ‘Approval from Dean for Dissertation Embargo’ (page 2)
Embargo for digital version of a commercial edition
The hard-copy version of a dissertation published as a commercial edition is added to the library's collection as standard procedure. Recent dissertations are placed in the library for review. Open access to the digital versions of all dissertations is offered via the TU/e Repository.
If your dissertation is published as a commercial edition, contractual conditions you agreed with your publisher may not permit (immediate) open access. Therefore, if your dissertation is to be published as a commercial edition, always contact the Information Expertise Center via IEC.digitaal@tue.nl. Always include the contract you signed with your publisher in your mail.
Specialists at the IEC can then assist you to consider options to offer your dissertation in digital form.
Highly exceptional cases: embargo with approval from Rector
In highly exceptional cases a doctoral graduate may wish to place an embargo on his/her dissertation for other reasons than those listed above. Substantive arguments must then be put forward to the Rector to obtain his/her approval.
Confidential information in appendix to dissertation
If a dissertation contains confidential information this is in itself not a valid ground to impose an embargo. According to doctoral graduation regulations dissertations may contain confidential information included in an appendix. The appendix does not have to be made publicly available, the dissertation itself does.
"Confidential corporate information may be included in a confidential appendix to the dissertation. The appendix does not form part of the formal dissertation. It is not subject to the considerations by the graduation committee and therefore neither to the assessment of the quality of the dissertation.”
- More about doctoral graduation regulations