Locating a Thesis or Dissertation

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Submitted by lbliss@sdsu.edu on Tue, 2022-07-05 09:05
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Need to find a thesis in a particular subject area? Read on to find out how to access an SDSU thesis and how to access to dissertations and theses written outside the SDSU community.

Browse SDSU Theses & Dissertations

    

Finding a Thesis or Dissertation Written at SDSU

Search the library OneSearch for dissertations and theses.

  1. Go to the library homepage at library.sdsu.edu
  2. Click on the OneSearch tab in the search box, and then the red Advanced Search box.
  3. To find a thesis on a particular topic or written within a particular department, click the SDSU Collections radio button, limit your search to Subject in the pull-down menu (which means Library of Congress Subject Heading) and search "SDSU theses" followed by (topic or department.)  For example: SDSU theses (anthropology)

Finding a Doctoral Dissertation Written at SDSU

If you are looking for a doctoral dissertation, search the same way as above. Limit your search to Subject but use the following search: “SDSU theses (department or discipline) doctoral”.  For example,: “SDSU theses (educational leadership) doctoral”.

Finding an Undergraduate Honor’s Project or Thesis Written at SDSU

If you are looking for an undergraduate thesis, limit your search to Subject Search for "Bachelor's thesis (University Honors Program)”. 

Please Note: 

  • SDSU student theses published after 2010 are available online. When you find the one you want in OneSearch, the record will say "Online Access." Click on this to access the online version, which is usually in PDF format.  
  • Older theses are shelved in Love Library. Theses written after 2000 are shelved by department, rather than subject matter. You can find the location of any thesis by using the call number in the library record for that thesis and by noting the floor location noted in the record. Need help with call numbers? Take a look at our tutorial.

Finding a Thesis Written Outside SDSU

If you want to find a thesis or dissertation written outside of the SDSU community, your best bet is to search Proquest Dissertations & Theses Global, which covers the Humanities, Social Science, Sciences, and Engineering disciplines offered at over 550 universities worldwide. Many dissertations are available as PDFs. If you find one that isn't available, you can request it through interlibrary loan, and we'll do our best to borrow a print copy for you.

 

Questions? eref@sdsu.edu