Tourism doctoral dissertations have grown exponentially in recent years. Despite this, there have been limited studies which examine the contribution of specific disciplines to tourism doctoral research over time. Subsequently, this article explores the theories, concepts and methods employed in tourism doctoral dissertations informed by the foundation disciplines of anthropology and sociology. Drawing on a database of 2155 dissertations from four countries, findings revealed exponential growth in doctoral theses grounded in anthropology and sociology between 1969 and 2013. The United States is the primary location for tourism doctoral theses informed by anthropology and sociology, with the University of California as the leading institution. Analysis revealed identity theory was the predominant theory, with socio-cultural change, ethnicity and culture core concepts. Results also showed an increase in qualitative and mixed-methods research. Future research should examine tourism doctoral theses housed in other disciplines, drawing inferences for future scholarly inquiry.