Theses and Dissertations  

What is the difference?
At AUT, a thesis is associated with either a doctoral or a master's degree. It is a substantial piece of original research. A dissertation is associated with either a master's or a bachelor's degree with honours and may be a smaller piece of research or a critical analysis and evaluation of the literature related to a topic.

What is an exegesis?
This is the written component of a practice-based thesis where the major output is a creative work. The exegesis constitutes at least 20% of the thesis. 

ETD is a frequently used abbreviation for electronic thesis or dissertation and refers to a thesis/dissertation available online.

Note: in universities in some other parts of the world such as North America, a dissertation is usually associated with a doctoral degree and a thesis with a master's degree. This is important to know when searching for theses/dissertations from other countries.

Welcome to our guide to theses and dissertations. On these pages you will find information to help you search for theses and dissertations written by students at AUT as well as at other universities and polytechnics in New Zealand and elsewhere.

In the past, most theses and dissertations were confined to a single university library and were often difficult to find out about and even more difficult to obtain. The good news is that, increasingly, theses and dissertations are being made available in digital format and can be found and read on the Web, often in "open access" mode, i.e. without the need for a password. This guide shows you the most appropriate tools for discovering theses and dissertations and the best ways of getting access to these valuable sources of research.

There is also information for AUT postgraduate students writing a thesis or dissertation and for those who have completed theirs and are ready to deposit it. Links are provided to many of our other guides that provide help with referencing and using EndNote. 

If you cannot find the information you need in this guide or if you have suggestions for things we could add, please contact me.

Kind regards,
Robyn