Usually your manuscript with pictures and texts for the cover of the thesis should be ready seven weeks before the defence of doctoral thesis. This applies in cases where the printed doctoral thesis must be delivered in time for the notification of the date of the defence of a doctoral thesis (spikning), which usually takes place about three weeks before your defence. In some cases, the doctoral thesis needs to be completed earlier than that. Therefore, find out in good time when your doctoral thesis, as a PDF file and printed version, needs to be ready. Then contact the Communications Office by filling in the form below. The data you provide in the form is the basis for the schedule.

The Communications Office is responsible for ensuring that the cover of all doctoral theses in the areas for which the University of Borås has degree-awarding powers follows an established design.

The Communications Office helps you with:

• contact to agency/printing house. They will get back to you with a schedule for your print. They will layout your cover and compile your files into two versions of your doctoral thesis: a PDF file (for uploading to DiVA) and a print file.
• advice on the choice of cover image and, if necessary, help in obtaining a quote for an illustrator, photographer, etc.
• portrait photo, if desired, for the back of your doctoral thesis.
• plan the communication about your doctoral thesis together with you, for example as a news article on hb.se.

The process

Once you have filled in the form and submitted your details, a Communications Officer will get back to you.

Approximately two to three weeks before your printed doctoral thesis is due, you will need to submit your supporting documents (see description below). They are uploaded and sent via Wetransfer or a similiar service, to the contact person you receive from the Communications Office.
When you upload your files, the doctoral thesis should be completely finished. It is therefore recommended that you print single pages containing images or tables, at 80% size, before the deadline, to get an idea of how the images and tables will look. This will give you time to make adjustments.

There is generally no physical proof of the doctoral thesis, but you must approve the PDF files before they are sent for printing. The Communications Office also reviews all covers.
The doctoral thesis is usually delivered to the university a couple of days before notification of the date of the defence.

Material you need to produce

1. Submission (PDF)
2. “Spikblad” (notification of submission of a doctoral thesis), A5 (PDF)
3. Cover image, high resolution
4. Possible portrait picture for the back cover
5. Identifiers for your doctoral thesis (e.g. ISBN and permanent link) - email biblioteket@hb.se
6. Text for the back cover
7. Put the following information/requirements about the cover in a Word document: your name, title, research area, the text for the back cover, ISBN number, and any instructions/requests about how the cover image should be used.

Images for your doctoral thesis

Template for the cover: If you want to start looking for a cover image, please check the university media bank.

Portrait photo: If you want a portrait photo on the back of your doctoral thesis, you can use the university's contact photo or your own photo. Please contact kommunikation@hb.se if you are missing a contact photo or would like to take a new one.

Images in the doctoral thesis: Remember that images need to be high resolution, at least 240 dpi. You can get an idea of what the images will look like in print by printing the page at 80% size.

Submission and “Spikblad” (notification of submission of a doctoral thesis)

There are no university-wide templates for how the submission (the doctoral thesis itself and any publications) and the “Spikblad” (notification of submission of a doctoral thesis) should look like. Ask your supervisor or director of studies, or look at previous doctoral theses in your research area.

Write in Word and use a standard font, 11-12 points. Use preset styles for headings, body text and lists.

Accessibility

The PDF files published on the university's website/DiVA need to be accessible.
Learn how to create an accessible PDF file from Word
Read about available PDF files on hb.se

Cover templates

The number of copies printed and the profile colour of the cover depends on your research area. The cover includes information about the research area, title, name, back cover text, ISBN number information, cover image and, if the doctoral student wishes, a portrait photo. The coloured circle behind the logo is optional.

Library and Information Science
100 copies
Cover template for Library and Information Science, with green details

The Human Perspective in Care
150 copies
Cover template for Human Perspective in Care, with dark pink details

Resource Recovery
100 copies
Cover template for Resource Recovery, with blue-grey details

Textiles and Fashion
100 copies
Cover template for Textile and Fashion, with black details

If you have any questions, please email Lina Färm, who is responsible for printing doctoral theses.
Contact details for Lina Färm.

Links

Thesis publication support