Linguistics: Dissertations and Theses for Content and Templates

Depending on the nature of your research project (particularly if it involves working with people via interviews or surveys -- or if it involves using human data -- such as health information) you may need to get approval from UCSD's Institutional Review Board (IRB).  This link takes you to a webpage with much information about the UCSD IRB process and has links to the forms, etc. you will need as you move along.  

See the Dissertations & Theses Research Guide for more information.

Various subject-based databases index and abstract dissertations and some theses that you can use as sources for your research as well as templates for your own projects. 

In addition, ProQuest Dissertations and Theses is dedicated exclusively to indexing and abstracting over 2 million dissertations and thesis issued by graduate institutions in North America and beyond from 1861 to the present. PDF full texts of most UC dissertations starting ~1997 are available online at no charge.

If the dissertation or thesis is not available full-text, you

•  may be able to find an open-access copy with a Google Search, since many universities provide free access
•  can likely get it through Interlibrary Loan

Center for Research Libraries   

CRL is a good source for foreign dissertations; our CRL membership provides free loans for UCSD researchers.

UC Dissertations and Theses can also be found by

• Using UC Library Search  and selecting dissertations from the Resource Type facet
• Searching UC eScholarship for  "UC Electronic Theses and Dissertations" OR "UC San Diego Electronic Theses" depending on how specific you want your results to be. *Please note that for UCLA you must search for "UCLA Electronic Theses and Dissertations."
• To narrow down your results once you are into the relevant collection: 
  • Click on the magnifying glass in the top right
  • To include MA Theses in your search, click on the thesis box in the menu on the left.
  • To limit to a particular campus, select the drop down option and the campus you want to search. 
  • To find Theses and/or Dissertations in a particular field, select the department from the drop-down menu on the left (such as Anthropology) OR in the case of Latin American Studies, which is not listed as a department, type "Latin American Studies" into the search box in the upper right-hand corner

There are also additional resources to find Undergraduate Theses:

• UCSD Political Science Undergraduate Theses
• Claremont Colleges Respository of Theses and Dissertations which are all pretty interdisciplinary and intercollegiate.  They can be searched by subject -- select the group you want to search (for example Pomona senior theses and put in your keyword(s).  Here's a note regarding various schools' specializations and tendencies:
  • CMC - heavily political science, economics, govt
  • Scripps - math, gender, women's studies
  • HMC - STEM
  • Pitzer - social justice
  • Pomona - across the board
• https://undergraduatecommons.com/ is the international aggregator of undergraduate research and you can filter by Type - here's the link for honors theses and capstone projects: https://undergraduatecommons.com/publication_type.html

In addition to looking at other dissertations and theses, the UCSD Website "Preparing to Graduate/Degree Completion" includes pages related to:

• Dissertation and Thesis Submission
• Dissertation & Thesis Manual
• Dissertation & Thesis Template