A comprehensive collection of dissertations and theses. The official digital dissertations archive for the Library of Congress and the database of record for graduate research. PQDT — Full Text includes millions of searchable citations to dissertation and theses from around the world from 1861 to the present day together with over a million full text dissertations that are available for download in PDF format. Over 2.1 million titles are available for purchase as printed copies. The database offers full text for most of the dissertations added since 1997 and strong retrospective full text coverage for older graduate works.
More than 70,000 new full text dissertations and theses are added to the database each year through dissertations publishing partnerships with 700 leading academic institutions worldwide and collaborative retrospective digitization of dissertations through UMI's Digital Archiving and Access Program. Full Text dissertations are archived as submitted by the degree-granting institution. Some will be native PDF, some PDF image.
Each dissertation published since July 1980 includes a 350-word abstract written by the author. Master's theses published since 1988 include 150-word abstracts. Simple bibliographic citations are available for dissertations dating from 1637. Where available, PQDT — Full Text provides 24-page previews of dissertations and theses.
If a dissertation is NOT available in ProQuest's Dissertations and These Full Text database, you can search for print copies in WorldCat. Be advised, however, that in many cases there is only one copy held at the institution the produced the dissertation, and that it may not be avaialbe for loan.
You can also search WorldCat to search for dissertations that were later published as a monograph.
Older dissertations may not be available through InterLibrary Loan and may have to be purchased from ProQuest. If you find a title in Dissertations and Theses Full Text that is not available in the database as a PDF, there is an option to purchase a copy. A Custom PDF (delivered within 3-5 days) costs $37. Print copies range from $39 (unbound) to $70 (hardcover).
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