We published a policy on Amending Thesis/Dissertation after Final Submission in June 2020 (Almanac June 23, 2020) to establish a process for the infrequent occasions when an alumni/ae requests to amend their submitted thesis or dissertation. Such requests are considered only when there is a significant chance of harm (to readers and/or to research participants). Since publishing the policy, it became apparent that the language needed to be refined and the policy expanded to accommodate name changes. The updated version was revised with input from the Graduate Council of the Faculties and the Council of Graduate Deans. This policy has now been adopted and supersedes the previous version. The revised policy is published in the Pennbook at https://catalog.upenn.edu/pennbook/.

—Wendell E. Pritchett, Provost
—Beth A. Winkelstein, Deputy Provost

Once approved by the thesis/dissertation committee and published in the University’s ScholarlyCommons, all thesis/dissertation content becomes part of the formal record. Only in rare situations in which there is a significant chance of harm (to readers following the dissertation’s recommendations and/or to research informants/participants) will requests to amend the scholarly content of the submitted thesis/dissertation be considered. Students and committees should follow all IRB guidance and review thesis/dissertation content carefully before submission to avoid this scenario whenever possible.

Any request to amend the dissertation must be approved by the thesis/dissertation advisor (if still on the Penn faculty) and Graduate Group Chair. Once approved, the request should be submitted by the Graduate Group Chair, along with a rationale for consideration, to the Deputy Provost for final approval.

Two types of amendments to the scholarly content of the thesis/dissertation will be considered: (1) the removal or modification of classified, proprietary, or confidential information, or (2) the addition of an errata sheet to note and correct significant errors in content. If the purpose is to remove or modify classified, proprietary, or confidential information, the author should fill out the page substitution request form. If the purpose is to note and correct significant errors in content, the author should create an errata sheet using the errata sheet form and instructions.

Research master’s and PhD alumni may petition to change their name on their thesis/dissertation. Such requests will only be considered in the case of a legal name change, and are intended to support alumni whose gender identity and/or cultural or religious affiliation has changed. Alumni wishing to make changes to the name on their thesis/dissertation must first update their data with the Office of the University Registrar before filling out the thesis/dissertation name change request.