How to publish an electronic thesis

Please read this instruction text carefully before registering and uploading your thesis at the Munich University Library's repository "Electronic theses".

Twice a year - in the winter and summer term - the University Library offers an information event on the topic of publishing dissertations. You can download the presentation shown at this event here.

1. Requirements
2. Copyright. Cumulative theses
3. Formal specifications (Faculty title page)
4. Permissible electronic file types
5. Declaration of rights
6. Submitting your printed depository copies
7. Registration and upload procedure
8. File name and document properties, technical notes
1. File name and document properties
1. File name
2. Generating document properties in Word
3. Generating document properties in Libre Office
4. Generating document properties in PDF file with Adobe Acrobat
5. Generating document properties in LaTeX
2. Templates
1. Template for Word
2. Templates for LaTeX
3. Generating PDF documents
1. Converting Word documents into PDF format with Adobe Acrobat
2. Generating PDF documents with PDFCreator
3. Converting LaTeX documents into PDF format
4. Security settings in PDF file
9. Blocking note due to a patent application
10. Blocking note due to publishing in a journal
11. Contact

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1. Requirements

The University Library of the LMU Munich (Universitätsbibliothek) offers postgraduates the opportunity to submit their theses in electronic form, provided that the doctorate regulations (Promotionsordnung) applicable to their subject contain an appropriate ruling. Please ask your faculty about the submission of electronic theses and the corresponding requirements.
Please upload your thesis first, then submit all other required documents to Publication Services Theses.

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2. Copyright. Cumulative theses

Before submitting your thesis, please check that you have fulfilled the legal copyright requirements. Have you asked the rights owners of any works you have used or obtained from the internet for permission to use them, or have you identified your sources appropriately? (Please also refer to §51 of the Urheberrechtsgesetz, UrhG - the German copyright law). Do remember to ensure that you have paid any licence fees applicable to the use of maps downloaded from the internet. As the author of your thesis, you are responsible for clarifying the appropriate rights. Many publishers permit secondary publication as a thesis. The following applies to cumulative theses:

• Check your publisher's contract or contact the publishers of the appropriate journal to see if they permit secondary publication. Many publishers provide the relevant legal information on their websites.
• You can also use the SHERPA/RoMEO database to check usage conditions regarding secondary publication. Please note that the information contained in the SHERPA/RoMEO database is not legally binding.
• If legally permissible, please reproduce the articles in full. If the publishers do not permit secondary publication in an institutional repository, it will suffice if you provide details of the source with link, or DOI, if the doctoral regulations for your subject allow this.
• If the publisher allows secondary publication only after a certain embargo period, you can apply for a blocking note due to publication in a journal, provided your doctoral regulations permit this.
• If your articles have been published in an Open Access journal under a Creative Commons Licence you can reproduce and upload them without restriction as part of your thesis.
• Please ensure the pagination of your cumulative thesis is a single consecutive sequence.

By publishing your thesis in the University Library's repository, "Electronic theses", you indemnify the University Library from all claims by third parties arising from the infringement of a copyright or exclusive usage rights.

Act on Copyright and Related Rights (Urheberrechtsgesetz, UrhG)
SHERPA/RoMEO database

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3. Formal specifications (Faculty title page)

The title page of your faculty must be included in all theses. You received it along with all the other relevant documents from your faculty.

It contains the following data:

• your faculty and doctoral degree you hope to attain, e.g. Dr. med., Dr. rer. nat.
• the complete title of your thesis
• your complete name
• names of both your referees of the written thesis
• date of the oral examination
• some faculties also require the date of submission and/or your place of birth

Referees as well as the dates of submission and oral examination are not needed in postdoctoral theses (Habilitationsschriften).

Examples of title pages for all faculties (in German)

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4. Permissible electronic file types

At present, you can only upload your thesis to the repository as a PDF document. The complete thesis must be contained in one single PDF file.

Please upload your thesis and wait until you receive a confirmation by email that the upload is correct (next working day at the latest). Only then should you print your thesis and submit it with the necessary documents to the Publication Services Theses.

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5. Declaration of rights

In order to publish your thesis in the repository of the University Library of the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich, legally binding permission is required. You must therefore confirm that

• the version of the thesis submitted is the accepted version of your thesis
• the printed and electronic versions are identical
• no rights of third parties are infringed

You grant the University Library

• the right to make your thesis publicly available through the University Library's repository, to store it, and to reproduce the work for the purpose of including it in other electronic databases.
• a non-exclusive licence that may be transferred to a third party. This does not affect your rights under copyright law.

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6. Submitting your printed depositary copies

After uploading your electronic thesis to the repository (see paragraph 7) you submit the following at Publication Services Theses:

• 2 to 6 depositary copies (according to the doctorate regulations of your faculty). Your thesis must be printed on wood- and acid-free, long-lasting paper. The copies must have a durable and long-lasting binding. Ring or spiral binding is not allowed.

You can submit your copies either personally, by a third person, or by postal mail.
If you send your thesis from a non EU country please ask for customs regulations in advance. Parcels held at German customs will be returned to the sender!

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7. Registration and upload procedure

You must register before you can upload your thesis to the repository.

• Click "Create account".
• Enter your e-mail address, a chosen password, and a user name.
• An activation code valid for one week will be sent to your email address. Please ensure you access the link provided in the email within this time.

After registration, you can log in with your username and password by clicking on the menu item "Login".

• Upload the PDF file of your thesis.
• Enter the metadata. Abscract and keywords are not mandatory.
• Click on your faculty.

Publication Services Theses will check your thesis for structural accuracy and inform you of this via email. Your electronic thesis will be published online after Publication Services Theses receives your complete documents, including the printed depository copies.

Please note: After uploading and submitting your thesis to the repository, it will not be possible to make any further changes to your thesis.

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8. File name and document properties, technical notes

8.1. File name and document properties

If the file name is wrong or if you don't fill in the document properties correctly, Publication Services Theses cannot accept your thesis.

8.1.1. File name

Name your file like this: Surname_Firstname.pdf. For example:

Schulz_Franziska.pdf
Meyer_Hans-Peter.pdf (if the first name is "Hans-Peter")
Meyer_Hans_Peter.pdf (if the first name is "Hans Peter")
Schmidt_Amelie_von.pdf

If your first name or surname contains characters like ä, ö, ü, and ß please resolve these as: ae, oe, ue, and ss etc.

8.1.2. Generating document properties in Word

If you are converting a PDF file directly from your Word program, please click on the "File" tab before conversion and enter the following in your Word file:

• in the right window under "Properties" > "Title": Title of your university publication
• in the right window under "Properties" > "Author": Your name in the form "First name Last name"
• Select "Options" in the left navigation > "Language" > "Select editing languages" > Set the main language of the dissertation as the default. If this language is not listed, select the language from the "Add further editing languages" list and then define this language as the default language.

Windows transfers these values to the PDF file, but the language setting is not visible in Acrobat Reader. On a computer with macOS, the language setting is not transferred to the PDF file at all. In this case, the language will be set by the Dissertations Publication Services.

Create the PDF file via "File" > "Export" -> "Export as PDF" (activate the option PDF/A here) or via "File" > "Save as Adobe pdf" (activate the option PDF/A here). Do not create the PDF file via "Print" as the document properties will not be transferred.

8.1.3. Generating document properties in Libre Office

• Export the title of your dissertation: "File" > "Properties" > "Description" > Title: Title of your dissertation
• Export the author's name: "Tools" > "Options" > "LibreOffice" > "User data": your name in the form "First name Last name" > then click on "Assign" and "OK"
• Export the language: "Tools" > "Options" > "Language settings" > "Languages" > "Default languages of documents" > after selecting the language, click on "Assign" and "OK"

Create the PDF file via "File" > "Export as" -> "Export as PDF" (activate the option PDF/A here) > Export

On a computer with macOS, the language setting is probably not transferred to the PDF file. In this case the language is set by the Publication Services Theses.

8.1.4. Generating document properties in PDF file with Adobe Acrobat Pro

After converting your university text to a PDF file, open it in "Adobe Acrobat Pro".

Click on "File" > "Document Properties"

• "Description" tab > Title field: Title of your university publication
• "Description" tab > Author field: Your name in the form "First name Last name"
• "Advanced" tab > Select language

8.1.5. Generating document properties in LaTeX

The PDF document properties, which are analyzed by the full text search, can be generated under LaTeX with the hyperref package. Insert the following commands in the document header of your LaTeX document:

\usepackage{hyperref}
\hypersetup {
pdfpagemode = {UseNone},
pdftitle = {Titel Ihrer Hochschulschrift},
pdfauthor = {Vorname Nachname},
pdflang = {de-DE}
}

Codes of common languages:

German:	de-DE
British Englisch:	en-GB
American Englisch:	en-US
French:	fr-FR
Spanish:	es-ES
Italian:	it-IT

8.2. Templates

8.2.1. Template for Word

If you choose to write your thesis in Microsoft Word, we strongly recommend that you use templates for headlines, text, footnotes, etc. This will help you to structure and format your text.

8.2.2. Templates for LaTeX

You can download templates for LaTeX here. Please use the appropriate template for your faculty or graduate school. If no template is available for your faculty/graduate school, please use the general template.

General LaTeX Template
LaTeX Template for Biology
LaTeX Template for Chemistry
LaTeX Template for the Graduate School of Systemic Neurosciences
LaTeX Template for Medicine
LaTeX Template for Physics
LaTeX Template for Veterinary Medicine

8.3. Generating PDF documents

At present, the only permissible file type for the upload of your thesis to the repository is PDF. The complete thesis must consist of one single PDF file.

8.3.1. Converting Word documents into PDF format with Adobe Acrobat

We recommend Adobe Acrobat. Starting with version 8, it supports the creation of PDF/A compatible PDF files. Don't confuse "Adobe Acrobat" with "Adobe Acrobat Reader", which can only read PDF files, but cannot create them.

• Install "Adobe Acrobat".
• Activate the option "PDF/A-1a:2005-compatible file creation" in the tools menu of your Adobe Acrobat program.
• Choose "Adobe PDF" as printer in your wordprocessing software and click "Print".

A computer with Adobe Acrobat already installed is at your disposal in the computer pool of the University Library.

8.3.2. Generating PDF documents with PDFCreator

If Windows is your operating system, you may install the PDFCreator software at no charge.

• Install PDFCreator.
• You will find a printer of the same name in your wordprocessing software. Please click 'Print'.
• In the following dialogue, please enter the title of your thesis into the field 'Document Title' and your name into the Author field, like this: First name Surname.
• Clicking on 'Save' choose the option PDF/A-1b-files.

8.3.3. Converting LaTeX documents into PDF format

LaTeX (or TeX) usually uses bit-map fonts. Several PDF viewers (e.g., Acrobat Reader) have problems displaying these fonts. They should therefore be avoided, not only for this reason but also because they result in large files. The following alternatives exist:

Using pdflatex (recommended)

The program pdflatex is included in each current LaTeX distribution. It generates PDF files directly.

• Graphics must be in PDF, JPG, or PNG format. On Windows or MAC platforms, existing graphics in Encapsulated Postscript format (EPS) can be converted to PDF using Acrobat Distiller, on Linux platforms, using epstopdf (with Ghostscript version 6.0 or higher).
• For vector diagrams (paintings), please use PDF format.
• An advantage of pdflatex is also the automatic production of links within the document (with the hyperref package of LaTeX).

or

Using dvipdfm (also recommended)

With dvipdfm, the standard LaTex file format DVI is converted into PDF files. Diagrams in EPS, JPG, and PNG formats can be processed directly by using the LaTeX graphics package. Most LaTeX distributions contain dvipdfm.

or

Using modern computer fonts in the Type-1-Postscript-Format

You can download these fonts, if they are not included in your LaTeX distribution, from the Comprehensive TeX of Archives Network (CTAN). With dvips, the options "- Pcmz Pamz" are appropriate. To convert postscript files produced by dvips into PDF files, you can use Acrobat Distiller under Windows or MacOS platforms and/or ps2pdf (with Ghostscript version 6.0 or higher) under Unix/Linux. However, with this method, it is not possible to create hyperlinks in your document.

Comprehensive TeX Archive Network (CTAN)

8.4. Security Settings in a PDF file

Please don't activate any security settings in your PDF file. These settings will not prevent violations of your copyright by other people. The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek in Frankfurt (National Library) cannot process a thesis with activated security settings. Publication Services Theses will therefore not accept it.

9. A Blocking note due to a patent application

If your thesis is associated with a patent application, you can request the University Library to hold back the publication of electronic and printed depositary copies. The doctorate regulations of your faculty must allow the delayed publication of your thesis in the case of a patent application.

In this case, upload the electronic version of your thesis to the repository and submit the following:

• 2 to 6 depositary copies (according to the doctorate regulations of your faculty)
• the official "Form for the issue of a blocking note due to a patent application" filled out and signed by you and your supervisor in duplicate

An extension of the embargo period is possible after prior consultation with Publication Services Theses by e-mail at the earliest 4 weeks before the end of the embargo period, provided that the relevant doctoral regulations allow for a longer embargo period. You will then receive an extension form.

Form for the issue of a blocking note due to a patent application [105 kB, PDF file]
Form for the suspension of a blocking note due to a patent application [106 kB, PDF file]

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10. Blocking note due to publishing in a journal

If you want to publish your thesis in a journal and the journal requires an embargo period, you can request the University Library to hold back the publication of electronic and printed depositary copies. The doctorate regulations of your faculty must allow the delayed publication of your thesis in the case of a publication in a journal.

In this case, upload the electronic version of your thesis to the repository and submit the following:

• 2 to 6 depositary copies (according to the doctorate regulations of your faculty)
• the official "Form for the issue of a blocking note due to publishing in a journal" filled out and signed by you and your supervisor in duplicate

An extension of the blocking period is possible after prior consultation of Publication Services Theses via email 4 weeks at the earliest before expiry, provided that the relevant doctorate regulations allow a longer blocking period. You will then receive the extension form.

Form for the issue of a blocking note due to publishing in a journal [108 kB, PDF file]

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11. Contact

Postal address
(before sending parcels from non-EU-countries please check customs formalities)

Universitätsbibliothek der LMU München
Publikationsdienste Dissertationen
Geschwister-Scholl-Platz 1
80539 München

Address for personal delivery

Universitätsbibliothek der LMU München
Publikationsdienste Dissertationen
Room 1108 (House 1 / First Floor)
Leopoldstraße 13

Opening hours of Publication Services Theses

Monday - Friday: 9:00 - 12:00 (no appointment is neccessary)

If you have questions about the submission of your thesis, please contact

Tel: +49-(0)89-2180-9486 (Claudia Höhn)
E-Mail:

Tel: +49-(0)89-2180-3589 (Anja Soujon)
E-Mail: