thesis university of cambridge

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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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Apollo - University of Cambridge Repository

Apollo is the institutional repository of the University of Cambridge, managed by the Open Research Systems team based in Cambridge University Library. The Repository is committed to store and preserve the University’s research outputs. Research outputs can include, but are not limited to, publications, conference proceedings, book chapters, monographs, theses, various forms of research data (video recordings, spreadsheets, computational scripts, code, images etc.), presentations and others.

How to deposit

Detailed information about deposit processes into Apollo, including eligibility for inclusion in Apollo.

Governance and policies

Detailed information about repository governance and an outline of key relevant policies.

Recent submissions

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The University does not require electronic copies of Masters Theses to be deposited in Apollo, which means that the Thesis team does not deposit individual Masters Theses via Symplectic Elements.

However, there is a batch upload arrangement in place for faculties/departments who wish to deposit their Masters Theses in Apollo. Interested faculties/departments should contact the Thesis team for further information ( [email protected]).

Key features of the batch upload arrangement

• All Theses deposited via the batch upload will be made immediately open access in Apollo;
• Faculties/departments will be provided with a shared drive, which they will use to provide electronic copies of Theses, Deposit Licence Agreements and metadata;
• Faculties/departments create their own local policies to determine the number and frequency of their uploads to their shared drive;
• Batch uploads are run once per term, at the end of each term by Repository staff.

Guidelines for faculties/departments

As all Theses that are deposited into Apollo via the batch upload arrangement will be immediately available (open access) in Apollo, it is only suitable for Theses that do not contain:

• uncleared copyrighted material and/or
• unauthorised confidential/sensitive information.

However, Faculties/departments may instead opt provide a redacted version of any Theses that do contain such content. If this option is chosen, Faculties/departments should deposit the original, unredacted Thesis and a redacted version. We have further information on our website about redacting material from theses.

It is important that these issues are resolved in advance of uploading the thesis to their shared drive, because depositing these items into Apollo may breach copyright or GDPR laws. If in doubt about a thesis, faculties/departments are advised not to include it in the batch upload request.

Should a Thesis have supplementary data files, the data should be uploaded separately via Symplectic Elements by the faculty/departmental administrator.

Third party copyright

Copyright held by someone other than the author is known as third party copyright. If an author has used third party copyright material, they should ascertain whether or not they need permission to use it in their thesis.

We recommend that authors obtain permission to include material as they are researching. Clearing permission can take a long time, so unless a redacted version is supplied, it is not appropriate to include Theses for batch upload where permissions have been sought but are still outstanding. It is also not appropriate to include theses where permission has not been sought, or where permission has been denied.

Please be aware that different copyright rules apply to the hardbound copy that is deposited in the library for reference and the electronic version that is deposited in the repository. This is because the hardbound copy is considered unpublished and the electronic version, if made available as open access, is considered published. The thesis must credit the copyright holder(s) and source(s) of all third party copyright material.

There is  more information on third party copyright on our website .

Sensitive information

Sensitive information is data that must be protected for the privacy or security of an individual, group, or organisation. The kinds of sensitive information most likely to be included in theses are:

• Commercial (trade secrets or information which could damage commercial interests)
• Health and safety (information which could damage the health and/or safety of an individual)
• Information provided in confidence Personal (as defined by the  Data Protection Act 2018  - GDPR)
• Culturally sensitive material (information or arguments which some cultural groups might find offensive or upsetting)
• Content referring to legal cases

The  Freedom of Information Act 2000  sets out the types of sensitive information to which legally enforceable restrictions may be applied. The University of Cambridge is bound by this Act. It may decide to apply restrictions to other types of information, including theses deposited in the University Library or Departmental and Faculty libraries, but they are not legally binding if not falling under the Act.

Unless a redacted version is supplied, it is also not appropriate to include theses for batch upload that contain sensitive/confidential information without authorisation from whom the information relates.

There is  more information about sensitive material on our website

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Q. How do I access a dissertation from the University of Cambridge?

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Answered By: Jenni Lecky-Thompson Last Updated: Mar 22, 2023     Views: 11360

Finding print dissertations

The University Library holds all Cambridge dissertations from 1921 onwards and they can be ordered from the Manuscript Reading Room (01223 333143, [email protected] ). They can't be borrowed or supplied for inter-library loan.

Information on finding theses and dissertations can be found on the Theses Libguide .   Details of all Cambridge theses approved since 1970 can be found using iDiscover . They are also listed in the EThOS database.

Copying of Cambridge dissertations is subject to regulations made by the Board of Graduate Studies. Personal applications for the purchase of copies of dissertations for private research can be directed to the Digital Content Unit ( http://www.lib.cam.ac.uk/collections/departments/digital-content-unit ; email [email protected] ). There is a charge for this. To purchase dissertations on behalf of an institution (e.g. for library stock) the author's permission is required before a copy can be supplied.

Finding digitised dissertations

Apollo , the University's institutional repository, holds full-text digital versions of several hundred Cambridge PhD. theses. This is a rapidly growing collection deposited on a voluntary basis.

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The Manuscripts Reading Room administers the University's collection of doctoral and higher degree theses. Before 1920, degrees were awarded on the basis of examinations or certificates of research, and little written work composed specifically for such purposes survives, other than a small collection of Advanced Student Dissertations. Revised regulations were approved, instituting the new degree of PhD, which required a written work to be deposited in the University Library. Our collection of doctoral theses thus dates from 1921, when just four arrived in the Library. Statistics illustrate a great increase in output: for the academic year 2015-2016 just over one thousand new dissertations were approved and added to our collection. There are now over 39,000 volumes.

Contact: Manuscripts Reading Room (01223 333143, [email protected] )

Cambridge theses held by CUL

A small but growing proportion of Cambridge theses are available to consult in digital form in the university repository Apollo .

See the Office of Scholarly Communication's webpages on theses .

Cambridge University Library, West Road, Cambridge CB3 9DR, UK

Email:  [email protected]

Tel: +44 (0) 1223 333000

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Apollo (previously  DSpace@Cambridge ) is the University of Cambridge’s Institutional Repository (IR), established in 2003 as a service for sharing the outputs of Cambridge’s research activity. The Repository service is managed by the Open Research Systems (ORS) team, which is part of Digital Initiatives and is based in Cambridge University Library.

As outlined in Apollo’s terms of use , the Repository is responsible for the curation of deposited research outputs, as well as for storing and sharing those outputs according to the guidelines of research funders and abiding to principles and recommendations from Cambridge University Library’s (CUL) Digital Preservation Policy . Apollo underpins the commitment of the University of Cambridge to preserve for the long-term and provide access to its research as widely as possible in order to contribute to society as well as to academic advancement. I ts primary focus is on providing open access to the University’s research publications. For further information, see our  Open Access pages , or to register your publication for ‘Green’ or ‘Gold’ access, please use the  Open Access upload form .

The Repository is committed to store and preserve the University’s research outputs. Research outputs can include, but are not limited to, publications, conference proceedings, book chapters, monographs, theses, various forms of research data (video recordings, spreadsheets, computational scripts, code, images etc.), presentations and others.

If you have any queries about Apollo, please contact [email protected] .

Externally funded projects

Apollo has participated in a number of externally funded projects intended to better understand researcher requirements or improve the services it offers. 

In late 2019 Apollo was selected for FAIRsFAIR Trust & FAIR certification support.  FAIRsFAIR  is playing a key role in the contribution to policies and practices for broader adoption of FAIR practices, and in the development of standards for FAIR certification of repositories. Through an Open Call run between July and August 2019, Apollo was chosen by FAIRsFAIR to be supported on the path towards achieving  CoreTrustSeal certification . 

The submissions were assessed based on the repository's designated community, its focus on long-term preservation and reuse, and on the feasibility of it being able to achieve CoreTrustSeal certification within the timeframe available. A diverse geographical and disciplinary spread among the selected repositories was also of importance. FAIRsFAIR provides support and capacity building, including materials, training and advice to repository managers and other stakeholders so they can improve their knowledge of the preparation required for CoreTrustSeal self-assessments. At the same time, the repositories share with the FAIRsFAIR project their valuable experience of how repository practices enable the curation of FAIR data. FAIRsFAIR actively engages with Apollo and the  other selected repositories . Together, we collaborate on the journey to Trust and FAIR.

Other past projects include:  Incremental ,  DataTrain  and  PrePARe , which developed  resources to support research data management  and EPIC and  Keeping Research Data Safe (KRDS) , which focused on the repository’s preservation services.

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Submitting your thesis for examination (PhD, EdD, MD, BusD, MLitt, MSc)

Format of the thesis, the thesis must:.

be written in British English, apart from quotations and recognised technical formulae

be in A4 portrait format

use one-and-a-half spaced type

include any photographs or other illustrations scanned into the text

be a single file saved in the electronic format and naming style specified by your Degree Committee

Examiners are not expected to edit work. They will deal with errors of fact and typographical errors that affect the meaning of your work, as well as larger structural issues. The extent to which the text has or has not been properly prepared may influence their recommendation concerning the award of the degree. You are therefore advised to check your thesis thoroughly prior to submission to ensure clear, formal British English has been used throughout and that there are minimal typing and/or spelling mistakes.

How and when to present the thesis for examination

You must submit an electronic copy of your thesis for examination, and any required accompanying documents, to your Degree Committee by your submission deadline (which can be found under 'Thesis Submission details' on the Academic tile in your CamSIS self-service). If you are not a self-funded student, the terms and conditions of your funding may require you to submit your thesis earlier than the date shown in CamSIS. If you are unsure about this, you should contact your Funding Administrator. You are required to submit your thesis for examination by your deadline even if the date falls over a weekend or holiday period.

Your Degree Committee should provide you with guidance for electronic submission; please contact them directly if you require any advice.

The thesis you submit to your Degree Committee will be the thesis forwarded to the examiners for examination. It is not possible to 'retract submission' or to send a revised copy directly to your examiners. Therefore you should very carefully check the file(s) you submit.

Postgraduate students must keep a minimum number of terms of research before they can submit (for example, 9 for the full-time PhD) unless they have been granted an allowance or exemption of terms . The thesis may be submitted from the first day of the term in which this requirement is met, provided that full-time students have also met the minimum residence requirement (unless they have been granted an allowance of terms). If you attempt to submit too early and have not had an allowance or exemption of terms approved, your thesis submission will not be accepted. If you have an application for an allowance or exemption of terms under consideration in CamSIS at the time you submit your thesis, your thesis will be kept on hold until a decision on your application is made.

Requirements

You must include the following bound inside your thesis:

Please ensure the pages are in the correct order. This is very important - if these preliminary pages are in a different order in your final hardbound thesis to your thesis submitted for examination, this could delay approval for your degree.

1. A title page displaying:

the full title of the thesis

your full legal name ( as it appears on your passport, marriage certificate or deed poll )

your College

date of submission (month and year)

a declaration stating: "This thesis is submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy/Doctor of Education/Doctor of Business/Doctor of Medicine/Master of Science/Master of Letters (as appropriate)."

2. A declaration in the preface stating:

'This thesis is the result of my own work and includes nothing which is the outcome of work done in collaboration except as declared in the preface and specified in the text. It is not substantially the same as any work that has already been submitted, or, is being concurrently submitted, for any degree, diploma or other qualification at the University of Cambridge or any other University or similar institution except as declared in the preface and specified in the text. It does not exceed the prescribed word limit for the relevant Degree Committee.'

NB: You must use this wording for your declaration. 

The declaration does not need to be signed . For more information on word limits for the respective Degree Committees see Word Limits and Requirements of your Degree Committee )

3. An abstract/summary of your thesis

4. [if applicable] the list of additional materials that were approved for submission alongside the thesis

You must also submit the following documents (not included inside the thesis):

Required: One declaration form

Optional: Research Impact Statement If pandemic, war/conflict, or natural disaster have significantly impacted on your research, you are invited to submit a Research Impact Statement with your thesis using the template provided. The purpose of the statement is for you to describe any restrictions or difficulties experienced in undertaking your research as a result of pandemic, war/conflict, or natural disaster, and to provide details of any alternative arrangements made to complete the work for your thesis. Further details for students and supervisors can be found in the Research Impact Statement guidance  and the Research Impact Statement form can be downloaded here . 

Inclusion of additional materials

Students other than those in the Faculty of Music must seek permission through their  CamSIS Self Service page if they wish to submit additional materials for examination alongside their thesis. Content such as figures, tables, photographs, bibliography, or appendices is contained within the submitted thesis and would not normally constitute separate additional materials. Additional materials are integral to the thesis but in a format that cannot be easily included in the body of the thesis (for example, 3D graphics). You should refer to the ' Policy on the inclusion of additional materials with a thesis ' before making an application to include additional materials. Talk to your supervisor and contact your Degree Committee if you require any advice. The application process should be initiated prior to the thesis submission. If a thesis is submitted with additional materials and without permission to include them, it will be held by the Degree Committee until approval is confirmed.

Please bear in mind that if you are granted permission to submit additional materials, you are required to upload the same materials to the University repository, Apollo , when you submit your approved thesis  post-examination (doctoral candidates only). Therefore, the inclusion of additional material that contains uncleared third-party copyright or sensitive material may affect the access level that is most appropriate for your thesis.

Submitting a revised thesis

If you are resubmitting your thesis following a viva outcome of being allowed to revise and resubmit the thesis for examination for a doctoral degree, you need to follow the same procedure as for the original thesis submission .

What happens following submission of the thesis for examination 

When you submit your thesis for examination the Degree Committee will check the submission, acknowledge receipt, and inform Student Registry you have submitted. The Student Registry will update your CamSIS record.

The Degree Committee will forward your thesis to your examiners. If you have not received confirmation of the date of your viva (oral examination) within six weeks of submitting your thesis, or if you have any questions with regard to your thesis at this stage, you should contact your Degree Committee. 

Your Examiners should not ask you for a printed copy of your thesis or other material in advance of your viva (oral examination). If they do, please seek advice from your Degree Committee.

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