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EThOS, the E-Theses Online Service, is the British Library’s open access discovery platform for UK doctoral theses. It holds descriptive records (metadata) for more than 650,000 theses from UK universities, dating from the 1700s onwards, and in many cases points you to the university repository where the thesis itself can be read. It is a finding tool, not a place where full-text thesis files are stored or where you can deposit your own work. This guide covers what the current service does, how to search it, and what to do when a record does not lead to a file.
What EThOS is
EThOS is managed by the British Library. According to the service’s own FAQ and home page, it is an open access discovery platform for UK doctoral theses, with metadata records for over 650,000 theses from UK universities from the 1700s onwards. The home page credits the platform as provided by CoSector, University of London. The British Library’s theses subject page describes the same thing: a metadata service whose records often direct you to the university repository where the thesis can be accessed.
The scope is doctoral theses from UK universities. This page is about that service, which people often write as “ethos thesis” or “ethos theses”. If you meant the rhetorical term ethos, or a company of that name, this is not that topic.
What changed: the service before and after the 2023 cyber-attack
Many university guides and older web pages still describe EThOS as a place to download theses directly. The service’s FAQ explains why that no longer matches how it works. It states that EThOS “was badly damaged by a cyber-attack on the British Library in 2023 and has been unavailable since”, that a new platform was procured through a public tender, and that the records of over 650,000 theses were loaded onto it, including around 14,000 theses added since the attack.
Three points from the FAQ matter most for anyone using it today:
- The new platform does not hold full-text thesis files for direct download. Where a thesis is available in a university repository, the record links to it.
- The FAQ says over 400,000 theses are openly available for download from university repositories.
- No login is needed. The FAQ states that all functionality is openly available to all users.
The home page says EThOS is “now available again following restoration work” and notes that the British Library is still updating the platform, with an initial backlog of content to work through. Because the status wording has changed over time, check the EThOS home page for the current position before planning around it.
How to search EThOS
The home page offers a “Search EThOS” box that searches the metadata of the thesis records, and an “Advanced search” link for narrower queries. The search is open to everyone and does not require an account.
- Go to the EThOS home page and enter a title, author, subject words or other descriptive terms in the search box, or open “Advanced search”.
- Open a record to read its metadata.
- Look for the “Access thesis from university” button. Where present, it links to the thesis’s record in the awarding university’s repository.
- Follow the link and download the thesis there, if the university has made the file available.
Finding the full text of a thesis
The route to a thesis always runs through the university. The FAQ gives three reasons a record may have no “Access thesis from university” button: the thesis predates digital deposit and exists only as a paper copy in a university library; the full text file and link are not in the university repository; or the file and link were not in the repository when EThOS last updated from it. In every such case the FAQ recommends contacting the university library.
The same logic applies if a repository link does not load. The repository belongs to the university, so the university library is the right contact. If you need background on what a thesis or dissertation is, see our guides to what a dissertation is and the difference between a dissertation and a thesis.
Print-only and missing theses
For print-only theses, the FAQ says you can request digitisation of some of them by emailing the relevant university library. Not every university uses the EThOS digitisation service, so the FAQ advises contacting the university first, and the decision to proceed is the university’s. When files are digitised, they are returned to the university for upload to its own repository, and the link is added to EThOS when the repository is next harvested and updated.
If a thesis you know exists is not listed in EThOS, the FAQ again points to the university: once the thesis is in the university repository, its metadata record is added to EThOS in a rolling programme of updates.
Depositing your own thesis and correcting records
If you are an author asking how to get your thesis into EThOS, the answer from the service is explicit: “You cannot submit your thesis directly to EThOS.” The route is your university’s repository. Once your thesis is available there, its metadata record is added to EThOS as part of the rolling updates. A related guide covers how to start a thesis, and the repository deposit steps themselves are set by your institution.
Errors are handled the same way. If a record has a typographical error or inaccurate or missing data, the FAQ asks you to contact the university library so that the source record can be amended; the correction reaches EThOS the next time the data is updated from that university.
Researchers who work with the metadata at scale should know the FAQ also says the full bibliographic dataset is available in CSV format from the British Library Research Repository, under the title “UK Doctoral Thesis Metadata from EThOS”.
How EThOS compares with other thesis databases
EThOS covers UK doctoral theses only, and as a discovery layer. Other national and commercial services work differently. Our guides cover ProQuest Dissertations & Theses (PQDT), theses.fr for France, and Shodhganga for India.
Common problems
- No download button on a record. The record may be metadata only. Contact the university library, as the FAQ recommends.
- A repository link will not open. Contact the university library; the repository is theirs.
- Old instructions mention logging in or ordering a copy through EThOS. The FAQ states the new platform requires no login and does not hold full-text files.
- A recent thesis is missing. Updates are rolling and may initially be slower while the backlog is cleared, according to the FAQ. Check the university repository directly.
FAQ
What is EThOS?
EThOS (E-Theses Online Service) is the British Library’s open access discovery platform for UK doctoral theses, with metadata records for over 650,000 theses.
Can I download a thesis from EThOS?
Not directly. The platform does not hold full-text files. If a record has an “Access thesis from university” button, it leads to the university repository, where you can download the thesis if the university has made it available.
Do I need an account for EThOS theses?
No. The FAQ states that the platform does not require users to log in.
Can I submit my thesis to EThOS?
No. Submit through your university’s repository; the record then reaches EThOS in the rolling updates.
Is EThOS working?
The home page says it is available again following restoration work, while the FAQ describes continuing updates and a backlog. Check the official site for the current position.
Sources
- British Library, EThOS home page, checked 2026-10-29.
- British Library, EThOS Frequently Asked Questions, checked 2026-10-29.
- British Library, Theses, checked 2026-10-29.
