Guide last updated by Katie Radford, August 2025
This guide was created by Lisa Davies, former Access Librarian at the IALS Library.
Reference Desk hours:
Monday-Friday 9:30-17:00
Tel (0)20 7862 5790
Email ials@sas.ac.uk
We'd love to hear your comments about this Research Guide.
Email ials@sas.ac.uk
IALS Library holds MPhil and PhD law theses from University of London colleges from 1945 to 2011.
From 2011 onwards the IALS Library only collects theses from its own research students and each University of London college keeps its own students' law theses with the expectation that they will also be available electronically through the British Library's EThOS database (see Online resources section on this page for more information on EThOS). If looking for a University of London thesis since 2011 and it is not available on EThOS, check the college's library catalogue or institutional repository, or contact the relevant college library for further information.
To search IALS Library's collection of print law theses on Library Search:
Select the Advanced Search function.
Choose 'classmark' from the first search filter and then enter 'thesis' in the 'Enter a search term' box
If you click search at this point, it will retrieve a full list of all print theses in the IALS library collection.
Alternatively, you can combine the search with additional search terms to narrow down your search. For example, you could add a relevant search term in the title or subject field.
You can subsequently use the filters on the left-hand side of your screen to narrow down the search further, for example by subject heading.
Make a note of the numbers of any theses which you would like to look at. As theses are not stored on the open shelves, you will need to fill out a basement request form at the 2nd floor Enquiry Desk for each thesis you would like to view and a member of staff will fetch them for you.
Theses are available for consultation in the library only and there are strict rules about photocopying from theses. If in doubt about whether copying is allowed, please ask a member of library staff.
Selected PhD theses written by IALS students are available online in the IALS section of the School of Advanced Study's E-repository, SAS-Space.
Selected dissertations written by IALS Masters students are available online in the "thesis" section of the School of Advanced Study's E-repository, SAS-Space.
EThOS is the British Library's Electronic Theses Online System. It aims to provide open access to UK theses in many disciplines including law. EThOS includes a record of approximately 90% of UK theses. Many of them are available to download for free. If the thesis is not available to download, you can make a request for it to be digitised (there may be a fee for this service).
NDLTD (Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations) is an international organisation dedicated to promoting the creation of electronic theses. The website provides a list of online repositories of theses from many countries around the world.
ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global and Index to Theses is a subscription database that provides access to theses and dissertations from the UK and overseas. Many university libraries provide access to this database; check with your own college or university librarian if you are unsure. School of Advanced Study students and those with Senate House Library membership have access to this service.
Many universities maintain their own e-repositories, which provide online access to PhD theses. Please check individual university's websites for further information.
Legal Research in the UK in the 20th Century is an IALS open access database which provides a list of legal theses and dissertations successfully completed for postgraduate degrees awarded by universities and polytechnics in the United Kingdom 1905-1984.