Piano Essay

How to Prepare and Submit the Doctoral Piano Essay

These guidelines pertain to the Doctoral Piano Essay. There are different procedures for the composition dissertation, the doctoral final project, and the PhD/DME dissertation.

You should submit an application for graduation no later than the beginning of the semester in which you plan to graduate. Click here for dates and information.

The final copy of the Doctoral Piano Essay is submitted to the Music Graduate Office after is has been approved by the research committee. Begining January 2012, you have the option of submitting the final copy electronically or in a bound paper format. Electronically submitted final projects are hosted in the IU ScholarWorks repository (ordinarily in PDF format) and cataloged in IUCAT. Bound paper copies are kept on the shelves of the Cook Music Library and catalogued as other library print materials are. 

We expect the majority of students will choose electronic submission of their doctoral piano essays. Electronic submission has several advantages: it is cheaper because you do not pay for paper, binding, and delivery to and from the bindery; it is faster because you do not have to wait for a bindery to bind your project and deliver it; and it makes your research available to a much wider audience, since it is provided a permanant URL, which can be found by Web search engines, and is thus accessible world-wide. 

Piano essays submitted in bound paper format are available only to patrons of the music library and are available via interlibrary loan. There may be reasons to prefer bound paper copy submission, however. It provides a product that is more traditional in appearance. It may also be attractive to students who intend to pursue commercial publication of their final project and who are concerned that potential publishers may be reluctant to publish a version of something that is already freely available via the Web. The student bears the cost of printing and binding, and will need to consider the costs of delivery to a bindery, how long it will take the bindery to complete the job, and for delivery of the bound copies to the Music Graduate Office. These are important considerations since the Music Graduate Office must receive the bound documents before the degree can be posted. Students who submit their document electronically may of course arrange to have one or more personal copies bound.

Electronic Submssion

Using this method, you submit the final copy of Doctoral Piano Essay electronically to the Music Graduate Office, which transmits the essay to IU ScholarWorks repository. 

Preparing the manuscript for submission

Before you submit your essay, check it careful to ensure that it complies with the guidelines for doctoral documents. This will be checked after submission and will be sent back to you for reformatting if not correct. If you submit the essay too close to the semester deadline and it is returned because it does not comply with these guidelines, it could delay your graduation until the following semester. You would be reponsible for any resulting tuition and fees.

Essays must be submitted in a special PDF format called PDF/A, an ISO-standard format designed for the long-term preservation of digital documents. Information on creating PDF/A documents from some common platforms is provided below. If you are creating your essay using a platform not listed below, it is your responsibility to determine how to save your essay in PDF/A format.

Microsoft Word on Windows

You will need to have Adobe Acrobat installed on the computer on which you complete this conversion. 

• Open the Word File
• Click on the Acrobat tab from the top menu bar
• Click on Preferences
• Check the box next to the setting:  Create pdf/a-1a:2005 compliant file
• Click OK
• To Save, go to File, Save as PDF. Please use the filename convention lastname_firstname_year.pdf (and note the location of the file when you save it). 

Macintosh (all applications)

• File | Print
• Click the PDF button and select Save as Adobe PDF
• In the popup window, next to Adobe PDF Settings, select "PDF/A-1b:2005 (RGB)"
• Click Continue.
• When saving the document, please use the filename convention lastname_firstname_year.pdf (and note the location of the file when you save it).

Submitting your Document

[Information forthcoming]

Bound Paper Submission

Using this method, you submit bound printed copies of the piano essay. When the final version of the essay has the approval of members of the research committee, make the appropriate number of copies on proper paper and have them bound at a commercial bindery. For your convenience, two Indiana-based binderies are listed below, but you are free to use any bindery you wish. The Music Graduate Office must receive the actual bound document by the last day of final exams for you to graduate. 

Binding Details

• You must use a black binding. 
• The binding must use the oversewn method. Velo binding available from some photocopying businesses is not acceptable.
• Ask the bindery to put the dissertation title and your full name on the front cover and the title and your last name on the spine of the bound copies. 

Required Copies

*Students may also order additional copies for personal use.

National Library Binding Co.

55 South State Ave.
Indianapolis, IN 46201
(317) 636-5606

Hours: Monday - Friday: 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Thesis On Demand

Be sure to read the Frequently Asked Questions: http://www.graduate.indiana.edu/docs/TOD-FAQ.doc

Cost is based on the number of pages and other factors. For a quote, complete the order form far enough to see a projection of the cost, or call the HF Group for more information. 1-800-334-3628.

IU Order form: http://indiana.thesisondemand.com/ordersystem/index.php?uri=/orderform/orderform/&page=1