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Resources by format

Here are listed guides for finding materials based on their formats.

A dissertation (also called thesis or disquisition) is a document that presents the author's research and findings and is submitted in support of candidature for a degree or professional qualification. Theses have been published at Virginia Tech since 1903. Dissertations and Theses have been submitted electronically since 1996, with most of these freely available online through VTechWorks. The Virginia Tech Libraries owns a limited number of theses or dissertations published at other colleges and universities; expect to obtain most of these documents via interlibrary loan. In addition to the search tools referenced below, most subject specific databases (like PsycInfo, Sociological Abstracts, and Engineering Village) will provide citations for theses and dissertations in their covered fields.

Search for these or dissertations in Discovery Search

Discovery Search includes all Virginia Tech theses and dissertations (print and electronic), all of NDLTD and other open access repositories, and all the international dissertations from the Center for Research Libraries (CRL). 

To limit searches to just Virginia Tech published theses or dissertations, include the phrase "Virginia Polytechnic Institute" with quotes in your search. To limit to documents from particular departments, include the department name in quotes. Over time, many departments have changed names, so you will need to search each variation of the department name.

Databases that index theses and dissertations

International theses and dissertations

Theses and dissertations published outside the United States will be more difficult to obtain. Interlibrary Loan will not borrow from libraries outside North America. Recently published documents may be available online. Use these tools to search for international theses and dissertations:

Center for Research Libraries (CRL)
The Center for Research Libraries holds more than 800,000 doctoral dissertations from universities outside of the U.S. and Canada. The collection was built by deposits from member libraries and current exchange or depository arrangements with almost 100 universities. Interlibrary loan can borrow from CRL; CRL will also attempt to purchase dissertations not in their collection from foreign institutions. Be aware that purchasing dissertations takes time.
Theses Canada
Allows searching for full-text, electronic versions of Canadian dissertations and theses, a collaborative program between the Library and Archives Canada and Canadian universities, established in 1965.
EThOS from the British Library
Notice: Please note, EThOS is currently unavailable due to the British Library cyber attack in 2023. The British Library currently do not know when the service will be available again. Please see the British Library website for further information about the cyber attack. The last update was from June 2024.
Includes theses from over 120 UK institutions, including many that have been digitized and allow open access. If you need non-digitized or restricted access theses, order them via Login to ILLiad which will obtain them through the Center for Research Libraries.
Trove from the National Library of Australia
Trove is a free repository of Australian material, including almost a million Australian theses.
SUDOC
An online catalog to holdings at French academic libraries, SUDOC covers theses completed in France since 1972 (for Humanities and Social Sciences). The catalog can be searched by author, title, and abstract, but since this is a comprehensive catalog to resources at French academic libraries, limit your search to theses by clicking on Options on the right hand corner of the page and limiting your search to Theses. Click on Appliquer to save your selection and proceed with the search.
Serveur de Thèses Multidisciplinaire / Multidisciplinary Theses Server
The texts are unsurprisingly mostly in French but there are also theses in English (about 10%), Spanish and Portuguese.
HAL Theses
HAL is a multidisciplinary open archive that allows research results to be shared in open access, whether published or not. It is at the service of researchers affiliated with academic institutions, whether public or private. In France, HAL is the national archive chosen by the French scientific and academic community for the open dissemination of its research results. The archive is also accessible to researchers affiliated with foreign academic institutions, whether public or private.

Purchase dissertations through Dissertation Express

If you need to obtain a thesis or dissertation from an institution that will not lend through interlibrary loan, you can purchase an unbound copy from ProQuest's Dissertation Express using a credit card or by faxing payment information. Look up theses or dissertations by title, author, or UMI publication number. Orders are shipped directly to you. Since you will bear the cost of this order, verify using the tools listed above that the document is not otherwise available to you free before ordering.