A graduate student may make their dissertation or thesis available in USC's institutional repository, Scholar Commons and in Dissertations & Theses (UMI/ProQuest).
Program names can change over time and sometimes authors aren't as specific on the title page of the thesis or dissertation.Try several strategies wherever you look.
search with names of advisor or committee members
PhD, search "doctor of philosophy"
"master of arts"
Browse Scholar Commons for dissertations from a department.
You can limit where you want Dissertations and Theses to search. For example, Advisor or Committee member
If you are searching Dissertations & Theses @ University of South Carolina, depending on the names you may be able to get by with entering just the last name. This search looks for three different names as either Advisor or Committee member.