Open Access Theses and Dissertations

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About OATD.org

OATD.org aims to be the best possible resource for finding open access graduate theses and dissertations published around the world. Metadata (information about the theses) comes from over 1100 colleges, universities, and research institutions . OATD currently indexes 7,241,108 theses and dissertations.

About OATD (our FAQ) .

Visual OATD.org

We’re happy to present several data visualizations to give an overall sense of the OATD.org collection by county of publication, language, and field of study.

You may also want to consult these sites to search for other theses:

  • Google Scholar
  • NDLTD , the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations. NDLTD provides information and a search engine for electronic theses and dissertations (ETDs), whether they are open access or not.
  • Proquest Theses and Dissertations (PQDT), a database of dissertations and theses, whether they were published electronically or in print, and mostly available for purchase. Access to PQDT may be limited; consult your local library for access information.

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EBSCO Open Dissertations

EBSCO Open Dissertations makes electronic theses and dissertations (ETDs) more accessible to researchers worldwide. The free portal is designed to benefit universities and their students and make ETDs more discoverable. 

Increasing Discovery & Usage of ETD Research

EBSCO Open Dissertations is a collaboration between EBSCO and BiblioLabs to increase traffic and discoverability of ETD research. You can join the movement and add your theses and dissertations to the database, making them freely available to researchers everywhere while increasing traffic to your institutional repository. 

EBSCO Open Dissertations extends the work started in 2014, when EBSCO and the H.W. Wilson Foundation created American Doctoral Dissertations which contained indexing from the H.W. Wilson print publication, Doctoral Dissertations Accepted by American Universities, 1933-1955. In 2015, the H.W. Wilson Foundation agreed to support the expansion of the scope of the American Doctoral Dissertations database to include records for dissertations and theses from 1955 to the present.

How Does EBSCO Open Dissertations Work?

Your ETD metadata is harvested via OAI and integrated into EBSCO’s platform, where pointers send traffic to your IR.

EBSCO integrates this data into their current subscriber environments and makes the data available on the open web via opendissertations.org .

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How to find resources by format

Why use a dissertation or a thesis.

A dissertation is the final large research paper, based on original research, for many disciplines to be able to complete a PhD degree. The thesis is the same idea but for a masters degree.

They are often considered scholarly sources since they are closely supervised by a committee, are directed at an academic audience, are extensively researched, follow research methodology, and are cited in other scholarly work. Often the research is newer or answering questions that are more recent, and can help push scholarship in new directions. 

Search for dissertations and theses

Locating dissertations and theses.

The Proquest Dissertations and Theses Global database includes doctoral dissertations and selected masters theses from major universities worldwide.

  • Searchable by subject, author, advisor, title, school, date, etc.
  • More information about full text access and requesting through Interlibrary Loan

NDLTD – Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations provides free online access to a over a million theses and dissertations from all over the world.

WorldCat Dissertations and Theses searches library catalogs from across the U.S. and worldwide.

Locating University of Minnesota Dissertations and Theses

Use  Libraries search  and search by title or author and add the word "thesis" in the search box. Write down the library and call number and find it on the shelf. They can be checked out.

Check the  University Digital Conservancy  for online access to dissertations and theses from 2007 to present as well as historic, scanned theses from 1887-1923.

Other Sources for Dissertations and Theses

  • Center for Research Libraries
  • DART-Europe E-Thesis Portal
  • Theses Canada
  • Ethos (Great Britain)
  • Australasian Digital Theses in Trove
  • DiVA (Sweden)
  • E-Thesis at the University of Helsinki
  • DissOnline (Germany)
  • List of libraries worldwide - to search for a thesis when you know the institution and cannot find in the larger collections

University of Minnesota Dissertations and Theses FAQs

What dissertations and theses are available.

With minor exceptions, all doctoral dissertations and all "Plan A" master's theses accepted by the University of Minnesota are available in the University Libraries system. In some cases (see below) only a non-circulating copy in University Archives exists, but for doctoral dissertations from 1940 to date, and for master's theses from 1925 to date, a circulating copy should almost always be available.

"Plan B" papers, accepted in the place of a thesis in many master's degree programs, are not received by the University Libraries and are generally not available. (The only real exceptions are a number of old library school Plan B papers on publishing history, which have been separately cataloged.) In a few cases individual departments may have maintained files of such papers.

In what libraries are U of M dissertations and theses located?

Circulating copies of doctoral dissertations:.

  • Use Libraries Search to look for the author or title of the work desired to determine location and call number of a specific dissertation. Circulating copies of U of M doctoral dissertations can be in one of several locations in the library system, depending upon the date and the department for which the dissertation was done. The following are the general rules:
  • Dissertations prior to 1940 Circulating copies of U of M dissertations prior to 1940 do not exist (with rare exceptions): for these, only the archival copy (see below) is available. Also, most dissertations prior to 1940 are not cataloged in MNCAT and can only be identified by the departmental listings described below.  
  • Dissertations from 1940-1979 Circulating copies of U of M dissertations from 1940 to 1979 will in most cases be held within the Elmer L. Andersen Library, with three major classes of exceptions: dissertations accepted by biological, medical, and related departments are housed in the Health Science Library; science/engineering dissertations from 1970 to date will be located in the Science and Engineering Library (in Walter); and dissertations accepted by agricultural and related departments are available at the Magrath Library or one of the other libraries on the St. Paul campus (the Magrath Library maintains records of locations for such dissertations).  
  • Dissertations from 1980-date Circulating copies of U of M dissertations from 1980 to date at present may be located either in Wilson Library (see below) or in storage; consult Libraries Search for location of specific items. Again, exceptions noted above apply here also; dissertations in their respective departments will instead be in Health Science Library or in one of the St. Paul campus libraries.

Circulating copies of master's theses:

  • Theses prior to 1925 Circulating copies of U of M master's theses prior to 1925 do not exist (with rare exceptions); for these, only the archival copy (see below) is available.  
  • Theses from 1925-1996 Circulating copies of U of M master's theses from 1925 to 1996 may be held in storage; consult Libraries search in specific instances. Once again, there are exceptions and theses in their respective departments will be housed in the Health Science Library or in one of the St. Paul campus libraries.  
  • Theses from 1997-date Circulating copies of U of M master's theses from 1997 to date will be located in Wilson Library (see below), except for the same exceptions for Health Science  and St. Paul theses. There is also an exception to the exception: MHA (Masters in Health Administration) theses through 1998 are in the Health Science Library, but those from 1999 on are in Wilson Library.

Archival copies (non-circulating)

Archival (non-circulating) copies of virtually all U of M doctoral dissertations from 1888-1952, and of U of M master's theses from all years up to the present, are maintained by University Archives (located in the Elmer L. Andersen Library). These copies must be consulted on the premises, and it is highly recommended for the present that users make an appointment in advance to ensure that the desired works can be retrieved for them from storage. For dissertations accepted prior to 1940 and for master's theses accepted prior to 1925, University Archives is generally the only option (e.g., there usually will be no circulating copy). Archival copies of U of M doctoral dissertations from 1953 to the present are maintained by Bell and Howell Corporation (formerly University Microfilms Inc.), which produces print or filmed copies from our originals upon request. (There are a very few post-1952 U of M dissertations not available from Bell and Howell; these include such things as music manuscripts and works with color illustrations or extremely large pages that will not photocopy well; in these few cases, our archival copy is retained in University Archives.)

Where is a specific dissertation of thesis located?

To locate a specific dissertation or thesis it is necessary to have its call number. Use Libraries Search for the author or title of the item, just as you would for any other book. Depending on date of acceptance and cataloging, a typical call number for such materials should look something like one of the following:

Dissertations: Plan"A" Theses MnU-D or 378.7M66 MnU-M or 378.7M66 78-342 ODR7617 83-67 OL6156 Libraries Search will also tell the library location (MLAC, Health Science Library, Magrath or another St. Paul campus library, Science and Engineering, Business Reference, Wilson Annex or Wilson Library). Those doctoral dissertations still in Wilson Library (which in all cases should be 1980 or later and will have "MnU-D" numbers) are located in the central section of the third floor. Those master's theses in Wilson (which in all cases will be 1997 or later and will have "MnU-M" numbers) are also located in the central section of the third floor. Both dissertations and theses circulate and can be checked out, like any other books, at the Wilson Circulation desk on the first floor.

How can dissertations and theses accepted by a specific department be located?

Wilson Library contains a series of bound and loose-leaf notebooks, arranged by department and within each department by date, listing dissertations and theses. Information given for each entry includes name of author, title, and date (but not call number, which must be looked up individually). These notebooks are no longer current, but they do cover listings by department from the nineteenth century up to approximately 1992. Many pre-1940 U of M dissertations and pre-1925 U of M master's theses are not cataloged (and exist only as archival copies). Such dissertations can be identified only with these volumes. The books and notebooks are shelved in the general collection under these call numbers: Wilson Ref LD3337 .A5 and Wilson Ref quarto LD3337 .U9x. Major departments of individual degree candidates are also listed under their names in the GRADUATE SCHOOL COMMENCEMENT programs of the U of M, available in University Archives and (for recent years) also in Wilson stacks (LD3361 .U55x).

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Open Access Theses and Dissertations (OATD)

OATD.org provides open access graduate theses and dissertations published around the world. Metadata (information about the theses) comes from over 1100 colleges, universities, and research institutions. OATD currently indexes 6,654,285 theses and dissertations.

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How do I find dissertations and theses?

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Knowledge@uchicago.

  • University of Chicago Library Catalog This link opens in a new window & more less... Find items in all campus libraries, including books, periodicals, sound recordings, videos, DVDs and more.
  • ProQuest Dissertations & Theses This link opens in a new window & more less... Includes citations for materials from the first U.S. dissertation (1861) to those accepted as recently as last semester. Starting in 1997 full-text is often available. If full-text is not available information about ordering the document is provided.
  • WorldCat (OCLC) This link opens in a new window & more less... WorldCat is a database that allows researchers to search the combined catalogs of hundreds of libraries around the world. It contains more than 52 million records for books, journals, audiovisual materials and more. This source can help researchers find items, verify citations, and identify which libraries hold a particular title.
  • WorldCat.org

University of Chicago Convocation Programs

University of Chicago authors are welcome to add their theses to Knowledge@UChicago . They may embargo their work or limit it to the UChicago community.

Researchers can find master's and bachelor's theses in the repository by selecting Thesis . In Spring 2021, some programs in the Social Sciences Division began requiring that students add their MA theses. These appear in the MA Thesis Archive .

Browse collections to find records by division or school.

Library Catalog

Researchers can find records for many master's theses in the University of Chicago Library Catalog . The Library's print copies of theses circulate and may be borrowed like a book (usually from Mansueto ). Researchers may visit the Library to see a thesis, and they may place an interlibrary loan request through their local library if they do not have borrowing privileges at the University of Chicago Library.

Most master's theses filed before 1990 were deposited in the Library. Requirements were similar to the requirements for doctoral dissertations, but a distinction was made between master's theses and master's papers. Master's papers had different requirements and were not made available through the Library. By 1980 or so, most programs were accepting more master's papers than theses. By 1990 or so, the Library no longer received either master's papers or master's theses. Currently, most master's programs call these works theses, but print copies are not deposited in the Library.

Subject specialists can help with exceptions for their disciplines, and there are always some exceptions. For example, see the database for Masters' Papers in Art History & Visual Arts .

The University of Chicago Library filmed many master's theses filed before 1994. When the University of Chicago Library's Photoduplication Department closed, this microfilm was sent to UMI, now ProQuest.

Researchers my find the record for a thesis in ProQuest Dissertations & Theses . Full text may be available online, or a researcher may need to purchase a copy from ProQuest . The Publication Number for a master's thesis usually begins with TM.

Researchers who do not have access to ProQuest Dissertations & Theses may be able to use this subscription database at a nearby university.

If the University of Chicago Library does not hold a master's thesis, there may be a copy at another library. Check WorldCat or WorldCat.org .

Check University of Chicago Convocation Programs  to see when a student received a degree and to confirm the department or academic program. The thesis title may appear, and sometimes a program includes handwritten annotations.

If the Library does not have the thesis, perhaps it is held by the author's department.

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  • Updated: Nov 10, 2023 11:23 AM
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Search the 6,480,055 electronic theses and dissertations contained in the NDLTD archive:

The archive supports advanced filtering and boolean search.

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Open Access Theses and Dissertations

Access is available to everyone, anywhere.

Indexes over 4 million graduate-level electronic theses and dissertations (ETDs) freely available from over 1,100 institutions worldwide . Search for keywords from titles, author names, abstracts, subjects, university/publisher and more. Use More search options to limit searches to a particular field, language, and date range. The search results will include links to full-text theses/dissertations residing on the original hosting site, usually the institutional repository of the school that granted the degree.

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For Harvard theses, dissertations, and prize winning essays, see our How can I find a Harvard thesis or dissertation ? FAQ entry.

Beyond Harvard, ProQuest  Dissertations and Theses G lobal database (this link requires HarvardKey login) i s a good place to start:

  • lists dissertations and theses from most North American graduate schools (including Harvard) and many from universities in Great Britain and Ireland, 1716-present
  •  You can get full text from Proquest Dissertations and Theses through your own institutional library or you can often purchase directly from ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Express.  

Other sources:

Databases beyond ProQuest Dissertations & Theses:

Some out of copyright works (pre-1924) are available via large digital libraries. Search online for the title.

Networked Digital Library of Electronic Theses and Dissertations ' Global Search scans participating international libraries

The Center for Research Libraries ' Dissertations database includes many non-US theses.

WorldCat  describes many masters' & PhD theses. Use "Advanced Search" and limit to subtype "thesis/dissertation." No full text; it just tells you what libraries have reported having copies.

There are several excellent guides out there with international search recommendations like  University College London's Institute of Education Theses and Dissertations LibGuide .

Institutions:

At the institution where the work originated or the national library of the country (if outside the US):

Online institutional repositories (like Harvard's DASH ): If the work was produced after the  school's repository was established, it may well be found here in full text. 

Libraries: Check the library catalog. There's often a reproductions service ($) for material that hasn't been digitized, but each school has its own policies. Most schools have some kind of "ask a librarian" service where you can ask what to do next.

At your own institution (where applicable) or public library: While many institutions will not lend theses and dissertations or send copies through Interlibrary loan, your Interlibrary Loan department may be able to help you acquire or pay for reproductions. 

  • Current Harvard faculty, staff and students: Once you identify a reproduction source you can place a request with Harvard Library ILL  (in the notes field, ask for help with funding).

For Harvard theses and dissertations, see " How can I find a Harvard thesis or dissertation? "

If you're having trouble locating or acquiring a copy of/access to a dissertation, try " Why can't I find this thesis or dissertation?" 

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How to search for Harvard dissertations

  • DASH , Digital Access to Scholarship at Harvard, is the university's central, open-access repository for the scholarly output of faculty and the broader research community at Harvard.  Most Ph.D. dissertations submitted from  March 2012 forward  are available online in DASH.
  • Check HOLLIS, the Library Catalog, and refine your results by using the   Advanced Search   and limiting Resource  Type   to Dissertations
  • Search the database  ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global Don't hesitate to  Ask a Librarian  for assistance.

How to search for Non-Harvard dissertations

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  • Many  universities  provide full-text access to their dissertations via a digital repository.  If you know the title of a particular dissertation or thesis, try doing a Google search.  

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Finding Dissertations and Theses: Home

Electronic access, open access to united states-published theses and dissertations, open access to internationally published theses and dissertations, print access, finding msu theses and dissertations in the catalog.

  • Start at the catalog advanced search page .
  • In the search boxes at the top of the page, change the "All fields" dropdown menu to search for author, a subject or a title. Or, you can search by MSU department or college, such as "educational policy" or "chemical engineering."
  • Under "Limit to" and "Format," select "Thesis."
  • Enter a date range under "Year of Publication" if desired. 
  • Click "Search" to return your results.

Interlibrary Loan

If you are an MSU affiliate and cannot locate the full text of a thesis or dissertation either in electronic or print format, you may be able to order it for free from our interlibrary loan department .

Theses and Dissertations About MSU

  • Dissertations and Theses about Michigan State University This guide identifies dissertations and theses written by MSU scholars that are about MSU in some way.
  • Last Updated: May 25, 2023 11:53 AM
  • URL: https://libguides.lib.msu.edu/dissertations

Finding theses and dissertations

Search online in library databases.

You can search the ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global Database to find theses and dissertations from institutions around the world. This database offers full text for most dissertations added since 1997 and strong retrospective full-text coverage for older graduate works. You can do a basic keyword search or search for a specific title, author, or institution.

Search for works for University of Nevada, Reno authors

There is no single search method that will find every thesis and dissertation by a University of Nevada, Reno author. These are your best options:

  • Search  ProQuest Dissertations & Theses @ University of Nevada, Reno to find online versions where available. You can limit by author, advisor, department, degree type, etc.
  • Use the Advanced Library Search tool to narrow your search by the name of the department in which the degree is granted. In the “Any field” dropdown menu, select Author/Creator. In the “Enter a search term” field, type the University name and department granting the degree. For example, to find dissertations/theses from the Department of Computer Science & Engineering, type “University of Nevada, Reno Department of Computer Science and Engineering.”

The “Author/Creator” and “is (exact)” fields are enclosed in a red rectangle to indicate these fields have been selected. “University of Nevada, Reno Department of” is written in the search box next to the selected fields.

Search more comprehensively

If you need a more comprehensive search, including materials other than theses and dissertations (articles, books, videos, etc.), or if you are looking for physical copies of theses and dissertations, use Library Search from the library homepage. Search for a keyword, author, date, and/or title. Use the filters on the left-hand side of the screen under “Resource Type” to narrow to “Dissertations” (although not indicated, the search will include theses).

The "Dissertations" filter is enclosed in a red rectangle to indicate its location on the Library Search results page.

If you use the filters to limit by Library Location and select libraries at University of Nevada, Reno (Knowledge Center, Special Collections & Archives, DeLaMare Library), you can limit to physical copies of dissertations or theses only . You can also use the “Held by library” filter under “Availability” to find physical copies.

Need more help?

Find more detailed information in the University Libraries' guide to Finding Dissertations & Theses .

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Dissertations & theses: life & health sciences: find dissertations & theses.

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Find UCB Dissertations & Theses

UCB Dissertations & Theses Online:

  • Dissertations & Theses @ University of California A subset of ProQuest Dissertations and Theses. Nearly all of the University of California dissertations filed since 1996 are available full-text; citations are provided for UC dissertations filed prior to 1996. Limit to UC Berkeley dissertations using the University/Institution field, however limiting to individual departments is only available for dissertations published starting in 2009.

UC Berkeley dissertations may also be found in eScholarship , UC's online open access repository.

Please note that it may take time for a dissertation to appear in one of the above online resources. Embargoes and other issues affect the release timing.

Finding UCB Life & Health Sciences Dissertations in the Library Using UC Library Search :

Dissertations have been cataloged using various subject terms. To find these dissertations, try a keyword search University of California, Berkeley [Department/School/Group Name] Dissertations ; this works best if you change the search option to 'UC Berkeley catalog' -  select this in the search box as you type,or make the selection above the search box in Advanced Search.

  • University of California, Berkeley. Vision Science Dissertations 
  • University of California, Berkeley. Dept. of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management Dissertations.
  • University of California, Berkeley. Dept. of Molecular and Cell Biology Dissertations.
  • University of California, Berkeley. School of Public Health Dissertations.

You may find your search results improve by placing the Department/School/Group Name as an exact phrase subject in Advanced Search. Example:

  • Any field contains University of California, Berkeley. Dissertations
  • AND Subject contains exact phrase Vision Science

Finding Master's Theses using UC Library Search (catalog) :

  • Currently, only Master's theses older than 2020 are available in UC Library Search.
  • Click Advanced Search, to the right of the search box.
  • Change the drop down menu to the left of the search box to Subject and type (for example) University of California Berkeley public health in the search box.
  • In the next search box, keep the default Any field and type master* in the search box (adding the * searches for both "master" and "masters").
  • Click Search.

Master's theses from 2020 onwards are available via UC Berkeley Library's Digital Collections .

Dissertations Databases

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  • URL: https://guides.lib.berkeley.edu/dissertations

While Sandel argues that pursuing perfection through genetic engineering would decrease our sense of humility, he claims that the sense of solidarity we would lose is also important.

This thesis summarizes several points in Sandel’s argument, but it does not make a claim about how we should understand his argument. A reader who read Sandel’s argument would not also need to read an essay based on this descriptive thesis.  

Broad thesis (arguable, but difficult to support with evidence) 

Michael Sandel’s arguments about genetic engineering do not take into consideration all the relevant issues.

This is an arguable claim because it would be possible to argue against it by saying that Michael Sandel’s arguments do take all of the relevant issues into consideration. But the claim is too broad. Because the thesis does not specify which “issues” it is focused on—or why it matters if they are considered—readers won’t know what the rest of the essay will argue, and the writer won’t know what to focus on. If there is a particular issue that Sandel does not address, then a more specific version of the thesis would include that issue—hand an explanation of why it is important.  

Arguable thesis with analytical claim 

While Sandel argues persuasively that our instinct to “remake” (54) ourselves into something ever more perfect is a problem, his belief that we can always draw a line between what is medically necessary and what makes us simply “better than well” (51) is less convincing.

This is an arguable analytical claim. To argue for this claim, the essay writer will need to show how evidence from the article itself points to this interpretation. It’s also a reasonable scope for a thesis because it can be supported with evidence available in the text and is neither too broad nor too narrow.  

Arguable thesis with normative claim 

Given Sandel’s argument against genetic enhancement, we should not allow parents to decide on using Human Growth Hormone for their children.

This thesis tells us what we should do about a particular issue discussed in Sandel’s article, but it does not tell us how we should understand Sandel’s argument.  

Questions to ask about your thesis 

  • Is the thesis truly arguable? Does it speak to a genuine dilemma in the source, or would most readers automatically agree with it?  
  • Is the thesis too obvious? Again, would most or all readers agree with it without needing to see your argument?  
  • Is the thesis complex enough to require a whole essay's worth of argument?  
  • Is the thesis supportable with evidence from the text rather than with generalizations or outside research?  
  • Would anyone want to read a paper in which this thesis was developed? That is, can you explain what this paper is adding to our understanding of a problem, question, or topic?
  • picture_as_pdf Thesis

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  • Find & cite a thesis / dissertation
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What's a thesis? What's a dissertation? What's the difference?

Finding theses and dissertations, citing theses & dissertations.

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In the United States, both theses and dissertations:

  • Are usually written about original research done by the author 
  • Tend to be lengthier than most scholarly articles
  • Must be completed to finish a graduate degree

A  thesis  is sometimes required for a master's degree, but not all master's programs require one. (I have two master's degrees and neither required a thesis.) 

A  dissertation  is almost always required for a doctoral degree. Since most doctoral degrees take several years, the research project for a doctoral degree may have a bigger scope than research done for a master's degree. Not surprisingly, then, a dissertation is likely to be much longer than a thesis. 

Theses & dissertations used to be harder to find

In the past, theses and dissertations were only been available at the college or university that granted the author's degree. (It's very different from books - most books can be found at several different libraries around the world.) Lucky for us, this model is changing! 

Nowadays, more and more schools are requiring their students to submit their theses or dissertations to something called an  institutional repository . Institutional repositories are online, and everything in them is freely available to anyone. That said, you don't have time to go to each and every college's institutional repository - and there are better ways you can search for theses and dissertations. 

There are two main ways you can find freely available theses and dissertations: 

1. Search online repositories

Most institutional repositories are hosted by individual colleges and universities. It would take way too much time for you to search every single school's repository, so I would recommend searching some of these "aggregator" sites below. They'll search any institutional repository they can find - so you'll be able to more easily find all the dissertations or theses on your topic.

  • Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (NDLTD)
  • ProQuest Digital Theses & Dissertations Open (PQDT Open)
  • Open Access Theses & Dissertations

2. Search ERIC

Although the library provides database access to ERIC, you can also search ERIC directly from their website. It's a bit easier to find theses and dissertations from the website instead of the library database:

Go to the ERIC website .

Enter your search terms and check the box that says Full text available on ERIC .

find master thesis

Scroll down the results page until you see a box on the left that says Publication Type . You will likely have to click More  to see Dissertations/Theses  as an option.

find master thesis

That's it! All your search results should be available as PDFs.

find master thesis

Let's look at a few example citations, and then review their format.

Jackson, P.P. (2016). Teachers' perceptions of English language learners and reading instruction (Doctoral dissertation, Walden University). Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/

Lezama, S.M. (2014). Equal education: School leaders support of English language learners' academic success (Doctoral dissertation, California State University, Fullerton). PQDT Open.

Mandell, E. (2018). Three art teaching strategies to support language acquisition and communication skill development in English language learners (Master's thesis, Moore College of Art & Design). ERIC.

Riddle, S.A. (2017). Orthographic skills in English language learners and stuents with learning disabilities (Doctoral dissertation, Temple University). Temple University Electronic Theses and Dissertations. https://digital.library.temple.edu/digital/collection/p245801coll10/

You can see all the citations have the following elements in common:

They begin with author's last name, followed by first initial and middle initial (if they use one).

The year of publication, in parentheses, followed by a period.

The dissertation or thesis title, in italics. As with articles, everything should be lowercase except:

  • The first letter of the first word
  • The first letter of the first word after a colon
  • Proper nouns

NOTE : Do not put a period right after the title - the period comes later.

In parentheses, and not in italics, either the phrase "Master's thesis" or "Doctoral dissertation", followed by a comma, and then the name of the school that granted the degree. After the parentheses, add a period.

What comes next depends on where you found the thesis or dissertation.

If you found it using OATD or NDLTD , you would follow the link in the description. For example, this is a search result from NDLTD, and you can see it includes a link to Walden University's website at the bottom.

find master thesis

In this case, you'd link to Walden University's website. You'll also use the name of their site in your citation - see examples #1 and #4 above.

If you found the thesis or dissertation using ERIC or PQDT Open , you will put the site name, since you can access the PDFs directly from those sites.

See examples #2 & #3 above.

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Dissertations & Theses

All UW-Madison dissertations and theses required by the department for submission to the library are cataloged in the Library Catalog. If you do not find a dissertation or thesis in the Library Catalog, contact the department. Full-text PDF files of UW-Madison doctoral dissertations completed 1997 or later are available through ProQuest Dissertations & Theses.

Locating UW-Madison Dissertations & Theses

  • In the Library Catalog advanced search , click Manuscripts, Theses from the list of facets on the right.
  • Enter an author, title, and/or year search terms.
  • Click Search.
  • Dissertations & Theses @ University of Wisconsin at Madison searches just UW-Madison doctoral dissertations from 1892, contains abstracts from 1980, and provides full text (PDF files) from 1997.
  • Most pre-1997 UW-Madison dissertations and theses have been scanned as part of the Google Digitization Project. Digitized copies have been deposited in Hathi Trust , a repository for the digitized collections of major research institutions and libraries. When available, Library Catalog records contain links to Hathi Trust and Google Books. Content in the public domain is available full text.

Borrowing UW-Madison Dissertations & Masters Theses

A selection of theses and dissertations are kept at Memorial Library. The remainder are at the Verona Shelving Facility and may be requested for use. PhDs circulate and may be checked out; Masters do not circulate, but may be used in the library.

  • UW-Madison affiliates and community card holders:   request dissertations and theses through the Library Catalog.
  • Other users:  To obtain a dissertation or thesis, refer your local library’s interlibrary loan staff to  UW-Madison General Library System Interlibrary Loan Lending and Photocopying . If you have no library or information service, consult our services for non-affiliated users .

TMS Library Research Help: Find Theses & Dissertations

  • Find Theses & Dissertations
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Theses & Dissertations: Fee & Free

Open Access (peer reviewed; free to all)

Theological Research Exchange Network or TREN is a database of theological theses and dissertations. Many of the TMS theses and dissertations are contained in TREN and those that are available as electronic documents (edocs) can be downloaded for free by TMS faulty and students on or off campus *   These edocs can be found by searching TREN using the School name.

First, go to the Online Indexes to Theses & Dissertation box on this page and select the link to TREN .  

Third, select "more search options" (top left).  See Figure 1.  

Fourth, select "The Master's Seminary" from the "School" drop down list and Search.  See Figure 2.

You will retrieve a list of all of the Master's Seminary theses available to download  for free.*  Notice the green banner (Figure 1 ). 

Select " Download this document now " and

Finally, " DOWNLOAD NOW ".

                                                                                                      

find master thesis

 Figure 3      

* Only authorized TMS users may download these edocs for free.   For off campus user, when prompted use the same id/password used to access your TMS Self Service account.

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COMMENTS

  1. OATD

    You may also want to consult these sites to search for other theses: Google Scholar; NDLTD, the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations.NDLTD provides information and a search engine for electronic theses and dissertations (ETDs), whether they are open access or not. Proquest Theses and Dissertations (PQDT), a database of dissertations and theses, whether they were published ...

  2. EBSCO Open Dissertations

    EBSCO Open Dissertations is a collaboration between EBSCO and BiblioLabs to increase traffic and discoverability of ETD research. You can join the movement and add your theses and dissertations to the database, making them freely available to researchers everywhere while increasing traffic to your institutional repository.

  3. Dissertations

    Over the last 80 years, ProQuest has built the world's most comprehensive and renowned dissertations program. ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global (PQDT Global), continues to grow its repository of 5 million graduate works each year, thanks to the continued contribution from the world's universities, creating an ever-growing resource of emerging research to fuel innovation and new insights.

  4. Dissertations and theses

    With minor exceptions, all doctoral dissertations and all "Plan A" master's theses accepted by the University of Minnesota are available in the University Libraries system. In some cases (see below) only a non-circulating copy in University Archives exists, but for doctoral dissertations from 1940 to date, and for master's theses from 1925 to ...

  5. Open Access Theses and Dissertations (OATD)

    OATD.org provides open access graduate theses and dissertations published around the world. Metadata (information about the theses) comes from over 1100 colleges, universities, and research institutions. OATD currently indexes 6,654,285 theses and dissertations.

  6. ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global

    ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global with the Web of Science™ enables researchers to seamlessly uncover early career, post-graduate research in the form of more than 5.5 million dissertations and theses from over 4,100 institutions from more than 60 countries, alongside journal articles, conference proceedings, research data, books, preprints and patents.

  7. MIT Theses

    Theses in this collection have been scanned by the MIT Libraries or submitted in electronic format by thesis authors. Since 2004 all new Masters and Ph.D. theses are scanned and added to this collection after degrees are awarded. MIT Theses are openly available to all readers. Please share how this access affects or benefits you.

  8. Finding University of Chicago Master's Theses

    Researchers can find records for many master's theses in the University of Chicago Library Catalog.The Library's print copies of theses circulate and may be borrowed like a book (usually from Mansueto).Researchers may visit the Library to see a thesis, and they may place an interlibrary loan request through their local library if they do not have borrowing privileges at the University of ...

  9. Global ETD Search

    Global ETD Search. Search the 6,479,935 electronic theses and dissertations contained in the NDLTD archive:

  10. Open Access Theses and Dissertations

    Access is available to everyone, anywhere. Description: Coverage: 1990s to the present. Indexes over 4 million graduate-level electronic theses and dissertations (ETDs) freely available from over 1,100 institutions worldwide. Search for keywords from titles, author names, abstracts, subjects, university/publisher and more.

  11. Prize-Winning Thesis and Dissertation Examples

    Prize-Winning Thesis and Dissertation Examples. Published on September 9, 2022 by Tegan George.Revised on July 18, 2023. It can be difficult to know where to start when writing your thesis or dissertation.One way to come up with some ideas or maybe even combat writer's block is to check out previous work done by other students on a similar thesis or dissertation topic to yours.

  12. How can I find theses and dissertations?

    The Center for Research Libraries ' Dissertations database includes many non-US theses. WorldCat describes many masters' & PhD theses. Use "Advanced Search" and limit to subtype "thesis/dissertation." No full text; it just tells you what libraries have reported having copies. There are several excellent guides out there with international ...

  13. Computer Science Library Research Guide

    How to search for Harvard dissertations. DASH, Digital Access to Scholarship at Harvard, is the university's central, open-access repository for the scholarly output of faculty and the broader research community at Harvard.Most Ph.D. dissertations submitted from March 2012 forward are available online in DASH.; Check HOLLIS, the Library Catalog, and refine your results by using the Advanced ...

  14. Finding Dissertations and Theses: Home

    Theses Canada Portal. Over 50,000 electronic theses and dissertations are available from the Library and Archives Canada's collection. For full-text, select "Electronic theses" on the search screen. British Library EThOS. Individuals may login and search this database of over 480,000 British doctoral theses.

  15. What Is a Thesis?

    Revised on April 16, 2024. A thesis is a type of research paper based on your original research. It is usually submitted as the final step of a master's program or a capstone to a bachelor's degree. Writing a thesis can be a daunting experience. Other than a dissertation, it is one of the longest pieces of writing students typically complete.

  16. Finding theses and dissertations

    Use the Advanced Library Search tool to narrow your search by the name of the department in which the degree is granted. In the "Any field" dropdown menu, select Author/Creator. In the "Enter a search term" field, type the University name and department granting the degree. For example, to find dissertations/theses from the Department ...

  17. Find Dissertations & Theses

    Finding Master's Theses using UC Library Search (catalog): Currently, only Master's theses older than 2020 are available in UC Library Search. Click Advanced Search, to the right of the search box. Change the drop down menu to the left of the search box to Subject and type (for example) University of California Berkeley public health in the ...

  18. Harvard University Theses, Dissertations, and Prize Papers

    The Harvard University Archives' collection of theses, dissertations, and prize papers document the wide range of academic research undertaken by Harvard students over the course of the University's history.. Beyond their value as pieces of original research, these collections document the history of American higher education, chronicling both the growth of Harvard as a major research ...

  19. Thesis

    Thesis. Your thesis is the central claim in your essay—your main insight or idea about your source or topic. Your thesis should appear early in an academic essay, followed by a logically constructed argument that supports this central claim. A strong thesis is arguable, which means a thoughtful reader could disagree with it and therefore ...

  20. Find & cite a thesis / dissertation

    A thesis is sometimes required for a master's degree, but not all master's programs require one. (I have two master's degrees and neither required a thesis.) A dissertation is almost always required for a doctoral degree. Since most doctoral degrees take several years, the research project for a doctoral degree may have a bigger scope than ...

  21. Dissertation & Thesis Outline

    Dissertation & Thesis Outline | Example & Free Templates. Published on June 7, 2022 by Tegan George.Revised on November 21, 2023. A thesis or dissertation outline is one of the most critical early steps in your writing process.It helps you to lay out and organize your ideas and can provide you with a roadmap for deciding the specifics of your dissertation topic and showcasing its relevance to ...

  22. Dissertations & Theses

    All UW-Madison dissertations and theses required by the department for submission to the library are cataloged in the Library Catalog. If you do not find a dissertation or thesis in the Library Catalog, contact the department. Full-text PDF files of UW-Madison doctoral dissertations completed 1997 or later are available through ProQuest ...

  23. TMS Library Research Help: Find Theses & Dissertations

    First, go to the Online Indexes to Theses & Dissertation box on this page and select the link to TREN. Second, select the link to edocs: . Third, select "more search options" (top left). See Figure 1. Fourth, select "The Master's Seminary" from the "School" drop down list and Search. See Figure 2.