A thesis is a detailed report documenting the research work completed by a student for completion of a higher degree. UCT Libraries keep a copy of all UCT doctoral and master's theses on OPEN UCT. UCT honours theses are not held by the Libraries. Honours theses are kept by the academic departments to which they were submitted.
Theses can be a valuable source of information, especially for postgraduate students, who need to know what previous research has been done in their field of study, and who want to see models of thesis documents to help them prepare their own theses.
OpenUCT is the open access institutional repository of the University of Cape Town (UCT). It preserves and makes UCT scholarly outputs digitally and freely available, including theses and dissertations, journal articles, book chapters, technical and research reports, as well as open educational resources.
The repository was launched in July 2014 and has been developed in line with international interoperability and Dublin Core metadata standards using DSpace open source software. OpenUCT is indexed by all major search engines.
UCT first expressed its commitment to openness in April 2008 when it signed the Cape Town Declaration on Open Education. This commitment was further strengthened in November 2011 when UCT signed the Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Knowledge in the Sciences and Humanities. The mechanism to share the knowledge produced at UCT became a reality when Council adopted an Open Access Policy in March 2014.
The OpenUCT repository was developed as part of the broader OpenUCT Initiative, a project funded by the Andrew W Mellon Foundation. OpenUCT is governed by UCT’s Open Access Policy to determine what can and cannot be added to the Repository.
Click here for more information about UCT’s institutional repository, OpenUCT.
Theses can be a valuable source of information:
UCT theses:
To search for UCT theses on PRIMO, you can use either the author's name or the title of the thesis. To search for theses on a particular topic, type in the keyword(s) for the topic followed by the word "thesis".
e.g. stratigraphy thesis
South African theses:
To search for theses from other South African universities, use the Union Catalogue of Theses and Dissertations (UCTD). This database records theses and dissertations submitted to universities in South Africa since 1918. Our Interlibrary Loans Department can obtain South African theses for you to borrow. You can also access South African theses via the SABINET Reference Database under "Theses and Dissertations".
International theses:
British Library e-theses online service (EThOS)
The British Library's Electronic Theses Online Service provides access to doctoral theses from participating institutions in the UK. The database contains more than 380,000 records, including some for theses from non-participating institutions, but coverage of the latter is not comprehensive. You can register a free account and will be able to download theses free of charge. Un-digitised theses from participating universities can be requested, and they will be digitised and added to the system. In some cases you will be asked to pay a digitisation fee. There is no alerting service.
Current and Completed Research
South African research projects in economics, science, humanities and includes masters and doctoral theses from South African Universities and technikons, as well as research works from government, non-government and private sectors.
Database of African Theses and Dissertations (DATAD)
The Database of African Theses and Dissertations (DATAD) is a programme to improve management and access to African scholarly work. It is an abstracts database containing information from 11 African institutions, some as far back as 1982.
With more than 2 million entries, this is the single, central, authoritative resource for information about doctoral dissertations and master's theses. Dissertations published from 1980 forward include 350- word abstracts written by the author. Master's theses published from 1988 forward include 150-word abstracts. Titles available as native or image PDF formats include free twenty-four page previews. UMI offers over 1.8 million titles for purchase in microform, paper or electronic formats.
Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
The Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (NDLTD) is an international organization dedicated to promoting the adoption, creation, use, dissemination and preservation of electronic analogues to the traditional paper-based theses and dissertations.
OpenUCT, UCT's institutional repository makes available UCT Masters & PhD theses online. UCT Libraries hold all UCT masters and doctoral theses. Honours theses are kept by the academic departments to which they were submitted.
ProQuest Dissertations & Theses A & I
Comprehensive collection of citations and abstracts to dissertations & theses from around the world from 1743 to the present day. Does not include full text of the dissertations except for those which have been published as open access.
ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global: The Humanities and Social Sciences Collection
ProQuest Dissertation & Theses Global is the world's most comprehensive curated collection of multi-disciplinary dissertations and theses from around the world.
Union Catalogue of Theses and Dissertations (UCTD) available in SACat - via Sabinet Reference
Bibliographic records of theses and dissertations at Master and Doctorate level submitted to universities in SA since 1918. Updated annually.
WorldCat Dissertations and Theses
This database provides access to the dissertations and theses available to university libraries worldwide. Many theses are available electronically, at no charge, directly from the publishing institution.