Theses

Imperial students and staff

Check if an electronic copy of the thesis is available in Spiral. If the thesis has been digitised you can access and download it.

If the thesis has not been digitised you can consult it at the Abdus Salam Library. Complete a thesis request form before your visit.

You can also place a Document Delivery request for an electronic copy of the thesis using the ORDER A BOOK OR ARTICLE tab in Library Search. The time scale for digitisation is 4 weeks.

External users and alumni

Most of the electronic copies of Imperial PhD theses are available on open access in Spiral. Some theses are unavailable to external users.

If the thesis is not available on Spiral you can visit the Abdus Salam Library to consult it. Complete a thesis request form before your visit. If you do not have a current membership card, you must also complete a library membership application form prior to your visit.

If you are unable to visit the library or wish to receive an electronic copy of a thesis, please contact the Document Delivery Service by email at ill@imperial.ac.uk. Full details will be given upon application.

Library Services provides access to the Master's dissertations of some departments.

If your department is not listed below there are no Master's dissertations available. 

Please contact Your librarian if you would like to deposit your department's Master's dissertations in Spiral.

Master's dissertations

Theses from other universities

Due to the ongoing outage of the British Library’s EThOS service (Electronic Theses Online Service) following a cyberattack in late 2023, UK doctoral theses are currently not accessible via EThOS, and its metadata has not been updated since November 2023. There is no confirmed timeline for its return.

In the meantime, please use the following alternative methods and platforms to locate theses from other institutions:

UK Theses

Document Delivery Service:

If a UK thesis is not available online, you can request it via our Document Delivery Service. You may receive a loan copy or, if unavailable, the Library will attempt to source a digital version. Please allow 4–5 weeks for delivery. 

Note: Imperial College London theses are not indexed in ProQuest’s Dissertations & Theses Global database although some historic theses may appear.

International Theses

Many overseas theses are freely available online. The following open access platforms are recommended:

• Open Access Theses and Dissertations (OATD) – Over 6.6 million theses from 1,100+ institutions.
• BASE – Indexes over 400 million records from 11,000+ content providers.
• CORE – Aggregates over 377 million open access research papers, including theses
• NDLTD Global ETD Search – Metadata for over 3.5 million electronic theses and dissertations worldwide.

Please note: DART-Europe, a major portal for European research theses, closed in February 2025. As of January 2021, it hosted over 889,000 theses from 535 universities in 26 countries. Many records remain accessible via institutional repositories and the aggregators listed above.

If you need help locating a specific thesis or would like support using any of these services, please contact the Library