When you deposit your ETD in D-Scholarship@Pitt, it goes through several steps before it is available to the world. 

Initial Upload and Submission

• When your ETD record is being created the documents included in your deposit are only able to be viewed by you.
• Once you deposit your ETD it enters into a review state.

Review by Student Services Support Staff

• Once you submit your ETD, only the Student Services Support Staff designated by your school will be able to view the files and metadata.
  • Your committee members and advisor will not be able to see the deposit at this stage.
• During this stage, you may be able to make some changes to the details of your submission, but be sure to communicate with the Student Services Support Staff if you identify any major issues, so as not to interrupt their review of that version.
• If there are corrections to be made, as outlined by your Student Services Staff Member, they can return it to you for revisions or make the changes to the details for you. 
• You will receive a message about the revisions needed or that it has been approved for formatting.

Approval and Embargoes

• Once your ETD is approved it will be sent to your listed review committee members for a final approval of whether it met their expectations after your defense.
  • If they find something that requires attention, they will reject that version and you will need to make the required revisions. This will then repeat the previous step until it meets their expectations.
• Once your committee approves the final version, the Student Support Services staff member will be able to deliver your ETD to ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global and D-Scholarship@PItt.
• It will then be available to the world depending on any restrictions you have placed upon it.
  • No Restrictions - The metadata record and PDF are available to download on the approval date.
  • Embargo (1-2 years) - The metadata record is available to the world but the PDF can only be accessed by University of Pittsburgh users with an active Pitt account. (Committee members external to Pitt will not be able to download your PDF unless they have a University of Pittsburgh Sponsored Account.)
  • Patent Pending - The metadata record and the PDF are hidden from search results and any access for 90-days from the Invention Disclosure request data or from the approval of your ETD. (Only the Student Services Support staff member for your school will be able to see your submission.) 

If you have any questions about access to your ETD, please contact ETD Support (https://etd.pitt.edu/help) for more information.