This dissertation examines the etudes most commonly used by violists, both violin etudes transcribed for the viola, and viola etudes. The 354 etudes examined here are contained in the well known books by Rodolphe Kreutzer, Franz Anton Hoffmeister, Federigo Fiorillo, Antonio Bartolomeo Bruni, Bartolomeo Campagnoli, Pierre Rode, Jacques-Frol Mazas, Heinrich Ernst Kayser, Jakob Dont, Johannes Palaschko, and Lillian Fuchs. No comprehensive guides exist that looks at them as a group and identifies the pedagogical and artistic merits of each.This dissertation undertakes a systematic analysis of these etude books and their contents, ranking each etude by level of difficulty and analyzing the specific viola techniques addressed in each etude. The text describes the etudes chronologically, and the tables in the appendix summarize the etudes by level and technique.This analysis has led to the observation that violin etudes focus on developing the technical aspect of playing, while viola etudes tend to give greater emphasis to the compositional quality of the etudes. The general practice of using both the violin and viola etude books is shown to be justified.