Dissertations

Finding Dissertations

Dissertations written at UIUC

UIUC Online Catalog: The UIUC library should have at least one copy of all dissertations deposited at UIUC. A non-circulating archival copy is held in the Rare Book & Manuscript Library, but a circulating copy can often be located in other libraries. To begin searching for dissertations, use the Advanced Search in our online catalog to search by author, title, subject or department. Here is an example of a subject search for psychology dissertations written in 2003:

  1. Use the Advanced Search in the online catalog.
  2. Type Theses in the first search box and Psychology in the second.
  3. In the "Search by:" dropdown menu at the right, select Subject Words. If you want to limit by a certain year, type the year in the third search box and select Subject Words in the dropdown menu.
  4. Click on the Search button.

Following the above directions, the search screen should look like this:

Catalog search screen

Digital Dissertations: Digital Dissertations is a database that contains dissertation citations back to 1861, abstracts back to 1980, and the full text of many dissertations from 1997 (and sometimes earlier) to present. Masters theses have been selectively indexed since 1962. Almost all dissertations written at UIUC from 1997 forward are available as a free full-text download in PDF (Adobe Acrobat) format. Here is an example of a subject search for education dissertations written at UIUC between 2000 and 2004:

  1. In the first search box, type Education and select Subject (SU) from the dropdown menu at the right.
  2. In the second search box, type University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and select School (SC) from the dropdown menu at the right. (Note: The full name of the school needs to be typed out, so "University of Illinois" or "UIUC" will not work.)
  3. To limit by year, type in the years 2000 to 2004 in the Degree Date from boxes.
  4. Click the Search button.

Following the above directions, the search screen should look like this:

UMI Search Screen

After performing your search and locating a dissertation of interest, you'll see a Free Download button at the left of the dissertation record if a full-text download is available, as seen below. If you click that button, you will be prompted for your email address and a link to the dissertation will be emailed to you shortly thereafter.

UMI Download Screen

If the full text is not available for download, a print copy of the dissertation should be available in the UIUC library--just do a search in the online catalog for the dissertation title to determine its location.

Abstracts for pre-1980 dissertations are available in Dissertation Abstracts, the print version of Digital Dissertations. You can view it in the Reference Library on the first northwest index table (call number: 013 M583).

If you're having trouble finding what you need, please Ask A Librarian for additional assistance.


Dissertations written at other universities

Dissertations Available at the UIUC Library

Dissertations outside UIUC

To Borrow a Dissertation

Interlibrary Loan Borrowing Office: If a dissertation is not available in any of the above locations, the Interlibrary Loan Borrowing Office can help you acquire a copy. Requests can be made online or in-person at the Interlibrary Loan Borrowing Office, 104A Main Library. If they cannot find a circulating copy, they will e-mail you and give you the option of ordering through Dissertation Express, a fee-based service that obtains dissertations in 4-5 business days. The library pays for the dissertation, and retains it after you are finished with it. You, in turn, pay the $15 Dissertation Express shipping fee. For more information about this service, see the Interlibrary Loan Office's Dissertation Express FAQ entry.

Keeping track of dissertations in your field with RSS feeds

The Digital Dissertations database includes over 2 million items, with thousands of titles added each year. ProQuest, the vendor for Digital Dissertations, offers an RSS feed that can help you keep up to date on new theses and dissertations in your field. Find out more at the ProQuest RSS Feeds site.


Still have questions about Dissertations?

Ask a Librarian! http://search.grainger.uiuc.edu/templates/lib/askus/

(Note: This document is designed to help users at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. If you are not affiliated with UIUC and are interested in borrowing a dissertation granted by this university, first check the UIUC Online Catalog, using the instructions above, to verify that there is a circulating copy, and then consult the interlibrary loan office of your own library. If there is no circulating copy, you may be need to purchase a copy from Dissertation Express in digital, paper or microfilm form. For more information contact the Reference Desk at (217)333-2290, or by email, reflib@uiuc.edu.)