Ken, I was surprised that you hadn't come across this before. It was  
announced in DRN! and thanks to Martyn for raising this.

Though EThOS has been around for some time, the BL held copies of  
theses for a long time before its more recent online presence. I used  
the BL quite a bit when I was doing my PhD, but read many more theses  
from the USA which arrived as microfiche. Submission to the BL  
database was optional, but I think most university departments  
routinely sent theses there. So far as I am aware all UK universities  
have a requirement to lodge a full copy of a thesis in their own  
library, so it has long been possible to acquire them through the  
national inter-library lending system anyway. They may not be so  
findable outside the UK though.

Perhaps I can also draw attention to the database specifically for the  
sector art and design in the UK.

http://www3.shu.ac.uk/c3ri/adit/

This has been a welcome addition. The database has a focus on the 'art  
and design' sector in the UK, and is a helpful start in searching. I  
emphasis that it is a start, because like all portals it is subject to  
any limitations arising from the boundaries originally established,  
and I am not sure whether it is still being updated (perhaps somebody  
here has knowledge of that?). There are several theses known to me  
that are not listed, including mine - design work may be registered in  
different faculties depending on the focus of supervision, for example  
technology, education, art history, philosophy etc. and may be  
difficult to trace as a result. The earlier PhDs were often in  
departments other than art and design, and it is perhaps only in the  
last decade that the majority are coming from true art, design, media  
departments as supervision capacity has been built, and as funding has  
become available. My impression in RAE2001 was that the evidence of  
actual completions did not match either the rhetoric of some  
institutions or what I knew of the scale of doctoral studies in some  
departments - it looked as though a great many completions were  
returned in units of assessment other than 'art and design'.

David
.........................................................................

David Durling FDRS PhD   http://durling.tel
.........................................................................



On 12 Dec 2009, at 10:16 am, Evans, Martyn wrote:

> Dear Ken
>
> UK PhD theses are available online via the British Library's EThOS  
> service which provides access to UK PhD theses at all participating  
> institutions (almost all UK universities). Not all theses are  
> currently digitised but you can request a specific thesis which will  
> be digitised (currently 30 working days). I have found the service  
> extremely valuable. PDFs are free or you can chose to pay for  
> printed versions. Details below:
>
> The British Library working with UK Universities have introduced a  
> service called EThOS http://ethos.bl.uk/
>
> This provides free access to online PhD theses produced at  
> participating UK Higher Education institutions- http://ethos.bl.uk/HEIList.do
>
> The database contains the details of 250,000 + theses with the full  
> text being added over time (and by request) for theses from  
> participating institutions. Some theses are already available for  
> download, but you may find that you need to request others that you  
> are interested in. If you request a thesis, there is a delay while  
> copyright permission is sought and the text is digitized.
>
> Registration to use the service is free.
>
> Best from Manchester
>
> M
>
> Martyn Evans
> Senior Lecturer: Design
> Lancaster University
> T: +44 (0)1524 593435
> W: www.imagination.lancaster.ac.uk/people/martyn_evans/
> Twitter: http://twitter.com/martyn_evans
>
> Ken Friedman wrote:
>
> —snip—
>
> Before agreeing – or disagreeing – on the quality of the doctoral
> programs that Janet cited, I’d like to see a range of thesis projects.
> Perhaps it’s time for the UK design schools and universities to do
> what most of us do in Australia: place all PhD theses on the web in  
> PDF
> format. The other possibility would be doing what North American
> universities do by placing all PhD theses in a central registry with
> access to hardcopy and microform printed on demand, or – for recent
> theses – PDF as digital download. I prefer the Australian solution
> because it is free, but I’d go for either approach. It is difficult or
> impossible to find out whether the claims anyone makes for the quality
> of a PhD program are reasonable in the absence of the key  
> demonstration:
> several years worth of thesis projects.
>
> —snip—