GENERAL QUESTIONS
Q: What are the required uploads for submission to the Archives?
A: You must submit:
Q: Does the Archives collect my defense video or my defense presentation slides?
A: No. While you should include them in your academic submission to your advisor, do not include them if you are submitting your project to the archives.
ALLOWED FORMATS AND FILE NAMES
Q: Can someone help me convert my files into archives-approved formats?
A: Berklee Online students can set up a Peer Training session through the Library.
Q: Can I use uppercase letters in my file names?
A: Yes
Q: Can I use underscores or spaces in my file names?
A: You must use hyphens ( - ) to separate all the required elements. You can have multiple hyphens in the optional descriptive suffix if it is more than one word. You may NOT have spaces in your file names.
Q: Can I include commas or apostrophes in my file names, such as in song titles?
A: No. Please remove all additional punctuation. For a song titled, "Won't Go Home Without You," that part of the file name should be structured as one word OR separated by hyphens/dashes, e.g. wontgohomewithoutyou OR wont-go-home-without-you.
Q: Should the extension be lowercase or uppercase?
A: Either is acceptable, e.g. .PDF or .pdf, .WAV or .wav, etc.
Q: I made a PowerPoint or Google Slides presentation as part of my final work (separate from the defense presentation). How should I submit that?
A: Please save the slide deck as a PDF.
Q: If I have more than 20 files and they are all allowed formats, can I put them in a .zip file instead?
A: Please do not zip audio, video, or text files! Zip folders disrupt digital processing procedures, therefore, .zip folders should be created ONLY to contain special formats such as sound design patch or app files. All PDFs, audio, and video files should be uploaded individually. Email archives@berklee.edu to request additional uploads if needed.
Q: Can I bundle my video, audio, and documents into separate .zip files?
A: No. Please see above.
Q: What happens if I don't follow the formatting rules?
A: Your submission will not be accepted by the Archives.
Q: I don't know my program and course number. Who has that information?
A: Ask your instructor, advisor, or email graduatestudies@berklee.edu.
Q: Who do I contact if I'm having trouble preparing my files for submission to the Archives?
A: Email archives@berklee.edu
OTHER TOPICS
Q: I have a question not answered here. Who should I contact?
A: Additional information is available from the CE Resource Guide and the Graduate Studies webpage.If your question is not addressed there, use the contacts in the "Need Help" section at the top-right of this page.
Q: When do I submit my files to Berklee Archives?
A: Berklee Online students submit at the end of their course.
Q: Where is the submission link?
A: The Archives' Google form is available on this LibGuide under Submission Instructions and Resources.
Q: I have more than 20 project files to upload. What do I do?
A: Email archives@berklee.edu for assistance. Typically, we will create a Google Drive folder into which you can directly deposit your files.
Q: My files are taking a long time to upload/the Google Form is crashing. What do I do?
A: Uploads will work best when done on a secure internet connection, preferably from a laptop or desktop. If you do not have access to one of both of these things, contact graduatestudies@berklee.edu.
If you continue to have problems, email archives@berklee.edu
Q: If I submit my project to the Archives, am I required to make my project accessible to the public?
A: Yes, all CEs submitted to and accepted by the Archives are eventually released for public access. However, you can elect to impose a temporary embargo on your work, which restricts access to the Berklee community only for a limited time.
Q: Can I extend the embargo?
A: As of 2023, we do not offer embargo renewal. Projects received prior to 2023 with existing embargoes may email archives@berklee.edu for special extensions for business or legal reasons (up to 5 years from original submission date), but these cannot be permanent.
Q: Where can I view past Culminating Experience Projects?
A: Selected projects from 2013-2019 are currently available in our online institutional repository: https://archives.berklee.edu/culminating-experience-submissions. If you are interested in a project that is not online, please contact the program director or the student creator directly.
Q: Where can I view past Culminating Experience defense and presentations?
A: Berklee Archives does not preserve defense presentation recordings, however, the Berklee Global Jazz Institute has several videos available here. For other programs, contain your Program Director or Graduate Studies, which maintains a complete collection of past projects.
For project-specific questions, including revisions, contact your advisor or instructor.
For general CE policy and procedure questions: Graduate Studies: graduatestudies@berklee.edu
For archival submission and formatting questions: Berklee Archives: archives@berklee.edu
For file reformatting assistance: atvalencia@berklee.edu (Valencia students) or Peer Training sessions (Boston/Online students)
For writing support: libraryvalencia@berklee.edu (Valencia students) or askalibrarian@berklee.edu (Boston/Online students)