LIBRARY

Explore by area

Related links

Theses and dissertations

On this page:

Thesis collections

Sets of theses and dissertations produced by University of Bristol staff and students, for qualifications including PhD, BSc, BA, BEd, BDS, BVSc, LLB, MB, MDS, MPhil, MSc and ChB, are available in some of the branch libraries.  For details of the thesis collection in a particular branch you should use the branch libraries option. You are likely to need to ask library staff to fetch a thesis for you to see, and theses are usually confined to the branch library.

How to locate a particular thesis

  1. Theses and dissertations are treated as books on the online Library Catalogue (also available on the Quick search > Books, etc option of the Library home page); therefore search for them as if you were trying to find a book, using either the author's name, the title or a combination of the two. You can restrict your search to UoB theses by using the 'Material type' UoB theses search.

  2. If you find the thesis on the Catalogue you can click on the branch to find its location, loan period and to see whether or not it is on loan. Alternatively click on the underlined record number to go to the full bibliographic details of the thesis.
  3. You may have to ask a member of library staff to fetch the thesis for you, as it is likely to be kept locked away.
  4. If the thesis is not on the online Library Catalogue and it is pre-1978 it is worth checking the Card Catalogue Online.

To search for theses from other universities you could try using the Material type--Theses category on MetaLib (easily accessed via the Quick search > Articles & databases option of the Library home page) which gives you access to a number of thesis databases, or you could search their catalogues directly by going through lib-web-cats: an International Directory of Libraries. If you would like to see a thesis from another university you should consider using the Inter-Library Loan service.

Back to top

How to submit a thesis

Advice on how to submit a thesis for a higher degree can be found via the Examinations Office web pages, and in particular:

  • Details of its opening times for the submission of Dissertations for Examination or Binding.
  • Research degrees page with links to regulations and forms relating to Postgraduate Research Degrees
  • For taught postgraduate programmes, there is a link to the Code of Practice and Regulations for Taught Postgraduate Programmes on the Education Support Unit web site.
  • Research degrees - Frequently asked questions includes advice on formatting, and how to submit a thesis.

Back to top