Reproducing your own publications in your PhD thesis

Don't assume that you have the right to reproduce your own published papers, images, etc. in your thesis.

Before you do, check which rights were transferred to the publisher at the time you signed the publishing agreement - look in the ‘rights retained’ section or search the publisher’s website for information on authors' rights.

Where the agreement is unclear or you do not have a copy, request permission either on article webpage or via Rightslink, using the article DOI or title etc.  Alternatively, you can use our Request to reproduce your own publication Word template. 

Many publishers offer open access articles under a Creative Commons attribution licence which permits you to include a copy of the paper in your thesis.