dissertation repository uk

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OU theses and dissertations

Online theses.

Are available via Open Research Online .

Print theses

Search for OU theses in the Library Search . To see only print theses click 'In the Walton Hall library' and refine your results to resource type 'Thesis'.

OU staff and research students can borrow a consultation copy of a thesis (if available). Please contact the Library helpdesk giving the author and title of the thesis.

UK theses and dissertations from EThOS

The Electronic Theses Online System (EThOS) offers free access to the full text of UK theses.

EThOS offers a one stop online shop providing free access to UK theses
EThOS digitizes theses on request into PDF format, this may require payment
EThOS is managed by the British Library in partnership with a number of UK universities
EThOS is open to all categories of library user

What does this mean to you as a library user?

When you need to access a PhD thesis from another UK based HE institution you should check EThOS to either download a thesis which has already been digitised or to request that a UK thesis be supplied to you.

For all UK theses EThOS will be the first point of delivery. You can use the online ordering and tracking system direct from EThOS to manage your requests for UK PhD theses, including checking the status of your requests
As readers you will deal directly with EThOS so will not need to fill in a document delivery request
OU staff and research students will still be entitled to access non-UK based PhD theses by filling in a document delivery request
In some cases where EThOS is unable to supply a UK thesis OU staff and research students will be able to access it by filling in a conventional document delivery request. The thesis will be supplied through direct loan
The EThOS system is both faster and cheaper than the previous British Theses service which was based on microfilm
The British Library no longer arranges interlibrary loans for UK PhD theses
Interlibrary Loan procedures for other types of request from the British Library (articles and books for example) will remain the same

If you have any queries about using EThOS contact the Document Delivery Team ( [email protected] or the Library Helpdesk ).

Note 13/03/2024: The British Library is continuing to experience a major technology outage affecting its websites and other online systems, due to a Cyber attack. as a result access to ETHOS might not be possible until the issue is fixed.

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Finding UK theses

The Bodleian Libraries hold copies of some UK theses. These are listed on SOLO and may be ordered for delivery to a reading room.

These theses are not all catalogued in a uniform way. Adding the word 'thesis' as a keyword in SOLO may help, but this is unlikely to find all theses, and may find published works based upon theses as well as unpublished theses.

Card catalogue

Some early theses accepted for higher degrees and published before 1973 are held in the Bodleian Libraries but are not yet catalogued on SOLO. These holdings can be found in the Foreign Dissertations Catalogue card index.

To request access to material in the catalogue, speak to library staff at the Main Enquiry Desk in the Lower Reading Room of the Bodleian Old Library, or contact us via [email protected] or phone (01865 277162).

Other finding aids

Proquest dissertations & theses.

You can use ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global to locate theses accepted for higher degrees at universities in the UK and Ireland since 1716. The service also provides abstracts of these theses.

Library Hub Discover

You can use Library Hub Discover to search the online catalogues of some of the UK’s largest university research libraries to see if a thesis is held by another UK library.

The British Library

The British Library online catalogue provides access to digital doctoral theses held in UK institutional repositories. To access these documents, search for a thesis and then click on the link "View Online - External Resource Available" (in green) just above the "I want this" section.

UTREES - University Theses in Russian, Soviet, and East European Studies 1907–

UTREES is a bibliographical database of research in the British Isles. The database has been continuously extended from the printed volume, most recently with 202 recent theses added in 2021. The database lists details of over 6,000 doctoral and selected masters’ theses from British and Irish universities. It covers research relating to Eastern and Central Europe, Russia and the area of the former USSR, including Central Asia, the Caucasus and Siberia.

Individual universities

You can also go to individual UK universities' sites for their online theses repositories.

You can purchase copies of Cambridge University theses through the Cambridge University Library's online order form . There is a standard charge of £75 (plus VAT and postage). White Rose ETheses Online is an online repository of doctoral theses from the Universities of Leeds, Sheffield and York. It is part of a national and international network of open access online databases which promote access to research outputs.

Ordering UK theses

You can request theses from other UK universities as an inter-library request .

Please note that it may not be possible to obtain some theses due to restrictions on lending placed by the author of the thesis or the institution at which it is held.