This page is maintained to ensure alumni who restricted access to their thesis under our old access options can still review the conditions under which their thesis may have been embargoed.
For students considering restricting access to a new thesis, please use our current guidance page 'Restricting access to your thesis'.
Until 31 December 2023, the following access options were available to students depositing their theses with Library Services. Restricted access theses deposited with Library Services prior to 31 December 2023 will maintain one of option B, C or D until the embargo end date agreed on deposit.
If your thesis was embargoed under option B, C or D and you wish to extend the embargo, please contact ubira@lists.bham.ac.uk for advice.
Retired option A, recommended: fully accessible (open access)
Under the terms of option A, the electronic thesis was made available on the eTheses Repository for download shortly after submission.
The thesis is supplied on an all rights reserved basis unless the author explicitly requested a Creative Commons licence.
A hardbound copy of the thesis was catalogued and made available as a reference only item from a date after the formal graduation ceremony had taken place.
Retired option B: electronic version available upon request
Under the terms of option B the electronic thesis is not freely available to download within a reasonable period set by the author. However, the library is authorised to supply full-text electronic copies to individual requesters and organisations provided the work is to be utilised for non-commercial purposes. A public metadata record for the thesis will be available on the eTheses Repository.
The hardbound copy of the thesis will have been catalogued and made available as a reference only item from a date after the formal graduation ceremony had taken place.
Retired option C: electronic version restricted
Under the terms of option C the electronic thesis is not freely available to download within a period set by the author. Any requests for the electronic copy of the thesis will be passed on to the author who will have opportunity to give or withhold their consent for a full-text copy to be supplied to a named requester. A public metadata record for the thesis will be available on the eTheses Repository.
The hardbound copy of the thesis will have been catalogued and made available as a reference only item from a date after the formal graduation ceremony had taken place.
Retired option D: full embargo
In the event that access to both the electronic and hardbound copies of a thesis needed to be restricted, a restricted access form was completed and signed by the author, lead supervisor and head of school to apply for a full embargo (option D). Full embargoes were typically granted for no longer than four years but were dependent on case-by-case circumstances.
Embargoes were adjudicated by the library weighing up a variety of competing interests. The length of time an option D embargo was awarded for varies depending on the circumstances.
Once an option D embargo expires, the thesis will revert to becoming subject to the terms of option A, B or C depending on the preference indicated by the author. Shortly before the embargo expires Library Services will contact the author to confirm that the original post embargo choice is still correct. If the author wishes to extend the restriction, the author should contact the Scholarly Communications Services team at ubira@lists.bham.ac.uk and provide a rationale for extension before the current embargo expires.
Option D embargoes were typically granted where a thesis:
- Has been supported by commercial interests and contains potentially commercially sensitive intellectual property (embargo maximum four years).
- Was subject to a contractual or legal undertaking between the thesis author and a third party (embargo maximum four years).
- Was subject to ongoing negotiation with publishers for future monograph publication (embargo maximum two years).