university of victoria dissertations

ETD (Electronic Theses and Dissertations)

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Access to the full text of some theses may be restricted at the request of the author.

All theses from 2011 to the present are in this collection, as well as some from 2010 and earlier years.

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Dissertations and Theses Abstracts and Indexes (ProQuest)

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Theses and dissertations

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Victoria University resources

New zealand resources, international resources.

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Search for digitised masters theses and doctoral dissertations from Victoria University of Wellington - Te Herenga Waka.

• Open Access Institutional Repository An open access collection of research outputs authored by Victoria University of Wellington - Te Herenga Waka researchers.
• ResearchArchive - Te Puna Rangahau Research papers and theses from Victoria University.

Search databases for theses written in New Zealand.

• NZ Research This link opens in a new window

Many countries and universities have freely available theses databases and not all are in this list.

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• EThOS - Electronic Theses Online Service This link opens in a new window
• Dart-Europe E-theses Portal This link opens in a new window
• Theses Canada This link opens in a new window
• OAlster This link opens in a new window
• Trove This link opens in a new window
• Google Scholar If you know the details (title, author, year, etc) of the thesis you are after, then try here to see if there is a free full-text version available on the web.
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• Last Updated: May 8, 2024 2:42 PM
• URL: https://libguides.victoria.ac.nz/theses-dissertations

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Victoria University Research Repository (VURR, formerly known as VUIR) is an open access repository that showcases the research and scholarly outputs of VU staff and higher degree research students. Full-text versions of the research may be available with the permission of the authors, and when copyright allows.

About VURR The VU Research Repository (previously known as VUIR) is an open access repository that contains the research papers and theses of VU staff and higher degree research students.

Submit a paper The VU Research Repository is indexed by Google, Trove & OAIster. Submit your research outputs and make them available to the world.

Thesis & dissertation basics

Before you start your thesis or dissertation, you should know that there’s a lot of support available. This page outlines the many sources of support available to you.

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First, make sure that you’ve read through the Graduate Supervision Policy . It outlines the responsibilities of you, your supervisor, the committee and academic unit.

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Our  Thesis Writing Starter Kit  is a searchable PDF that can help graduate students learn how to:

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Centre for Academic Communications

The Centre for Academic Communications offers free and easily accessible help. They’re located in the McPherson Library/Mearns Centre for Learning.  They hold writing workshops and seminars for graduate students each term.

They also host the Graduate Student Writers’ Community blog , where students post about thesis writing. They have many insightful resources for writing your thesis/dissertation .

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UVic Libraries offers specialized services and workshops for graduate students. You’ll find:

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• Past UVic theses and dissertations at UVicSpace

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Dissertations

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Dissertation and Thesis Search Strategies

Looking for dissertations on a particular topic to complete your research or determine whether your proposal will be a unique topic? Increasingly full text dissertations are freely available, though a thorough search means searching multiple resources and consulting your local librarian.

• Start with a Google or Google Scholar search on your topic.
• To see the dissertations (in all formats) held at UVA, check our local catalog Virgo .
• For UVA theses & dissertations available online, check our Libra Repository results .
• Many older dissertations are still only available in ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global .
• WorldCat is also a good source for older titles.
• Open Access Theses and Dissertations (OATD.org) has titles and abstracts of theses from over 1100 institutions around the world, including UVA that are free and publicly available.
• Ask your Subject Librarian or check the Subject Guide for your area.

Dissertation Search Tools

• Dissertations & Theses Global This link opens in a new window These dissertations are available through ProQuest to UVa Patrons only. If you need access to one of these works, please "Ask a Librarian": http://www.library.virginia.edu/askalibrarian/
• Virgo Thesis/Dissertation Virgo, UVa's online catalog, provides discovery of all theses and dissertations originating at the University of Virginia as well as many others. Newer theses and dissertations are accessible online. See the link below to search those UVA theses and dissertations online.
• Virgo Online Thesis/Dissertations Search for UVa Theses and Dissertations that are available online in the Libra Repository.
• Ethos( UK dissertations & theses) UK dissertations & theses are discoverable from the EThoS service of the British Library. Please see the FAQ for more information on searching and availability: http://ethos.bl.uk/Faq.do
• Center for Research Libraries A good source for dissertations from around the world.
• Google Scholar
• Last Updated: Mar 1, 2024 1:23 PM
• URL: https://guides.lib.virginia.edu/dissertation
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Zach Schiffman wins Colorado Three Minute Thesis competition

CU Boulder doctoral student takes first prize in state 3MT competition for presentation on the urea molecule

Zach Schiffman (right) accepting a certificate recognizing his accomplishment.

Zach Schiffman, a doctoral candidate in chemistry, beat out Colorado’s other universities to win the state Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition last month. He won with his presentation, “The Urea Molecule: From Fertilizer . . . to Climate Change?”

This is the second win for Schiffman, who took first prize in the Graduate School’s annual 3MT competition earlier this year. As part of his winnings, he was then invited to represent the university at both the regional (Western Region of Graduate Schools) and state (Colorado Council of Graduate Schools) competitions.

The 3MT event, which began at the University of Queensland in 2008, challenges graduate students to describe their research within three minutes to a general audience. To prepare, CU Boulder graduate students participate in a series of workshops focusing on storytelling, writing, presentation skills and improvisation comedy techniques. The Graduate School then holds a preliminary competition to whittle down the competition to ten finalists, who participate in the final competition at the beginning of February.

More information about the 3MT competition, including how to get involved in the 2024–25 school year, is available on the 3MT webpage .

• Spring 2024
• Three Minute Thesis

N.J. Quintuplets Make History as They Graduate from Montclair State University

Graduate Spotlight Times Five: The Povolo quints follow their own paths yet all earn their degrees in four years

Posted in: Business , Education , Homepage News , Humanities and Social Sciences , Science and Technology , University

Update: Since Montclair shared their story on May 6, 2024 the Povolos’ achievements have been shared by media outlets throughout the country. Read more about them in NJ Monthly and People and watch them on ABC News 7 , News 12 New Jersey  and CBS New York.

Being a quintuplet is exceptionally rare. Rarer still is all five attending the same college and graduating on the same day. But that’s what the Povolo quintuplets – Victoria, Ludovico, Ashley, Michael and Marcus – have accomplished at Montclair State University. On Monday, May 13, they will make history at the University’s Commencement when they walk across the platform to receive their degrees one after the other.

The milestone at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, is believed to be the first time quints have simultaneously graduated from a New Jersey higher ed institution, with the Povolos joining just a handful of other multiple siblings in the nation who celebrated their “quintessential” college experience by graduating from the same college in the same academic year.

From Montclair, the Povolos will earn degrees in five different majors:

• Victoria Povolo, Biochemistry; minor Italian
• Ludovico Povolo, Political Science, minor Pre-Law, Business
• Ashley Povolo, English, Teacher Education Program, certification in P-12
• Michael Povolo, Nutrition and Food Science, concentration Dietetics
• Marcus Povolo, Business Administration, concentration International Business

“Montclair helped us be together, but also helped us to become our own people, with our own majors, our own interests, our own friend groups,” Victoria says. “We customized our own paths, but we got to the finish line together.”

The siblings credit their parents, Paolo Povolo, a building engineer for Cushman & Wakefield, and Silvia Povolo, assistant housekeeping supervisor for the University, for encouraging them to follow their dreams and instilling both a strong work ethic and the importance of education.

“The support that they have for us, obviously, there’s a reason why we made it this far,” Victoria says. “Our parents always encourage us to do our best, and the best doesn’t look the same for everyone, which I think is also something we learned growing up and explains why we’re all doing different things.”

Marcus Povolo has landed a job with the financial giant JPMorgan Chase & Co. He’s the only sibling to live on campus, a move he made so that he could easily access the campus train station to commute to Jersey City for work and have a quiet place to study. To stay on track to graduate in four years, he took courses during the summer and winter breaks, asynchronous classes and expedited classes.

“This definitely wasn’t easy, managing full-time school and work,” Marcus says. “There were times where I figured doing one would be a lot easier. I just had to push myself through.”

Victoria plans to take a year off to work and save money for medical school to study forensic medicine. She’s held several undergraduate research positions in Montclair’s science labs , opportunities she shared in the Amazon-series The College Tour . She’s currently researching personality disorders and interning in a morgue.

Michael Povolo, a student athlete, will continue at Montclair next fall to complete a 4+1 program, meaning after five years he will have earned both a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in Nutrition. He’s a defensive midfielder on the Red Hawks lacrosse team, interns at an assisted living community, and coaches youth lacrosse.

Ludovico Povolo, a member of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity, is known by his college friends and at the restaurant where he works by his nickname, Vico. Before college he went by his middle name, Masha. His academic interests have also seen changes. While he once saw himself headed to a career in law, a professor pointed out that with his gregarious nature he might want to consider business. He found it a better fit with his evolving interests. He’ll shortly begin work as a sales and marketing representative for Techtronic Industries in northern New Jersey.

Ashley Povolo, a future teacher, is completing her clinical experience as a high school advanced placement English teacher. She works as a University Fellow and studied abroad in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, which she says took her outside the comfort zone of being part of a big family as she navigated the experience on her own. Ashley wrote a poem about how their birth order (Victoria, the oldest, Vico, Ashley, Michael and Marcus, the youngest by minutes) has shaped their lives.

“They’re my best friends,” Ashley says. “We’ve grown up together and literally know everything about each other. So it did hit me the other day that graduation is the last big thing that I’m going to experience with them at the same time.”

The siblings frequently meet on campus for coffee and meals, and share rides to and from school. “I do need that closeness and seeing them all the time and being around them all the time,” Victoria says. “It completes what I need, and the others for sure think the same. We always regroup, no matter how far we’ve been, no matter where we’ve gone, we always come back and regroup.”

The Povolo quintuplets captured the public’s attention when they were born on the Fourth of July, 2002, and dubbed by a local newspaper “Five Little Firecrackers” on their first birthday.

As they’ve grown, the siblings, now 21, say they’ve enjoyed the curiosity that comes with the rarity of being a quint.

“Personally, I love the attention,” says Vico. “I love talking about it. It’s unique and refreshing.”

College graduation promises to put them in the spotlight again. The University, which will hold two Commencements for students based on their college or school, has made accommodations so the Povolos can receive their diplomas together at the morning ceremony on May 13.

“We’ll need a tissue box for my mom,” Michael says. “She’s definitely going to cry.”

Graduation for five, let alone college for five wasn’t a given for the Povolo quintuplets. “I remember our senior year [at Passaic Valley High School],” says Michael. “We were sitting down and asking, ‘What are we going to do for school?’ We talked about community college, jobs and training programs. Each of us wanted very different things in terms of majors. But the one thing we shared was applying to Montclair.”

The University was close enough to their home in Totowa, New Jersey, that the money they saved by commuting might just make college accessible. All five were accepted and Victoria reached out to the University’s financial aid office to ask about scholarships or loans they might qualify for.

“I was very aware of the financial situation of my family,” Victoria says. “If it had been too much, I would have bowed out and just not gone to college because I didn’t want to put that on my parents, and I didn’t want to put that on myself financially.”

But, as Victoria would learn, each of the Povolos qualified for Presidential Scholarships for high-achieving students, and also qualified for need-based grants and small merit scholarships that in total amounted to a tuition-free four years for the family.

At a meeting with high school guidance counselors in February 2020 – supposedly to “explore ways to pay for college” – Montclair staff presented the family with a giant replica check made payable for five higher educations.

Just the week prior, their parents had looked into refinancing their home. “ And then Montclair pulls up and gives us a great deal,” Michael recalls. Times five, the scholarships and financial assistance made what seemed impossible, possible.

“It’s so big we can’t even put words to it,” says their mother, Silvia Povolo, recalling that moment and what it has since meant to the family. “I always sit down with them and say, ‘You had four years of college that came to your table and you had the chance to take it with no cost. Whatever you learned in these four years, it’s a blessing… it’s a key to open a golden door.’”

A few weeks before graduation, they were still deciding how to celebrate but leaning toward a backyard party.

“It’s a gigantic moment for them and for us,” says their father, Paolo. “So basically, we’ve been saying, ‘when one door closes another one opens.’ In the sense that college is coming to an end, we have to think of the future, we have to think of what’s next … and that is in the making.”

Story by Staff Writer Marilyn Joyce Lehren . Photos by University Photographer Mike Peters.

You May Also Like:

College for Five: Q uints Commit!

The College Tour: ​​ Take a Leap with High-Profile Research

Triumph Over Trauma to Achieve the American Dream  

Montclair’s SGA President Advocates for Change from Campus to Capitol Hill  

N.J. Grandmother Earns Her Degree after five Decades

Montclair Football Stars Score Big in Business 

From Childhood Tragedy to Commencement Triumph  

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Theses and dissertations

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It is mandatory that all UVic theses and dissertations be submitted to  UVicSpace . According to the UVic graduate calendar Degree completion and graduation -->  Deposition of Theses and Dissertations :

The results of research conducted at the University of Victoria are required to be made available to the public in a timely fashion, and so theses and dissertations must be placed in the institutional repository, UVicSpace, immediately following submission of the thesis/dissertation approval form.

People interested in your work can find, read, and download the full text of your work from the Theses and Dissertation (thesis) collection from anywhere in the world, without passwords or fees. Students may opt to  withhold their thesis or dissertation  for 1 year.

This   guide outlines the process you will follow to prepare your deposit.

For more information on policies and procedures for theses, please refer to the  Faculty of Graduate Studies  website.

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UT Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Permanent URI for this community https://hdl.handle.net/2152/4

This collection contains University of Texas at Austin electronic theses and dissertations (ETDs). The collection includes ETDs primarily from 2001 to the present. Some pre-2001 theses and dissertations have been digitized and added to this collection, but those are uncommon. The library catalog is the most comprehensive list of UT Austin theses and dissertations.

Since 2010, the Office of Graduate Studies at UT Austin has required all theses and dissertations to be made publicly available in Texas ScholarWorks; however, authors are able to request an embargo of up to seven years. Embargoed ETDs will not show up in this collection. Most of the ETDs in this collection are freely accessible to all users, but some pre-2010 works require a current UT EID at point of use. Please see the FAQs for more information. If you have a question about the availability of a specific ETD, please contact [email protected].

Some items in this collection may contain offensive images or text. The University of Texas Libraries is committed to maintaining an accurate and authentic scholarly and historic record. An authentic record is essential for understanding our past and informing the present. In order to preserve the authenticity of the historical record we will not honor requests to redact content, correct errors, or otherwise remove content, except in cases where there are legal concerns (e.g. potential copyright infringement, inclusion of HIPAA/FERPA protected information or Social Security Numbers) or evidence of a clear and imminent threat to personal safety or well-being.

This policy is in keeping with the  American Library Association code of ethics  to resist efforts to censor library resources, and the  Society of American Archivists code of ethics  that states "archivists may not willfully alter, manipulate, or destroy data or records to conceal facts or distort evidence." Please see UT Libraries'  Statement on Harmful Language and Content  for more information.

Authors of these ETDs have retained their copyright while granting the University of Texas Libraries the non-exclusive right to reproduce and distribute their works.

Collections in this Community

• UT Electronic Theses and Dissertations   30995