The University of Chicago holds a copy of most University of Chicago doctoral dissertations and masters' theses, and users with current University of Chicago borrowing privileges may borrow them. Records for these items are included in the Library Catalog. In Regenstein Library, dissertations and theses are usually shelved in the A-Level Reading Room. In other libraries, they are shelved in the bookstacks. The Dissertation Office provides additional information on finding dissertations.
University of Chicago dissertations or theses can be found using the Library Catalog. If you do not know the author or title of the thesis or dissertation, you may wish to use the Library Catalog Advanced Keyword search interface. This will allow you to use multiple search terms and to specify different fields where the terms should appear (anywhere, title, subject, notes, and so forth). Enter the keywords "thesis university chicago" in one of the search boxes. Enter additional keywords, such as subject terms or a degree (Ph.D. or S.M. or A.M.), in the other search boxes to narrow your search. You may also wish to limit your search by Library (Crerar for science, Regenstein for humanities or social sciences, Eckhart for math, etc.).
In some cases, it may be better to use ProQuest Dissertations and Theses to locate a University of Chicago dissertation or thesis. The database provides access to the complete text of most dissertations produced after 1997, which means you may be able to view the item online. However, since the database includes citations from most North American universities, you will need to limit your search to the University of Chicago.
Because of site-licensing agreements, access to ProQuest
Dissertations and Theses is restricted to members of the University
of Chicago community who have current computing accounts on the
campus network. If you are off-campus, you must connect to the
campus network.
If you wish, select the box which says "Limit Results to Full Text documents only." Be aware, however, that only recent dissertations (post-1997) will be in full text and in some cases authors will restrict the full text from being released online. In these cases you will need to use the print version in the Library.
The D'Angelo Law
Library and the Library's South
Asia collection also have information about University of
Chicago theses and dissertations for their respective
fields.
You may be able to obtain dissertations the Library does not hold through the Library's Interlibrary Loan (ILL) services. In other cases, you will need to use the Library's Dissertation Express service. Details about your various options for obtaining dissertations can be found on our Web site.
ProQuest Dissertations and Theses contains records for most North American doctoral dissertations. To locate dissertations of interest, search by index term, subject, author, title, institution, etc. Most titles submitted since 1997 are available online and can be downloaded.
Dissertations from institutions outside the United States and Canada can sometimes be challenging to obtain. The Center for Research Libraries has a large collection of foreign dissertations. The CRL Catalog includes records for much of this collection, although the Center has many dissertations that may not be included. If you locate a dissertation or theses at the Center, you can request the item through Interlibrary Loan.
Besides ProQuest Dissertation and Theses and the CRL Foreign Dissertation Database, many of the Library's other databases contain records for dissertations. WorldCat and the RLG Union Catalog contain some records for dissertations and theses. In addition, most of the major subject-specific indexes (such as PsycINFO, SciFinder Scholar, or Sociological Abstracts) will also include citations for dissertations.
The Library also has some print sources and bibliographies which you can use to locate dissertations or theses. You can locate these sources by searching the Library Catalog using the subject term "Dissertations, Academic" in either the subject keyword search or the "Begins with" subject search option. If you are looking for dissertations from a specific country, you can also add the country into your search terms (i.e. "Dissertations, Academic -- Mexico").
If you are not affiliated with the University of Chicago, check with your local library to determine what databases and borrowing options are available to you.
The University of Chicago Library will lend dissertations and theses written before 1948 for which the Library holds a second copy. See the Library's Interlibrary Loan lending policies to learn more about borrowing material.
Microform or paper copies of most University of Chicago dissertations and theses may be purchased through Dissertation Express or by contacting:
UMI
300 North Zeeb Road
Ann Arbor, MI 48106-1346
1-800-521-3042
If UMI does not have a copy of a doctoral dissertation, please contact the University of Chicago Dissertation Office.
If you cannot find the dissertation you need, ask a librarian for assistance.