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LSE Theses Online London School of Economics web site

About LSE Theses Online

Welcome to LSE Theses Online

LSE Theses Online is the institutional repository for the London School of Economics and Political Science's PhD theses. It contains full text versions of theses accepted for the qualification of Doctorate at LSE. These full text versions can be freely accessed and downloaded.

What does LSE Theses Online contain?

LSE Theses Online contains full text, final examined versions of theses accepted for the qualification of Doctorate at the London School of Economics and Political Science.

LSE Theses Online does not contain Master’s dissertations, please contact the relevant department directly if you are seeking to access a Master’s dissertation.

The Repository's Rights and Responsibilities - LSE Theses Online:

  • May make copies of the Work(s) (including the abstract(s)) available worldwide, in electronic format via any medium for the lifetime of the repository, or as negotiated with the repository administrator, for the purpose of free access without charge.
  • May electronically store, translate, copy, or re-arrange the Work(s) to ensure its/their future preservation and accessibility within the lifetime of the repository, that is, to ensure it can be read by computer system in the future, unless notified by the depositor that specific restrictions apply.
  • May incorporate metadata or documentation into public access catalogues for the Work(s) and the Author(s), including, but not limited to, Wikidata, CORE, DART-Europe and ProQuest Dissertations and Theses. A citation/citations to the Work(s) will always remain visible in the repository during its lifetime.
  • Shall not be under any obligation to take legal action on behalf of the Depositor or other rights holders in the event of breach of intellectual property rights or any other right in the material deposited.
  • Shall not be under any obligation to reproduce, transmit, broadcast, or display the Work(s) in the same format or software as that in which it was/they were originally created.
  • May share usage statistics giving details of numbers of downloads and other statistics.
  • While every care will be taken to preserve the Work, LSE Theses Online is not liable for loss or damage to the Work(s) or associated data while it is stored within the repository.

How are theses added to LSE Theses Online?

We currently add theses via a number of routes:

  1. After the successful completion of their viva examination, all PhD students provide a copy of the final examined version of their thesis to the Library to be added to LSE Theses Online. Theses are submitted via this form, guidance on preparing a thesis for submission can be found here.
  2. By monitoring the British Library's EThOS service, which digitises theses on demand.
  3. By individual authors sending them to us. We then check with LSE's PhD Academy that the thesis has been accepted, then catalogue and add it to the service.
  4. As a result of digitisation projects by the Library.

I have downloaded a thesis held in LSE Theses Online. In what ways may I re-use it?

The copyright in a LSE thesis belongs to the author. This means you are entitled to re-use material from a thesis for quotation, criticism or review or by relying on another exception permitted by UK copyright law. For information see the Intellectual Property Office guidance on Exceptions to copyright. You must also clearly attribute the author and PhD thesis title. To re-use content from a thesis in a way not covered by a copyright exception, you must first seek permission from the author of the thesis.

I am a copyright holder, and believe that my copyright has been infringed by content held in LSE Theses Online, what can I do?

Please contact LSE Theses Online including details of where and how your copyright has been infringed. We will follow the procedure outlined in our takedown policy.

I am the author of an LSE thesis, and my work has been republished without my permission, what can I do?

As the copyright holder it is your responsibility to contact the individual, organisation and/or company that has infringed your rights. LSE can offer support with this process. Please contact Lsethesesonline@lse.ac.uk providing details of the infringement, we can then advise you on an initial response.

If you have any questions that have not been answered by the FAQs / the information on this page, the LSE Theses Online team can be contacted at: Lsethesesonline@lse.ac.uk.