It is the responsibility of the student to document and reference all sources of ideas and information included in the thesis or dissertation. When quoting copyrighted material, the student must give full credit to the author and publisher of the work cited. If a quotation exceeds “fair use,” written permission must be obtained from the copyright owner. Originals of written permission must be submitted to the Office of Graduate Student Services and attached to the publication agreement form for the thesis or dissertation as applicable. Among the primary considerations for determining whether or not excerpts from copyrighted materials exceed “fair use” are the length and substantiality of the quoted material, and the nature and value of its inclusion in the manuscript. In general, quoting up to 150 words of a prose passage or a few lines of a verse does not require written permission from the copyright owner. However, inclusion of materials such as maps, illustrations and cartoons requires written permission since they are considered complete works.
