Publishing your thesis on the internet

Sciences Po's Policy

Since 2005 Sciences Po has offered PhD students the opportunity to put the full version of their doctoral thesis online, accessible on Spire. Doctoral theses are stored on the Sciences Po server and can be accessed via the standard search engines.

Since 2008, doctoral theses have been directly referenced and archived in the open archival information system Sciences Po Institutional Repository - SPIRE, which has an integral search engine and a highly optimised search engine listing.

In addition to the technical and administrative elements relating to the online publication of theses, the implementation of an effective support policy is also necessary to ensure that doctoral graduates are fully aware of the impacts of online publication. This webpage presents the information collated by Sciences Po during the initial years of piloting this process. 

Please do not hesitate to send us your comments.

Other publication media

Recent doctoral graduates may legitimately wonder whether the online publication of their thesis will hinder access to other publication media.

On the one hand, the publication of a thesis with a publisher is not always feasible:

• the process invariably requires considerable rewriting, which a recent doctoral graduate may not have the time or inclination to do.
• the subject may not be suitable for publication.

On the other hand, digital publishing is not incompatible with ‘classic’ publishing:

• digital publishing can help get your manuscript out there.
• the reworking of the thesis that dual publication requires is substantial, and therefore the two publications can complement one another.

If you wish to publish your thesis, or to publish a text based on your thesis, it is advisable to discuss the matter with your thesis supervisor who will be best placed to advise you.

Copyright protection

Doctoral theses are subject both to the regulations concerning access to administrative documents (decree of 25 September 1985, circular n° 2000-149 of 21 September 2000) and intellectual property law. 

Is plagiarism a risk?

It is important to make the distinction between quoting your thesis (extracts quoted which respect of the authorship of the work) and plagiarism (plundering extracts without reference to the author). 
The risk of plagiarism exists, as is the case with the paper version of your thesis, but in the context of internet publication, the plagiarist takes a greater risk due to the improved visibility of the source document.