Finding Dissertations & Theses

We recommend that you first search for a dissertation or thesis in the library catalog.

• There are exceptions to the guidelines presented in this guide; the catalog record will show the correct, most up-to-date information.
• Having the correct year of publication will help you determine the location and format (see guidelines).
• If you don't find a record (but think there should be one), ask for help.

Theses and dissertations in eScholarship@BC (those from 2009 on) will display as Available Online in the search results. Click to go to the item's page in eScholarship@BC. If a PDF is not available there, try searching directly in the ProQuest Dissertations and Theses database.

Dissertations and theses published between 1966 and 1996 are available at O'Neill Library in microform format.

Dissertations and theses published between 1996 and 2009 are also available as PDFs through the ProQuest Dissertations and Theses database. Click on Details to get to the link to the ProQuest dissertations and theses database and then search by title/author for full-text PDF.

Dissertations before 1966 are available in print format only from Burns Library. Note: These dissertations are stored offsite and need to be retrieved. Volumes must be used at Burns Library.