Library

The Reed Electronic Theses Archive

Reed's digital repository for senior and MALS theses. The archive—of voluntary submissions—originated from a Reed Students for Free Culture proposal in 2007.

Visit the electronic theses archive

How to contribute to the etheses archive

Current students can opt in to the ethesis archive during the final library submission.

All alumni can contribute to the archive, but the process to do so depends on your graduation year.

If you graduated after 1992, you can use our Online Submission Portal, but will need a Kerberos account to do so. Instructions on setting one up are available on the Alumni Programs website.

If you graduated in 1992 or before, please email a PDF copy of your thesis to etheses@groups.reed.edu. After receiving your thesis we will send you a permissions form to fill out and return. Unfortunately, we cannot scan theses at this time. Please check back.

FAQs

Does the etheses archive have all the Reed theses?

No! Adding your thesis is completely voluntary. Submissions do not replace the printed, bound thesis. 

I'm graduating soon. Does my thesis go into the etheses archive?

It is up to you! In the thesis submission form, you can choose whether or not to add your thesis to the etheses archive. Adding your thesis to the etheses archive is voluntary and is not a graduation requirement. If you are unsure about submitting, talk with your advisor.

How do I save my document as a PDF?

Instructions from IT for creating PDFs with Mac and Windows

What are accompanying materials and how do I submit them? How do I make a zip file?

You can submit supplemental files such as digital images, audio, data, and video files in addition to your thesis. They should be compressed into a separate, single zip file. You will need to create a zip file even if you are just submitting one single accompanying file. Instructions on making a zip file are below.

Mac: Highlight the file(s) you wish to zip, go to the File menu (or right-click) and select the option to “Compress” items. The zip file “Archive.zip” will appear in the same directory as the files you selected to compress.

Windows: Highlight the file(s) you wish to zip, right-click and select Send to>Compressed (zipped) folder. The zip file will appear in the same directory as the files you selected to compress.

What's a copyright clearance statement?

If your thesis incorporates copyrighted material, (images, photographs, figures, data, illustrations, etc. not created by you), you’ll need to confirm that you have sought permission or are claiming fair use. For more information consult the Copyright Help for Theses guide or contact us for help.

Who can access the archive?

At present, access is limited to current Reed students, faculty, staff, and alumni. Log in with your Reed Kerberos credentials.

The archive may eventually become a public collection. Your thesis will not be made public unless you have given us permission to do so.

I submitted my thesis, but I don't see it yet.

The library will load the theses as quickly as possible, but there will typically be some time between submission and access.

I submitted the wrong PDF, can I resubmit it?

Please contact us at etheses@groups.reed.edu if you submitted the wrong file or you wish to change the terms of access for your theses (e.g. from Reed-access-only to public.) 

I'm an alum, can I contribute my thesis to the archive?

Yes! If you graduated after 1992, you can submit your thesis through our Online Submission Portal. You will need to set up a Kerberos account to do so. Instructions on doing that are available on the Alumni Programs website.

If you graduated prior to 1992, please email a PDF copy of your thesis to etheses@groups.reed.edu. After receiving your thesis we will send you some brief questions to help us catalog your thesis in the archive.

I don't have a PDF but I'm an alum. Can you digitize it for me? 

Unfortunately, we cannot scan theses at this time. Please check back as we hope to reopen scanning requests soon.

I have another question but don't see the answer here.

Contact us at etheses@groups.reed.edu.