Theses, dissertations, and research papers

Concordia University theses

The Concordia Library has a copy of almost every thesis and dissertation submitted to the University as a condition for the award of a graduate degree, as well as copies of many research papers and graduate projects. Please note that non-print materials (film, slides, etc.) for theses submitted in 1967–2010 are not available online in Spectrum, Concordia University's institutional repository¹.

Browse Concordia theses in Spectrum

Spectrum, Concordia's open access repository, includes theses from 1967–present. You can browse by year, department, author, or document type. Spectrum will enable you to download the full text, data, videos, or other files associated with the work.

Search for Concordia theses in the Sofia Discovery tool

Concordia theses held by the Library can be located using the Sofia Discovery tool.

Using the Advanced Search, combine any search with a Title Search of the phrase Concordia Theses, Research Papers

 

Examples

• By Author: If you know the name of the student who wrote the thesis, enter this in the Author search index field.
  
  
• By title: If you know the title of the thesis, enter this in the Title search index field.
  
  
• By subject or keyword: Enter any topical keywords in the Keyword search index field.
  Example: Literature
  
  
• By department/program: To search for theses by department, enter keywords from the name of the faculty or department in the Corporate/Conference Name field. Please note that department and faculty names have changed over time, so you should use the name of the department or faculty at the time the thesis or research paper was submitted. You can also search under multiple names as in the example below:
  Example: Department of Creative Arts Therapies, Department of Art Education and Art Therapy
  
  
  

If you are uncertain about your search strategy, use our Ask a Librarian service.

Theses from other universities

Databases and other electronic sources

• ProQuest Dissertations & Theses 1861 onward
  Provides citations to over two million doctoral dissertations and masters theses published in North America and Europe, covering many more doctoral dissertations than masters theses. More than 600,000 titles are available full text (mostly from 1997 onward).
  Please note: From 2005 onwards, Canadian theses cannot be searched by the name of a thesis advisor.
  
  
• NDLTD Global ETD Search
  The Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (NDLTD)'s search service allows researchers to find electronic theses and dissertations (ETDs) based on keyword, date, institution, language and subject. The index is based on a growing collection of approximately 4 million ETDs from more than 200 universities on all continents. Records with links to documents from originating institutions are collected daily.
  
  
• Theses Canada 1965 onward (coverage varies)
  Includes references to masters theses and doctoral dissertations accepted by Canadian universities.
  
  
• Open Access Theses and Dissertations (OATD)
  OATD indexes over 1.5 million electronic theses and dissertations (ETDs) from over 600 colleges, universities, and research institutions around the world. Links to full text available.
  
  
• OpenDOAR: Directory of Open Access Repositories
  Some universities require that students deposit their theses in an institutional repository, such as DSpace@MIT. Use this directory to locate the university, if available, and then search for the author or title of the thesis.
  
  
• WorldCat
  Use the Advanced Search feature and under SUBTYPE limits, change the drop-down menu from Any Content to Thesis/dissertation.
  
  
• EThOS - Electronic Theses Online Service
  Digitized, Open Access (freely accessible) theses from all UK higher education institutions.
  
  
• SUDOC (Union catalogue of university libraries in France)
  Indexes, theses, and dissertations from universities in France. Choose "Recherche avancée," then under "type de publication," select "Thèses."
  
  
• DART-Europe E-theses Portal
  Portal for European Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Also browsable by institution.
  
  
• Trove
  Theses produced by the graduate research students at Australian universities, some of which are freely accessible.
  
  
• University library catalogues
  To find information on a thesis submitted at a specific university, search their library catalogue.
  
  
• Subject databases
  In addition to listing journal articles, some subject databases will include theses that fall within their subject coverage.

If the thesis you are looking for is not in the Sofia Discovery tool or is not freely available in ProQuest Dissertations & Theses or in Theses Canada, you can request an interlibrary loan (ILL) whereby we will attempt to obtain a copy from another library. You may also purchase a copy of a thesis online through ProQuest Dissertations & Theses.

To obtain more information or to place an interlibrary loan request, consult the Interlibrary Loans page.

 

1. A master copy of the thesis or dissertation is kept in Special Collections at the Vanier Library along with any available non-print components (film, slides, etc.). For most theses submitted prior to 2011, a circulating copy is available in either the Webster or Vanier Library, while an archival copy along with any accompanying non-print material (film, slides, etc.) is kept in Special Collections. These copies can be located using the Sofia Discovery tool. Additionally, most theses and some research papers are also available in digital format and can either be viewed online or downloaded using Spectrum.