Master and PhD students have the copyright on their theses as soon as they have started to write them. They can decide on their access conditions.
All theses are deposited in electronic format in the Graduate Institute Repository. The library also keeps 2 paper copies of PhD theses, which can be borrowed by local or distant patrons (through the interlibrary loan service).
By default, access to the electronic copy of the theses in the repository is restricted to the Graduate Institute community (students and staff). PhD theses authors can ask for a 3-year embargo: during this period, the thesis will only be accessible to the repository administrators. Authors can also decide to make their thesis open access.
Authors keep the full copyright on their thesis and can put them online on another web site, or have them published in print.
