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Book series

Springer Theses

Recognizing Outstanding Ph.D. Research

About this book series

Aims and Scope  

The series “Springer Theses” brings together a selection of the very best Ph.D. theses from around the world and across the physical sciences. Nominated and endorsed by two recognized specialists, each published volume has been selected for its scientific excellence and the high impact of its contents for the pertinent field of research. For greater accessibility to non-specialists, the published versions include an extended introduction, as well as a foreword by the student’s supervisor explaining the special relevance of the work for the field. As a whole, the series will provide a valuable resource both for newcomers to the research fields described, and for other scientists seeking detailed background information on special questions. Finally, it provides an accredited documentation of the valuable contributions made by today’s younger generation of scientists.

Theses may be nominated for publication in this series by heads of department at internationally leading universities or institutes and should fulfill all of the following criteria  

• They must be written in good English.
• The topic should fall within the confines of Chemistry, Physics, Earth Sciences, Engineering and related interdisciplinary fields such as Materials, Nanoscience, Chemical Engineering, Complex Systems and Biophysics. 
• The work reported in the thesis must represent a significant scientific advance. 
• If the thesis includes previously published material, permission to reproduce this must be gained from the respective copyright holder (a maximum 30% of the thesis should be a verbatim reproduction from the author's previous publications).
• They must have been examined and passed during the 12 months prior to nomination. 
• Each thesis should include a foreword by the supervisor outlining the significance of its content.
• The theses should have a clearly defined structure including an introduction accessible to new PhD students and scientists not expert in the relevant field.

Book titles in this series

Enhanced microbial and chemical catalysis in bio-electrochemical systems.

• Xian-Wei Liu
• Copyright: 2025

Available Renditions

Galaxy Merger Identification Methods, and Investigations of the Role of Mergers in Galaxy Evolution

• Kiyoaki Christopher Omori

Quantum Speed Limits to Operator Growth

• Nicoletta Carabba
• Copyright: 2024

Novel Proton Conducting in Free-Standing Coordination Polymer Membranes

• Jiangfeng Lu

Enhancing Carbon Fibre Production Through Life Cycle Analysis

• Thomas Groetsch

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How to... Convert your thesis into a book

This how to guide takes you through everything you need to know to convert your thesis into a book.

You can read all the information you need below, or watch this video from Books Commissioning Editor, Katy Mathers.

On this page

Consider the level of conversion.

• What are book publishers looking for

Consider the audience

• Tips for converting your thesis

What happens next?

Your first consideration when thinking about book publishing options for your thesis should be the level of conversion. You could consider the following options.

A full conversion – from thesis to book

This is a good option should your thesis be on a topic that would have wide appeal to an academic audience. A key consideration here is that the structure of a thesis is massively different to a book. Rather than starting with a hypothesis, a book should showcase a considered argument and its narrative should communicate that argument to peers in the field – demonstrating how the research has evolved into this viewpoint, and what impact it can have.

Partial conversion – using parts of your thesis in a book

Using parts of your thesis in a book usually means that you are conducting further research that might be ongoing, and might involve colleagues that might be a co-author on the project.

Partial conversion – a chapter in an edited collection

Perhaps your thesis doesn’t quite have the broad appeal for a full book conversion. In this case you might consider a chapter in an edited collection under a broader theme – this means you’re broadening the scope of your PhD research to a wider audience by collaborating with a team of contributors on an edited book. Look out for calls for chapters on relevant themes.

What are publishers looking for?

Broad (global) scholarly appeal.

• Remember your thesis is written for a handful of examiners and experts in your field and is partly there to demonstrate the expertise you have gained from your research. A book should have a much wider audience than that, and should be engaging and interesting enough to appeal to a broad section of researchers across your field (and potentially other disciplines as appropriate), and should particularly be accessible enough to engage any researcher interested in your topic of study.
• Single-country case studies won’t always translate well into a book given their focused scope, however, they would work as part of an edited collection with a broader global scope.
• A good book manuscript should focus on a coherent argument/narrative, rather than a step-by-step checklist of things you need to demonstrate in a thesis.
• You don’t need to include big sections or whole chapters on literature review or methodology, these can be weaved into the book as and when appropriate.

Development potential

• An original thesis should be regarded as the basis for an entirely new work, written with a new audience in mind.

Talking about your research and the process of working it into a book is one of the best ways to ensuring success.

Try reaching out to your immediate colleagues, and co-authors on published papers, your PhD supervisor, peers you might meet at conferences, with a publishing contact, or even online. Try asking for advice on twitter, or any professional network sites.

It is advisable to start a conversation with supervisors and other colleagues shortly after the completion of a PhD.

Once you’ve started to get a good idea of what you want to do, it’s also a great time to reach out to a commissioning editor at a publisher. They can advise on further considerations for turning your thesis into a book with a broad scholarly appeal, as well as how to fill in a book proposal form.

Following this, the next natural step is to submit a book proposal which will be considered by the publisher, often involving a peer review process.

The single most important thing to remember when converting your thesis is the audience. Your thesis is written for a select amount of examiners with specific expertise in your field and showcases your nuanced and rich expertise, which you have gleaned from your research in your particular area.

In contrast, a book should have a much wider audience and should be engaging and interesting enough to appeal to a broad section of researchers across your field, and potentially even other disciplines as appropriate.

As a book, your research should be accessible enough to engage any researcher interested in your topic of study.

• Realise which parts of your thesis are useful only to examiners. Any sections such as literature review, or extended methodology discussion should be cut or heavily amended/digested. These sections can weave in and out of your overall narrative rather than be structured separately.
• Writing style is less important for examiners, but essential for book readers. PhD examiners will read your thesis regardless of the writing style, but the writing style for book readers is essential for ensuring your research is accessible and engaging. You must be prepared to extensively re-write your thesis to retain and engage readers. This should be seen as essential rather than optional.
• Keep the big picture in mind. It’s important to take a step back while putting together a proposal, or during the manuscript writing process. Set reminders at intervals to focus on the overall narrative of the book. Is there a logical development of an argument? Does it make sense to a reader’s point of view? If not , be prepared to rethink the structure – it can be freeing to step away from a traditional thesis structure.
• Write concisely. It’s important to bear in mind the importance of the reader’s time. At all stages of the writing process you should focus on streamlining where possible and keep in mind the agreed length of the book. Books are often much shorter than theses, which by their nature contain much repetition. If you’re finding it hard to meet the agreed word limit, your writing style is likely not quite right yet for a book audience.
• Emphasise context. If your research is specialist and nuanced, with a narrow scope, try boosting its contextual implications by adding an international or inter-disciplinary context. It’s particularly useful to do this within the introductory and concluding chapters. Rounding off your book with opening and closing contextual chapters can really emphasise the place of the research within the field and showcase how it’s adding to the literature or breaking fresh ground.
• Get a third party proof-reader. Consider getting someone within your field, perhaps without the specialist knowledge relating to your PhD knowledge, and see what they think of your writing style. If they can follow your argument and find value in the work you’re presenting for the wider field, then the book has good potential. If they’re struggling, you might need to re-think the project.

Top tips for converting your thesis

• The main title of the book should position it clearly without reference to other bibliographic information, and should be as short as possible.
• Chapter titles are something people often forget, and chapter titles can sometimes be a real giveaway in a proposal that a book is based on a thesis and maybe hasn’t been revised appropriately. It’s often a comment reviewers make, and a clear sign to them that the proposal is a thesis conversion. Chapter titles can be way more dynamic in a book than in a thesis, and there’s no need to have chapters called 'methodology' or 'results'. Freeing yourself from these structured ways of thinking can be liberating, and is a good way of diverting yourself from writing in a thesis style.
• Remember that readers of the book are most interested in what your findings/argument are. Think about leading your book with the 'end' of your thesis, i.e. the results/answer to the question you were researching, rather than starting by explaining how you got there.
• You don’t need to include big sections or whole chapters on literature review or methodology, these can be weaved in to the book as and when appropriate (particularly if your research employed an innovative methodology, for example).
• A book manuscript should typically be shorter than your thesis. If you’re struggling to bring the word count down, you might need to get help with your writing style, or evaluate if you’ve cut enough “thesis-heavy” content from your work.
• Use introductory and concluding chapters to contextualise your research. This is super helpful for placing your work within the field.

To summarise

Be prepared to re-write: Having sketched out a new structure and focus, you now have to start writing all over again to create a completely new work. You should accept this as a must for success, and enjoy the creative process that comes with it.

Remove academic structuring: Ordinary readers want you to get straight to the point, Anything that sounds like "In this chapter I will argue . . ." or "In this chapter I have shown . . ." should be deleted immediately.

Audience is the most important consideration. Re-organise your writing around your new audience – remember that concise, narrative-led writing is essential.

Re-focus on the storytelling. Any background material (such as surveys of previous literature, historical background, discussions of earlier and current theories, arguments, methodology, etc.) if retained at all, should be moved from the beginning to the end of the book, or incorporated in a condensed form into the relevant sections of the main text. From start to finish, you should begin with an answer rather than a question, and your argument should be maintained throughout.

Once you’ve formed an idea for your book project, it’s a good time to talk to a commissioning editor at a publisher about submitting a proposal.

Get ready to publish a book

See a list of our book commissioning editors, along with their subject areas and contact information.

Submit your book proposal

Find out how submit a book or series proposal and what the next steps in the publishing process are.

The book peer review process

A helpful guide to our book peer review process.

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OATD.org provides open access graduate theses and dissertations published around the world. Metadata (information about the theses) comes from over 1100 colleges, universities, and research institutions. OATD currently indexes 6,654,285 theses and dissertations.

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EBSCO Open Dissertations

EBSCO Open Dissertations makes electronic theses and dissertations (ETDs) more accessible to researchers worldwide. The free portal is designed to benefit universities and their students and make ETDs more discoverable. 

Increasing Discovery & Usage of ETD Research

With EBSCO Open Dissertations, institutions are offered an innovative approach to driving additional traffic to ETDs in institutional repositories. Our goal is to help make their students’ theses and dissertations as widely visible and cited as possible.

EBSCO Open Dissertations extends the work started in 2014, when EBSCO and the H.W. Wilson Foundation created American Doctoral Dissertations which contained indexing from the H.W. Wilson print publication, Doctoral Dissertations Accepted by American Universities, 1933-1955. In 2015, the H.W. Wilson Foundation agreed to support the expansion of the scope of the American Doctoral Dissertations database to include records for dissertations and theses from 1955 to the present.

How Does EBSCO Open Dissertations Work?

Libraries can add theses and dissertations to the database, making them freely available to researchers everywhere while increasing traffic to their institutional repository.  ETD metadata is harvested via OAI and integrated into EBSCO’s platform, where pointers send traffic to the institution's IR.

EBSCO integrates this data into their current subscriber environments and makes the data available on the open web via opendissertations.org .

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Turning your PhD into a successful book

Requests regularly arrive in the Author Services inbox asking for advice about turning PhD research into journal articles or books. In this guide, first posted on the  LSE Impact Blog , Terry Clague, a Senior Publisher at Routledge gives his advice and insight into what publishers are looking for when they receive new book proposals.  

Research conducted as part of a PhD is valuable. It is valuable for the researcher, who has spent countless hours carrying out the work and it is valuable to those deciding whether the research should result in the award of a PhD qualification. But can the research be valuable to broader audiences? The simple answer is yes – at the heart of many successful academic books lies research conducted as part of a PhD. 

What options to consider when turning your PhD into a book

In the majority of cases, PhD research is published in the form of journal articles. In some cases, the research is published in a book. Between either end of that publishing spectrum there is an array of options to consider when it comes to disseminating PhD research: 

Converting the entire PhD thesis into a book  requires that your thesis covers a topic of interest to a large enough audience of scholars. Whereas a thesis starts with a question, a book begins with an answer and communicates its importance in the wider research landscape, tracing its evolution and impact. 

Using parts of a PhD thesis in a book  requires that ongoing and/or collaborative research is being conducted. A book (perhaps co-authored) should be greater than the sum of its constituent parts. 

Using an aspect of a PhD thesis in an edited book  on a broader topic ensures that the research fits with related research on a similar theme. A good edited book addresses the need to broaden the scope of PhD-based research via collaborating with a team of contributors. 

Splitting a PhD thesis into several articles  for journals hedges a PhD’s bets by staking smaller amounts of the work in different locations. What is gained by this hedging may be lost in the overall narrative of the PhD research as it is unbundled. 

What publishers look for when deciding whether to take you on

The role of the book publisher is to connect authors with readers. When it comes to disseminating research originating from a PhD, this relationship is essential. It is therefore useful to consider the perspective of the publisher when considering what publication route to take. In assessing a proposal for a research-level book, a good publisher will initially ask themselves three questions: 

Is the  scope  of the research broad enough to be of interest to our readers (scholars globally)? Example

Is the  quality  sufficiently high? 

Can the work be  developed  via feedback from experts as part of the book review process to address any weaknesses? 

Post information

Related posts, insights topics.

Beyond those core questions, potential authors should also consider significant and ongoing changes to the market for academic books, notably in reader behavior. Evolution in digital technology combined with a significant increase in the amounts of available research has led to changes in the way that books are produced, published and propagated. In this environment, the key word is “discoverability”. Connecting authors to readers requires that publishers facilitate discoverability of research via various routes to ensure that potential readers are able to find books with ease. Authors can aid this process by following a few basic rules of thumb: 

The main title of the book should position it clearly without reference to other bibliographic information, and should be as short as feasible 

Chapter titles should likewise, where possible, position themselves clearly 

Chapter synopses or abstracts can be used to enhance the metadata around books

Submitting a book proposal

It is useful to start a conversation with an acquisitions/commissioning editor at an early stage toward the end or shortly after the completion of a PhD. Discussions with supervisors and other colleagues are also very useful at this stage. The next natural step is to submit a book proposal which will be considered by the publisher, often involving a peer review process. Research-level books are often published as part of an established series – an awareness of existing books in such series can be useful when it comes to framing and developing a book proposal. 

Preparing your final manuscript for book publication 

Following a review process, the publisher’s editorial board would give final approval to proceed, following which a book contract would be issued. Armed with publisher and review feedback, the author can then proceed to produce a full manuscript based on their PhD research. Each book is different, but there are numerous key aspects to consider when preparing a final manuscript for book publication. Above all, never lose sight of the audience:

A thesis is written for examiners, a book for scholars in general . Anything that is useful only for examiners (e.g. literature review, methodology discussion) should be cut or heavily amended/digested. 

Examiners will work through text regardless of the writing style, book readers will not . Therefore, it is likely that extensive re-writing will be required to retain and engage readers. 

Take a step back . Think about the overall narrative of the book and be prepared to rethink the structure – this can be liberating! 

Value the reader’s time . Streamline where possible – theses by their nature contain much repetition. Keep in mind the agreed length of the book. 

Contextualize . If research is of a narrow scope, add international or inter-disciplinary context, particularly within the introductory and concluding chapters.

Sharing your research  

Finally, talking about your research and the process of working it into a book can be an essential ingredient to its success. This can be done with your immediate colleagues, at conferences and with a publisher. It can also be done online – with  social media a useful tool  to tap into wider networks as well as to test ideas out. 

Further Reading

European University Institute (Undated) –  From PhD to Book   Germano, W. (2005) –  From Dissertation to Book   Thomson, P. (2011) –  Can I Get a Book From My Thesis   Thomson, P. (2013) –  Turning Your PhD Into a Book   Veletsianos, G. (2016) –  Social Media in Academia , Routledge 

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About OATD.org

OATD.org aims to be the best possible resource for finding open access graduate theses and dissertations published around the world. Metadata (information about the theses) comes from over 1100 colleges, universities, and research institutions . OATD currently indexes 7,224,867 theses and dissertations.

About OATD (our FAQ) .

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We’re happy to present several data visualizations to give an overall sense of the OATD.org collection by county of publication, language, and field of study.

You may also want to consult these sites to search for other theses:

• Google Scholar
• NDLTD , the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations. NDLTD provides information and a search engine for electronic theses and dissertations (ETDs), whether they are open access or not.
• Proquest Theses and Dissertations (PQDT), a database of dissertations and theses, whether they were published electronically or in print, and mostly available for purchase. Access to PQDT may be limited; consult your local library for access information.

LAMBERT Academic Publishing

From Thesis to Book: A Guide to Publishing Your PhD Research Publishing phd thesis as a book

From thesis to Published Book: Transforming Academic Research into a Wider Audience

Completing a PhD is a tremendous accomplishment that requires dedication, perseverance, and countless hours of research and writing. After years of hard work, it’s only natural to want to share your findings with the wider world. One option for doing so is to publish your thesis as a book.

Turning a thesis into a book can be a rewarding experience, as it allows you to reach a broader audience and share your research with people beyond the academic community. While the process of publishing a book can be daunting, it’s not as complicated as it may seem.

The first step is to determine whether your thesis is suitable for publication as a book. Consider the following questions:

• Does your thesis address a topic that is of interest to a wider audience?
• Can you present your research in a way that is accessible to non-specialists?
• Are there existing books on your topic, and if so, what makes your research unique?

If you believe that your thesis has the potential to be published as a book, the next step is to identify potential publishers. Look for publishers that specialize in your subject area and have a strong track record of publishing academic works. Many publishers have guidelines on their websites that will give you an idea of what they are looking for in a book proposal.

When preparing your book proposal, keep in mind that you will need to present your research in a way that is engaging and accessible to a wider audience. This may require revising some parts of your thesis and presenting your findings in a way that is relevant to non-academic readers.

Once you have submitted your book proposal, be prepared for a long wait. The publishing process can take months or even years, as publishers carefully review proposals and decide which ones to pursue. If your proposal is accepted, you will work closely with an editor to revise and refine your manuscript.

Publishing your thesis as a book can be a rewarding experience that allows you to share your research with a wider audience. With careful planning and preparation, you can turn your thesis into a book that is engaging, accessible, and informative.

Ok, now that we discussed the “why”, let’s elaborate on the “How”.

Easy and fast ways to publish a PhD thesis as a book?

While publishing a PhD thesis as a book is not necessarily an easy or fast process, as was discussed before, there are some steps you can take to make it happen more efficiently.

One option is to self-publish your book . This means that you will need to take care of all aspects of the publishing process, from editing and formatting the manuscript to designing the cover and promoting the book. Self-publishing platforms / publishers such as LAP Publishing which may offer an easier and more accessible route to publishing your work.

Another option is to consider a publisher that specializes in publishing academic books. Some publishers may even offer expedited publication services for PhD theses that have already undergone rigorous review and editing.

It’s also worth considering publishing individual chapters of your thesis as articles in academic journals. This can help increase the visibility of your research and potentially lead to book deals with publishers who are interested in your work.

In any case, it’s important to research publishers and their submission guidelines, prepare a strong book proposal, and work closely with an editor to refine your manuscript. While there may not be a shortcut to publishing your PhD thesis as a book, taking these steps can help streamline the process and increase the likelihood of success.

How expensive is it to publish a PhD thesis as a book?

The cost of publishing a PhD thesis as a book can vary widely depending on several factors, such as the publisher, the length of the book, the number of copies printed, the type of printing, and the marketing budget.

If you decide to self-publish your book, you will need to cover all the costs associated with publishing, such as editing, formatting, cover design, printing, and marketing. However, the cost of self-publishing can vary widely, depending on the services you require and the quality of the work. For example if you self publish your book in the LAP Publishing platform the fee is minimal compared to other publishers. Which allows the option to publish a PhD to a wide variety of authors. 

If you go through a traditional academic publisher, there may be some upfront costs associated with the publishing process. For example, some publishers may require an author to pay for the cost of indexing or for any images used in the book. However, most academic publishers will cover the majority of the costs, including editing, formatting, printing, and marketing.

It’s important to note that while the cost of publishing a PhD thesis as a book can be significant, there are also potential financial benefits. For example, some publishers offer royalties on book sales, which can generate income for the author over time. Additionally, publishing a book can enhance an author’s reputation in their field and potentially lead to additional speaking engagements or consulting opportunities.

Overall, the cost of publishing a PhD thesis as a book can vary widely depending on the publishing route you choose, the services required, and the marketing budget. It’s important to carefully research publishers and their costs before making a decision.

Are you a researcher or an author struggling to get your thesis published? Look no further than Lambert Academic Publishing! We offer an easy and affordable publishing process that allows you to share your research with a global audience. With no publishing contract required and professional editing and formatting services included, publishing your thesis with us has never been easier. Plus, our worldwide distribution network ensures that your work will be seen by a wider audience. Don’t let your research go unnoticed – publish your thesis with Lambert Academic Publishing today and take the first step towards sharing your findings with the world!

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As a promovend, you are obliged to publish your doctoral thesis. With GRIN Verlag you can do this quickly and, above all, free of charge. In order for years of research to pay off financially for you, GRIN takes care of the worldwide marketing in hundreds of online shops and you receive a high author’s fee. Your dissertation will then be found via all major search engines.

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At GRIN, you can, either, profit from every sold unit, receive a guaranteed one-time royalty, or offer your work for free. Select one of the options - we take care of the rest.

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Our editorial team creates a complete e-book and a book from the file you uploaded. E-book and book will have their own ISBN. Your publication receives its own cover and we publish your text in our online shop.

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Theses & dissertations: home, access to theses and dissertations from other institutions and from the university of cambridge.

This guide provides information on searching for theses of Cambridge PhDs and for theses of UK universities and universities abroad. 

For information and guidance on depositing your thesis as a cambridge phd, visit the cambridge office of scholarly communication pages on theses here ., this guide gives essential information on how to obtain theses using the british library's ethos service. .

On the last weekend of October, the British Library became the victim of a major cyber-attack. Essential digital services including the BL catalogue, website and online learning resources went dark, with research services like the EThOS collection of more than 600,000 doctoral theses suddenly unavailable. The BL state that they anticipate restoring more services in the next few weeks, but disruption to certain services is now expected to persist for several months. For the latest news on the attack and information on the restoration of services, please follow the BL blog here:  Knowledge Matters blog  and access the LibGuide page here:  British Library Outage Update - Electronic Legal Deposit - LibGuides at University of Cambridge Subject Libraries

A full list of resources for searching theses online is provided by the Cambridge A-Z, available here .

University of Cambridge theses

Finding a cambridge phd thesis online via the institutional repository.

The University's institutional repository, Apollo , holds full-text digital versions of over 11,000 Cambridge PhD theses and is a rapidly growing collection deposited by Cambridge Ph.D. graduates. Theses in Apollo can be browsed via this link . More information on how to access theses by University of Cambridge students can be found on the access to Cambridge theses webpage.   The requirement for impending PhD graduates to deposit a digital version in order to graduate means the repository will be increasing at a rate of approximately 1,000 per year from this source.   About 200 theses are added annually through requests to make theses Open Access or via requests to digitize a thesis in printed format.

Locating and obtaining a copy of a Cambridge PhD thesis (not yet available via the repository)

Theses can be searched in iDiscover .  Guidance on searching for theses in iDiscover can be found here .   Requests for consultation of printed theses, not available online, should be made at the Manuscripts Reading Room (Email:  [email protected] Telephone: +44 (0)1223 333143).   Further information on the University Library's theses, dissertations and prize essays collections can be consulted at this link .

Researchers can order a copy of an unpublished thesis which was deposited in print form either through the Library’s  Digital Content Unit via the image request form , or, if the thesis has been digitised, it may be available in the Apollo repository. Copies of theses may be provided to researchers in accordance with the  law  and in a manner that is common across UK libraries.  The law allows us to provide whole copies of unpublished theses to individuals as long as they sign a declaration saying that it is for non-commercial research or private study.

How to make your thesis available online through Cambridge's institutional repository

Are you a Cambridge alumni and wish to make your Ph.D. thesis available online? You can do this by depositing it in Apollo the University's institutional repository. Click here for further information on how to proceed.    Current Ph.D students at the University of Cambridge can find further information about the requirements to deposit theses on the Office of Scholarly Communication theses webpages.

UK Theses and Dissertations

Electronic copies of Ph.D. theses submitted at over 100 UK universities are obtainable from EThOS , a service set up to provide access to all theses from participating institutions. It achieves this by harvesting e-theses from Institutional Repositories and by digitising print theses as they are ordered by researchers using the system. Over 250,000 theses are already available in this way. Please note that it does not supply theses submitted at the universities of Cambridge or Oxford although they are listed on EThOS.

Registration with EThOS is not required to search for a thesis but is necessary to download or order one unless it is stored in the university repository rather than the British Library (in which case a link to the repository will be displayed). Many theses are available without charge on an Open Access basis but in all other cases, if you are requesting a thesis that has not yet been digitised you will be asked to meet the cost. Once a thesis has been digitised it is available for free download thereafter.

When you order a thesis it will either be immediately available for download or writing to hard copy or it will need to be digitised. If you order a thesis for digitisation, the system will manage the process and you will be informed when the thesis is available for download/preparation to hard copy.

See the Search results section of the  help page for full information on interpreting search results in EThOS.

EThOS is managed by the British Library and can be found at http://ethos.bl.uk . For more information see About EThOS .

World-wide (incl. UK) theses and dissertations

Electronic versions of non-UK theses may be available from the institution at which they were submitted, sometimes on an open access basis from the institutional repository. A good starting point for discovering freely available electronic theses and dissertations beyond the UK is the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (NDLTD) , which facilitates searching across institutions. Information can also usually be found on the library web pages of the relevant institution.

The DART Europe etheses portal lists several thousand full-text theses from a group of European universities.

The University Library subscribes to the ProQuest Dissertations and Theses  (PQDT) database which from August 31 2023 is accessed on the Web of Science platform.  To search this index select it from the Web of Science "Search in" drop-down list of databases (available on the Documents tab on WoS home page)

PQDT includes 2.4 million dissertation and theses citations, representing 700 leading academic institutions worldwide from 1861 to the present day. The database offers full text for most of the dissertations added since 1997 and strong retrospective full text coverage for older graduate works. Each dissertation published since July 1980 includes a 350-word abstract written by the author. Master's theses published since 1988 include 150-word abstracts.

IMPORTANT NOTE: The University Library only subscribes to the abstracting & indexing version of the ProQuest Dissertations and Theses database and NOT the full text version.  A fee is payable for ordering a dissertation from this source.   To obtain the full text of a dissertation as a downloadable PDF you can submit your request via the University Library Inter-Library Loans department (see contact details below). NB this service is only available to full and current members of the University of Cambridge.

Alternatively you can pay yourself for the dissertation PDF on the PQDT platform. Link from Web of Science record display of any thesis to PQDT by clicking on "View Details on ProQuest".  On the "Preview" page you will see an option "Order a copy" top right.  This will allow you to order your own copy from ProQuest directly.

Dissertations and theses submitted at non-UK universities may also be requested on Inter-Library Loan through the Inter-Library Loans department (01223 333039 or 333080, [email protected] )

• Last Updated: Dec 20, 2023 9:47 AM
• URL: https://libguides.cam.ac.uk/theses

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This page provides links to databases and websites to find dissertations. This includes links to general databases to find dissertations, databases focused on the humanities, foreign dissertations, dissertations on religion, and dissertations hosted by other universities.

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Research Guides

Submit and publish your thesis.

• The Graduate Thesis: What is it?
• Thesis Defences
• Deadlines and Fees
• Formatting in MS Word
• Formatting in LaTeX
• Making Thesis Accessible
• Thesis Embargo
• Review and Release
• Your Rights as an Author
• Re-using Third Party Materials
• Creative Commons Licenses for Theses
• Turning Thesis into an Article
• Turning Thesis into a Book
• Other Venues of Publication

Publishing from your thesis before or after graduation

"Will repository submission affect my publishing plans?"

... this is a common question for someone looking to publish from their thesis before or after graduation.

Most journals welcome submissions based on a thesis or dissertation. Some may have additional requirements, such as to:

• Let them know about the university’s requirement to make your thesis publicly available
• Submit a manuscript that is substantially different than the thesis content
• Embargo the thesis until after publication, etc.

Your steps will depend on the following scenarios:

Scenario 1 - you ARE NOT planning on publishing your thesis before or after graduation

In this case:

• You can submit your thesis without an embargo
• Your thesis will become publicly available in TSpace  and Library and Archives Canada after your convocation and will be widely indexed via search engines and indexes
• Use the TSpace-generated permanent URL to share and cite your thesis - see example of such citation below

Tajdaran, K. (2015). Enhancement of Peripheral Nerve Regeneration with Controlled Release of Glial Cell Line-derived Neurotrophic Factor (GDNF) (Master’s Thesis, University of Toronto). Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/1807/74747

Scenario 2 - You ARE planning on publishing your thesis AFTER graduation

Most journals are interested in “original, previously unpublished” research. Some journals consider theses as a form of “prior publications”, others do not, and the majority does not have a clear definition. It will be best to check journal policy before you submit your thesis.

Nature Research will consider submissions containing material that has previously formed part of a PhD or other academic thesis which has been published according to the requirements of the institution awarding the qualification.

►►►How to check journal policies:

• MIT Libraries' list of policy excerpts from major publishers
• Journal’s website - usually under Information for Authors or Copyright / Permissions or Editorial Policy; or in the publication agreement if available online
• If such information cannot be located online, contact the editors directly
• If the journal requires that you place an embargo on your thesis until after publication, see the SGS instructions on how to request an embargo on your thesis .

Scenario 3 - You ARE planning on publishing (or have already published) from your thesis BEFORE graduation

You may want or be expected to publish parts of your thesis before your thesis is submitted, such as with an integrated/publication-based/sandwich thesis. The most important thing to keep in mind here is copyright. You own copyright of your written materials, and a publisher may require copyright transfer of your manuscript.

You need to ensure you retain certain rights or obtain permission in order to satisfy the university’s requirement of making your thesis openly accessible via TSpace, ProQuest and Library and Archives Canada (LAC). For more details on these repositories, see the  Review and Release  section of this guide.

Check whether the journal requires prior notification about U of T’s open access requirement for theses. Some journals want to be notified of this mandate whether or not they restrict the re-use of articles in theses.

Check whether the publisher requires copyright transfer . This should be stated on their website, in the publication agreement, or you can inquire directly with the journal.

If the publisher does not require copyright transfer , i.e. author retains copyright, then you can reuse your article/chapter in your thesis; no permission needed.

If the publisher requires copyright transfer , follow these steps:

Check if the publisher has special provisions for reusing your published work in your thesis. They may permit the inclusion of a non-final version, such as your submitted or accepted manuscript. See more below on understanding different article versions for sharing .

►►►How to check journal policies:  See MIT Libraries' list of policy excerpts from major publishers or the journal/publisher website.

For example, Taylor and Francis policy allows to:

Include your article Author’s Original Manuscript (AOM) or Accepted Manuscript(AM) , depending on the embargo period in your thesis or dissertation. The Version of Record cannot be used. https://authorservices.taylorandfrancis.com/copyright-and-you/

Check if the article is distributed under a Creative Commons license. This may allow re-use.

►►►How to check journal's CC license:  See the journal/publisher website or contact the journal directly.

If the publisher requires copyright transfer, has no special provisions and does not publish under a CC license, you will need to contact them to request permission to include your article in your thesis. You can:

• Negotiate making the article available as part of the thesis in TSpace, ProQuest, and LAC Theses Portal; 
• Request an embargo [link to Lisa’ section on embargo] if the publisher only permits open sharing after some time post-publication;
• If permission is denied you may include in place of the chapter an abstract and a link to the article on the journal website.

If you have specific questions about your situation, publisher policy or author rights, contact the Scholarly Communications and Copyright Office at [email protected] for a consultation (best before you publish!)

Understanding different versions of a published article

A publisher may distinguish between the versions of an article that you may be allowed to include in your thesis:

• Submitted manuscript / pre-print - version you initially send in (often permitted)
• Accepted manuscript / post-print - version after peer review but before copyediting, layout editing, formatting, etc. (sometimes permitted; publisher may require an embargo/access restriction for a period of time)
• Version of record / final publisher’s PDF - version that appears in the journal (many publishers do not permit sharing this version)

►►►How to check article versions permitted for sharing:

• MIT Libraries’s list of policy excerpts from major publishers
• Sherpa/RoMEO database of publisher policies
• Journal’s website - usually under Information for Authors or Copyright/Permissions or Editorial Policy; or in the publication agreement if available online
• << Previous: Creative Commons Licenses for Theses
• Next: Turning Thesis into an Article >>
• Last Updated: Sep 15, 2023 3:23 PM
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Harvard University Theses, Dissertations, and Prize Papers

The Harvard University Archives ’ collection of theses, dissertations, and prize papers document the wide range of academic research undertaken by Harvard students over the course of the University’s history.

Beyond their value as pieces of original research, these collections document the history of American higher education, chronicling both the growth of Harvard as a major research institution as well as the development of numerous academic fields. They are also an important source of biographical information, offering insight into the academic careers of the authors.

Spanning from the ‘theses and quaestiones’ of the 17th and 18th centuries to the current yearly output of student research, they include both the first Harvard Ph.D. dissertation (by William Byerly, Ph.D . 1873) and the dissertation of the first woman to earn a doctorate from Harvard ( Lorna Myrtle Hodgkinson , Ed.D. 1922).

Other highlights include:

• The collection of Mathematical theses, 1782-1839
• The 1895 Ph.D. dissertation of W.E.B. Du Bois, The suppression of the African slave trade in the United States, 1638-1871
• Ph.D. dissertations of astronomer Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin (Ph.D. 1925) and physicist John Hasbrouck Van Vleck (Ph.D. 1922)
• Undergraduate honors theses of novelist John Updike (A.B. 1954), filmmaker Terrence Malick (A.B. 1966),  and U.S. poet laureate Tracy Smith (A.B. 1994)
• Undergraduate prize papers and dissertations of philosophers Ralph Waldo Emerson (A.B. 1821), George Santayana (Ph.D. 1889), and W.V. Quine (Ph.D. 1932)
• Undergraduate honors theses of U.S. President John F. Kennedy (A.B. 1940) and Chief Justice John Roberts (A.B. 1976)

What does a prize-winning thesis look like?

If you're a Harvard undergraduate writing your own thesis, it can be helpful to review recent prize-winning theses. The Harvard University Archives has made available for digital lending all of the Thomas Hoopes Prize winners from the 2019-2021 academic years.

Accessing These Materials

How to access materials at the Harvard University Archives

How to find and request dissertations, in person or virtually

How to find and request undergraduate honors theses

How to find and request Thomas Temple Hoopes Prize papers

How to find and request Bowdoin Prize papers

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Harvard faculty personal and professional archives, harvard student life collections: arts, sports, politics and social life, access materials at the harvard university archives.

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Getting your thesis published

Wondering how to go about getting your thesis published? In this guide Georgina Collins provides information for early career researchers on the process of converting your thesis into a published book.

From PhD to publication

Following the PhD, if you wish to remain in academia or move into a related profession, publishing your thesis is often considered essential. Few PhD theses are published in their original form; the PhD is an academic exercise aimed at gaining a qualification and a set of skills, whereas a book is intended to be read by others. Converting your thesis into a book can be used as a building block to an academic career, to influence your discipline and expand your knowledge of the field.

One practical way in which the academic exercise and publication process differ is over copyright. Your thesis may contain content which is copyrighted to others that you will need permission from rights owners to include in publication.

Adapting a thesis

When adapting your thesis for publication you should take into account the shift in audience: as a thesis your work had a very small readership, but when published it should attract a much larger one. How will you go about amending your thesis to achieve this?

You will also need to consider whether to publish your thesis as a monograph or series of articles. Bear in mind the advice you have been given by supervisors and examiners.

Consider how these decisions may affect your employability. Sometimes three or four strong papers in refereed journals can be better when applying for jobs than having to wait several years for a monograph to come out.

You should also consider how you will balance your publication commitments alongside the inevitable post-doctoral challenges of finding a job, teaching, and pursuing new areas of research.

Choosing a publisher

There are different types of publishers – university presses and commercial presses are the most common ones. Some will pay you, while others that will expect a publishing subsidy from you. It is important to get a good sense of the range of publishers in your field, the kinds of work they publish, and their different strengths. Consider how your work could enhance their current series.

You may also consider how you wish to pitch your book – at a general readership, a trade audience or a specialist academic audience. Whether your thesis is published or not is usually decided by the commissioning editor or editorial board. That decision will be made on the grounds of intellectual coherence, whether the research is cutting edge, and also if the book is commercially viable.

Writing a book proposal

A major step in the process of publishing your thesis is getting the book proposal right. Make sure you read publishers’ guidelines. Catch their eye by being brief and punchy. Carefully proofread your work and do not just cut and paste an abstract from your thesis. There are four key criteria to consider:

• Rigour – is it a scholarly piece of work?
• Significance – is it talking to a wide audience?
• Originality – are you doing something brand new?
• Marketability – is the book commercially viable?

Your goal is to convince them that your book will be essential reading in your field.

Rewards, royalties and subsidies

In the UK, research is judged by the Research Excellence Framework (REF)  which is based on peer review. Therefore, whether you are paid or have paid to be published should not make a difference to how your work is viewed: it is the opinion of your peers that will matter.

Most of the big presses do not charge and have very well-established peer review systems of their own – so on the whole, work published by these large publishers tends to be of a higher standard. The ultimate prize is a contract with royalties, but unless your first book is a trade book that will have a huge impact, do not expect much. Also bear in mind whether your publisher is tying you in for your next book – this could be either a good or bad thing.

If you are required to pay a publishing subsidy, find out who is expected to pay. Many university departments will only pay if the book is likely to form part of an REF submission, which means it will have to reach a certain quality threshold – three-star or four-star in REF terms.

With these smaller publishers, you may have to do much of the quality control, proofing and marketing yourself. If this is the case, you may choose instead to go for articles – but on the other hand, sometime these publishers can provide you with a quick turnaround which will allow you to move on to the next book or project.

The challenges of PhD publication

Don’t leave it too long to publish your thesis. PhDs are perishable and the literature review and methodological foundations will often be out of date after five or six years.

This article is based on a paper given by Professor Charles Forsdick, Series Editor at Liverpool University Press. Listen to his paper in full here .   (podcast of event: Publishing Your Thesis in the Humanities and Social Sciences)

Click here for a guide to publishing for first-timers.

Image: Alex Proimos, Wikicommons

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15 thoughts on “ getting your thesis published ”.

• Pingback: Approaching a publisher | PhD Life

I’m amazed, I must say. Seldom do I come acroas a blog that’s both equally educative and amusing, and without a doubt, you’ve hit the nail on thhe head. The issue is something which not enough folks are speaking intelligently about. Now i’m very happy that I stumbled across this in my search for something relating to this.

I want to publish my thesis but its been 5yrs now

Depending on the field that you were researching and the intended output format, I guess you would have to check whether something similar has already been published. If not, I cannot see why, following updates in literature and other parts where needed, you would not be able to write a proposal, either for a monograph, a chapter in an edited volume or something else. 🙂

Good luck! Ana

This is Really Nice Post & Appreciating for reading this piece of blog.

Does anyone publish a PhD on line?

Thanks for your comment. I’m not sure are you referring to publishing the actual thesis or a monograph/papers based on it? I think quite a few people do the former, for example in the UK most PhD students are obliged to leave their thesis with university’s repository (I believe you can choose the period of time after which you’d like to make it available to the public). Some are available in larger repositories, like http://ethos.bl.uk/Home.do , and in some cases the funding body might have special regulations regarding this.

In terms of reworking your thesis into a monograph, I suppose you could do it online (publishing or self-publishing), but do consider the impact you are trying to achieve.

All the best, Ana, PhD Life

I was thinking of a web site on which the whole PhD was published as approved by the University with search tags to find content

I want to publish my Ph D thesis in form of book

I want to publish my thesis into book

I want to publish my thesis on ‘Investigation of Bio mass Stirling Engine’ into book

How can i publish my MS thesis online, can you help me with it?

Hi, publishing a thesis is a very individual process and it’s hard to give specific advice for your question. I’d highly recommend speaking to your supervisor and other academics in your faculty as a starting point. Best of luck! -Jessica

• Pingback: Como publicar sua tese? – Biblioteca Prof. Lydio Machado Bandeira de Mello – Faculdade de Direito da UFMG
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This series is a collection of free resources to guide our new, current and potential authors through the world of academic publishing. Resource topics include how to turn your PhD in to a book, how to write a successful book proposal, how to maintain discoverability of your book and many more.

To download a resource, simply click on the resource title. 

5 Key Tips for Turning your PhD into a Successful Monograph

Some PhD theses make for excellent books, allowing for the research to be distributed more widely, often providing a springboard for a successful academic career. However, it is important to remember that a book is a very different product from a thesis and not all good theses would make good books. Publishers consult with academic referees and make the decision not only on the academic quality and standard of a volume, but on its potential commercial value and market. The 5 key tips in this paper will help you assess and adapt your own work before presenting it to your chosen publisher.

How to Write a Successful Book Proposal

A book proposal is a document which provides an initial overview of a book project, usually in advance of completing a book manuscript. The proposal will initially be read by an Editor in order to assess the suitability of a book project for their publishing programme (or “list”). To help you prepare your book proposal for success, we have collected tips from our global books editorial team and put them into this free handy guide.

3 key tips to consider when determining your book audience

Without an audience your book has no purpose; from the initial inception of your idea, to its eventual release, your intended audience should be the driving force of your writing. To help you determine your book audience, read our three key tips from our global editorial team across Routledge and CRC Press.

Promotional Tactics to Raise the Profile of Your Book

Publishing a book is an exciting time for any author. Years of dedication and hard work pulled together into a printed volume ready to share with the academic world. As an author, you know your audience better than anyone. This snapshot will help you put that knowledge into the marketing of your own book, with tips on how to gain a strong online and offline presence to maintain discoverability, even after publication.

Advice and Tips for Organising Your Own Book Launch

Having your book published is quite possibly one of the most exciting moments in your career. After many years of hard work your book is finally in front of your peers and the public. As an author, you may want to arrange a book launch to meet and engage with your audience – who’ll hopefully purchase a few copies of your book! Our resource guide will help you plan your book launch, with advice and tips from Taylor & Francis authors well versed in organising launches themselves.

Navigating Your Success Through Network Collaboration

This resource guide will help guide you through collaborating with our global Corporate Institutional Sales (CIS) team, to help them make the most of your network and connections. Are you planning a launch for your book or know of an institution or employer, societies or association in your network who would appreciate volume book purchasing prices? Would your title be a useful resource for training, CPD, consultancy or brand building? With special author discounts and volume order pricing, the CIS team are here to work with you on available purchasing options or facilitate potential leads you may have, to help put your book in both print and digital format in the right hands.

How to promote yourself at conferences

As an author, you may consider attending conferences throughout the year relating to your area of study. This might seem daunting if you have not taken part in one before, but it is a great opportunity to connect with your audience.

Our resource guide will help you promote yourself at seminars and conferences with advice and tips from Taylor & Francis authors well versed in journalism and interviews themselves.

Navigating Your Success with Public Speaking

Public speaking, such as giving lectures or talks, is a great way to promote both you and your book. It gives you the opportunity to share and discuss the ideas in your book through a different medium. This resource will help guide on what you need to consider when planning public speaking. There is also plenty of advice from our authors from planning to promoting your book.

Working With The Media

Engaging with the media can be a great way to raise awareness about your work. But not all books will grab the attention of a busy and time-pressured journalist, and some have a better chance of piquing their interest than others. Find out the benefits of promoting your work this way, the types of books journalists might be looking to cover when a press campaign might not be a suitable approach to promote a book, and our tips for making the most of media opportunities.

Navigating Your Success With Interviews

As an author, you may be approached for radio/video interviews. This might seem daunting if you have not taken part in one before, but it is a great opportunity to connect with your audience. Our resource guide will help you prep for interviews with advice and tips from Taylor & Francis authors well versed in journalism and interviews themselves.

Advice for Securing a Book Review in a Journal

Need help and advice on getting your book reviewed? This snapshot guide gives you tips that will be helpful when approaching journals, and includes advice from reviewers themselves! We also share a glimpse into the review process a journal takes to give you an idea of the hard work behind every review.

Academic Blogging: Why Should I Blog and Where Do I Start?

Blogging, at its most basic level, is the keeping of an online journal. As an academic, you’re probably already aware of blogging and know that it has a role to play in your field, but you may not know the benefits of creating a blog yourself or how to go about it. This paper will demonstrate the benefits of blogging within academia, how to get started, and will provide key pointers to help make your blog a success.

Navigating your success with SEO & Discoverability

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and discoverability aren’t just technical jargon to make your head spin, they are crucial concepts to an active online presence. SEO is defined in Marketing the Basics as ‘optimizing web pages to ensure they appear in the top 10 results of search engine indexes for specific keywords’. Discoverability refers to the ease with which users can discover content. If you can understand SEO and therefore discoverability, your content will be seen more often, which, in turn, will positively affect the sales of your book.

Navigating Your Success in Social Media UPDATED: As an author, you are the face of your work, and the information you share on social media can help you gain exposure and encourage your work’s sales. When used effectively, social media is a powerful tool that can spark interest in your work, convey crucial information in real-time and foster genuine, direct connections with your current and potential readers.

Navigating Your Success With Facebook

UPDATED: Using social media is a great way to promote both you and your book, giving you the opportunity to share and discuss your thoughts and ideas on a more personal level with people who are interested in you and the work you do. This guide will explain what content to post and how to get the most out of Facebook and some of its key features for self-promotion.

Using Twitter to Promote your Book

Currently, Twitter is the leading social media sharing platform. Having a social media presence, such as Twitter, can therefore be a valuable source of promotion and means of interaction with your audience. Packed with top tips and advice, this guide will help you maximise the use of Twitter to promote your work.

Understanding LinkedIn and How to Effectively Utilise It

UPDATED: The world of social networking can be a daunting place and knowing what content to share on what platform is vital in ensuring you reach the correct audience. It is important to promote yourself as well as your work, and the information you share can have a huge impact on your success. The question is, what should you share on LinkedIn? What content will be the most effective to promote yourself to your connections? The aim of this guide is to answer those questions and improve your understanding of what LinkedIn is, how it differs from other social networking platforms and how to use it to effectively promote yourself and your work.

Navigating Your Success in Podcasting

One strategy that is often overlooked but has the power to set you apart is the art of podcasting. This popular tool for speaking directly to your audience has catapulted itself into one of the fastest growing mediums. Discover how you can leverage this platform with our guide.

Need help planning for your book launch? From timelines to budget, learn how to successfully prepare your launch.

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Revising your thesis into a book

Springer will consider submissions containing material that has previously formed part of a PhD or other academic thesis including those that have been made publicly available according to the requirements of the institution awarding the qualification.

• Schools & departments

How to submit the final version of your PhD thesis

At the end of the examination process all successful PhD and MPhil candidates are required to submit the final version of their thesis to the appropriate College Postgraduate Office.

COVID-19 Update

The requirement for one hard copy thesis to be submitted has been waived during the current circumstances which require remote working for most staff/students. Submission of PhD theses will be electronic only.  A signed declaration is not required in the final version when the submission is deposited in Pure. This concession from the regulations about physical thesis submission will continue for the foreseeable future, and will be reviewed by Academic Services once the pandemic is over. 

Before you submit your thesis

The University has an expectation that a PhD thesis is a document available for public consultation. As such, unless a legitimate reason for restricting access to the thesis exists, all PhD theses will be made publicly available on the internet via the Edinburgh Research Archive (ERA).

It is highly recommended that you discuss with your primary supervisor the implications of publishing your thesis online in ERA . If your thesis contains confidential or sensitive data it may not be appropriate to make the full text freely available online. Similarly if there is the intention to publish the whole, or extracts from, your thesis you may want to restrict access to the electronic version.

Submitting the PDF version

• Go to Pure and log in with your EASE account
• Click on the green ‘Add new’ button on the top right and select ‘Doctoral Thesis’, or alternatively click on ‘Student theses’ on the left-hand-side navigation bar followed by ‘Doctoral Thesis’
• The record should be auto-populated with most of your thesis award information. Please check for completeness, and add in the title of your thesis in the appropriate box.
• Upload your electronic thesis files by clicking on the ‘Add document’ button. If you require an embargo for the PDF add the date and reason in the appropriate boxes. The initial embargo length is one year from date of graduation. The date will be checked by Library staff and changed if a different value is added without permission.
• Please remove any signatures, personal postal and email addresses from the PDF version.
• Upload your Access to Thesis form alongside your thesis files.
• Supplementary data can be added alongside the thesis text. Change the ‘Type’ to ‘Supplementary materials’ and upload the files as described above. The record Visibility needs to be set to ' Backend - Restricted to Pure users ' 
• To finish, set the status to ' Entry in progress ', click the blue ‘Save’ button at the bottom of the screen and the submission is ready for validation by college office staff.

Submitting the final hardbound version is not required

Submission of PhD theses is now electronic only - see the steps above.

Data preservation and sharing

If your thesis has supplementary data (for example images, videos, source code or analytical data) we would like to store a copy of this data alongside the thesis text. We do this to try and preserve the fullest record of the work as possible. Datasets should be supported by good accompanying documentation which is appropriate to your subject discipline. The UK Data  Service offers some specialist advice in this area. We do not routinely allow public access to this data; however, if you wish to share your data with others we recommend the Edinburgh DataShare service.

Edinburgh Datashare

If you have a lot of supplementary files - for example lots of images, data in multiple spreadsheets or video formats - we don't recommend depositing them in PURE. Instead, contact the Scholarly Communications Team and we can advise the best way to send them to us.

Redacting material from your thesis

If you wish to make your thesis available to the public to consult, but there are  problematic elements that cannot be openly shared then it is possible to submit a redacted version. We typically recommend partial thesis redactions are suitable for the following scenarios:

Third-party copyright

Where third party copyright has not been obtained, students may submit an edited thesis, as an alternative to requesting an embargo. 

Sensitive material 

If the thesis contains confidential or sensitive information, e.g. transcripts of interviews, which cannot be shared or anonymised.

Photographs

If your thesis contains photographs of people and you do not have their permission to publish their image online.

It is possible to design your thesis in a way which means the problematic material is easy to remove. For example, if you are planning to use a large number of photographs, you could layout your thesis with the photographs in a separate appendix which can be  easily removed.

Students who have chosen to submit a redacted version of their thesis would also need to submit a full unedited copy which will be securely kept stored by the Library. This is important to preserve the integrity of the academic record of the University. Both versions of the files should be uploaded to the Thesis Module in Pure with the files clearly named to differentiate between the two. We recommend the following file naming convention:

<Last name><First initial>_<Year>_COMPLETE    

<Last name><First initial>_<Year>_REDACTED

e.g. SmithJ_2023_COMPLETE.pdf  

Reasons for requesting an embargo period

If the redaction option is not possible then students are permitted to embargo their thesis under certain conditions described below:

Planned publication

Normally a longer embargo period may be granted when there are firm publication plans in place, e.g. where a manuscript has been submitted to a publisher and is in a formal stage of publication (submitted, accepted, in press). Vague plans for publication are not normally accepted.

Commercial confidentiality

There may be contractual restrictions imposed by a sponsor, which could include industrial sponsors or governmental agencies.

Patent application

Patent applications can be rejected by the premature publication of research. Where the research might lead to a commercial application or patent then we recommend that the Intellectual Property needs to be protected.

Contains personal data

Where a thesis contains personally identifiable or ethically sensitive data or where material obtained in the thesis was obtained under a guarantee of confidentiality we would consider placing an embargo. These issues should have been addressed at an early stage of the research project.

Where third party copyright has not been obtained, students may submit an edited thesis, as an alternative to requesting an embargo. They would also need to submit an unedited hard copy which will be secured kept.

Publication could endanger health and safety or prejudice national security

The thesis contains sensitive material (political or otherwise) which could put at risk the authors or participants if made openly available. These issues should have been addressed at an early stage of the research project.

How to request a Thesis Restriction

How to request a 12 month embargo.

You can restrict access to the electronic version of your thesis for one year without any special permissions. If an embargo is required, this must be indicated on the Access to Thesis form, otherwise, the thesis may be made publicly available. This form should be deposited in Pure alongside the full text of the thesis.

At the end of the embargo period, the University is under no obligation to contact you about extending the period of restriction. If towards the end of your embargo period you have any concerns that the forthcoming public availability of your thesis would be problematic please contact the Library ( [email protected] ) and the Scholarly Communications Team will be able to help.

Embargo requests longer than 12 months

Requests for embargoes that exceed 12 months starting from the date the work is added to the Library’s collection require Head of School approval and must be accompanied by a clear rationale as to why a longer period is required. Complete Section 2 of the Access to a Thesis form to request an extended embargo. Extended embargoes beyond five years will not normally be approved unless there are very exceptional reasons. Normally any relevant evidence to support a request for an extended embargo should be attached to the request, e.g. publishing contract or correspondence from industrial sponsors.

Click here to download the  ACCESS TO THESIS & PUBLICATION OF ABSTRACT FORM  , or visit the general  Doctoral Thesis Submission webpages for more information.

Further help and information

Scholarly Communications Team

Contact details.

• Email: [email protected]

Availability

This article was published on 2024-08-21