LibGuides: Dissertations & Theses: Dissertations &amp; Theses Beyond UC

More Databases & Catalogs

Most of these databases cover open access theses and dissertations, which you can download at no charge. If the one you want isn't available, request through Interlibrary Loan.

Along with the resources listed below, you can also search dissertation collections for Canada, Australia, Germany, Portugal, Brazil, The Netherlands, South Africa, and Scandinavia.

Google and Google Scholar are also good places to search for open access theses and dissertations.

UCSD/UC ETDs via eScholarship
The University of California's repository now holds over 42,000 dissertations and theses (including more than 10,000 from UCSD), publicly accessible. Some recent titles will be embargoed. You can browse or search the collection.
WorldCat Discovery
Global catalog of 70,000+ library collections. Can be helpful for locating masters theses that aren't in PQDT. Limit the search results to Thesis, Dissertation.
Open Access Theses and Dissertations
Indexes more than 2 million open access dissertations and theses. from 1100+ colleges, universities and institutions.
Networked Digital Library of Theses & Dissertations (NDLTD)
Search and download electronic theses and dissertations (ETDs) across multiple US and non-US institutions.
Center for Research Libraries
Catalog of 800,000+ non-US, non-Canadian doctoral dissertations. Use Interlibrary Loan to request.
PQDT Open
Open access collection within ProQuest's Dissertations & Theses.
DART - Europe E-theses Portal
Database of 1.3 million+ research theses and dissertations from 619 European universities.
Electronic Theses Online Service (EThOS)
Search 500,000 UK dissertations, many open access. For those not immediately available for download, you can request digitization by the British Library. Check site for anticipated turnaround time.

ProQuest Dissertations & Theses

ProQuest's Dissertations & Theses (PQDT) is the best starting point for finding dissertations, indexing more than 3.8 million dissertations and theses from 1743 to present, though with greater coverage of dissertations.

UCSD affiliates can download non-embargoed, University of California dissertations from 1996-present and theses from 2008-present, as well as any dissertations/theses made openly available by their respective institutions. If you see Full text - PDF, you can download/print the dissertation or thesis.
If there's an option to Order a copy but no option to download the full PDF, click (or use the interlibrary loan request form) to request a copy of the dissertation. In most cases, you can at least preview the first 24 pages before you decide to submit the request.
If there is no option to order a copy, regardless of institution, then it's likely that the dissertation has been embargoed and not available. Your best option at this point may be to contact the author, their advisor, or look for journal articles and other related works by the author.