A database that contains dissertation citations back to 1861, abstracts back to 1980, and the full text of many dissertations from 1997 (and sometimes earlier) to present. Masters theses have been selectively indexed since 1962. Almost all dissertations written at UIUC from 1997 forward are available as a free full-text download in PDF (Adobe Acrobat) format. Here is an example of a subject search for education dissertations written at UIUC:

1. In the first search box, type Education and select Subject (SU) from the dropdown menu at the right.
2. In the second search box, type University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and select University/institution (SCH) from the dropdown menu at the right. (Note: The full name of the school needs to be typed out, so "University of Illinois" or "UIUC" will not work.)
3. To limit by year, select desired years from the Date Range drop-down menu.
4. Click the Search button.

After performing your search and locating a dissertation of interest, you'll see a 'Full text-PDF' link at the right of the dissertation record if a full-text download is available. From there you can e-mail or export the citation and abstract. You also have the option of purchasing a copy by selecting the 'Order a copy' link.

If the full text is not available for download, a print copy of the dissertation may be available in the UIUC library--just do a search in the online catalog for the dissertation title to determine its location.

Abstracts for pre-1980 dissertations are available in Dissertation Abstracts, the print version of the database contents.

• IDEALS

The University Library hosts a digital repository called IDEALS which contains recent dissertations (those which can be deposited digitally via word documents, etc) and working papers for Illinois faculty and doctoral students.   Advantages are retaining your own copyright and having it be discovered more quickly via OpenSource.