Upload your dissertation

Submitting your PhD thesis digitally via Hora Finita

• How far in advance should I upload my PhD thesis?

  • Upload your full PhD thesis six weeks before the date of your PhD ceremony via the PhD student tracking system Hora Finita.
  • Please note: you can only place your PhD thesis in Hora Finita after the title page has been approved by the Office of the Beadle.
  • Upload all requested documents: cover, table of contents, and the English (and sometimes Dutch) summary(s).
  • Please state if there is an embargo on your thesis.

• Can I upload an anonymized version of my PhD thesis?

  Does your PhD thesis contain privacy-sensitive or personally identifiable information? If so, you can upload an anonymised digital version. The University Library will then publish this anonymised version online. 

• What are the options for an embargo on my PhD thesis?

  State in Hora Finita what is applicable to your PhD thesis.

  • No embargo. You own the intellectual property rights and/or the copyright to the full PhD thesis, or you (partly) do not own the intellectual property rights and/or the copyright, but you have full permission from the holder to grant a licence for this material to Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam;
  • Provisional embargo. Your full PhD thesis or some of its chapters will shortly be offered for publication. In anticipation of acceptance a provisional embargo may be placed on the full PhD thesis of no more than 18 months. When this period expires, the embargo may be extended for another 18 months, but you have to give a reason for this. The University Library will assess whether this reason is valid and only in that case will it approve an extension. This will be done in consultation with the director of the Graduate School, the portfolio holder for teaching or the dean (in this order). The embargo will apply to the entire PhD thesis, even if the embargo concerns one or more chapters.
  • Permanent embargo. Only in the event that anonymisation is not possible or in the case of a patent does your PhD thesis qualify for a permanent embargo. You must request permission for this from the director of the Graduate School, the portfolio holder for teaching or the dean, in this order.

• Do I need permission from publishers?

  • Previously published articles. Journal publishers generally have no objection to publishing your dissertation in the VU Research Portal, even if it consists of articles that have already been published. Check the publisher's policy on the SHERPA site well in advance and try to arrange permission where possible. This can often be done via the journal website.
  • Unpublished articles. If you have yet to publish or have submitted one or more articles for publication, we advise you to be cautious placing these articles online before the articles have been officially accepted or published as some publisher object to this and might refuse publication. In some cases it is possible to include a pre-print version. Check the SHERPA site for the publisher's policy or contact the (potential) publisher.

• I am having problems uploading my thesis.

  Contact the faculty's key user.

• When will my thesis be available online in the VU Research Portal?

  • The non-embargoed files are automatically published in the VU Research Portal and in Narcis at least four weeks before the date of your PhD ceremony.
  • We always publish the cover, the title page, the table of contents and the Dutch and English summary at least four weeks before the date of your PhD ceremony.

• Can I change the embargo after uploading?

  Is there something you still want to change? Please contact: informatie.ub@vu.nl

• Can I still change mistakes in the title or name after uploading?

  You will not be able to make any changes yourself after uploading. Please contact informatie.ub@vu.nl to discuss the options.

• Where can I go with other questions about the embargo policy or making my thesis public?

  For other questions please contact informatie.ub@vu.nl