Finding a Student Thesis, Dissertation, or Capstone
Answer
There are two ways to find Theses, Dissertations, and Capstone projects. Which method you use will depend upon the work’s year of publication.
Student work published before 2011 exists in print form only and can be searched for using the catalog and found in the D-Wing Stacks of the university library.
Work published in 2011 or later can be found by searching the digital repository OPUS.
Print Theses, Dissertations, and Capstones
Open the Library Catalog and sign in with your GSU username and password (do not include @student.govst.edu in the username). 
Once you’re logged in, click on “Advanced Search” which can be found to the right of the search bar. The “Advanced Search” will allow you to do several things including:
- Search only GSU student work
- Search for work available from GSU and other institutions
- Search for a work by title
- Browse available work by subject
When the “Advanced Search” menu comes up, begin filling in the search fields.
To search for work only in the GSU collection, select “GSU Resources” which is the first option under “Search for”.
To search for work available at GSU and other institutions, select “All I-Share Libraries” which is the fourth option under “Search for”.
Once you’ve selected which institution(s) you’re searching, navigate to the right side of the search menu to the drop-down box under “Material Type”. Select dissertations. Selecting dissertations will narrow your search to theses, dissertations, and other student work.
Finally enter your search fields and terms. By changing the selected fields and parameters you can search for a work by title, subject, author, etc. and also search whole or partial phrases. 
After you’ve filled out the search terms, navigate to the bottom right corner of the search menu and click “Search”.
Once the results are generated, you can browse the results for the work(s) you want. 
If the work you want is part of the GSU collection, you can record the title and call number and find it in the D-Wing stacks of the library. If you need help locating the desired work, someone at the circulation desk will assist you. 
After you’ve found the work you want, you can check it out at the circulation desk.
Digital Theses, Dissertations, and Capstones in OPUS
The student work collection can be accessed at this link and is arranged chronologically.
https://opus.govst.edu/student_work/
Only manuscripts that have been approved by their respective college and submitted to the library with written authorization to publish in an open access environment can be found in this collection.
To submit your manuscript for publication please use this guide.
Please direct any questions to the Archival Repository Administrator Erin Sheffner esheffner@govst.edu 708.235.7515