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Dissertations and Theses in Libraries of UNC-Chapel Hill
NEW!: Full text of recent UNC Chapel Hill Dissertations Online:
Full text of the majority of UNC theses and dissertations from 2006, and all beginning in 2008, are freely available electronically from the UNC Library.
You now can get UNC Chapel Hill dissertations completed from 1997 on full text online through Dissertations & Theses, the current electronic version of Dissertation Abstracts International, as well as from Current Research@University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a related database that allows you to search only UNC Chapel Hill dissertations. Both of these sources are discussed in more detail in this guide.
CONTENTS
1. LOCATING UNC Chapel Hill THESES AND DISSERTATIONS IN THE LIBRARIES:
NOTE: "Thesis" is a generic term used in the call numbers of BOTH dissertations and masters theses completed at UNC-Chapel Hill. When this guide uses theses, however, it means masters theses.
NEW: As noted above, full text of the majority of UNC theses and dissertations from 2006, and all beginning in 2008, are freely available electronically from the UNC Library.
Additionally, you now can get UNC Chapel Hill dissertations and theses from 2006 (incomplete) and all beginning in 2008 from the UNC Library. And dissertations completed from 1997 on full text online thorough Dissertations & Theses, the current electronic version of Dissertation Abstracts International, as well as from Current Research@University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a related database that allows you to search only UNC Chapel Hill dissertations. Both of these sources are discussed in more detail below.Davis Library has circulating copies of most theses and dissertations completed at UNC Chapel Hill. Theses all are paper copies. Dissertations are paper, microfilm, or microfiche depending on date. Both the paper and microform sets of dissertations and theses in Davis are open for browsing.
UNC Chapel Hill dissertations and theses completed between 1930 and part of 1959 are paper copies, bound largely in yellow, located on the eighth floor of Davis Library on Ranges 882-884. Dissertations and theses for these years are interfiled and arranged alphabetically by department, then author. They have a generic Dewey call number: 378.756, plus the department and a number for the author's name:
378.756
Botany
598m
The important thing to remember is they are NOT shelved by the Dewey number. The online catalog has Davis Thesis as the location, but a special location is not indicated on cards in the card catalog. You will see that an item is a UNC-Chapel Hill thesis or dissertation, and that is your only clue. Masters theses from 1966 on are bound in blue and arranged by department, then year, then author. A call number for these looks like:
THESIS
English
1979
B537
After about 1959, Davis copies of UNC Chapel Hill dissertations are in the Microforms Collection, on film to 1977 and then on fiche. These also are arranged by department and then by author. From 1959 to 1967, the film was given the same Dewey call number as the older paper copies (378.756 etc.). After that, dissertations have the same type of call number as the newer masters' theses, but with the designation Microfilm or Microfiche as a location. However, microform dissertations are interfiled regardless of the number they have. A newer call number looks like:
Microfiche
THESIS
English
1979
L537
Davis does NOT have dissertations and theses from the UNC Chapel Hill Division of Health Affairs, and there are important differences in how these are cataloged and housed. See Section 15 for information.
The North Carolina Collection in Wilson Library has paper copies of ALL UNC Chapel Hill theses and dissertations, including those from Health Affairs, and also the only copies of some pre-1930 dissertations and theses. The NCC's copies do not circulate and are not in an area open for browsing. You can assume that the NCC will have a copy of a UNC Chapel Hill dissertation or thesis even if the catalogs do not reveal this.
Academic departments may have copies of their dissertations and theses, but these may not be available to the public. Departmental libraries may have copies, which patrons can use but which usually do not circulate.
We do not systematically acquire dissertations or theses from other universities, but we do have a large number. For information on obtaining those from other institutions, see Sections 7 and 8.
2. UNC Chapel Hill DISSERTATIONS AND THESES: CATALOGING AND LISTS:
MOST UNC Chapel Hill theses and dissertations are in the Online Catalog. There are variations, however, in the level of cataloging, subject cataloging in particular, depending on the date of publication. This influences the ways they can be searched. Also, some dissertations and theses will not appear. The largest group is recent ones that have not reached the library. For information about these see Section 12. There also may be a few very old ones that are only in the NC Collection.
If a patron needs a SPECIFIC dissertation or thesis and knows the AUTHOR or TITLE the online catalog should serve. Be sure to try some creative keyword searching before you give up. If you still do not find the item in the online catalog, and it may have been done before 1975, check the card catalog in Davis Library. If it still does not turn up:
1. Check the published lists and cardfile noted below. These should be complete to 1991.
2. Consider the possibilities addressed in
Section 10: UNC Chapel Hill Masters Theses Which Really Aren't
Section 11: Undergraduate Honors Theses
Section 12: The Patron Is Sure It Is a UNC Chapel Hill Dissertation or Thesis, But...
Section 13: If a Recent Dissertation or Thesis is not in the Catalog
3. Check with the North Carolina Collection
There are 2 published lists of UNC Chapel Hill theses and dissertations covering up to 1960, both arranged by department, type of degree, and year, with author indexes:
Godfrey, James L. The Graduate School: Dissertations and
Theses. Chapel Hill, 1947.
(DAVIS REFERENCE DESK Z5055.U5N853)
N.C. University Library. Humanities Division. Graduate
School Dissertations and Theses, First Supplement:
1946-59.
(DAVIS REFERENCE DESK Z5055.U5N853 Suppl.)
For 1960 to 1991, there is a Dissertation and Thesis File: Located in the Davis Library Reference Department office (the side with Interlibrary Borrowing). In two parts: one by department, type of degree, year of degree, author; the other by author. There is no published version of this file. These lists definitely are complete and can be used to verify the existence of items that do not appear in the catalogs.
3. SEARCHING FOR UNC Chapel Hill MASTERS THESES ON A TOPIC:
The information in this section is true of both dissertations and theses. However, in practice, dissertations on a topic can be most effectively searched using Dissertations & Theses [Formerly Dissertation Abstracts Online], as covered in the next section.
Neither the card nor the Online Catalog offers a happy way to limit a subject search to masters' theses. There is no group subject heading or subheading like "theses" for them. In the card catalog you have to scan all the cards under a subject heading and pick out the ones that are theses. If a topic is narrow, this is not difficult, but if you are looking for Shakespeare or United States history it's tedious. Also, theses and dissertations completed after 1975 will not be in the card catalog as all cards for materials cataloged after that date have been removed.
When searching the Online Catalog with a formal Subject--i.e. Library of Congress Subject Heading--search, you cannot limit the search to theses or to dissertations.
In the Online Catalog there are two possible ways to limit a search to theses: using key words or call numbers. Of the two, key word is the best way to search for specific topics and to weed out dissertations
if you only want masters theses.
Keyword Searching;
Although most theses and dissertations are in the online catalog, dissertations before 1964, and theses both before 1967 and after around 1990, have no subject headings. This means searching for key words in the titles to get at "subjects" for these items. Do not use ONLY standard LC Subject Headings. Be creative with appropriate key words, synonyms, truncation, and variants as well.
You will be searching for "thesis ma", which will appear as a note in the catalog record. You can use subject headings, title words, an author's last name, etc., and add "and thesis ma or thesis m a". It is advisable to enter the "ma" both ways because of spacing variations. A sample search:
shakespeare and (thesis ma or thesis m a)
This also works for dissertations, using "and thesis phd or thesis ph d" but as noted above, Dissertations & Theses is the most efficient way to search for dissertations on a topic. If you do search for dissertations on the Online Catalog, you should add "and north carolina" to try and weed out dissertations from other schools, but this can lead to false drops and omissions. We have few masters' theses from other schools, so this is not as much of an issue for them.
Call Number Searching:
Call number searching has many pitfalls and frustrations and, because theses and dissertations do not get a real subject classification, a call number search results in a list of items from a particular department.
In addition, a call number search retrieves BOTH theses and dissertations, and there is no efficient way to avoid this.
To search call numbers select a call number search and enter, for example
thesisanthrop
thesisenglish
thesispol sci
You will need to experiment with ways the department name is entered. For thesisenglish you could enter
thesiseng
or for theses in anthropology enter
thesisanthr, or thesisant
But with thesisanthropology, you get no hits. For thesispol sci you must have that spacing. You may need to do some keyword searching to look at call numbers and see the way the department name is handled.
You will also need to search using the Dewey number--378.756—if you wish to retrieve older dissertations and theses. An example would be
378.756art
In the Former Web Version of the catalog, it is possible to visually divide dissertations and theses done since about 1960 by using the default location displays. The call numbers for items at the default location will show on the first display screen. So if your default is Davis, for example, the masters' theses should show call numbers and locations on the first display. The dissertations in Davis Microforms would be additional locations. And vice versa.
Searching using the Dewey number, there is no way to split theses and dissertations, since they are shelved in the same location.
You cannot limit a call number search by location in the telnet catalog.
4. SEARCHING FOR UNC Chapel Hill DISSERTATIONS ON A TOPIC:
The most efficient way to identify UNC Chapel Hill dissertations on a topic, as well as those from other institutions, is with Dissertations & Theses [Formerly Dissertation Abstracts Online], available through the Article Databases & More list on the Library homepage. Dissertations & Theses covers dissertations from most U.S. and Canadian institutions since 1861, some international ones, and is very selectively beginning to include masters theses. For most dissertations completed after July 1980, the database includes an abstract, or summery.
NOTE: Using Dissertations & Theses, it is possible to loosely generate a list from a particular UNC Chapel Hill department by searching the broad subject involved. Call number searching, or using the printed lists and card file for the years they cover, are more precise. Also, many university departments are putting lists of their dissertations and theses on the Web.
It is important to understand the relation between Dissertations & Theses and its print counterpart, Dissertation Abstracts International, (DAI).
DAI, originally Microfilm Abstracts, began in 1938 and is still published, although the library stopped subscribing in 1994. It is a monthly publication, cumulated annually, in two parts "A" for the humanities and social sciences and "B" for sciences and engineering. Citations to DAI usually are to a volume number, year, and page number in part A or B. For most dissertations, an abstract is provided.
Our holdings of DAI are print though volume 38, on the 8th floor of Davis Library with a call number Z5053.D57. Volume nos. 39-54 (1978/79-1994) are in the Microforms Department in Davis Library (Microfilm Serial 1-1288 and 1-1289).
In order to see the abstract of a dissertation before 1980 you have to go to DAI, in print or microform depending on the date.
You also need to remember this when searching Dissertations & Theses online for topics. Before 1980 you are searching only key words in titles, not words in abstracts.
In addition, Dissertations & Theses lists dissertations beginning in 1861, long before Dissertation Abstracts began publishing. There will be no abstracts for these earlier dissertations. There also are a few schools that began contributing abstracts only in more recent years--Harvard, for example--or that never have, like the University of Chicago.
Searching Dissertations & Theses:
From the Search Screen, use the Key Word box to enter terms describing your topic that might appear in the titles or abstracts (included only since 1980) of dissertations.
To limit the search to UNC Chapel Hill, use the drop down
menu on another line and select School. Type in either
Chapel Hill (you can use the full name, University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill, but you do not need to; and you
also can use the
Dissertations & ThesesCode for UNC-Chapel Hill,
0153. The important thing is that in searching for a
particular institution, you must search in the
School field.
If you only want to search for dissertations from UNC
Chapel Hill, you also can use the new database
Current Research@University of North Carolina at Chapel
Hill, which comprises only UNC dissertations.
You may search for a particular author using the keyword or the author field. Since the mid-1980s, the advisor's name is noted but you must select an Advisor search to look for these.
The only subject headings used in Dissertations & Theses are very broad, like Women’s Studies, History-United States, and Literature-English.
Again, before 1979 abstracts are not included in the database. For a subject search you are searching only title words and very broad subjects. Remember also that to see an abstract before 1980, you must go the print (Davis Library Z5053.D57) or microform (Davis Microforms Serial 1-1288 and 1-1289) version of Dissertation Abstracts International.
5. ONLINE FULL TEXT OF UNC Chapel Hill Dissertations
Dissertations completed from 1997 on are available full-text through the international Dissertations & Theses database and its companion resource, Current Research@University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, which lists only the dissertations completed at this institution. Image-only PDF files are available free to current UNC Chapel Hill students, faculty, and staff.
6. ABSTRACTS OF UNC Chapel Hill DISSERTATIONS AND THESES:
UNC Chapel Hill dissertations are in Dissertation Abstracts for the years it exists. In addition, abstracts for UNC-Chapel Hill dissertations and theses were included in Research in Progress (The UNC-Chapel Hill Record published by the Graduate School) for 1920-1957. The NC Collection has a complete file. Other than this list there are no abstracts for UNC Chapel Hill masters theses and this is largely the case for theses in general.
7. DISSERTATIONS AND THESES FROM OTHER INSTITUTIONS:
Dissertations & Theses is the best tool for identifying dissertations not only from UNC Chapel Hill but from other institutions as well. It covers most U.S. and Canadian universities, a growing selection of foreign schools, and is beginning to include masters' theses in a VERY limited way.
In addition to Dissertations & Theses, many specialized indexing, abstracting, and bibliographic sources include dissertations, so depending on the topic there may be other ways to search for these. There also are listings of dissertations and/or theses for some specific fields of study. Balay, The Guide to Reference Books (Davis Reference Desk Z1035.1.S43 1996) is a good way to identify these. The American Historical Association, for example, now posts its Directory of Dissertations in Progress on the Web.
Masters theses from other schools are more difficult to identify. Dissertations & Theses has been adding these but not all institutions submit their masters' these, UNC Chapel Hill being among them. There are a few subject oriented bibliographies that list them. Again, Balay is good for identifying these.
WorldCat, available through the Article Databases & More list, can be a valuable way to search for theses, but with an understanding that you will be missing things. Not all institutions list their theses online, or may enter only very recent ones.
You can do the same sort of keyword search using "and thesis ma" as in the Online Catalog, but you must specify that "thesis ma or thesis m a" is in the Notes/Comments field.
If you need a specific master’s thesis and are reasonably certain of the institution and enough information about the author and title to identify it, we can send an ILL request. But you should check WorldCat , or that institution's catalog, to try and verify the information.
8. OBTAINING COPIES OF NON-UNC Chapel Hill DISSERTATIONS AND THESES:
We do not routinely buy dissertations from other schools, but always check the catalog. The North Carolina Collection purchases dissertations on North Carolina topics and many other dissertations have been added to the general collections.
If we do not have a dissertation, usually we can borrow it. The only problem we run into is if an institution does not lend them and we are unable to locate a copy another library. Then your only option is to purchase a copy from Bell & Howell Information and Learning (formerly University Microfilms International), if one is available, or see if the library will purchase a copy to add to the collection.
Requests for the library to purchase dissertations should go to the Collection Development Department in Davis Library.
Order forms for patrons to use in purchasing copies for themselves are available at the Davis Library Reference desk on the ILL shelves. There is a toll-free telephone number 1-800-521-3042 for ordering, and flat rates for microforms and bound hard copy. Unbound paper copies, at a reduced price, can be ordered online by individuals from Bell & Howell's Dissertation Express. In addition, dissertations completed at most other institutions since 1996 can be purchased through the Dissertations & Theses database.
UNC Chapel Hill faculty, staff, and students can purchase dissertation copies through an Interlibrary Loan request, and the ILL service will cover $10.00 of the charges.
In most cases master's theses are only found at the institution where they were done. We try to borrow these but if an institution won't lend, the patron's only recourse will be to pay to have a copy made if the other institution is willing to do this.
9. PURCHASING OR BORROWING A UNC Chapel Hill DISSERTATION OR THESIS:
Borrowing:
The Davis Library copies of UNC-Chapel Hill dissertations and theses circulate and are available on interlibrary loan.
To PURCHASE a copy of a UNC Chapel Hill dissertation:If it was done after 1959, when we began submitting our dissertations to UMI for filming, it can be purchased from Bell & Howell Information and Learning. Ordering can be done through 1-800-521-3042 or online at Dissertation Express.
In addition, those with access to the Dissertations & Theses database can now purchase copies of our dissertations completed since 1996 through this resource.
If it is an older dissertation, or is not available from Bell & Howell, or a masters' thesis regardless of date, or an honors thesis, the library can make a copy; or a patron can check it out, or borrow it on ILL, and make a copy. Either way a patron will have to pay, but it's probably cheaper for the patron to make a copy. If you want the library to make a copy of a dissertation, a masters' thesis, or an honors thesis, the request can be made through the interlibrary loan system or should go directly to the North Carolina Collection.
10. UNC Chapel Hill MASTERS PAPERS OTHER THAN THESES:
Some departments do not have an official "thesis" but a major paper or report. Examples are many programs in Public Health, Environmental Sciences and Engineering, the School of Information and Library Science, the Master of Public Administration, and the Masters in Fine Arts. These are not in Davis Library or, for the most part, in the North Carolina Collection or the Online Catalog. Some departments and departmental libraries have online lists. Contact the department, or, if there is one, the departmental library for information.
The School of Information and Library Science Library has circulating copies of MSLS papers. A list is available on the Web, and as of 2000 records are in the Online Catalog. Those outside of UNC-Chapel Hill wishing to borrow these must submit an interlibrary loan request. Do not contact the SILS Library directly.
Copies of the Master of Public Administration papers from 1976-1994 are in North Carolina Collection. Requests for photocopies of these can be submitted as an interlibrary loan request or made directly to the NCC. For copies of ones completed since 1994, contact the Manager of the Master of Public Administration Program (CB#3330, 241 Knapp Bldg. Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3330, Phone: 919-962-0425, Fax: 919-962-8271, mpastaff@iogmail.iog.unc.edu)
Master's level students in the Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering can opt for one of two tracts: A Master of Science Degree, which requires a thesis; and a Master of Science In Environmental Engineering, which requires a Technical Paper. The Health Sciences Library receives copies of the theses, but copies of the Techical Papers must be requested from the department.
NOTE: The MBA program does not require either a thesis or a paper. However, the PhDs in business do produce dissertations.
11. UNDERGRADUATE HONORS THESES:
These are in the North Carolina Collection. They are in the card catalog in that collection and, since 1991, in the Online Catalog by author and title only. They do not have subject headings unless they are about North Carolina. They do not circulate. Some departmental libraries also have copies but these will be noncirculating as well. Requests for photocopies of honors theses can be made through the interlibrary loan system or can be sent directly to the North Carolina Collection.
12. YOU THINK IT IS A UNC Chapel Hill DISSERTATION OR THESIS, BUT...:
Sometimes it will appear that a dissertation or thesis is from UNC Chapel Hill, but it isn't. It could be from another campus in the University of North Carolina system, for example, and some sources cite the University of Northern Colorado as UNC. If you do not find the item in our Online Catalog, and it does not sound like one of the "masters theses which really are not" as described above, then it most likely is not ours. To try and determine the correct information, search Dissertations & Theses if it is a dissertation, or WorldCat. if it is a masters' thesis, or you are not certain.
If you still can't identify it, contact Tommy Nixon in the Davis Library Reference Department (CB3922, The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27514-8890, 919-962-1151, tommy_nixon@unc.edu. )
13. A RECENT THESIS OR DISSERTATION IS NOT IN THE CATALOG:
There is a considerable lag between theses and dissertations being completed and their availability in the library. All are sent to be bound and dissertations then go on to Ann Arbor to be filmed, before the library receives copies. To see if one is in library but not cataloged, contact Linda Brett in the Cataloging Department, CB#3914 Davis Library, The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, 27514-8890, 962-0153, labrett@email.unc.edu.
The Graduate School has a record of dissertations completed. By contacting that office you can obtain a title, but you must be able to supply the name, date, and department. This procedure is to be followed only when a patron needs a title for a serious purpose, and will not give access to the dissertation itself. Many university departments now are putting lists of their dissertations and these on the Web, and may include those that are recently completed or in process.
The annual May graduation program lists the titles for dissertations completed for that graduation and for the previous December and August. The N.C. Collection has copies of the programs.
Foreign dissertations are trickier to identify, but there are a variety of national listings. Two long-standing and reliable ones are:
ASLIB. Index to Theses: Universities of Great Britain and Ireland. 1970-. (Reference Z5055.G69 A84 1950-)
Jahresverzeichnis der deutschen Hochschulschriften. 1885-. (Reference Z5055.G39B5)
Dissertations & Theses now includes listings from many foreign Universities as well.
See "Dissertations, Academic" in the catalog. Also, check Balay under "Dissertations." The section in Balay is very good and has sections for individual countries for which listings exist.
Center for Research Libraries. Handbook. (Davis Library Reference Desk Z733 .C52345 1990)
CRL is a membership library in Chicago to which UNC Chapel Hill belongs. It will acquire foreign dissertations on demand for members. Because of this service and various depository and exchange programs the Center has over 750,000 currently. Requests go through the ILL system. Be aware that if the Center does not already have a dissertation, getting the copy from abroad can take from six months to a year.
15. FOREIGN DISSERTATIONS AT UNC Chapel Hill:
Since the mid 1970s, any foreign dissertations added to the collection are fully cataloged and treated like other books. However, we also have numerous foreign dissertations, principally German, in uniquely cataloged sets. Foreign dissertations added to this collection from 1940 to the 1960s were given a main entry (author's name) in the card catalog and bound together by year. The volumes in this series have the call number 378.408--EO--date. Dissertations added from the mid-1960s through the mid-1970s were given an accession number, and a main entry in the card catalog. (All in Wilson storage)
Over 1200 foreign dissertations were bound together by subject and given call numbers appropriate to the different subjects. There is a broad subject card for each set in the card catalog, as well as an author card for each item. The main entry for each set is "Dissertations." A sample entry is
470.4
Dissertations
D613
Miscellaneous dissertations on Latin philology
These sets will be in Wilson, Davis, or a departmental library as appropriate to the Dewey call number or the subject.
Last but not least, a collection of about 10,000 German dissertations prior to 1940 has been transferred to the Center for Research Libraries. There is a list of these in the Davis Library Reference Collection,
Z5053.U65 and we can easily borrow them from CRL.
16. UNC-Chapel Hill DISSERTATIONS AND THESES IN THE DIVISION OF HEALTH AFFAIRS:
Dissertations and theses completed in the schools of Dentistry, Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, and Public Health are not housed in Davis. The NC Collection and the Health Sciences Library hold copies. Among the degree-granting units in question are the following:
Anatomy
Bacteriology
Biomedical Engineering and Mathematics
Biostatistics
Dental Auxiliary Teacher Education
Dental Ecology
Dentistry
Environmental Sciences and Engineering
Epidemiology
Genetics
Health Education
Maternal and Child Health
Medical and Allied Health
Medicinal Chemistry
Microbiology and Immunology
Nutrition
Occupational Therapy
Orthodontics
Parasitology
</>> Pathology
Pedodontics
Peridontics
Pharmacology
Physical Therapy
Physiology
Prosthodontics
Public Health
Public Health Nursing
Rehabiliation Counseling
All Health Sciences dissertations and theses are in the Online Catalog and WILL, unlike most dissertations, have a group subject heading: Dissertations, Academic. For some years there also will be more complete subject cataloging.
Also, remember that UNC Chapel Hill dissertations completed from 1997 on are available full-text free to students, faculty, and staff of this institution through Dissertations & Theses, the current electronic version of Dissertation Abstracts International, as well as from Current Research@University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a related database that allows you to search only UNC Chapel Hill dissertations.
IMPORTANT: Many programs in Health Affairs do not require official masters' theses. See UNC Chapel Hill MASTERS PAPERS OTHER THAN THESES, Section 10.
Davis Library DOES have copies of dissertations and theses done in science departments which are not In Health Affairs: Biology, Botany (and the earlier Zoology and Botany departments), Chemistry, Computer Science, Ecology, Geology, Marine Sciences, Mathematics, Physics, Statistics, and Zoology.
For more Humanities Assistance,
Please contact Tommy Nixon, Humanities Librarian
tommy_nixon@unc.edu
(919) 962-1151
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