Dissertations and Theses from Other Universities
Step One: Search ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global.
According to ProQuest, coverage begins with 1637. With more than 2.4 million entries, ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global is the starting point for finding citations to doctoral dissertations and master’s theses. Dissertations published from 1980 forward include 350-word abstracts written by the author. Master’s theses published from 1988 forward include 150-word abstracts. UMI also offers over 1.8 million titles for purchase in microfilm or paper formats. The full text of more than 930,000 are available in PDF format for immediate free download. Use our interlibrary loan service for the titles not available full text online. You can also search WorldCat for the titles and submit interlibrary loan requests through individual records.
Step Two: Check the Cornell Library Catalog.
Check our catalog before placing an interlibrary loan request. We may have a copy of a dissertation from another university.
Step Three: Search for Foreign Dissertations (for those not found in ProQuest or the Cornell Library Catalog)
First, search for titles and verify holdings of dissertations at the Center for Research Libraries by using the CRL catalog. CRL seeks to provide comprehensive access to doctoral dissertations submitted to institutions outside the U. S. and Canada (currently more than 750,000 titles). One hundred European universities maintain exchange or deposit agreements with CRL.
You can also search for Open Access foreign dissertations if you know the country of origin using the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations' list of international electronic thesis repositories or check the list below.
International Dissertation Databases
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Open Access Theses and DissertationsOpen access graduate theses and dissertations published around the world. Metadata (information about the theses) comes from over 1100 colleges, universities, and research institutions. OATD currently indexes 7,124,597 theses and dissertations.
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EBSCO Open DissertationsOpen Access Dissertations submitted by the authors
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Database of African Theses & Dissertations-Research (DATAD-R)From the Association of African Universities/Association des Universites Africaines. DATAD-R is a programme to improve management and access to African scholarly work. Theses and dissertations represent a significant proportion of Africa’s research activity.
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National Electronic Thesis & Dissertation Portal, South AfricaThis site is run by the South African National Research Foundation (NRF) in collaboration with the Committee of Higher Education Librarians of South Africa (CHELSA).It provides access to the full text of many thousands of doctoral PHD and some other dissertations produced in South African universities. These cover the full range of science, social science and humanities topics. There is some coverage from as early as the 1970s although there are larger numbers of post 2009 records.
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EThOS: e-theses online serviceThe British Library's e-thesis collection. Please note that this database has been affected by the October 2023 cyber attack against the BL and is not currently operational. This link currently goes to the BL catalog, where the titles are listed, many with active eThOS links.
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Theses CanadaTheses Canada provides access to all Canadian dissertations and theses deposited at the National Library of Canada since 1998. Full text for each thesis or dissertation is available four years after publication.
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Trove (theses)A discovery service focused on Australia, Australians, and items found in Australian collecting institutions. The Australasian Digital Thesis Website has now been incorporated into Trove, and it contains theses from universities across Australia and New Zealand.
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CETD Zhong wen shuo bo shi lun wen zi liao ku ji ping tai fu wu / CETD 中文碩博士論文資料庫曁平台服務 Index of master and doctoral disserations from TaiwanIndex of master and doctoral disserations from Taiwan. Contains 2,803,329 dissertations from 2004. Some dissertations available in full-text.
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China Dissertations Database 中国学位论文全文数据库 by 万方数据In the process of updating 万方数据中国学位论文全文数据库（China Dissertations Database），收录始于1980年，年增35余万篇，涵盖基础科学、理学、工业技术、人文科学、社会科学、医药卫生、农业科学、交通运输、航空航天和环境科学等各学科领域。
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Pakistan Research RepositoryAn ongoing project of the Higher Education Commission to promote the international visibility of research originating out of institutes of higher education in Pakistan. The aim of this service is to maintain a digital archive of all PhD and M Phil theses.
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Shodh Ganga: Reservoir of Indian ThesesThe Shodhganga@INFLIBNET Centre provides a platform for research students to deposit their Ph.D. theses and make it available to the entire scholarly community in open access. The repository has the ability to capture, index, store, disseminate and preserve ETDs submitted by the researchers.
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Bibliografia Nazionale Italiana - Tesi di dottorato (Online)Index of Italian university dissertations online begins with the year 2012.
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BocconiBorn digital theses from Università Bocconi published since 2000. Only those theses for which the authors have granted permission are accessible for consultation.
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DialnetLists almost 4 million articles in more than 8,000 mostly Spanish journals and magazines, and thousands of books and dissertations. The subjects covered include the sciences and technology and the social sciences, humanities, education, business, and law.
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DissOnlineDissOnline provides information on the subject of electronic university publications. It can be used to discover online dissertations and post-doctoral theses. For more information about the portal, go to German National Library website (DNB).
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Die Deutsche Bibliothek DatabaseContains 6.5+ million records representing the holdings of the National Library of Germany, which, following the unification of Germany in October 1990, combines the Deutsche Bucherei Leipzig and the Deutsche Bibliothek Frankfurtam Main (including the Deutsche Musikarchiv Berlin). The library collects and catalogs all printed and electronic publications issued in Germany, published abroad in German, translated from German-language publications, and works in any language about Germany (Germanica). The records represent monographs, periodicals, microforms, dissertations, visual materials, maps, printed and recorded music, and electronic publications issued since 1945.
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DiVA portalResearch publications and student theses written at 36 universities and research institutions in Sweden.
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eThosThe British Library's e-thesis collection. Please note that this database has been affected by the October 2023 cyber attack against the BL and is still not fully operational.
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NARCISSome Dutch e-theses are available through NARCIS.
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TESIOSpain’s Ministry of Education thesis database
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TesionlineOnline index of Italian university tesi di laurea / masters theses.
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Theses.frFrench doctoral theses defended since 1985.
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ARGENTINA - Tesis UBAA catalog of theses and dissertations from the University of Buenos Aires.
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BRAZIL - Biblioteca Digital Brasileira de Teses e DissertaçõesA portal providing free access to theses and dissertations from Brazilian universities (more than 192,000 in 2012). It is member of the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (NTDL).
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Cybertesis: Repositorio Institucional de Tesis y Trabajos de InvestigaciónInstitutional Repository of the National University of San Marcos in Lima, Peru. Includes theses from BOLIVIA, CHILE, COLOMBIA, and PERU.
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TESIUNAM: Tesis del Sistema Bibliotecario de la UnamTheses from the National University of Mexico / Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. To search for electronic theses, click on “tesis electrónicas (REDUNAM)."
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ARGENTINA - Tesis UBAA catalog of theses and dissertations from the University of Buenos Aires.
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Bibliografia Nazionale Italiana - Tesi di dottorato (Online)Index of Italian university dissertations online begins with the year 2012.
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BocconiBorn digital theses from Università Bocconi published since 2000. Only those theses for which the authors have granted permission are accessible for consultation.
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BRAZIL - Biblioteca Digital Brasileira de Teses e DissertaçõesA portal providing free access to theses and dissertations from Brazilian universities (more than 192,000 in 2012). It is member of the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (NTDL).
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CETD Zhong wen shuo bo shi lun wen zi liao ku ji ping tai fu wu / CETD 中文碩博士論文資料庫曁平台服務 Index of master and doctoral disserations from TaiwanIndex of master and doctoral disserations from Taiwan. Contains 2,803,329 dissertations from 2004. Some dissertations available in full-text.
-
China Dissertations Database 中国学位论文全文数据库 by 万方数据In the process of updating 万方数据中国学位论文全文数据库（China Dissertations Database），收录始于1980年，年增35余万篇，涵盖基础科学、理学、工业技术、人文科学、社会科学、医药卫生、农业科学、交通运输、航空航天和环境科学等各学科领域。
-
Cybertesis: Repositorio Institucional de Tesis y Trabajos de InvestigaciónInstitutional Repository of the National University of San Marcos in Lima, Peru. Includes theses from BOLIVIA, CHILE, COLOMBIA, and PERU.
-
Database of African Theses & Dissertations-Research (DATAD-R)From the Association of African Universities/Association des Universites Africaines. DATAD-R is a programme to improve management and access to African scholarly work. Theses and dissertations represent a significant proportion of Africa’s research activity.
-
DialnetLists almost 4 million articles in more than 8,000 mostly Spanish journals and magazines, and thousands of books and dissertations. The subjects covered include the sciences and technology and the social sciences, humanities, education, business, and law.
-
DissOnlineDissOnline provides information on the subject of electronic university publications. It can be used to discover online dissertations and post-doctoral theses. For more information about the portal, go to German National Library website (DNB).
-
Die Deutsche Bibliothek DatabaseContains 6.5+ million records representing the holdings of the National Library of Germany, which, following the unification of Germany in October 1990, combines the Deutsche Bucherei Leipzig and the Deutsche Bibliothek Frankfurtam Main (including the Deutsche Musikarchiv Berlin). The library collects and catalogs all printed and electronic publications issued in Germany, published abroad in German, translated from German-language publications, and works in any language about Germany (Germanica). The records represent monographs, periodicals, microforms, dissertations, visual materials, maps, printed and recorded music, and electronic publications issued since 1945.
-
DiVA portalResearch publications and student theses written at 36 universities and research institutions in Sweden.
-
EBSCO Open DissertationsOpen Access Dissertations submitted by the authors
-
eThosThe British Library's e-thesis collection. Please note that this database has been affected by the October 2023 cyber attack against the BL and is not currently operational. This link currently goes to the BL catalog.
-
NARCISSome Dutch e-theses are available through NARCIS.
-
National Electronic Thesis & Dissertation Portal, South AfricaThis site is run by the South African National Research Foundation (NRF) in collaboration with the Committee of Higher Education Librarians of South Africa (CHELSA).It provides access to the full text of many thousands of doctoral PHD and some other dissertations produced in South African universities. These cover the full range of science, social science and humanities topics. There is some coverage from as early as the 1970s although there are larger numbers of post 2009 records.
-
The Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (NDLTD)An international organization dedicated to promoting the adoption, creation, use, dissemination, and preservation of electronic theses and dissertations (ETDs).
-
Open Access Theses and DissertationsOpen access graduate theses and dissertations published around the world. Metadata (information about the theses) comes from over 1100 colleges, universities, and research institutions. OATD currently indexes 7,124,597 theses and dissertations.
-
Pakistan Research RepositoryAn ongoing project of the Higher Education Commission to promote the international visibility of research originating out of institutes of higher education in Pakistan. The aim of this service is to maintain a digital archive of all PhD and M Phil theses.
-
Shodh Ganga: Reservoir of Indian ThesesThe Shodhganga@INFLIBNET Centre provides a platform for research students to deposit their Ph.D. theses and make it available to the entire scholarly community in open access. The repository has the ability to capture, index, store, disseminate and preserve ETDs submitted by the researchers.
-
TESIOSpain’s Ministry of Education thesis database
-
TesionlineOnline index of Italian university tesi di laurea / masters theses.
-
TESIUNAM: Tesis del Sistema Bibliotecario de la UnamTheses from the National University of Mexico / Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. To search for electronic theses, click on “tesis electrónicas (REDUNAM)."
-
Theses.frFrench doctoral theses defended since 1985.
-
Theses CanadaTheses Canada provides access to all Canadian dissertations and theses deposited at the National Library of Canada since 1998. Full text for each thesis or dissertation is available four years after publication.
-
Trove (theses)A discovery service focused on Australia, Australians, and items found in Australian collecting institutions. The Australasian Digital Thesis Website has now been incorporated into Trove, and it contains theses from universities across Australia and New Zealand.
European Dissertations and Theses: Print Sources
French Dissertations
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Catalogue des thèses de doctorat soutenues devant les universités françaisesCall Number: Library Annex Oversize Z 5055 .F79 A3 +Print listings of French dissertations covering 1884-1978.
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Inventaire des thèses de doctorat soutenues devant les universités françaisesCall Number: Library Annex Z 5055 .F79 I62Print listings of French dissertations covering 1981-1992.
Verifying German Dissertations:
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Die Deutsche Bibliothek DatabaseOnline.
Contains 6.5 million records representing the holdings of the National Library of Germany, which, following the unification of Germany in October 1990, combines the Deutsche Bucherei Leipzig and the Deutsche Bibliothek Frankfurtam Main (including the Deutsche Musikarchiv Berlin). The library collects and catalogs all printed and electronic publications issued in Germany, published abroad in German, translated from German-language publications, and works in any language about Germany (Germanica). The records represent monographs, periodicals, microforms, dissertations, visual materials, maps, printed and recorded music, and electronic publications issued since 1945. -
Deutsche Nationalbibliographie und Bibliographie der im Ausland erschienenen deutschsprachigen Veröffentlichungen. Reihe H, Hochschulschriften.Call Number: Uris Library Oversize Z 5055 .G37 D48 +Print index covering 1991-2003.
Subject Heading: Dissertations, Academic--Germany--Bibliography--Periodicals.
Previous title: Deutsche Bibliographie. Hochschulschriften-Verzeichnis Deutsche Bibliographie. Hochschulschriften-Verzeichnis. -
Deutsche NationalbibliografieCall Number: Uris Library Oversize Z 5055 .G37 D48 +Print index covering 2004-2008.
Subject Heading: Dissertations, Academic--Germany--Bibliography--Periodicals.
Continuation of Deutsche Nationalbibliographie und Bibliographie der im Ausland erschienenen deutschsprachigen Veröffentlichungen.
Requests for non-Cornell dissertations by Cornellians
Students and faculty wishing to obtain a copy of a dissertation or thesis that is not available full text in ProQuest Dissertations and Theses can request the title using our interlibrary loan service. Questions may be directed to the Interlibrary Services (ILS) staff.
The Purchase option: It is also possible to purchase dissertations directly through ProQuest Dissertation Express (back to June 1954). Not all universities participate (for instance, MIT). The ILS staff can help with questions about dissertation purchases.