Using images, figures and other materials in your thesis: A copyright guide

Including images, figures, questionnaires, maps, or other third-party materials in your thesis can be essential—but knowing what you’re legally allowed to use can feel overwhelming. This workshop introduces and demystifies copyright for PhD students and provides clear, practical guidance on how to identify when permission is needed, how to locate and interpret licences, and what Teesside University’s thesis deposit requirements mean for your work.

We’ll explore common scenarios, share tools and strategies for finding reusable content, and highlight best practices for requesting permissions when necessary. By the end of the session, you’ll feel confident making informed decisions about using third-party material in your thesis while avoiding unnecessary copyright pitfalls. And understand how to make your thesis deposit into TeesRep as simple as possible.