Frequently Asked Questions


What is the purpose of the USF Scholarship Repository?

The USF Scholarship Repository is an archive of academic works authored by University of San Francisco students, staff, and faculty. It serves as a record of scholarly work. We are proud to facilitate free and immediate digital access to scholarly works as part of the USFFA Open Access Policy agreement implemented in 2018, and as a world-class R2 university.

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Who can publish in the USF Scholarship Repository?

Our repository is open for current USF students, staff, and faculty to submit their academic works, including theses, dissertations, capstone projects, conference papers, journal articles, and academic book chapters. For wider community members, we recommend consulting a resource such as the Directory of Open Access Repositories.

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Can I publish my work under a pseudonym or pen name?

The USF Scholarship Repository is an official record of published work at the University of San Francisco, and we require authors to publish with their full name and a contact email address. Authors who are concerned about the sensitivity of their research have the option to embargo, restrict, or withdraw their work.

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When will my work be published?

Gleeson Library staff will typically publish your work within 3-4 weeks of receipt. You will receive an automated message including the URL of your published work once processing is complete. If we have any questions about your work, we will let you know.

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What do I need to include in my submission of student work?

Our online submission form guides students through required information, including their full name, non-USF email address, and degree name. In addition to this, students are encouraged to list their academic advisors, and to choose keywords to guide users to their work. As of 2023, we no longer require a separately signed “submission agreement” before publishing. Students will see the text of the submission agreement prior to uploading work, and can also save a copy for their own records via the PDF submission guide. While each academic program can require students to submit additional paperwork to them when they submit their culminating projects, these processes are not facilitated by Gleeson Library.

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How do I revise my submission?

We advise that students do not submit work to the USF Scholarship Repository until their work is finalized, and approved by their academic supervisor. However, sometimes updates to work are necessary! To revise a submission that has already been published to the repository, contact repository@usfca.edu with the new version.

If the submission has been submitted, but not yet posted, you may revise it via your My Account page:

  1. Locate the article on your My Account page, and click the title.
  2. Click Revise Submission from the list of options in the left sidebar.
  3. Enter your changes in the Revise Submission form, and click Submit at the bottom of the page to submit your changes. (You only need to modify the portion of the form that corresponds to the changes you wish to make.)

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What is an embargo?

An embargo allows an author to submit their work to the USF Scholarship Repository, while also delaying the full-text publication of their work. During an embargo, only the abstract and author details are still visible within the repository. USF students have the option of requesting an embargo between one and three years in length.

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What does “restricted access” mean?

When submitting a thesis or capstone project, students have the option of selecting “global access”, which makes their work publicly available to everyone; or “restricted access” which makes work available to USF community only. To view works that have restricted access, users will need to be logged into the USF Scholarship Repository using their Dons or myUSF credentials; or accessing the repository via a USF internet connection.

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Can I withdraw my work?

All authors have the right to request that the full-text of their works be embargoed, changed to restricted access, or withdrawn from the repository. To make a request, please contact repository@usfca.edu with your name, publication title, and URL to your work. When works are withdrawn, the scholarly artefact (thesis, capstone, etc.) is removed, and the abstract and author details remain visible.

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Who can I contact for help?

For step-by-step instructions on submitting work, please see our submission guides linked in the left-hand navigation bar. For any other questions, please contact repository@usfca.edu.

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