McKelvey School of Engineering Theses & Dissertations

NOTE: Effective for Fall 2025 (December 2025 graduates), a new policy for dissertation embargoes is in effect. WashU doctoral students may request to embargo the public release of their dissertation for 6 months, one year, or two years. An embargo can only be requested pre-graduation and the initial request must be submitted through ProQuest at the time of dissertation submission. Renewals after the initial embargo will be granted by the Vice Provost for Graduate Education in rare cases.

• An embargo renewal request must be submitted in writing at least 30 days before the expiration of the original embargo. The request form will be made available online.
• Only one renewal request can be submitted.
• Renewal requests require written approval from either the graduate’s dissertation committee chair or the current chair of the department that issued the degree before being referred to the Vice Provost for Graduate Education.
• When an embargo expires the dissertation will be automatically released--graduates will not receive advance notice before an embargo ends.

Refer to the complete WashU Dissertation Availability Policy for details, and consult with your department or school if you have additional questions.