Now that the concept of open archives has been accepted by the scientific community, open access to theses has become a major preoccupation for institutes of higher education and research. Disseminating electronic theses is a key concern in providing visibility for and access to scientific documents that although not published has been validated. Following a review of the techniques used to deposit, process and disseminate theses, this article describes STAR, the French plan for depositing, publicizing and archiving this type of record, and insists on the scientific issues of an electronic dissemination of theses by all involved institutes.