The deadline is stipulated by the faculty and will be communicated with you by the faculty.

The Library cannot commit to a date for when your dissertation is made available through the institutional repository and HyDi, because this depends on various factors. First, it depends on when the faculty hands over the ETDs to the Library. This is then followed by a process that needs to be done by librarians. The copyright declaration form is inserted in all files, which are then catalogued and uploaded in OAR@UM. The cataloguing process involves the creation of metadata that will make your dissertation retrievable for readers. This is quite a lengthy process because each dissertation is handled individually, however our aim is to have dissertations available within a few weeks from the receipt date. 

An embargo of a thesis/dissertation is defined as a delay in the release of the thesis/dissertation for a specified amount of time. UM permits the embargo of a thesis/dissertation under the following conditions:

1. The protection of information of commercial value or to honour a pre-existing contractual agreement.
2. The protection of intellectual property rights associated with the publication of content (e.g. registration for patent).
3. The need to prevent disclosure of sensitive, confidential or classified information that is time-sensitive. 

Follow this procedure:

1. The requester (student) must fill out the Request for Embargo Form. The email addresses of the thesis/dissertation supervisor, dean and head of department (when applicable) should be filled out correctly in the appropriate fields so that these may recommend the request.
2. The request form must reach the Library at least one month before the submission of the dissertation. 
3. Embargoes are granted on a year-by-year basis, thus the request will expire within 1 year.
4. Upon approval by Library Committee, dissertations will be stored safely until the embargo is lifted. Dissertations will automatically be made available for consultation upon embargo expiry date, unless a timely renewal request is submitted.
5. The metadata (author, title, abstract and keywords) will be made available on the Library’s platforms, unless the author opts otherwise. A valid reason for opting out of sharing the metadata needs to be provided. 
6. Supporting documentation is to be provided if the author and the UM has entered into a binding agreement with a third party.
7. Embargoes may be lifted or extended by submitting an Embargo Renewal Form at least two months before the existing embargo expiry date.
8. Embargo requests and renewals will be reviewed during Library Committee meeting and the requester will be notified of the approval by email. The embargo period will start from the date of Library Committee meeting.
9. Embargoes beyond twenty-four (24) months will be reviewed by Library Committee on a case by case basis.
10. In line with updated regulations, requests for PhD dissertation embargoes must be submitted via the Thesis Embargo Request Form (Form 12) to the respective Faculty.  The Board will then present its recommendation to the Senate via the Doctoral Academic Committee. The Doctoral School notifies the Library of approved embargoes. Requests for embargo renewals must also be endorsed by the aforementioned entities.

Purpose
The University of Malta requests and collects the personal email address you provide it with pursuant to the instructions above in accordance with all applicable data protection legislation, including the General Data Protection Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2016/679, the ‘GDPR’) and the Data Protection Act (Chapter 586 of the Laws of Malta). This information is processed by the University Library for the purpose described below and all purposes ancillary to this, including, where required, to communicate with you in relation to your dissertation and/or in relation to your use of Library services generally. 

With the exception of Ph.D. and Grade A Masters dissertations, dissertations are uploaded to the Library’s online database in restricted access. This means that only UM registered users are able to access and download the full text. Dissertation titles and abstracts are nonetheless available in open access, and researchers or interested individuals who are not registered with the University of Malta and are interested in reading the full text of a dissertation that is not available in open access may request full access to such document. 

Copyright of the dissertation belongs to you as the author. By providing a personal email address you regularly use/access, the Library ensures that where a request is made for access to your dissertation, this will automatically be directed to you on such email address for your perusal. As the author of the dissertation concerned, you may then decide whether to grant full access of your work to the requester. 

Recipients
Your email address is stored internally, and will not be disclosed or made available to requesters and/or to any other third party, unless disclosure is strictly required by law or you have given your consent. 

Legal Basis
Processing is carried out for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest and in the exercise of the official authority vested in the University as an institution of higher education and research, and is based on Article 6 (1) (e) GDPR. 

Your Rights
In accordance with all applicable data protection laws, and subject to all exceptions set out therein, you have the right to request access to your personal information held and processed by the University, to request its rectification if it is inaccurate or incomplete, to request that it is erased, to request restriction of processing, and to request that your data are forwarded to a third party. 

Where processing is based on Article 6 (1) (e) GDPR, and subject to the provisions of Article 21 GDPR, you also have the right to object to such processing. The University may refuse your objection if it has compelling legitimate reasons to do so. 

Queries and Concerns
If you have any queries or concerns in relation to the processing of your personal data by the University or if you would like to exercise your rights above-mentioned, you are welcome to contact the University’s Data Protection Officer on dpo@um.edu.mt or +356 2340 3233. If you consider that the University’s processing of your personal data has been carried out unlawfully, you may lodge a complaint with the Information and Data Protection Commissioner, Malta.