Thesis research should be undertaken in light of MIT’s policy of open research and the free interchange of information. Openness requires that, as a general policy, thesis research should not be undertaken on campus when the results may not be published.
On occasion, there may be a good reason to delay the distribution of a thesis, such as to obtain patent protection, or for reasons of privacy or security. The Institute has established conditions, timelines, and a review process for when it is allowable to delay publishing a thesis. These policies and instructions for requesting temporary publication holds are detailed in MIT Specifications for Thesis Preparation.
