See the Yale Bulletin Graduate School Policies and Regulations dissertations section.
Dissertations must be submitted to the Graduate School by the respective deadlines in the academic calendar to be considered for December or May degrees.
Students should contact their departments at least two weeks before they intend to physically submit their dissertation manuscripts to the Dissertation Submission Office (HGS, Room 140). This two week period will provide the departments with sufficient time for the Director of Graduate Studies (DGS) to approve a group of dissertation readers.
The process for assigning readers is determined by the department, which is responsible for confirming the qualifications, contact information, and willingness of all readers before notifying the Graduate School of these appointments.
The Dissertation Submission Office will distribute the hard copy versions of the dissertation as soon as they are submitted to the Dissertation Submission Office. The dissertation will be sent to the reader’s mailing address as supplied by the department. Each reader will receive a special email notification that the dissertation has been submitted and a link to access the web-based Online Reader’s Report (ORR).
Readers are expected to submit their reports within 30 days of receipt of the email from the Dissertation Submission Office.
Each department controls the distribution of completed reader’s reports to their students directly. Inquire directly with your department for further information.
Should a reader indicate that a dissertation contains significant errors in typing, grammar, spelling, reference citations, or other textual matters, the student will be required to revise the dissertation by a date provided by the registrar. Corrected pages or a new unbound copy of the dissertation must be submitted to the Graduate School, as well as a letter from the Director of Graduate Studies (DGS) indicating that the student has addressed the readers’ concerns, before the dissertation can be recommended for a degree. In the event that a dissertation is evaluated as failing, departmental practice determines the number of reevaluations normally permitted.