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Master of Design

A guide to library research for MDes students

Finding Theses and Dissertations

Finding Graduate Theses

Theses (plural version of thesis) is the generic term, however if you need to distinguish between the two different types: they are referred to as master’s theses and doctoral dissertations.

Emily Carr University Masters Theses, 2008 - to date

Theses written in support of all Emily Carr University Master degrees are available in electronic format and can be located by in the Graduate Theses Collection in the ECU institutional repository, eCollections. Theses can also be found in the Library catalogue. In the eCollections theses collection you can limit by year of graduation, topic of theses, or the area (i.e. Art, Design, Low-Residency). Theses written between 2008-2010 are also available in print in the Library.

There may be a time lag between the completion of a thesis and the publication and uploading in the library system. Also, some graduate students choose not to publish their thesis support document. If you cannot find a recent thesis, please ask at the Research Help Desk or contact the library.

Theses Canada

Theses Canada Portal to search for theses in the Library and Archives Canada collection. Approximately 50,000 theses available electronically.

NSCAD University Masters Theses A collection of digitized Master of Art Education, Master of Design, and Master of Fine Art theses and artist statements from 1975 to present.

OCAD University Open Research Repository A collection that includes theses and major research projects (MRPs) produced by graduate students at OCAD University.

International Theses

American Doctoral Dissertations 1933-1955 is a digitized index of nearly 100,000 dissertations by title, author and school, from an important twenty-two-year time period in American history.

DART-Europe is a partnership of research libraries and library consortia who are working together to improve global access to European research theses. DART-Europe is endorsed by LIBER (Ligue des Bibliothèques Européennes de Recherche), and it is the European Working Group of the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (NDLTD).

EBSCO Open Dissertations More than 1 million records from over 26 universities worldwide are included in this open resource. Time span is from the early 20th century to the present. This database is continually growing through regular updates and new partnerships with graduate degree-granting institutions. This resource includes American Doctoral Dissertations 1933-1955.

Feminist Art Hosted by N.Paradoxa and KT Press Theses and dissertations written about feminist art and contemporary women artists. KT Press encourages adding your own or that of a colleague to the list. Over 1100 theses listed here.

Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (NDLTD), an international organization dedicated to promoting the adoption, creation, use, dissemination, and preservation of electronic theses and dissertations (ETDs).

Locating theses other ways

If you are looking for a thesis that’s not available through the Emily Carr Library or through the above sources, we provide interlibrary loan services for theses from other institutions. Borrowing a thesis will depend on the policy of the lending library and not all institutions lend their theses.

You can search for other theses through WorldCatGoogle Scholar, or search other university library catalogues.

UBC Library has created a more in depth guide to Finding Theses and Dissertations.

Thesis Submission Process to the ECU Digital Repository for eCollections

Need assistance?

Hillary Webb, eCollections Administrator
604-630-4567
hillarywebb@ecuad.ca

 library@ecuad.ca       604-844-3840        520 East 1st Avenue, Vancouver, BC