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How to Cite a Thesis or Dissertation in APA

In this citation guide, you will learn how to reference and cite an undergraduate thesis, master’s thesis, or doctoral dissertation. This guide will also review the differences between a thesis or dissertation that is published and one that has remained unpublished. The guidelines below come from the 7th edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (2020a), pages 333 and 334. Please note that the association is not affiliated with this guide.

Alternatively, you can visit EasyBib.com for helpful citation tools to cite your thesis or dissertation .

Guide Overview

Citing an unpublished thesis or dissertation, citing a published dissertation or thesis from a database, citing a thesis or dissertation published online but not from a database, citing a thesis or dissertation: reference overview, what you need.

Since unpublished theses can usually only be sourced in print form from a university library, the correct citation structure includes the university name where the publisher element usually goes.

Author’s last name, F. M. (Year published). Title in sentence case [Unpublished degree type thesis or dissertation]. Name of institution.

Ames, J. H., & Doughty, L. H. (1911). The proposed plans for the Iowa State College athletic field including the design of a reinforced concrete grandstand and wall [Unpublished bachelor’s thesis]. Iowa State University.

In-text citation example:

• Parenthetical :  (Ames & Doughty, 1911)
• Narrative :  Ames & Doughty (1911)

If a thesis or dissertation has been published and is found on a database, then follow the structure below. It’s similar to the format for an unpublished dissertation/thesis, but with a few differences:

• The institution is presented in brackets after the title
• The archive or database name is included

Author’s last name, F. M. (Year published). Title in sentence case (Publication or Document No.) [Degree type thesis or dissertation, Name of institution]. Database name.

Examples 1:

Knight, K. A. (2011). Media epidemics: Viral structures in literature and new media (Accession No. 2013420395) [Doctoral dissertation, University of California, Santa Barbara]. ProQuest Dissertations Publishing.

Trotman, J.B. (2018). New insights into the biochemistry and cell biology of RNA recapping (Document No. osu1523896565730483) [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses & Dissertations Center.

In the example given above, the dissertation is presented with a Document Number (Document No.). Sometimes called a database number or publication number, this is the identifier that is used by the database’s indexing system. If the database you are using provides you with such a number, then include it directly after the work’s title in parentheses.

If you are interested in learning more about how to handle works that were accessed via academic research databases, see Section 9.3 of the Publication Manual.

In-text citation examples :

• Parenthetical citation : (Trotman, 2018)
• Narrative citation : Trotman (2018)

Author’s last name, F. M. (Year Published). Title in sentence case [Degree type thesis or dissertation, Name of institution]. Name of archive or collection. URL

Kim, O. (2019). Soviet tableau: cinema and history under late socialism [Doctoral dissertation, University of Pittsburgh]. Institutional Repository at the University of Pittsburgh. https://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/37669/7/Olga%20Kim%20Final%20ETD.pdf

Stiles, T. W. (2001). Doing science: Teachers’ authentic experiences at the Lone Star Dinosaur Field Institute [Master’s thesis, Texas A&M University]. OAKTrust. https://hdl.handle.net/1969.1/ETD-TAMU-2001-THESIS-S745

It is important to note that not every thesis or dissertation published online will be associated with a specific archive or collection. If the work is published on a private website, provide only the URL as the source element.

In-text citation examples:

• Parenthetical citation : (Kim, 2019)
• Narrative citation : Kim (2019)
• Parenthetical citation : (Stiles, 2001)
• Narrative citation : Stiles (2001)

We hope that the information provided here will serve as an effective guide for your research. If you’re looking for even more citation info, visit EasyBib.com for a comprehensive collection of educational materials covering multiple source types.

If you’re citing a variety of different sources, consider taking the EasyBib citation generator for a spin. It can help you cite easily and offers citation forms for several different kinds of sources.

To start things off, let’s take a look at the different types of literature that are classified under Chapter 10.6 of the Publication Manual :

• Undergraduate thesis
• Master’s thesis
• Doctoral dissertation

You will need to know which type you are citing. You’ll also need to know if it is published or unpublished .

When you decide to cite a dissertation or thesis, you’ll need to look for the following information to use in your citation:

• Author’s last name, and first and middle initials
• Year published
• Title of thesis or dissertation
• If it is unpublished
• Publication or document number (if applicable; for published work)
• Degree type (bachelor’s, master’s, doctoral)
• Thesis or dissertation
• Name of institution awarding degree
• DOI (https://doi.org/xxxxx) or URL (if applicable)

Since theses and dissertations are directly linked to educational degrees, it is necessary to list the name of the associated institution; i.e., the college, university, or school that is awarding the associated degree.

To get an idea of the proper form, take a look at the examples below. There are three outlined scenarios:

• Unpublished thesis or dissertation
• Published thesis or dissertation from a database
• Thesis or dissertation published online but not from a database

American Psychological Association. (2020a). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.). https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000

American Psychological Association. (2020b). Style-Grammar-Guidelines. https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/citations/basic-principles/parenthetical-versus-narrative

Published August 10, 2012. Updated March 24, 2020.

Written and edited by Michele Kirschenbaum and Elise Barbeau. Michele Kirschenbaum is a school library media specialist and the in-house librarian at EasyBib.com. Elise Barbeau is the Citation Specialist at Chegg. She has worked in digital marketing, libraries, and publishing.

APA Formatting Guide

APA Formatting

• Annotated Bibliography
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• et al Usage
• In-text Citations
• Multiple Authors
• Paraphrasing
• Page Numbers
• Parenthetical Citations
• Reference Page
• Sample Paper
• APA 7 Updates
• View APA Guide

Citation Examples

• Book Chapter
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• Magazine Article
• Newspaper Article
• Website (no author)
• View all APA Examples

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To cite a published thesis in APA style, it is important that you know some basic information such as the author, publication year, title of the thesis, institute name, archive name, and URL (uniform resource locator). The templates for an in-text citation and reference list entry of a thesis, along with examples, are given below:

In-text citation template and example:

Use the author surname and the publication year in the in-text citation.

Author Surname (Publication Year)

Cartmel (2007)

Parenthetical:

(Author Surname, Publication Year)

(Cartmel, 2007)

Reference list entry template and example:

The title of the thesis is set in sentence case and italicized. Enclose the thesis and the institute awarding the degree inside brackets following the publication year. Then add the name of the database followed by the URL.

Author Surname, F. M. (Publication Year). Title of the thesis [Master’s thesis, Institute Name]. Name of the Database. URL

Cartmel, J. (2007). Outside school hours care and schools [Master’s thesis, Queensland University of Technology]. EPrints. http://eprints.qut.edu.au/17810/1/Jennifer_Cartmel_Thesis.pdf

To cite an unpublished dissertation in APA style, it is important that you know some basic information such as the author, year, title of the dissertation, and institute name. The templates for in-text citation and reference list entry of an online thesis, along with examples, are given below:

Author Surname (Year)

Averill (2009)

(Author Surname, Year)

(Averill, 2009)

The title of the dissertation is set in sentence case and italicized. Enclose “Unpublished doctoral dissertation” inside brackets following the year. Then add the name of the institution awarding the degree.

Author Surname, F. M. (Publication Year). Title of the dissertation [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Name of the Institute.

Averill, R. (2009). Teacher–student relationships in diverse New Zealand year 10 mathematics classrooms: Teacher care [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Victoria University of Wellington.

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In-Text Citations

Resources on using in-text citations in APA style

Reference List

Resources on writing an APA style reference list, including citation formats

Other APA Resources

APA Style 7th Edition: Citing Your Sources

• Basics of APA Formatting
• In Text Quick View
• Block Quotes
• Books & eBooks
• Thesis/Dissertation

Standard Format

Formatting rules.

• Audiovisual
• Conference Presentations
• Social Media
• Legal References
• Reports and Gray Literature
• Academic Integrity and Plagiarism
• Additional Resources
• Reference Page

Click on the categories below to see what types of information is included for that reference component for Dissertations and Theses

Basic Format: Who = Author (When = year). What = Title. Where = Name of Institution Awarding Degree

Unpublished Dissertations and Theses

Author Surname, A. A.

Title of dissertation/thesis: Use sentence case [Unpublished doctoral dissertation/master’s thesis].

Name of Institution Awarding the Degree

Published Dissertations and Theses

Title of dissertation: Use sentence case [Doctoral dissertation, Name of Institution Awarding the Degree].

Provide Database or Archive name and URL (if available)

Database Name. https://xxxx...

Archive Name.

Formatting:

• Italicize the title
• Identify whether source is doctoral dissertation or master’s thesis in parentheses after the title

Click on categories below to see examples.

Thesis, from a commercial database

Dissertation, from an institutional database, unpublished master’s thesis.

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APA Style (7th ed.)

• Cite: Why? When?
• Book, eBook, Dissertation
• Article or Report
• Business Sources
• Artificial Intelligence (AI) Tools

In-Text Citation

• Format Your Paper

Prefer a video tutorial?

Click below to watch: .

When you use others' ideas (paraphrases) and direct quotes, you must cite your source by including:

Author's last name, publication year, (only for direct quotes) page number of the quote.

The purpose of in-text citation is to direct the reader to the full citation on the  References list , which will have the full publication details. 

You are encouraged to write your in-text citations in several ways:

Author's last name and publication year in parentheses at the end of the sentence.

Ex. There is not a strong correlation between a high GPA and students who began reading at an early age (Kahneman & Klein, 2009).

Author's name in the text with the publication year in parentheses after it.

Ex. ​Kahneman and Klein (2009) found that there is not a strong correlation between a high GPA and early readers.​

Jump to more specific examples by using the table below: 

One or Two Authors: Direct Quotes 

Include the author's last name(s), with an ampersand if needed between the two; publication date; and page number(s).

Ex. Although businesses collect a lot of information on their customers' buying patterns, "it is not enough to know how customers behave, you also need to know why" (Kahneman & Baudin, 2009, p. 522).

One or Two Authors: Paraphrasing 

Cite the author, publication year, and page numbers if needed.

Ex. Many insects and animals have a larger spectrum of color vision than humans, including ultraviolet and infrared (Gadhavi & Krupin, 2009).

Three or More Authors (see p. 266-267 in Manual)

In every citation, cite only the first author followed by "et al."

Ex. A study by Alloy et al. (2009) examines the relationship between bipolar personality and substance abuse.

No Author (see p. 264-265 in Manual)

Cite the first few words of the source's entry in the Reference list, which is usually the title. The title will be italicized if it's italicized in the References list, or if it's not italicized, put it in "quotation marks" to identify it as the title here. 

Article or Website

Ex. From 2010 to 2022, the U.S. Mint will issue quarters featuring United States National Parks ("Quarter to Feature Smokies," 2009).

Book or Report

Ex. Getting plenty of sleep is essential to academic success ( College Bound Seniors , 2008).

Quoting a Quote (see p. 277 in Manual)

If at all possible, APA tells you to find the  original source  and cite that source directly. 

However, if you cannot find the original source, you can cite the quote as a  secondary source . Cite the quoted author in the text and the author of the article at the end. In this example, Jonsen and Willse are the authors of the source that you cannot retrieve (i.e. the secondary source), and Kosek is the author of the source that you have in-hand.

Ex. Jonsen and Willse concluded "there was no direct correlation between the two factors" (Kosek, 2011).

Authors with Acronym Name (see p. 268+ in Manual)

For short names where the abbreviation would not be readily understandable, write out the name each time. For long names where the abbreviation is familiar, write out the name with the acronym in brackets for the first reference, then use just the acronym.

Ex. In 2012, approximately 1 in 68 children were diagnosed with a form of Autism Spectrum Disorder (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2016).

However, the entry in the References list should still spell out the full name. 

Two Citations in One Sentence (see p. 263 in the Manual)

Order the citations alphabetically by the first author's last name. 

Ex. Several studies (Nakano et al., 1999; Gadhavi & Krupin, 2009; Walker et al., 2008) cite the need for more replication studies.

For works by the same author, order them by publication year: give the last name once and then the dates.

Personal Interviews (see p. 259 in Manual)

Only cite interviews in-text, not on the references list.

Ex. Individual researchers are not eligible for many private foundation grants, because often those funds are only given to nonprofit organizations (P. Karga, personal communication, May 3, 2019).

More questions? Check out the authoritative source: APA style blog

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APA (7th ed.) referencing guide (Online)

• Paraphrasing
• Direct quotes
• Secondary Referencing
• More than one work cited
• Author with two or more works cited in the same year
• Personal Communication
• In-text citations

Reference list

• Referencing Tools
• Books with one author
• Books with two authors
• Books with three or more authors
• Edited book
• Chapter in an edited book
• Anthologies and Collected Works
• Critical Editions
• Dictionary/Encyclopaedia
• Multivolume work
• Religious and classical Works
• Thesis / Dissertation

In text citations

• Translation
• Work within an Anthology
• Conference Paper
• Journal article with one author
• Journal article with two authors
• Journal articles with three or more authors
• Journal article with no identified author/anonymous author
• Newspaper articles
• Magazine articles
• Book review in a journal or newspaper
• Conference Papers
• Act of Parliament
• Law report (case law)
• Business Reports
• Statistics & Datasets
• Government reports
• YouTube/online videos
• Episode of a TV Show
• Radio Broadcast
• Software/Apps
• Copyright statement

In-text citation requires that the last name of the author and the year of publication be inserted into the text.

Wolton (2018) questions whether... OR ....(Wolton, 2018).

Published Thesis or  Dissertation

Last name, Initial(s). (Year). Title of doctoral dissertation or master’s thesis (Publication No.) [Doctoral dissertation or Master’s thesis, Name of Institution]. Name of database. URL

Wolton, J. L. (2018). "We are probably Wales' best kept secret": An exploration of the role of Care & Repair Cymru caseworkers in facilitating independent living for older people in Wales (Publication No. 27792563). [Doctoral dissertation, Swansea University]. Swansea University Repository. https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa49017

Unpublished Thesis or  Dissertation

Last name, Initial(s). (Year). Title of Doctoral dissertation or Master’s thesis [Unpublished Doctoral dissertation or Master’s thesis). Name of Institution.

Pope, S. (2013). Parental participation in the child protection process [Unpublished Master’s thesis]. Swansea University.

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