Types of Information Sources
Finding Theses
University of Galway Research Theses (Mostly PhDs)
After 2011: can be accessed online using the Library catalogue or using the University of Galway Research Repository.
Before 2011: are held in hardcopy and may be requested and read in the Library. If you are unable to locate details of a pre-2011 thesis in the library catalogue, please contact the staff in the Archives & Special Collections Reading Room at special.collections@universityofgalway.ie.
University of Galway Taught Theses (Mostly Masters)
Theses are either held by the Library in bound hardcopy (before Jan 2014) or online (after Jan 2014).
After January 2014 taught theses can only be submitted online using the Taught Thesis Submission system and accessed/searched for using the Library catalogue.
Theses completed before January 2014 can be found using the Library catalogue search.
Note: Not all courses are required to submit Master’s theses to the Library for publishing. Submission is on an opt-in basis.
Other Databases and Repositories for Finding Theses
This database is the world’s most comprehensive collection of dissertations and theses from around the world, spanning from 1743 to the present day.
Subject coverage Arts, Business and Economics, Education, Humanities, Social Sciences, Behavioral Sciences, Mathematics and Physical Sciences, Health and Medical Sciences.
Access to 1,389,942 open access research theses from 585 Universities in 29 European countries.
University of Galway Research Repository
We are excited to announce that the new University of Galway Research Repository is now live.
This new repository shows our commitment to Open Research by providing researchers and their collaborators with a dedicated space for all their Open Research outputs. The repository has improved features to support different media types. This helps ensure that different kinds of research are easy to access, preserve, and organise, promoting better visibility and impact for University research.
All content from our old platform has been successfully moved to the new repository, and it is now ready to accept submissions from our communities. University of Galway authors can submit their publications, including peer-reviewed articles, conference papers, reports, books, book chapters, and PhD/MD/Research Masters theses. This process is called green open access publishing (or self-archiving), where authors publish in a journal and then deposit the final draft (post-print) in the repository without the publisher’s typesetting, formatting, logos, and pagination. All submissions are reviewed by library staff to ensure they meet the publisher’s policies before being made available.
So far, the repository has attracted nearly fourteen million downloads and page views, showing that adding publications increases citations and makes research more visible. Benefits include increased exposure and impact, with more potential readers than publications restricted to subscribers. It also ensures long-term access and preservation, compliance with funders’ requirements and the University of Galway’s Open Access policy, and extra discoverability via web search and European infrastructures. There are no costs to publish.
