Dissertations can sometimes provide very useful bibliographies and in depth treatment of narrow topics.
It is important to critically evaluate these sources ad many theses and dissertations have never been published or peer reviewed.
While many recent dissertations are available online, theses and dissertations only available in print are often difficult (and sometimes impossible) to acquire.
Don't hesitate to contact a librarian to ask a research question, request a research consultation, or suggest purchasing books or other materials to add to our collection.
Many databases Mount Holyoke subscribes to offer advanced search options to limit a search to only theses or dissertations. See the Research Guides home page for subject-specific guides that will list the best databases for your topic.
Some databases, such as ProQuest Psychology Database, include a "Dissertations" tab on the search results page that allows you to view all of the results of your search that are dissertations. For other databases, look for an advanced search option to limit publication type or document type to "dissertation".
World Cat - This online catalog searches the combined holdings of libraries all over the world. Under Advanced Search, select "Thesis/dissertation" in the Content drop-down menu under Subtype Limits. Note that some item records contain a link to an electronic copy of the document, or you can try clicking the MHC:Get it! & Interlibrary Loan link to access or request the item.
Browse Mount Holyoke theses in Discover Click this link to browse all Mount Holyoke theses in print and digital format. See the box below for the link to MHC's repository for electronic theses.
ProQuest Dissertation Express - This online discovery service contains a searchable database of dissertations and theses. This database includes links to purchase dissertations; see the "Request a Dissertation" tab for other acquisition options. Please contact a librarian before you purchase a dissertation - there may be other options!
Many colleges and universities host online institutional repositories (IRs) for their scholars' theses and dissertations. Many of these are freely available to download online. Here are some places to look:
MHC Electronic Theses and Honors Papers - Only recent theses are available electronically; use Discover to browse all past theses in print and digital format.
Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations - This website contains links to several different online catalogs and search tools for finding electronic dissertations at various institutions.
DSpace - An online software platform that many institutions worldwide use for their institutional repositories. Links to hundreds of repositories worldwide. Not cross-searchable; you must go into each instution's individual repository to search for dissertations. (Note that some are not publicly accessible.) A few notable repositories:
ScholarWorks at UMass Amherst - UMass Amherst's searchable repository of scholarly output, including theses and dissertations.
