How do I cite a dissertation in APA 7?

Give the author, the year, the title in italics, the publication number if there is one, and the degree and university in brackets, then the database or repository: Horvath-Plyman, M. (2018). Title (Publication No. 10937367) [Doctoral dissertation, New York University]. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global. In text: (Horvath-Plyman, 2018).

How do I cite a thesis in Chicago style?

The title goes in quotation marks, and the degree, university and year go in parentheses in a note: (PhD diss., University of Chicago, 2019). Add the database and its number at the end. The bibliography entry reverses the first name and ends with the database.

What is the difference between a thesis and a dissertation?

In the United States a dissertation is written for a doctorate and a thesis for a master's or an undergraduate honours degree. In the United Kingdom the doctoral work is often called a thesis. Use the term on the title page for the degree in the citation.

How do I cite a master's thesis?

The same way as a dissertation, with the degree changed: [Master's thesis, University of Oregon] in APA, MA thesis in MLA, and MA thesis in a Chicago note. Take the degree name from the title page.

How do I cite an undergraduate thesis I cannot find online?

Cite it with the university and the degree, as for a paper copy, and omit the link. An unpublished paper from your own class is cited like a manuscript; the Manuscript Citation Generator covers that.

Which citation styles does the thesis generator support?

All 10,834 styles in the library, including APA 7, MLA 9 and Chicago 18.

Thesis & Dissertation Citation Generator

Cite a doctoral dissertation or a master's or honours thesis, whether you found it in an institutional repository, in ProQuest or on paper. Enter the author, title, degree, university, year and link, and get the reference in APA 7, MLA 9, Chicago 18 and 10,834 other styles. Free, no sign-up.

Language

Saved citations build a full bibliography in the StudioOpen Bibliography Studio

How to Use the Thesis Citation Generator

1. Find the title page. It gives the author's full name, the exact title, the degree, the university and the year of the final submission.
2. Enter the author, the title and the year. Type the title in sentence case. The form opens on Thesis / dissertation.
3. Name the degree in Format / medium. Use Doctoral dissertation for APA, PhD dissertation for MLA and PhD diss. for Chicago. For a master's thesis, use Master's thesis for APA and MA thesis for MLA and Chicago.
4. Add the university and the link. Put the university in Publisher / Site and paste the repository URL if there is one.
5. Pick a style and copy. Choose APA, MLA, Chicago or any of the 10,834 styles.

Published or Unpublished, Thesis or Dissertation

A thesis or dissertation is a finished work submitted for a degree. The styles ask where you found it, and what kind of degree it was. Cite the copy you read.

Where you found it	APA 7	MLA 9	Chicago 18
A university repository	Degree and university in brackets, then the repository and URL	Degree and university after the year, then the repository and URL	Degree and university in parentheses, then the URL
A commercial database (ProQuest)	Publication number, then the database name	Database as a second container	Database and the ProQuest number
A paper copy	Degree and university in brackets, no URL	Degree and university after the year	Degree and university, no URL

APA 7 (§10.6) puts the degree and the university in square brackets after the italic title, then names the database or the archive; a ProQuest dissertation carries its publication number in parentheses before the bracket. MLA 9, following the MLA Style Center, no longer distinguishes published from unpublished dissertations, and gives the author, the title in italics, the year, and then the university and the degree. Chicago 18 puts the title in quotation marks and the degree and university in parentheses in a note, with the ProQuest number at the end.

Thesis Citation Examples

One official sample per style, because each manual uses a different dissertation. Each comes straight from the style's own site.

APA 7: a dissertation from ProQuest

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.

In-text:

(Horvath-Plyman, 2018)

MLA 9: a dissertation from ProQuest

Works Cited:

Njus, Jesse. Performing the Passion: A Study on the Nature of Medieval Acting. 2010. Northwestern U, PhD dissertation. ProQuest, search.proquest.com/docview/305212264?accountid=7432.

In-text:

(Njus)

Chicago 18: a dissertation from ProQuest

Note:

Yuna Blajer de la Garza, “A House Is Not a Home: Citizenship and Belonging in Contemporary Democracies” (PhD diss., University of Chicago, 2019), 66–67, ProQuest (13865986).

Shortened note:

Blajer de la Garza, “House,” 93.

Bibliography:

Blajer de la Garza, Yuna. “A House Is Not a Home: Citizenship and Belonging in Contemporary Democracies.” PhD diss., University of Chicago, 2019. ProQuest (13865986).

What the Generator Gives You

Enter Njus with PhD dissertation in the format box and no link, and the generator returns the MLA entry as above, minus the database. In APA it prints the degree in brackets and puts the university after the bracket; with a repository URL in the link box it moves the university into the bracket, as APA wants. It has no box for a publication number or a database, and a database typed into the journal box prints as In ProQuest, so add both by hand. In Chicago it writes PhD dissertation; type PhD diss. to get Chicago's abbreviation.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I cite a dissertation in APA 7?: Give the author, the year, the title in italics, the publication number if there is one, and the degree and university in brackets, then the database or repository: Horvath-Plyman, M. (2018). Title (Publication No. 10937367) [Doctoral dissertation, New York University]. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global. In text: (Horvath-Plyman, 2018).
How do I cite a thesis in MLA 9?: Give the author, the title in italics, the year, the university and the degree, then the database in italics and the URL: Njus, Jesse. Performing the Passion: A Study on the Nature of Medieval Acting. 2010. Northwestern U, PhD dissertation. ProQuest, URL. MLA does not distinguish published from unpublished dissertations.
How do I cite a thesis in Chicago style?: The title goes in quotation marks, and the degree, university and year go in parentheses in a note: (PhD diss., University of Chicago, 2019). Add the database and its number at the end. The bibliography entry reverses the first name and ends with the database.
What is the difference between a thesis and a dissertation?: In the United States a dissertation is written for a doctorate and a thesis for a master's or an undergraduate honours degree. In the United Kingdom the doctoral work is often called a thesis. Use the term on the title page for the degree in the citation.
How do I cite a master's thesis?: The same way as a dissertation, with the degree changed: [Master's thesis, University of Oregon] in APA, MA thesis in MLA, and MA thesis in a Chicago note. Take the degree name from the title page.
How do I cite an undergraduate thesis I cannot find online?: Cite it with the university and the degree, as for a paper copy, and omit the link. An unpublished paper from your own class is cited like a manuscript; the Manuscript Citation Generator covers that.
Which citation styles does the thesis generator support?: All 10,834 styles in the library, including APA 7, MLA 9 and Chicago 18.

How to cite a Dissertation or Thesis in each style

Format rules, templates, and worked examples for the styles most often required.

All source types and styles →

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