How do I access a master's thesis held in the Archives & Special Collections?
Answer
Because theses are protected by FERPA and intellectual property laws, Archives staff will usually provide access to theses only with the written consent of the student author(s). If we have proof that the author(s) of a thesis are deceased we can provide access to the thesis in our research room without permission, but cannot make copies.
While we will make an attempt to contact the author(s) after receiving a request for a thesis, we cannot guarantee that they will respond. Authors who do respond may choose from the following options:
- Allowing researchers to view the thesis in the Archives research room only, without allowing for copies to be made.
- Allowing the Archives to create, and provide researchers access to, a digital or physical reproduction of the thesis.
- Denying any access to the thesis.
We will follow the directions we receive from the author(s) and will notify researchers if access will be allowed. Please contact us at archives@emerson.edu or 617-824-8301 to request access to a thesis.