Find a UK thesis from another institution
To find a UK thesis from another institution that is not Edinburgh Napier University, search EThOS - the British Library Electronic Theses Online Service,
You can find a large number of theses available for free download or you can ask participating institutions to digitise theses.
Please note: you must register individually (not with your institutional login) and log in before you can download or request theses.
Access to EThOS (updated October 2024)
The British Library was subject to a cyber-attack in October 2023 and since then EthOS has been unavailable. There is still no timescale for restoring all services. Information can be found on the British Library blog.
Getting started
Go to the British Library's EThOS website, click the Login/Register button at the top of the screen and fill in your details to register. The next time you visit, login with your email address and chosen password.
Basic search
- Enter your keywords in the search box. To find a phrase or words together in a certain order, add quotation marks e.g. 'academic skills'.
- Click 'Limit search to items available for immediate download' if you want to search for theses that are already available online.
- If you select the 'Include restricted or embargoed items' option, you might see limited details about a thesis but wont be able to download the full text.
- Click the search button.
Advanced search
For a very specific search, select the Advanced Search option. Type a word or phrase into each search box. More than one word in a box will usually be searched for as a phrase.
To combine words:
| If you want to: | Use: | Example: |
|---|---|---|
| Find both words | AND | engineer AND training |
| Find either word: | OR | language OR speech |
| Find one word but not the other: | AND NOT | beowulf AND NOT computing |
Select the drop-down lists on the right to search in a particular field e.g. search for Hope as an author rather than as a word in the title.
Your results
| Icon | Result |
|---|---|
 |
You can download this thesis immediately for free. |
 |
This thesis can be scanned by the institution for a fee or there may be a charge. |
 |
Full text unavailable from EThOS. Restricted access or embargoed. |
How to access a thesis
Downloading a thesis
- Click on the thesis title.
- In the Availability of Full Text section, click the Download button.
- You can now see the Download Manager page. View and agree to the terms and conditions.
- Select the thesis you want and click the Download button which then appears.
- Save the file.
Scan from print
- If the thesis is not available for immediate download, click the 'Order from print (no fee applies)' button.
- If the pop-up box says 'To be digitised from the paper original', and the total cost is £0.00, you can click 'Add to basket' and have the thesis digitised at no cost to you.
- If there is a 'Check scan fee and order a copy' button, click to see the estimated cost and turnaround time on the order page.
Restricted access or embargoed
Can't find/access the thesis for free?
Contact your Subject Librarian for further help. Send the full details of the thesis, including a link to the thesis details on EThOS if available.
Other repositories
Registry of Open Access Repositories (ROAR): tracks the growth of open access repositories.