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 Dissertations from UIUC |
| Dissertations Granted by other Universities |
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| Dissertations from UIUC |
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The short version |
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Copies of dissertations by UIUC graduates are held by the Library. Because they've been processed in different ways over the years, finding a copy can be somewhat complicated. As a general rule, you should start your search with the online catalog. If you think that the thesis you're looking for was deposited before 1983, there will be at most only a brief record in the online catalog, with author-title access. If you don't find a record for a thesis deposited before 1984 in the online catalog, check the card catalog or the special thesis files (described below). After 1984, the online catalog is the primary record for UIUC theses. |
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The full account |
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The Library maintains an archival copy of every dissertation accepted by UIUC. The archival copy is held in the Rare Book and Special Collections Library (346 Library). Because these are archival copies, they cannot be taken out of the Rare Book and Special Collections Library, but they can be used on site during regular RBSCL hours.
From 1873 to 1935, doctoral degree recipients were required to deposit only one copy of their dissertation with the Library, and that copy became the archival copy. However, many second copies were also given to the Library, and these were cataloged and added to the collection. They are mostly found in the main bookstacks, and they circulate normally.
Beginning in 1935, doctoral degree recipients were required to deposit two copies of their thesis; one became the archival, non-circulating copy, and the other was classified and placed in the circulating collection. From 1961 to 1974, the Library received three copies of each dissertation, two print copies and one microfilm copy. Since 1974, only two copies are normally deposited with the Library; the microfilm copy serves as the archival copy, and the print copy becomes the circulating copy.
Until 1984, records for the archival copies were added to the card catalog. They were also added to the "thesis shelf list" (each thesis was given an archival call number consisting of the year the degree was conferred plus a designation for the author) and to the "departmental thesis catalog" (cards arranged by department granting the degree, then by year, then by author's name). No new records have been added to the special files since 1984. These special thesis files are located in the card catalog room. Ask at the Information Desk for help in using them.
Beginning in 1978, short author-title records were added to the Library's online catalog for the archival copies. Any circulating copy of a thesis cataloged before 1978 will also appear in the online catalog, but only with a brief author-title record.
After 1984, the online catalog contains the only bibliographic record of a dissertation accepted at UIUC. Starting in 1983, fuller cataloging records were provided for UIUC dissertations, including modified subject headings. These subject headings start with the name of the department that granted the degree, e.g., "History--Theses--UIUC--1990" or "Philosophy--Theses--UIUC" (with or without the year).
Obviously this is quite complicated, so if you don't find a UIUC dissertation you're looking for in the online catalog (short records for all circulating copies to 1983, full records since 1983) or in the card or thesis catalogs (before 1984), check with a librarian. |
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| Dissertations Granted by other Universities |
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The most complete listing of dissertations accepted by American and many Canadian universities is Dissertation Abstracts International. There is also selective coverage of dissertations from British and European universities. Dissertation Abstracts International includes citations for dissertations from 1861 to the present. For dissertations from 1861 to 1980, the DAI online database provides citations to the printed volumes containing the actual abstracts. (These printed volumes are held in the Reference Library.) For dissertations after 1980, the abstracts are also present in the online database. Beginning in 1989, a field was created for the name of the advisor, but this information is not given for all records. |
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The most complete record of British and Irish dissertations is the Index to Theses Accepted for Higher Degree by the Universities of Great Britain and Ireland. This is located in the Reference Library (Q.013 As5i1, 1950/51- ). |
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German dissertations are listed in Reihe H (Hochschulschriften) of the German national bibliography, Deutsche Nationalbibliographie. (Previously the information was found in Reihe C, Dissertationen und Habilitationsschriften and the Hochschulschriften Verzeichnis.) This is held in the Reference Library. [call no. ] German theses are also listed in the online Deutsche Bibliothek Database available through RLIN, the Research Libraries Information Network. Because of the nature of our contract with RLIN, this database must be searched for you by a librarian. |
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French dissertations are listed in DocThèses, a CD-ROM database available in the Reference Library. This database includes theses in the humanities, social sciences, sciences, and the arts from 1972, and in medicine from 1983. |
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The same company that produces DAI also sells microfilm, microfiche, and paper copies of the dissertations it indexes and abstracts in DAI. Over the years, the Library has purchased microfilm copies or photocopies of many dissertations written at other American universities. These dissertations are cataloged like books and can be searched in the online catalog. If you don’t find a non-UIUC dissertation you need in the online catalog, you can try to borrow a copy on interlibrary loan, or you can use the Dissertation Express Service (U.S. dissertations only) offered by our interlibrary loan unit, the Information Resource Retrieval Center (IRRC). With Dissertation Express, you pay $15 up front to IRRC, and they order a paper copy of the dissertation, which you can keep for up to one year. |
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If you need a foreign dissertation, it may be available from the Center for Research Libraries in Chicago. They have more than 750,000 foreign doctoral dissertations on microfilm and microfiche and in hard copy, available for loan to member libraries. (UIUC is a member.) CRL acquires foreign dissertations through deposit from the granting institutions and upon request from a member library. These dissertations are not included in CRL's online catalog, and until recently, the only way to know if they held a particular dissertation was to call them or submit a loan request. CRL is now in the process of creating a database searchable by author, title, subject keyword, and name of granting institution for these dissertations. To search this database, click here. |
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