How to Search for, Find, and View Princeton University Senior Theses

Update 2.12.16: For current information on how to search for senior theses, please see the Libguide: How to Search, Request to View, and Order Princeton University Senior Theses

The University Archives has launched an online archive of senior theses, and now there are new ways to search for, find, and view Princeton University senior theses.

Senior theses created between 1924 and 2012:

Theses created between 1924 and 2012 are in paper format or on microfiche, and can only be viewed in the Mudd Manuscript Library Reading Room.

To find and request a thesis from 1924 to 2012:

  • Go to Books+ and enter the author’s name, title (or portion of the title)
  • When search results appear, choose “Senior Thesis” under resource type (on the left side of the screen), which will limit your results only to senior theses

senior thesis resource type

  • Choose the thesis record by clicking on the title
  • Go to the “Locations and Availability” tab, then click the blue button that says “Reading Room Request”
  • You will be prompted to log in with your netid (PU students, faculty and staff) or to create an account as a non-Princeton University Patron
  • Come to the Mudd Library to view the thesis during our hours of operation and let us know that you have a request in the system

Senior theses created in 2013:

All senior theses created in 2013 are in PDF format, but they are only viewable in full text at the computers in the reference room of the Mudd Library (i.e. “Walk-in Access”). You do not need to request 2013 theses prior to visiting the library. To see the listing for 2013 theses, visit the Senior Thesis Community page. Further DataSpace search tips follow.

Senior theses created in 2014 and in the future:

All 2014 and later senior theses are in PDF format, and most are accessible on any computer connected to the Princeton University network. A small number of theses are subject to temporary restrictions (embargo) or are restricted to computers in the reference room of the Mudd Library (i.e. “Walk-in Access”).

To search for 2013, 2014 (and future) theses, visit the Senior Thesis Community page in DataSpace.

Use the search box to enter the author’s name, the title, or keywords.

human_rights-eg

You can limit the search to a specific department by using the dropdown box labeled “In”.

WWS_human rights

To find a thesis written by a specific author:

Use the Browse button “Author” to see an alphabetical list of authors in the system.

eng_author_browse

Then click on a name to see an author’s thesis.

english_author_list

To find theses advised by a specific advisor:

The Browse button “Author” lists thesis authors as well as advisors in a combined listing. To find the name of an advisor, click on the Author button and scroll to the advisor’s name in the alphabetical listing, then click on the name to see the theses advised by this person. Please note, there may be multiple forms of name for each advisor, so check under each of the name entries for that individual (e.g. “Anthony Grafton,” “Anthony T. Grafton,” “Anthony Thomas Grafton”) to find all of the theses that this person advised.

If you have questions, please contact us at mudd@princeton.edu

Class of 2013 Senior Theses Now Available on DataSpace

UPDATE, June 2, 2014: Class of 2013 Senior Theses are now available for viewing and download at the public computers at the Mudd Manuscript Library. Class of 2014 Senior Theses will be available throughout the Princeton University network by September 2014, with the exception of a small number of theses that are temporarily restricted, or limited to the Mudd Manuscript Library public computers.

UPDATE, October 18, 2013: At the request of the Office of the Dean of the College, access to the PDF files is temporarily suspended. Those seeking copies of 2013 theses should visit the Mudd Manuscript Library to obtain access to the theses. We will need users to provide the author’s name and department.

The Class of 2013 senior theses are now available on DataSpace at Princeton University. Senior theses are accessible in full-text, digital format from any Princeton-networked computer.

Theses can be searched using text (such as the author’s name, advisor’s name, or words in the title), or browsed by author, department, or title. Searching and browsing can happen at the collection level (Senior Thesis collection) or at the department level (e.g. English Department).

Researchers will still need to come to the Mudd Manuscript Library to view theses created before 2013. In the coming weeks, however, the data from the Princeton University Catalog of Senior Theses will be migrated to DataSpace so all of the theses can be searched from a single interface.  In due course, senior theses will be searchable in Books+. There are no plans to systematically digitize 2012 and earlier theses at this time.

Access to senior theses for researchers outside of Princeton University remains unchanged regardless of when the thesis was created or its format—a copy may be ordered by submitting a written request to the University Archives.

The creation of the digital archive of senior theses is a joint project between the Office of the Dean of the College, the University Archives at the Mudd Manuscript Library, and the Office of Information Technology.  Its intent is to broaden accessibility to senior theses within the Princeton community, as Princeton seniors consult them at a rate of about 1,000 per year to explore topics, gather ideas for possible faculty advisers, find sources, gain familiarity with disciplinary writing styles, develop research methodologies for their own theses, and understand what makes a good thesis. The archive also has the capability to capture and deliver multiple file formats including text, video, audio, and image files.

For more information on senior theses, please contact the Princeton University Archives at 609-258-6345 or mudd@princeton.edu.

 

Embargo Renewal Information for Ph.D. Graduates

This post was updated on April 23, 2014

This fall, the first set of dissertation embargoes that were instituted under the Graduate School’s revised policy on Publication, Access, and Embargoing of Doctoral Dissertations will expire. This embargo policy only applies to dissertations submitted on or after August 29, 2011.

Those who wish to request a renewal of an existing embargo must email the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, Cole Crittenden, in the Graduate School and provide the reason for the extension. While embargoes may be extended with the request of the student and the approval of the Graduate School, they can never be re-instituted after having expired.

Embargoes automatically expire two years from the date on which the Ph.D. was awarded (degrees are awarded five times per year at Board of Trustee meetings); this date will coincide with the degree date (month and year) on the title page of your dissertation.

An embargo renewal must be requested in writing at least one month before the original embargo has expired, but may not be requested more than three months prior to the embargo expiration date.

Graduates are responsible for keeping track of when their embargoes expire. One can find out exactly when an embargo will expire by checking the dissertation’s record in DataSpace. First, search for the dissertation by the author’s name or its title, click the button at the bottom of the item record that says “show full item record,” and view the date in the “pu.embargo.lift” field. This is the date that the embargo will automatically expire.

The Graduate School will inform the Mudd Library of all embargo extensions and Mudd Library staff will apply the extensions in ProQuest and in DataSpace.

This information can also be found on our dissertations webpage under “Embargoes.”

ACLU Court Document Summons King’s Last Days

A recent reference inquiry brought to light a document within the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Records that provides a record of one of the events that took place in the days surrounding the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on April 4, 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., with Dean of the Chapel Ernest Gordon, at Princeton in 1960. Historical Photograph Collection, Individuals Series.

W.J. Michael Cody, an attorney in Memphis, who, along with his firm, represented King and other defendants in a case brought by the City of Memphis, inquired whether we had documents related to these events in the ACLU Records.

The court case at issue concerned the City of Memphis’ desire to prevent a march in support of striking sanitation workers—the city wished to ban the demonstration because an earlier sanitation workers’ march (held on March 28, 1968) had become disorderly and resulted in rioting and the use of aggressive law enforcement measures including mace and tear gas. King wished to lead another, peaceful march for the cause, but the City of Memphis obtained a temporary restraining order to prevent it from occurring (Cody, p. 700).

Cody, a former president of the West Tennessee Chapter of the ACLU, was contacted by ACLU General Counsel Mel Wulf, and asked whether his firm, Burch Porter & Johnson, would represent King in a case to lift the restraining order and allow the march to proceed legally. On the evening of April 3, in the midst of the defense’s preparations for the case, King gave his well-known “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech to the sanitation workers and their families at the Mason Temple (Cody, p. 700).  According to the document below from the ACLU records, the hearing was held on the day of April 4, and the court decided that the march could proceed under a set of conditions that would help to ensure its orderliness.  That evening, King was assassinated at the Lorraine Motel.

The three-page court document from the ACLU Records, filed April 5, 1968, indicates that the Counsel for the City changed its position after the tragic event and joined with the defendants in their efforts to allow the march to proceed with the provisions listed.

Opinion and Temporary Injunction (page 1), ACLU Records, Subgroup 2, Box 656, Folder 2

Opinion and Temporary Injunction (page 1), ACLU Records, Subgroup 2, Box 656, Folder 2

Opinion and Temporary Injunction (page 2), ACLU Records, Subgroup 2, Box 656, Folder 2

Opinion and Temporary Injunction (page 2), ACLU Records, Subgroup 2, Box 656, Folder 2

Opinion and Temporary Injunction (page 3), ACLU Records, Subgroup 2, Box 656, Folder 2

Opinion and Temporary Injunction (page 3), ACLU Records, Subgroup 2, Box 656, Folder 2

Cody recounts the complex and compelling events of this period in Memphis in his article “King at the Mountain Top: The Representation of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Memphis, April 3-4, 1968,” The University of Memphis Law Review, Vol. 41, pages 699-707.

 

New Accession: Atomic-bombed Roof Tiles from Hiroshima University

The University Archives was recently given the honor and responsibility of providing a home for seven roof tiles that sustained damage in the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, Japan on August 6, 1945.  The roof tiles were collected in a river bed near ground zero of the atomic bomb explosion.

3 of the 7 tiles.

3 of the 7 tiles.

Along with the roof tiles, the donation includes photographs of the location where the tiles were recovered; booklets and pamphlets on the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki; and documents related to the artifacts.

Hiroshima University was decimated in the atomic bomb attack— most of its students and faculty members perished and its buildings were demolished.  In the post-war period, Hiroshima University’s president Tatsuo Morito reached out to universities world-wide to help to renew the institution by sending books for its library and saplings to bring its grounds back to life.

IMG_0012IMG_0011

Princeton was among the schools that responded in 1951 by providing both a book for the library’s collection and a monetary donation for the purchase of a native tree for the campus; and now, in celebration of its 80th anniversary, Hiroshima University is reciprocating by donating these artifacts.

The roof tiles are distributed by Hiroshima University’s Association for Sending Atomic-bombed Roof Tiles in order to perpetuate awareness of the devastating effects of the atomic bombings in Japan, and to oppose the use and proliferation of nuclear weapons.  In a letter that accompanies the donation, Toshimasa Asahara, President of Hiroshima University, explains:

The threat of nuclear weapons still exists in many areas of the world.  It is our earnest desire, however, that the pain and sadness experienced in Hiroshima not be re-created anywhere else in the world.

This wish is not only the wish of those of us living today but represents the silent voices of the 240,000 Hiroshima citizens who perished from the atomic bomb.  We believe it is also the will of others such as yourselves who will work together with us to build a peaceful future for the world.

See the Atomic-bombed Roof Tiles from Hiroshima University Finding Aid

 

 

 

 

 

Revised Dissertation Embargo Policy in Effect

The new policy for the Publication, Access, and Embargoing of Doctoral Dissertations, which was approved on May 14, 2012, is now in full effect.

The new policy enables each graduate student to request a two-year embargo on his or her dissertation, with the potential for renewal. When approved, the embargo applies to the dissertation’s availability in ProQuest, as well as in Princeton’s digital repository, DataSpace. If not embargoed, dissertations are made available in full-text to subscribing institutions via ProQuest, and in full-text on the Internet through DataSpace.

Individuals who submitted their dissertations between August 29, 2011 and June 19, 2012 had an opportunity to request an embargo retroactively. They were contacted by email on June 19, 2012 (and again on September 7, 2012) and given until October 15, 2012 to request approval for their embargo. The dissertations that were not embargoed during this period were released to universal accessibility via DataSpace on November 5, 2012.*

The process of gaining approval for an embargo is governed by the Graduate School. Students who wish to embargo their dissertation should fill out the Dissertation Embargo Request and Approval Form, obtain an approval signature from their advisor or a committee member, and submit the form as part of the Advanced Degree Application Process. Written confirmation of the embargo approval from the Graduate School must be presented in hard copy at the time of submission to the Mudd Manuscript Library.

Details about submitting your dissertation to the Mudd Manuscript Library are here: http://www.princeton.edu/~mudd/thesis/index.shtml

*As an interim measure while the new policy was being developed, on March 23, 2012, all dissertations that had been deposited in DataSpace in the fall of 2011 were restricted to the Princeton network. Those submitted in the spring of 2012 were also limited to the Princeton network. All dissertations from August 29, 2011 and forward that were not embargoed were released universally via DataSpace on November 5, 2012.

The Mudd Manuscript Library Hosts its Third Edit-a-thon on October 19

In the spirit of volunteerism, the Mudd Manuscript Library will host its third Wikipedia edit-a-thon on Friday, October 19th from 12:30-4:15 p.m. during Volunteer Weekend at Princeton University.  This edit-a-thon will provide a unique, hands-on experience with University Archives collections and its focus will be on expanding and/or creating Wikipedia pages on Princeton athletics.

Students and community members with all levels of experience (including none!) are welcome to participate in this event.  Instructions for editing and contributing to Wikipedia will be provided, along with lunch and snacks. Full details of the event are available on our meetup page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Meetup/Princeton_University_Edit-a-thon_Three

We ask that you bring a laptop to work on, and, since space is limited, please RSVP to mudd@princeton.edu.

View posts on our previous edit-a-thons:

http://blogs.princeton.edu/mudd/2012/05/she-roars-we-record/

http://blogs.princeton.edu/mudd/2012/02/wikipedia-edit-a-thon-at-mudd-library/

Please direct questions to mudd@princeton.edu

 

 

Senior Theses to Go Digital in 2013

Access to the most frequently used collection at the Mudd Manuscript Library—the Senior Thesis Collection—will be greatly enhanced in 2013 as we transition from collecting paper copies to electronic copies (PDFs) of theses.  Dean of the College Valerie Smith has approved a plan for senior theses to be available online (but limited to the Princeton University community) through Princeton’s digital repository, DataSpace.

To this end, next summer DataSpace will become the main search interface for all theses.  Senior theses submitted in 2013 and in the future will be available only electronically (but limited to the Princeton University domain), while senior theses submitted in 2012 and before will be available in paper format at the Mudd Manuscript Library, as they are today.  In the second phase of the project, PDFs of legacy senior theses will be added to DataSpace as they are scanned for patrons, which will incrementally grow the number of theses available digitally.

“The senior thesis has a long history at Princeton,” said University Archivist Dan Linke. “This is just the next chapter for this important aspect of a Princeton education.”

The submission process for academic departments will evolve as we move to PDFs—all of the data entry and uploading will be done through a simple online form. Staff in the academic departments will do the initial data entry and uploading, and Library staff will make a final check and then release the theses to DataSpace. Training on the new process will be offered in the winter of 2013 and will include online videos as well as in-person demonstrations at the Mudd Manuscript Library.

Questions about the new process can be directed to the University Archivist, Dan Linke (609.258.5879; mudd@princeton.edu).

Modernization of Dissertation Submission Procedures

One of the University Archives’ important roles is to preserve and provide access to Princeton University Ph.D. dissertations and Master’s theses. Recently the Mudd Manuscript Library has taken steps to both modernize and streamline the process that Ph.D. candidates carry out to submit their dissertations, while at the same time improving access to these works.

Partnering with ProQuest

Since 1950, the University has partnered with ProQuest (formerly UMI) to publish and disseminate the work of Princeton’s Ph.D. students to the wider academic community. After decades of mailing bound manuscripts to ProQuest for microfilming and/or scanning, and more recently, mailing CDs with PDFs of dissertations, Princeton Ph.D. candidates will now upload their own PDFs to Princeton’s ETD Administrator site (www.etdadmin.com/princeton). Candidates will choose publishing options, decide if they want ProQuest to register their copyright, and pay any relevant fees on the site as well.

Reduced Cost for Students

The new online submission system allows candidates to realize significant savings in publishing fees—Traditional publishing is free and Open Access publishing is $95—in both cases, a savings of $25 over the previous process. The optional copyright registration fee remains $55, and a dissertation maintenance fee of $15 is due at the Mudd Manuscript Library at the time of submission.

In addition, with the new procedure, candidates are required to submit only one bound copy of their dissertation to the library (instead of two), which cuts their binding fees in half, a savings of $40 or more.

Enhanced Access to Dissertations

Depending on the publishing option that candidates choose, dissertations will be made available either through ProQuest’s Dissertations and Theses subscription database (available to the University community at http://search.proquest.com/pqdtft/advanced?accountid=13314) or through ProQuest’s open access database PQDT Open (http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/), which offers full text versions of dissertations to anyone with Internet access.

Another step forward in providing access to dissertations is their availability on Princeton’s digital repository, DataSpace http://dataspace.princeton.edu/jspui/. Starting with dissertations submitted for the November 2011 degree award, an electronic copy of each Princeton University dissertation will be placed in DataSpace. This will be a full text, universally accessible version of the dissertation.

More Information

Full details of the new dissertation submission procedures are available on our website at: http://www.princeton.edu/~mudd/thesis/index.shtml . If you have questions about the dissertation submission process, please contact the Mudd Manuscript Library at 609-258-6345 or mudd@princeton.edu.

New Accessions: April-June 2010

The Mudd Manuscript Library received 12 public policy accessions and 30 University Archives accessions between April and June 2010.

The public policy collections received significant additions to the American Civil Liberties Union Records and the Council on Foreign Relations Records. In addition, a wonderful surprise was the receipt of Woodrow Wilson’s and Edith Bolling Galt’s marriage license, 1915. The item was donated by Mr. Barry C. Keenan of Granville, OH, who also confessed to having caused the green ink stain on the document as a ten-year-old.

Wilson marriage license

On the University Archives side, the Library received the papers of two important Princeton figures– Dr. Carl. A. Fields and Dean Mathey.
Educator and advocate of minority education, Dr. Carl A. Fields was assistant dean of student aid at Princeton University and later served in various other leadership positions outside the University. The Carl A. Fields Papers consist of correspondence, reports, research material on race relations and minority education, handwritten notes, project proposals, and other papers that document his life and active career. An online finding aid for this collection is available at: http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/5138jd936.
Dean Mathey, Class of 1912, was a member of the Board of Trustees and an ardent supporter of the University. The collection documents Mathey’s familial relationships, his service to Princeton, his tennis career and other activities from his undergraduate days to the end of his life. A finding aid is for this collection is in process.
The following is a complete list of materials that were accessioned between April and June of 2010. As always, if you would like additional information about these materials, please contact us through our general email account at mudd@princeton.edu.

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