Art FAQ  Tags: marquand art architecture archaeology library_faq  

Theses & Dissertations at Princeton and elsewhere

Princeton senior theses are searchable in the senior thesis catalog, and copies can be ordered for a fee. Search for Princeton dissertations in the library catalog.  For Department of Art & Archaeology dissertations, try a keyword search: art archaeology thesis, and you should see a list with the most recent dissertations at the top. Mudd Library retains a copy of many, if not most dissertations, and often there are additional copies in other libraries at Princeton or off-site.  For more information about Princeton doctoral dissertations, see Mudd Library's finding aid.

You may also search in Dissertation Abstracts/Digital Dissertations. This is a ProQuest--formerly UMI--database of theses and dissertations--both from the U.S. and abroad--that includes the full-text of many more recent titles.  In some cases, an author of an art-related thesis may have released the text, but not the images, to UMI/ProQuest. See the Theses & Dissertations page on the library website for further resources for finding theses & dissertations.

Tracking down a Thesis or Dissertation

If you have a specific citation for a thesis or dissertation, and this page doesn't lead you anywhere useful, you may do an author search in the library catalog to see if the author published his thesis/dissertation and Princeton has a copy (often the published title differs from the original). Alternatively, you may search in WorldCat to see if there is a listing and a library that owns a copy of the title in question, and then you may request a copy via Interlibrary Loan. The title doesn't have to be listed in WorldCat for interlibrary loan staff to pursue a loan or copy from another institution, including from the institution at which the author pursued his/her studies.  Please keep in mind, however, that archival and manuscript material may not be available for loan, although copies may be made in some circumstances.  Copies can also be purchased from UMI/ProQuest, in many cases.