Important Deadlines
Processes initiated through İTÜ ÖBS can be tracked through the system.
The maximum period of study is 12 semesters for doctoral programs and 14 semesters for integrated doctoral programs.
The deadline for thesis submission is the last day of the semester in which the maximum period of study ends. The last day of the semester can be found in the İTÜ Academic Calendar. By this date, the student must have initiated the thesis submission process by submitting the required documents to the Graduate School through İTÜ ÖBS. Subsequent steps extending beyond the end of the semester do not pose a problem; however, it should be kept in mind that these steps also have their own deadlines.
1. Plagiarism Report
The student submits the thesis to the advisor, and the advisor obtains a plagiarism report.
Guide for the plagiarism detection tool (TURNITIN): PDF
- The plagiarism report must be generated from the entire thesis without any omissions, and filters such as <1% must not be applied.
- The “Exclude Bibliography” filter may be applied so that the references section does not increase the report result.
- Thesis advisors who do not have a user account can request one by sending their name, surname, title and İTÜ e-mail address to demirgul@itu.edu.tr.
2. White Cover Submission Application
The student initiates the white cover submission process through İTÜ ÖBS.
For the documents that must be included in the “Thesis and Attachments Sharing Link”, click here.
3. Document and Publication Check
The documents are reviewed by the Doctoral Thesis Submission Unit.
- Approved: After the Graduate School approves the preliminary review, advisor approval is requested. Following advisor approval, the system forwards the application to the Graduate School for the publication check.
- Not approved: The documents are returned for completion.
4. Appointment of the Defense Jury
The student’s advisor initiates the Doctoral Defense Jury Process through İTÜ ÖBS, and the defense jury is appointed by the Graduate School Executive Board.
A “Jury Appointment Letter” is sent to the advisor, the jury members and the student.
6. Defense Exam
The advisor and jury members set a date for the defense exam, and the advisor enters it into the system.
The “Doctoral Thesis Defense Minutes” must be submitted to the Graduate School with wet signatures within 3 business days at the latest.
7. Defense Result
- Pass: A student who passes the defense exam and submits the exam minutes to the Graduate School sends the doctoral thesis in PDF format to drtezinceleme@itu.edu.tr for format review, and the Format Review Process is initiated through ÖBS.
- Revision: A student who receives a revision decision completes the thesis revisions within a maximum of 6 months, and the process starts again.
- Fail: A student who fails the defense exam is dismissed from the university.
Students who do not submit the revised thesis within 6 months are dismissed from the university.
8. Black Cover Printing and Submission
After format review approval is obtained, Black Cover printing begins. A new plagiarism report is obtained.
The black cover submission process is initiated through ÖBS, and the documents are submitted in person without waiting for Graduate School approval.
- Doctoral Thesis Black Cover Submission Form
- Student Information Form
- Plagiarism Report (pages showing the percentage results)
- Photocopy of National ID Card (for non-Turkish citizens, photocopy of passport and residence permit).
- Photocopy of Marriage Certificate (for women who have changed their surname).
- YÖK Thesis Data Entry Form (signed by the student) (Generated when obtaining the Reference ID from YÖK and registering in the YÖK Thesis System. A printed copy is also made and it is added to the thesis CD.)
- Digital copy of the thesis (submitted via İTÜ Kovan; for details, see step “9. Digital Submission of the Thesis”.)
The “Doctoral Satisfaction Survey” must be completed on the computer shown to you at the Graduate School during Black Cover submission.
Students who do not submit their thesis within 1 month after the defense exam are dismissed from the university at the end of the maximum period of study.
9. Digital Submission of the Thesis
The student sends the thesis files via İTÜ Kovan to the Doctoral Thesis Submission Unit account leedrtez@itu.edu.tr. The shared files will be backed up by the Thesis Submission Unit staff.
For information on how to use Kovan, please see the Kovan User Guide.
Documents to Upload to Kovan
- The thesis in PDF format: The PDF file must not have any protection (printing protection, copy protection, etc.).
- YÖK Thesis Data Entry Form (does not need to be signed).
- A photograph of the student with their advisor:
- The photograph is requested for use in the graduation ceremony presentation.
- If meeting in person is difficult, it may even be created by combining two ID photos.
- It may be in any standard image file format; it should be 800x600 pixels and no larger than 500 KB.
- The complete Turnitin report: It must be generated from the final version of the thesis.
- Unprinted digital attachments of the thesis, if any (such as computer programs and code, video files, audio files, maps):
- Attachments must be compressed into a single RAR file. Compressing attachments in RAR format is a requirement of the YÖK Thesis Center System; ZIP or any other compression format is not accepted.
- Attachments already included in the thesis file should not be submitted as a separate file.
File naming: The names of the thesis file and the attachment file (if any) must be the same as the reference number obtained from YÖK. Example: 10210210.pdf and 10210210.rar
10. Doctoral Title
After the Black Cover thesis and all documents have been submitted in full to the LEE Doctoral Thesis Submission Unit, the student is awarded the title of “Doctor” at the next meeting of the Graduate School Executive Board.
In the week following the award of the doctoral title, the Title Letter is prepared and handed over with a wet signature.