To participate in the Theses Canada program, your university or college must belong to the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC) [www.aucc.ca/index_e.html]. If your university is interested in joining the program, contact Theses Canada for more information.
The main benefit is that theses and dissertations submitted by a university are more visible and accessible to researchers and scholars around the world. The Theses Canada Portal contains bibliographic records for all the theses and dissertations in its extensive collection.
In cases where Library and Archives Canada (LAC) holds the electronic version of a thesis, the full text is freely accessible from a URL in the corresponding bibliographic record. Fiche versions are available from LAC through interlibrary loan.
LAC preserves theses and dissertations in fiche and/or electronic formats in its collection.
The regulations for Legal Deposit do not require that print theses be submitted to LAC as they are considered to be unpublished. Universities are considered to be the publishers of their students' electronic theses.
How to Submit a Thesis to the Program
There are two ways to submit theses to the program: electronically and in paper.
If you have implemented an electronic theses and dissertations (ETD) submission program for your students, LAC will harvest your metadata and ETDs and make them available on the Theses Canada Portal. For more information, see About Electronic Theses or contact Theses Canada.
Electronic theses can also be submitted to LAC via ProQuest (see Submit Electronic Theses to ProQuest).
Paper Theses. Paper theses are processed by ProQuest. For more information see, Submit Paper Theses to ProQuest.
Older theses. Universities can submit older theses to LAC as long as they are accompanied by a signed Theses Non-Exclusive License and the theses are in good condition. For more information contact Theses Canada.
Completion of the Theses Non-Exclusive License
Universities should ensure that students complete and sign the Theses Non-Exclusive License when they submit the approved version of their theses.