Theses
University of London theses
Most University of London theses are held by the libraries of the colleges through which the theses were awarded.
Copies of some University of London research degree theses are held offsite at the depository of the Senate House Library. Copies may also be held by the relevant Institute Libraries. If you know that the thesis you are interested in was awarded by the University of London, check the Author/Title option in the catalogue of Theses.
If you want to locate theses written on a particular subject use Theses Keyword enquiry and enter terms for the subject area you are interested in.
Theses from the British Isles
Theses awarded by any university in Great Britain can be located using the ProQuest Dissertations and Theses: Global. Most will be available via the EThOS Electronic Theses Online Service. Theses will be available through EThOS for immediate download if they have already been digitised. If not, you can make a request can via the EThOS service for the thesis to be digitised and made available for you. In most cases the service is free of charge.
If you have difficulty finding a thesis on the EThOS catalogue we strongly recommend you consult the ‘Search tips’ available via the main EThOS search page.
Not all UK universities participate in the EThOS service. If a thesis is not available through EThOS it may be possible to consult it on interlibrary loan. Senate House Library can arrange this on your behalf but you may wish to make a request through your home library as this will usually be cheaper. See our Interlibrary Loans and document supply page for further information on making a request through Senate House Library.
OpenDissertations includes links to EThos or Institutional repositories, for the British theses it includes.
American, Canadian & some European Universities Theses
Theses awarded by American, Canadian and some European Universities can be located using ProQuest Dissertations and Theses: Global which includes full text from 1997. Going back to 1743, this is a computer searchable database available offsite for authorised users. Some theses are also being made available on an open access basis on the PQDT Open website. Others may be ordered on Dissertation Express.
OpenDissertations is an EBSCO open-access database which incorporates American Doctoral Dissertations, and information about theses contributed by select colleges and universities from around the world. While the database does not contain the full text it does have links to ETHOS or Institutional repositories, for the British theses it includes.
In order to consult a thesis from abroad which is not available via this service it is advisable to ask your college library (or the British Library if you are a member there) if they can organise an inter-library loan. If you are not a member of another library we can organise an inter-library loan on your behalf, but there is a charge
There is a gateway for European e-theses at DART-Europe E-theses Portal.