Multimodal Theses and Dissertations

As scholarly and creative activities evolve in the digital age, so too must the methods to collect, analyze, assess, and report these activities. The Stony Brook University Graduate School recognizes the growing importance of multimodal dissertations: scholarly works that integrate multiple forms of media, alongside traditional written text or other symbol systems (e.g., musical notation, mathematical equations, chemical formula, etc.), as crucial means to ask, and answer, research questions. By embracing digital, visual, auditory, and interactive elements, multimodal dissertations offer a dynamic and interdisciplinary approach to academic inquiry, reflecting and illustrating the diversity of tools and platforms available and used in contemporary scholarship, while also providing necessary training for long-term career success and the basis for professional portfolios. With this expanded approach to thesis and dissertation work, we affirm our commitment to inclusivity, accessibility, and the preservation of scholarly contributions in formats that reflect the complexities of modern research practices. For the purposes of this policy, scholarly refers to scholarly and creative activities.

 

 

A multimodal thesis/dissertation refers to masters- and doctoral-level research work, respectively, that integrates multiple modes of scholarly reporting, including but not limited to:

 

 

Each masters- and doctoral-granting degree program will develop a policy on multimodal dissertations, which will outline, at a minimum, what modalities are acceptable components of theses or dissertations within that discipline, and how and when students can obtain approval to complete a multimodal thesis or dissertation. Clear program guidelines must be established for how committee members will evaluate the non-textual components of the scholarly work, and in most cases will include their relevance to the scholarly work, integration with the other elements of the scholarly work, and contribution to the overall scholarly argument and field. All modes of inquiry must be considered equivalent to traditional text elements in terms of rigor and scholarly contribution. The examining committee is responsible for ensuring that the multimodal elements are integrated, coherent, accessible, and add to the findings of the scholarly work. Committee member’s signature on the final signature page attests that the individual committee members have ensured the multimodal elements are appropriate for the scholarly work. It may be helpful to develop a program specific rubric for common elements in multimodal reporting. In some instances, such as for students that are pursuing the Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) degree, the non-textual/non-symbolic component represents the scholarly and creative activity and traditional textual/symbolic elements may be integrated with those activities, as appropriate. For those programs, a rubric that assesses artistic innovation, technical proficiency, and the relationship between creative and analytical components should be developed.

 

The Graduate School requires that all Ph.D. students that want to complete a thesis or dissertation using a multimodal format, obtain approval from their Graduate Program and their thesis/dissertation advisor. For doctoral candidates, the format of the planned final scholarly work will be reported to the Graduate School at the Advancement stage to help ensure that these candidates have the necessary resources to complete their dissertation in a timely manner. Master’s candidates that complete their work in a multimodal format will also have access to university resources; however, it is not necessary to report their intention to complete a multimodal thesis to the Graduate School.

 

Regardless of the modalities employed in the dissertation, the Graduate School requires that all theses and dissertations contain a written component, which must include an introduction to frame the research questions, provide scholarly background, outlining the current state of the field with appropriate citations, describe the dissertation’s methods/modalities, detailing the process of discovery and providing a rationale for the format; in addition to any other relevant components, and a conclusion element must also be included to frame or highlight the salient findings of the scholarly work while contextualizing how this work adds to the larger field. This written material may also include other modes of scholarly reporting; however, the primary mode of reporting in these sections must be written. The written material may be titled or organized differently using discipline-specific standards and expectations; however, the elements described here must be included within or along with the final product. The student should provide a clear discussion on how the various components are integrated within the scholarly work, ensuring seamless navigation and context for the reader. On a case-by-case basis and prior to final committee approval, Graduate Programs can petition the Graduate School on the student’s behalf to format these required elements in a different manner. Please refer to the Graduate Catalog for information pertaining to the dissertation filing and degree requirements for Doctor of Musical Arts candidates, which supersede the requirements outlined in this paragraph.

 

No matter what format a thesis or dissertation takes, the masters thesis and the doctoral dissertation must be composed of original work conducted during the student’s period within the degree-granting program and must represent a significant contribution to the student’s field reported in a way that is acceptable to their field.

 

Format Requirements: All components of non-DMA multimodal thesis/dissertation must be submitted in a university- and ProQuest-approved and accessible digital format (e.g., PDF for text, MP4 for video, MP3 or WAV for audio, HTML or JavaScript for interactive elements). DMA dissertations are submitted and archived through the university library. The project will be submitted using ProQuest, with all media files properly named and in formats supported by ProQuest. Since a multimodal thesis/dissertation may involve materials that require separate storage, such as large data sets, software, or interactive websites, the degree candidate must ensure that they can archive these elements through ProQuest approved methods, which includes up to 30 supplemental files, each with a 2GB size limit. The Graduate School highly suggests that each multimodal thesis/dissertation uses a standard file naming system to allow for easier archiving and retrieval. Embedded hyperlinks to other archival sites may also be appropriate within ProQuest submitted materials. 

 

Long-Term Access: Long-term persistent access to supplemental files submitted through ProQuest is ensured by ProQuest. If the student is using a different archival method, they are responsible for ensuring continued functionality and preservation in accordance with archival standards for digital scholarship in their discipline. At a minimum, it is suggested that students ensure that regular backups and monitoring of media files should be part of the preservation plan to prevent degradation or data loss. Externally hosted media components must have permanent URLs or Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) for citation and access, guaranteeing continued access and reliable citation. The students are responsible for ensuring that externally hosted components satisfy these requirements.

 

Accessibility and Equity: All media components must comply with accessibility standards, including providing captions for video content, alt text for images, and transcripts for audio materials to ensure equal access for all users. The multimodal components should be tested across various platforms and browsers to ensure usability and compatibility, ensuring equal access for users of different platforms. Online resources to support accessibility can be found on the Accessibility Resources page hosted by the Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching (CELT).

 

Author Rights and Embargo Period: The author retains the copyright to all original work, within the thesis or dissertation. Authors may wish to delay the release of their scholarly work for a certain period (e.g., due to a pending publication, patent filing, or sensitive data). The author may request an embargo period of up to 2 years, without approval, and an appropriate longer period with Graduate School approval.