Dissertations and Theses: Dissertations & Theses Beyond UC

ProQuest's Dissertations & Theses (PQDT) is our primary licensed database 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 is likely that the dissertation has been embargoed and is 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.

Google and Google Scholar are good places to search for open access theses and dissertations, especially if you already have the title. If you come across one that's not available, request through Interlibrary Loan.

Along with the resources listed below, you can also search ETD collections by country.