How to Cite a Dissertation or Thesis in APA 7
APA 7 cites a dissertation or thesis as a book-length student work: italic sentence-case title, a bracketed description of the degree, then either a database or repository (published) or the university alone (unpublished). This page follows the APA Style published dissertation references — checked against the University of San Diego reprint — the APA Style unpublished dissertation references, the APA Style blog on unpublished works, the APA Style database-information page via the Alamo Colleges reprint, the Common Reference Examples Guide last updated 3 March 2026, and the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 7th edition, §10.6 and §9.30. It is the APA dissertation guide, not the Chicago dissertation, APA journal, or APA book tutorial.
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How to Cite a Dissertation in APA: Quick Answer
Name the student who wrote the work, put the year the degree was awarded in parentheses, and italicize the title in sentence case. After the title, add a publication number only if the database printed one. Then describe the work in square brackets as a doctoral dissertation or master's thesis. If you recovered a copy from ProQuest, an institutional repository, or another archive, APA treats that copy as published: name the database or repository, and add a URL only when that URL still opens for a reader who is not logged in. If you read a print copy that is not in any database or repository, APA treats it as unpublished: write Unpublished in the brackets and end with the university name.
APA 7 §10.6 templates
Reference, published from a login database:
Author, A. A. (Year). Title of dissertation (Publication No. Number) [Doctoral dissertation, University Name]. Database Name.
Reference, published online with a resolving URL:
Author, A. A. (Year). Title of dissertation [Doctoral dissertation, University Name]. Repository Name. https://xxxxx
Reference, unpublished print copy:
Author, A. A. (Year). Title of dissertation [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. University Name.
Reference, master's thesis from a repository:
Author, A. A. (Year). Title of thesis [Master's thesis, University Name]. Repository Name. https://xxxxx
Parenthetical citation:
(Author, Year)
Narrative citation:
Author (Year)
Direct quotation:
(Author, Year, p. 22)
The APA Style published-dissertation page, aligned with Publication Manual §10.6, states the published-versus-unpublished test, the publication-number rule, and the URL test in the sentences this page quotes. The 3 March 2026 Common Reference Examples Guide adds Horvath-Plyman (2018) as the current instructional-aid ProQuest sample.
APA Style on published dissertations and theses
A dissertation or thesis is considered published when it is available from a database such as ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global or PDQT Open, an institutional repository, or an archive.
If the database assigns publication numbers to dissertations and theses, include the publication number in parentheses after the title of the dissertation or thesis without italics.
Include the description “Doctoral dissertation” or “Master’s thesis” followed by a comma and the name of the institution that awarded the degree. Place this information in square brackets after the dissertation or thesis title and any publication number.
In the source element of the reference, provide the name of the database, repository, or archive.
The same format can be adapted for other published theses, including undergraduate theses, by changing the wording of the bracketed description as appropriate (e.g., “Undergraduate honors thesis”).
Include a URL for the dissertation or thesis if the URL will resolve for readers (as shown in the Miranda and Zambrano-Vazquez examples).
If the database or archive requires users to log in before they can view the dissertation or thesis, meaning the URL will not work for readers, end the reference with the database name (as in the Kabir example).
Why APA Names ProQuest for a Dissertation but Not for a Journal Article
Students copy a journal-article habit onto a dissertation and drop the database name. That is the §9.30 exception, not a contradiction. A journal article in ProQuest, JSTOR, or PsycINFO is widely available, so APA 7 omits the database. A dissertation in ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global is a work of limited circulation: later readers usually have to open that exact collection. The APA Style database-information page, reprinted by Alamo Colleges, states the split and then lists ProQuest dissertations as the first limited-circulation case.
APA Style on databases and limited-circulation dissertations
Do not include database information for works obtained from most academic research databases or platforms because works in these resources are widely available.
Provide the name of the database or archive for works of limited circulation, such as dissertations and theses, manuscripts posted in a preprint archive, and monographs in ERIC.
The database may also contain works of wide circulation, such as journal articles—only the works of limited circulation need database information in the reference.
The same Alamo reprint of that page names Risto (2014) as the official limited-circulation dissertation sample. Tennessee State University's ETD record confirms the work and the AAI/ProQuest number 3683242. Copy the database name; do not paste a docview session URL after it.
APA Style database-information page: ProQuest dissertation
Reference list:
Risto, A. (2014). The impact of social media and texting on students' academic writing skills (Publication No. 3683242) [Doctoral dissertation, Tennessee State University]. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global.
Parenthetical citation:
(Risto, 2014)
Narrative citation:
Risto (2014)
Published vs Unpublished
Students lose marks here because they treat “unpublished” as a quality judgment. In APA 7 it is a retrieval fact. A 2016 ProQuest record is published. A 2014 print copy you borrowed from the awarding department and that never entered a database is unpublished. The year does not decide the category. The copy you actually read does.
| What you opened | APA status | End the reference with |
|---|---|---|
| ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global behind a campus login | Published | The database name. No proxy URL. Include (Publication No. …) when the record prints one |
| PQDT Open or another copy whose URL still opens without a login | Published | The database or repository name, then that resolving URL |
| University institutional repository, handle, or PURL | Published | The repository name, then the handle, DOI, or other stable URL |
| Print copy from the university, not in any database or repository | Unpublished | [Unpublished doctoral dissertation] or [Unpublished master's thesis], then the university name |
The APA Style blog on unpublished works repeats the print-retrieval test and warns you not to label a ProQuest file unpublished.
APA Style on unpublished dissertations
In general, unpublished dissertations and theses must be retrieved directly from the institution that awarded the degree in print form. Thus, the name of the institution appears in the source element of the reference.
If the dissertation or thesis has been published or archived in an online repository such as ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global, it is not considered unpublished; instead, follow the published dissertation or thesis reference examples.
Common Reference Examples: Horvath-Plyman (2018)
The Common Reference Examples Guide last updated 3 March 2026 uses one ProQuest dissertation as its §10.6 sample: Melissa Horvath-Plyman, New York University, 2018. ERIC ED591473 and the ProQuest record both print Publication No. 10937367. The instructional aid writes the database with and, not an ampersand. Because a later reader still needs a campus login for that file, the official reference stops after the database name.
Common Reference Examples Guide (3 March 2026): dissertation from a database
Reference list:
Horvath-Plyman, M. (2018). Social media and the college student journey: An examination of how social media use impacts social capital and affects college choice, access, and transition (Publication No. 10937367) [Doctoral dissertation, New York University]. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global.
Parenthetical citation:
(Horvath-Plyman, 2018)
Narrative citation:
Horvath-Plyman (2018)
ProQuest Database Copy
Most North American dissertations that you open through a library proxy come from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. The Style Center login-database example is Kabir (2016). The record assigns Publication No. 10169573. Because a later reader cannot open that file without a login, the official reference stops after the database name. Do not paste a https://www.proquest.com/docview/... session URL. Do not invent a publication number if the record does not give one.
APA Style: dissertation from a login database
Reference list:
Kabir, J. M. (2016). Factors influencing customer satisfaction at a fast food hamburger chain: The relationship between customer satisfaction and customer loyalty (Publication No. 10169573) [Doctoral dissertation, Wilmington University]. ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global.
Parenthetical citation:
(Kabir, 2016)
Narrative citation:
Kabir (2016)
Publication Manual §10.6 uses the same login-database pattern for Hollander's 2017 Wisconsin dissertation on the Milgram recordings. Copy the publication number as printed. Wisconsin-Madison is hyphenated in the official example. The manual writes ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global with and, matching Horvath-Plyman and Risto. The Style Center Kabir line uses an ampersand. Copy the wording of the official sample you are following; do not mix the two spellings in one reference.
Publication Manual §10.6: ProQuest doctoral dissertation
Reference list:
Hollander, M. M. (2017). Resistance to authority: Methodological innovations and new lessons from the Milgram experiment (Publication No. 10289373) [Doctoral dissertation, University of Wisconsin-Madison]. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global.
Parenthetical citation:
(Hollander, 2017)
Narrative citation:
Hollander (2017)
Open Copy Whose URL Still Works
When the same kind of record is on a platform that does not require a login, add the URL. The Style Center example is Miranda (2019). Keep Publication No. 27542827 because PQDT assigned it, then add the URL that still opens. ProQuest later moved the standalone PQDT Open site onto the main ProQuest platform — a 2021 notice captured by the Internet Archive says the open-access dissertations remain free there, and later product notes add an Open Dissertations label. If the official Miranda URL no longer resolves for a reader who is not logged in, treat the copy like Kabir: stop after the database name, or use a campus-repository URL that still opens.
APA Style: dissertation from PQDT Open
Reference list:
Miranda, C. (2019). Exploring the lived experiences of foster youth who obtained graduate level degrees: Self-efficacy, resilience, and the impact on identity development (Publication No. 27542827) [Doctoral dissertation, Pepperdine University]. PQDT Open. https://pqdtopen.proquest.com/doc/2309521814.html?FMT=AI
Parenthetical citation:
(Miranda, 2019)
Narrative citation:
Miranda (2019)
Institutional Repository
A university repository is also a published source. There is usually no ProQuest publication number. Name the repository, then give the handle, DOI, or other stable URL. Prefer the locator the repository printed over the HTML page you happened to land on. The Style Center example is Zambrano-Vazquez (2016) in the University of Arizona campus repository.
APA Style: doctoral dissertation in a campus repository
Reference list:
Zambrano-Vazquez, L. (2016). The interaction of state and trait worry on response monitoring in those with worry and obsessive-compulsive symptoms [Doctoral dissertation, University of Arizona]. UA Campus Repository. https://repository.arizona.edu/handle/10150/620615
Parenthetical citation:
(Zambrano-Vazquez, 2016)
Narrative citation:
Zambrano-Vazquez (2016)
Publication Manual §10.6 uses the same repository pattern for a master's thesis. Hutcheson (2012) is the official example: the bracket says Master's thesis, The College of William & Mary, and the source is the William & Mary Digital Archive. William & Mary later moved many ETDs into ScholarWorks. Keep the official bitstream URL when it still opens. If it does not, use the repository landing-page URL that still resolves and keep the repository name the record prints.
Publication Manual §10.6: master's thesis in a repository
Reference list:
Hutcheson, V. H. (2012). Dealing with dual differences: Social coping strategies of gifted and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer adolescents [Master's thesis, The College of William & Mary]. William & Mary Digital Archive. https://digitalarchive.wm.edu/bitstream/handle/10288/16594/HutchesonVirginia2012.pdf
Parenthetical citation:
(Hutcheson, 2012)
Narrative citation:
Hutcheson (2012)
Unpublished Print Copy
Use this form only when the copy you read is not in a database, institutional repository, or archive. The university name moves out of the brackets and becomes the source. Publication Manual §10.6 and the unpublished-dissertation page both use Harris (2014).
APA Style / Publication Manual: unpublished doctoral dissertation
Reference list:
Harris, L. (2014). Instructional leadership perceptions and practices of elementary school leaders [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. University of Virginia.
Parenthetical citation:
(Harris, 2014)
Narrative citation:
Harris (2014)
In-Text Citations and Page Numbers
A dissertation is a single-author work in almost every case. Cite the student who wrote it, not the advisor, not the committee, and not the graduate program. Parenthetical and narrative forms use the year only. When you quote or point to a specific passage, add a page number, as APA 7 §8.13 requires for print-like pagination. The reference list never carries those pages.
In-text forms for the official examples
One work, parenthetical:
(Horvath-Plyman, 2018)
One work, narrative:
Horvath-Plyman (2018)
Several dissertations in one parenthesis:
(Horvath-Plyman, 2018; Kabir, 2016; Risto, 2014; Zambrano-Vazquez, 2016)
Quotation from a paginated dissertation:
(Hollander, 2017, p. 41)
Cite the Dissertation, the Article, or the Later Book?
Cite the version you actually read. If the methodology, the full dataset, or an unpublished chapter exists only in the dissertation, cite the dissertation. If the author later published a peer-reviewed article or a book covering the same study and that is the text in your notes, cite that later work as a journal article or a book. Do not combine the two into one hybrid reference. APA 7 wants the recoverable source, not a history of how the project later appeared. The Chicago dissertation guide makes the same choice in Notes-Bibliography; the punctuation is different, the recovery test is not.
| What you used | Cite as | Why |
|---|---|---|
| The dissertation PDF or print copy | Dissertation, §10.6 | That is the recoverable file in your notes |
| A later journal article built from the dissertation | Journal article, §10.1 | Readers can recover the peer-reviewed version of record |
| A later book revised from the dissertation | Book, §10.2 | The book is a new published work with a publisher, not a student thesis |
| Only the abstract in a database | Get the full text, or say in the prose that you saw only the abstract | An abstract is not a substitute for the dissertation |
Failure Modes Students Actually Hit
- Dropping the ProQuest publication number. APA 7 asks for it when the database assigned one. Kabir, Miranda, Hollander, Horvath-Plyman, and Risto all keep that parenthetical. Seventh-edition guides that tell you to omit it are describing a different rule.
- Omitting the database name because journal articles omit it. §9.30 names dissertations as limited-circulation works. Horvath-Plyman, Kabir, Hollander, and Risto all end with the ProQuest collection.
- Pasting a campus proxy or a ProQuest `docview` URL after a login database. If the URL will not work for readers, stop after the database name, as in Kabir (2016) and Horvath-Plyman (2018).
- Writing [PhD dissertation] or [Ph.D. thesis]. The official descriptions are Doctoral dissertation and Master's thesis. An EdD, DNP, or other doctorate still uses Doctoral dissertation unless your instructor requires the exact degree name.
- Calling a ProQuest or repository file unpublished. Availability, not quality, decides the category. If it is in a database or archive, it is published.
- Leaving the university out of the brackets on a published copy. For published works the institution sits inside the brackets, after the comma. For unpublished works it sits at the end, outside the brackets.
- Title-casing the dissertation. Sentence case, italics. Capitalize the first word, the first word after a colon, and proper nouns.
- Listing the advisor as a second author. The author is the student. Mention a supervisor in the prose only if that person's role is itself the point.
- Adding Retrieved from or an access date. APA 7 dropped that phrase in front of ordinary URLs. Retrieval dates belong to unarchived, changing pages, not to a ProQuest record or a handle.
- Citing an embargoed file you cannot share. If the work is not yet recoverable, wait until the embargo lifts or cite a later published article instead.
- Inventing a DOI. Write
https://doi.org/...only when the record or the PDF actually prints a DOI. A handle is enough. Do not convert a ProQuest publication number into a DOI. - Trusting a dead PQDT Open URL. Keep the official Miranda example as APA wrote it. If that URL no longer opens, stop after the database name or use a repository URL that still resolves.
Where to Find the Pieces You Need
The title page of the PDF usually carries the author, the full title, the degree, the university, and the year. The ProQuest or repository record repeats those fields and is where the publication number, handle, or DOI lives. If the PDF and the record disagree, prefer the title page, then the official record. The DOI formatting guide is the next stop only when a repository has actually minted a DOI.
- Title page: author, italic-ready title, degree type, university, year
- Copyright or approval page: the year to put in parentheses if it differs from a defense date
- ProQuest record: Publication No., database name, and whether a public URL exists
- Repository record: repository name plus handle, DOI, or PURL
Titles in Another Language
Keep the original title, in italics and sentence case. Immediately after it, add an English translation in square brackets, still in sentence case and not italic. Then add the usual degree description in a second set of brackets. Do not translate the author's name. Do not replace the original title with the English wording.
Template only — translate the slot words, not a real title
Published dissertation with a translated title:
Author, A. A. (Year). Original title of dissertation [English translation of the title] [Doctoral dissertation, University Name]. Repository Name. https://xxxxx
Format the dissertation in APA 7
Enter the author, year, title, degree type, university, and the ProQuest number or repository URL in the APA generator, then check the hanging indent, italics, brackets, and ending against the official Horvath-Plyman, Kabir, Risto, Miranda, Zambrano-Vazquez, Hutcheson, and Harris examples on this page.
Frequently asked questions
- Do I include the ProQuest publication number in APA 7?
- Yes, when the database assigned one. APA Style says to put that number in parentheses after the title, without italics, as in Kabir (2016), Publication No. 10169573; Hollander (2017), Publication No. 10289373; Horvath-Plyman (2018), Publication No. 10937367; and Risto (2014), Publication No. 3683242. If the record has no number, omit the parentheses.
- When is a dissertation unpublished in APA 7?
- Only when you retrieved it in print, directly from the institution, and it is not in a database, repository, or archive. A ProQuest, PQDT Open, or campus-repository file is published even if it never became a book or journal article.
- Why does APA name ProQuest for a dissertation but not for a journal article?
- Publication Manual §9.30 treats dissertations and theses as works of limited circulation. A journal article in the same vendor's platform is widely available, so the database drops out. Horvath-Plyman (2018) and Risto (2014) keep the collection name for that reason.
- Do I cite the advisor or the dissertation committee?
- No. The author is the student who wrote the dissertation. Committee members belong in the acknowledgments of that work, not in your reference list. Mention a supervisor in the sentence only if you are discussing that person's role.
- Should I cite the dissertation or the later journal article?
- Cite the version you read. Use the dissertation when you need chapters, methods, or data that never appeared in the article. Use the article or book when that later version is the text in your notes. Do not merge them into one reference.
- How do I cite a master's thesis in APA 7?
- Use the same published or unpublished pattern, but write Master's thesis in the brackets. Hutcheson (2012) is the Publication Manual repository example: the archive name and URL follow the brackets.
- Do I add a URL for every ProQuest dissertation?
- No. Add a URL only when it will resolve for readers who are not logged in, as in the official Miranda (2019) example. If the file sits behind a campus login, end with the database name, as in Kabir (2016) and Horvath-Plyman (2018). If a former PQDT Open URL is dead, stop after the database name.
- How do I cite an undergraduate honors thesis?
- Adapt the bracketed description. APA Style says the published format can be used for other theses, including undergraduate work, by changing that wording to something such as Undergraduate honors thesis, then the institution.
- What if the dissertation is under embargo?
- Do not cite a file your reader cannot recover. Wait until the embargo lifts, or cite a later published article or book from the same project if that is what you actually used.
- Can I cite my own dissertation?
- Yes, in the same §10.6 form you would use for anyone else’s. If you have already published a journal article or book from that project and that later text is what you are drawing on, cite the published version instead.