For English-speaking researchers, French doctoral dissertations can represent a "terra incognita." For this reason, a retrospective bibliometric study of French dissertations in press and media studies offers a useful profile of available research to researchers concentrating in studies of the press and other media. The present study offers a profile of dissertation research that is available for researchers interested in French contributions to press and media research. Three samples from the periods 1980-1984, 1990-1994, and 2000-2004 were analyzed for salient characteristics. Disciplinary and multidisciplinary research is profiled and subjects of interest mapped. (Contains 6 tables and 16 notes.)