Library search provides access to the University’s print and online collections including digital and hard bound theses. To limit your search to only University of Sydney theses, select the Advanced search option and select USYD Theses from the Material Type dropdown options.

Print copies of most University of Sydney PhD and Master’s by research theses awarded up to 2014 can be viewed in the Rare Books and Special Collections Library, Level 1, Fisher Library.

All digital theses and digital versions of some hardbound theses awarded prior to 2014 are available via University’s institutional repository. The Repository has two collections of digital theses:

• Sydney Digital Theses (Open Access) is the digital archive for PhD, professional doctorates and Masters (Research) theses from the University of Sydney freely available
• Sydney Digital Theses (University of Sydney Access only) is only available to the staff and students of the University of Sydney. The author has requested this level of access.

Theses that are already digital or digitised

Many of the University’s digital and digitised theses are openly available for download through the Sydney eScholarship repository. For theses that are in Sydney eScholarship, but are marked ‘USyd Access’, libraries and private researchers can request to purchase a copy of a thesis for AUD$18.50 (incl. GST, within Australia only) or AUD$16.65 (international requests).

Theses that are only available in hardcopy

If the thesis isn’t available via the Sydney eScholarship repository, you can request that we prioritise digitisation of the thesis. If your request is approved, we will send you an email with details about how you will be able to access the thesis once available. This service is offered free of charge; however, we can’t guarantee that all thesis requests will be digitised or provide timelines for this process.

Submitting a request

All requests for copies of material held at the University of Sydney Library must comply with the Copyright Act of 1968. To submit a request to purchase a digital thesis, or request to prioritise digitisation of a hardcopy thesis, complete and submit the relevant form:

• Individuals requesting a thesis, or library requesting on behalf of an individual
• Libraries requesting a copy to be included in their collection