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Cornell Dissertations and Theses

Dissertations and Theses

Library Catalog: Cornell theses and dissertations can be located by searching by title or author in the library catalog.
The library retains two print copies of all Cornell University dissertations. One copy is available from the related subject library and can be borrowed. A second non-circulating copy is held by the Kroch Library Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections. This copy is stored off-site, and must be requested 24 hours in advance.

As of March 2009, access to e-versions of theses kept in eCommons (see below) is available through the catalog. Moreover, instead of the usual 9- to 12-month wait before receipt of the print copies by the library, records for the e-versions will appear in the local catalog and in WorldCat within a month or less of their deposit in eCommons.

Note that not all theses are created in electronic format. This new means of access merely means that those theses that are in this format will be available this in new way.

eCommons@Cornell:Some authors choose to make their manuscripts publicly available in the Cornell University Library digital repository, eCommons@Cornell. Participation in this program in voluntary and the documents submitted may not be open to public viewing.

Proquest Dissertations & Theses: Proquest Dissertations & Theses provides the full text of recent (from 1996 to the present) theses and dissertations, with abstracts available from 1981 to the present. To limit your results to only Cornell University dissertations, searchDissertations & Theses @ Cornell University and the Weill Medical College, a subset of Proquest Dissertations & Theses.

Master of Engineering Theses

The library receive copies of Master's theses when a thesis is required for the degree. The Engineering Library tries to collect Masters of Engineering project reports, but our collection is not complete. The largest collections in the library are from Operations Research and Electrical and Computer Engineering. There is not always a unique thesis number for Master of Engineering project reports, and they are not always grouped together the way Ph.D. theses are. In the past, not all author names were searchable in the case of Master of Engineering project reports. Please bring these to our attention - we will add all author names to the record.

Theses and Dissertations from Other Institutions

Finding Dissertations and Theses

Proquest Dissertations & Theses: Proquest Dissertations & Theses provides full text of recent (from 1996 to the present) theses and dissertations, with abstracts available from 1981 to present.

Dissertation Abstracts: Dissertation Abstracts is a definitive subject, title and author guide to American dissertations accepted at an accredited institution from 1861 through 1980. An increasing number of papers accepted abroad are also included.

Obtaining Dissertations and Theses from Other Institutions

Interlibrary Loan: The interlibrary loan department will help Cornell faculty, students and staff borrow theses and dissertations necessary for their research. If you are unable to locate a copy of a non-Cornell thesis or dissertation, an interlibrary loan request for it can be placed online. Registration is required for first time users

NTIS: Some U.S. dissertations are available as government reports if the research they report on was funded by the U.S. Government (from NTIS - National Technical Information Service). The Engineering Library collects these reports, so the thesis may be available immediately in that form.

UMI's Dissertation Express: Personal copies of dissertations can be purchased from UMI.

Dissertations from Foreign Institutions

It is possible for the Library to borrow foreign Ph.D. dissertations, but the process is almost always very slow - in many cases, as long as a year. Sometimes, but not always, it is possible to obtain a PDF copy of a thesis, though this sometimes requires a nominal fee. In discussing such loans, you should let the library staff person who is helping you know what your schedule and needs are, so we can cancel the order or advise you on other options if we will not be able to get the document within the time which is useful to you.

Browsing CU Theses in the Engineering Library

The call numbers for theses and dissertations in the Engineering Library are: