Why Dissertations?
Though dissertations can be challenging to track down, they can be of great value to your research. Dissertations and theses offer the latest research from graduate students, identifying trends in the field. As research tools, they are invaluable for their extensive bibliographies.
Dissertation Express
- Dissertation Express (direct via ProQuest)If you quickly need a print copy of a dissertation that is not available for download and don't mind paying the full cost yourself, you can order it directly from Proquest's Dissertation Express as an individual. Otherwise, you may want to look into borrowing via Interlibrary Loan.
Dissertation Databases
- Dissertations & theses @ University of Kansas This link opens in a new windowContains citations and abstracts of dissertations and theses submitted by the University of Kansas and published in UMI's Dissertations Abstracts database, and full text of KU dissertations published after 1996 and KU theses published after 2005.
- American Doctoral Dissertations This link opens in a new windowThis freely accessible database includes nearly 100,000 dissertations from 1933 through 1955, which represents the only comprehensive record of dissertations accepted by U.S. universities during that period.
- ProQuest dissertations & theses global This link opens in a new windowProvides online access to over 3.8 million dissertations and master's theses with 1.7 million available in full text for immediate downloading. Citations are available for dissertations dating from 1861 and full text online from 1997 for over 1,000 schools submitting to the ProQuest UMI database.
- Doctoral Dissertations in Musicology-OnlineA database of bibliographic records for completed dissertations and new dissertation topics in the fields of musicology, music theory, and ethnomusicology, as well as in related musical, scientific, and humanistic disciplines.
- RILM Abstracts of Music Literature This link opens in a new windowProvides some international coverage of dissertations, in addition to indexing U.S. dissertations in music.
- WorldCat This link opens in a new windowA catalog with over 179 million citations, representing the holdings of most libraries in North America and some in Europe.
Interlibrary Loan of Non-KU Owned Materials
KU students in good standing with a valid KUID are eligible for borrowing items from non-KU Libraries at no cost through our InterLibrary Borrowing service.
What can be requested through InterLibrary Borrowing?
Requests may be made for items that are currently unavailable from the KU Libraries (checked out, missing, declared lost, etc.) or are not owned by the KU Libraries. Submit your requests through WebRetrieve for anything that supports your class and research needs.
Items available through Interlibrary Loan include :
Books
Book Chapters
Journal Articles
Microfilm or Microfiche items
Conference Proceedings
Theses, Dissertations or Reports
Audio/Visual Materials
Note: Some libraries will not lend certain types of materials, making them difficult to obtain on loan. Often it depends
on the lending libraries' policies.
How do I place an Interlibrary Borrowing request?
- Log in to WebRetrieve. For help logging in, see our WebRetrieve video tutorials.
- Once you have logged in to WebRetrieve you may request:
- an article not available from KU Libraries
- a book chapter not available from KU Libraries
- a loan not available from KU Libraries
- If you have trouble accessing WebRetrieve, contact Resource Sharing at 785-864-3960 or by email:
illborr@ku.edu.
How do I get the items I requested?
If you requested an article or book chapter, you will be sent an email alerting you when the scanned, electronic copy of the article/chapter is available via WebRetrieve. If the item is a loaned item in print or other material, you will be able to choose whether to pick it up at one of the KU Libraries Service Desks or, if eligible, may be able to request Home Delivery (see Home Delivery tab, above, for more information).
Full details regarding InterLibrary Borrowing of materials can be found at https://lib.ku.edu/services/request/interlibrary.
KU ScholarWorks
- KU ScholarWorks / Dissertations and Theses
These collections contain dissertations and theses authored by University of Kansas students. Current works are posted here in fulfillment of graduation requirements.
At the author's request, staff at the KU Libraries are happy to digitize and make available in KU ScholarWorks any thesis or dissertation Please contact Marianne Reed at kuscholarworks@ku.edu for more information.
All theses and dissertations are protected by copyright. The authors reserve all rights.