Library Guides: Dissertations and Theses: Searching and Getting Access

USC Dissertations & Theses
Online access is limited to current students, faculty and staff of the university, with the exception of Open Access dissertations and theses which are available for download in Scholar Commons.

Physical copies can be borrowed under the same policies as books from the library's collections.

Scholar Commons This link opens in a new window
This is the university's institutional repository that includes dissertations and theses submitted by students since 2009. You can browse all works by year or search by title, author, or keyword, including department/college. (Note: You will not be able to download papers with Document Type "Campus Access Dissertation" from off-campus IP addresses or papers that are under embargo.)
Dissertations & Theses @ University of South Carolina This link opens in a new window
Citations, abstracts, and often the full text of dissertations and theses written by UofSC graduate students since 1948. Along with author, title and keyword you can search by advisor, committee member and department.

Find It @ USC Libraries
Search for physical and online copies of USC dissertations and theses.
- Use the Resource Type filter, dissertations

Dissertations & Theses from Other Institutions
If the item you are searching for is not in the global database, you can search for an open access copy. Many universities have their own institutional repositories where open access work is available for download. Also, USC Libraries is a member of the Center for Research Libraries (CRL) and can request dissertations through interlibrary loan.

Dissertations and Theses Global This link opens in a new window
Citations, abstracts, and often full text for dissertations from other institutions, primarily located in North America.
OpenDissertations This link opens in a new window
A free resource that includes dissertations deposited in institutional repositories. A link to the full text is provided when available.

Center for Research Libraries (CRL) Foreign Dissertations
CRL collects and lends foreign dissertations from institutions outside the U.S. and Canada. Search the catalog and request through Interlibrary Loan or access the digitized version when available. Limit Location to Dissertations when searching.

USC Honors College Theses
The Honors College Senior Thesis is required for graduation from the University with Honors.

Honors Theses in Scholar Commons
Starting in fall semester 2014, Honors theses are available online-only from the university's institutional repository Scholar Commons. Browse by year or search by author, keyword or title. (Note: Some theses are unavailable through Scholar Commons. You will not be able to download papers that are under embargo.)
Find It @ USC Libraries
Physical, bound copies of older Honors Theses are located on the Main Level of Thomas Cooper Library or in the Library Annex. They can be requested in Find It @ USC Libraries and used within the Thomas Cooper Library. When searching, include honors thesis along with author, title, or topic words and limit your search to USC Libraries.

Search Tips for Finding Dissertations & Theses

Author search
- Start with last name first, e.g., Miller, Jane
- Try different variations such as with or without middle initial
- In the ProQuest databases, use the Look Up Authors feature
Department search
- Name may have changed over time, e.g., Biology to Biological Sciences
Topic search
- Keyword searches will be most effective in the ProQuest databases or Scholar Commons
- Focus your results in the ProQuest databases by changing the pull-down box from Anywhere to search Anywhere except full text
- If a work is not accessible in these sources, try a title search in Find It @ USC Libraries to find a physical copy