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Graduate Student Library Guide
Find Theses and Dissertations
Find UW-Stout Theses and Dissertations
Search Minds@UW for digital copies of all UW-Stout Theses and Dissertations from 1999 to present. Or you can view and search these specific collections for UW-Stout dissertations and theses:
If you're looking for theses and dissertations that were published pre-1999, contact archives@uwstout.edu, and we will digitize it for you.
See the most current UW-Stout Grad School thesis templates here. (You'll need to scroll down to the Templates section to download either a research paper, MFA, or EdD dissertation template)
Find Theses and Dissertations from Other Institutions
Here are some things to keep in mind as you get started.
The Basics
Theses and dissertations are not the same as journal articles. They are student research papers of uncertain quality or research value, they're significantly longer than journal articles (most are 100-500+ pages), and most are published and owned only by the student's institution.
Getting Theses and Dissertations
They may not be available to borrow via Interlibrary loan (ILL), and if we CAN borrow it through ILL, you may have a short loan period which could include up to 7 days for transit. If we can’t borrow a thesis through ILL, it can cost the library up to $50 to purchase. But have no fear, there are several ways to find immediately accessible theses for free!
Start Here
The places we recommend the most (and in this order) are ProQuest Open Theses and Dissertations, Open Dissertations (from Ebsco), Open Access Thesis and Dissertations, E-Theses Online Service (UK Dissertations), WorldCat, Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations, and Google Scholar (just type in thesis in the search bar along with your search terms and you’re good to go!) Instructions for searching ProQuest Dissertations and WorldCat are below.
ProQuest Open Theses and Dissertations
Type your search terms in the top search box. Scroll down to the limiters by Document Type (middle box at the bottom of the page). Check the box for Dissertation/Thesis. Scroll back up and click the “Search” button.
Click Advanced Search under the search box.
Under Narrow your search> Content select Thesis/dissertation. Type in your Keywords and click Search.
On the results under Format select Computer file, Downloadable article and Downloadable archival material for freely available dissertations.
Click on a title and look for a link under Find a copy online for available dissertations and theses.
