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Brandeis University Archives

This guide will help you discover the University's archival resources and how to use them. From primary sources to Brandeis publications to digitized materials, your archival research starts here.

Contact Me!

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Chloe Gerson
Contact:
Chloe Gerson, Reference and Instruction Archivist
Robert D. Farber University Archives & Special Collections, Goldfarb Library
Brandeis University
415 South St.
Waltham, MA 02453

cmorseharding@brandeis.edu
781-736-4657
Website

Finding Theses and Dissertations

Finding and Submitting Theses and Dissertations

The University Archives maintains print copies of over 3500 senior honors theses and almost 200 Masters theses are cataloged in OneSearch and can be reviewed in the Archives & Special Collections Reading Room. 

If you would like to submit a print copy of your thesis to be included in the University Archives collections (it will be professionally bound and have a record for it created and added to OneSearch), you can either bring a printed copy to the archives (unbound, no staples or fasteners of any kind please) or you can mail the printed copy to: Robert D. Farber University Archives & Special Collections / Brandeis University / 415 South Street / MS 045 / PO Box 549110 / Waltham MA 02454 [care of University Archivist].  Please also include your signed and completed Thesis Release/Deed of Gift form (if you drop off a paper copy to the archives, one will be given to you; we can also mail, fax, or email a copy of the form if that is preferable). 

For information on submitting theses to the Brandeis Institutional Repository, please see the Guide for Undergraduate thesis writers at Brandeis.  

Senior honors theses 

The University Archives has a fairly complete collection of senior honors theses. All theses can be found in the library catalog, OneSearch, through a title, author, or subject search. To search for theses by department, enter "Brandeis University senior honors theses dept of [department name]" in an author or keyword search. Items which were submitted electronically are available by download through Onesearch. For print theses bring a list of call numbers to the University Archives and we’ll retrieve them for you. Theses do not circulate and must be viewed in the Archives & Special Collections reading room.

Masters theses

All theses can be found in the library catalog OneSearch through a title, author, or subject search. To search for theses by department, enter "Brandeis University theses dept of [department name]" in an author or keyword search. Master's theses  as of 2008 are now available in electronic format (with downloadable full text) via Brandeis ScholarWorks.  Like senior honors theses, Masters theses may be photocopied or downloaded if the author has granted permission in writing.   

Reproducing theses for research

Limited copying of print theses is available. Small portions of theses may be copied without the author's permission. Complete copies of a thesis have a charge of $20.00, while individual pages cost $0.20 per page for members of the Brandeis community and Boston Library Consortium institutions, and $0.25 per page for other patrons.

A thesis may be copied in full if the University Archives has the author's written permission to do so. To facilitate this process, the University Archives has created a Thesis Release/Deed of Gift form for all thesis authors to complete and sign, granting others permission to reproduce their work for research purposes.  If you have previously submitted a thesis to the archives without signing this form, it can be signed at any time in the future to allow for greater access.  Please contact the department if you would like a form.

If you do not have a library account with Brandeis theses may be borrowed by participating interlibrary loan institutions by contacting ill@brandeis.edu. We will check to see if we have the proper permissions and if we do we will accept the request.

Dissertations 

Dissertations created by Brandeis students may be accessed directly from Dissertations and Theses at Brandeis University, a library database. Electronic copies can be reached via a link in the database and print copies are housed in the library stacks and may be borrowed by members of the Brandeis community. Print dissertations also be borrowed by participating interlibrary loan institutions by contacting ill@brandeis.edu.

To access any dissertation not written by Brandeis students there are three places they may be found:

  • For those who don’t have access to in house collections and can’t find what they need through the Open Access website ProQuest Dissertation Express allows users to buy copies of dissertations. You would need author, title or an UMI Publication number to search for it. Once you find it, you can choose from various formats to purchase including Microfilm, Microfiche, Hardcover, Softcover, Unbound or as a PDF which will give you immediate access.