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To cite a thesis or dissertation in APA 7th edition, the reference entry follows one pattern whether the work is a master’s thesis or a doctoral dissertation: author, year, italic title, a bracket naming the degree level and the university, then the place you found it. What changes from one entry to the next is only that last element: a repository or archive name with a URL, a commercial database name with no URL, or just the institution for a print or unpublished copy. The in-text citation is a plain author-date pair, such as (Smith, 2018).
The format
The element order below matches the APA reference examples and university library guides listed under Sources. Each element is named so you can check an entry piece by piece.
Author surname, Initials. (Year). Title in sentence case [Level of thesis, Awarding institution]. Archive, repository or database name. URL
- Author and year. Surname first, then initials, then the year in round brackets followed by a full stop. A hyphenated first name keeps its hyphen in the initials, as in “Tsao, S.-F.”
- Title. Italic.
- Bracketed description. The level of the work and the institution that awarded the degree, for example [Doctoral dissertation, Example University] or [Master’s thesis, Example University]. Use the label the work itself carries: “thesis” or “dissertation”.
- Publication number. For a work retrieved from ProQuest, the number goes in round brackets between the title and the bracketed description.
- Source. The name of the repository, archive or database where you found it. A repository entry ends with the URL. A database entry ends with the database name and no URL. A print copy names the institution instead.
Which pattern do you need?
Choose by where you found the work, not by what degree it was for.
| Where you found it | After the bracket | Ends with |
|---|---|---|
| University or open repository | Repository name | URL |
| Commercial database such as ProQuest | Database name (and a publication number before the bracket) | Database name, no URL |
| Print copy | Name of the institution | Institution |
| Unpublished work | Institution, with “Unpublished” inside the bracket | Institution |
Examples
The three entries below follow the patterns above. The authors, titles and institutions are fictitious examples written for this page; they are not real people or real theses.
Doctoral dissertation from a university repository
Okafor, N. (2021). Soil microbial response to cover cropping [Doctoral dissertation, Example University]. Example University Research Repository. https://repository.example.edu/1234
Dissertation from ProQuest (database, no URL)
Smith, J. (2018). Study of examples (Publication No. 00000000) [Doctoral dissertation, Example University]. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global.
How to cite a master’s thesis in APA
Lin, M.-H. (2019). Sampling methods in small clinics [Master’s thesis, Example University]. Example Archive. https://archive.example.edu/567
Unpublished master’s thesis
Reyes, A. B. (2015). A study of citation habits [Unpublished master’s thesis]. Example University.
In-text citation version
In the text, a thesis is cited like any other source: author and year. Put both in brackets, (Smith, 2018), or name the author in the sentence and bracket the year: Smith (2018) found. A repository thesis is cited the same way, for example Mosek (2017). The bracketed level, the institution and the publication number appear only in the reference list, never in the in-text citation.
For your own thesis, and for theses you cite in a manuscript
If you cite your own thesis in a later article or chapter, use the same pattern as for anyone else’s: your surname and initials, the year of the thesis, and the repository or database where it is held. If you are citing a thesis written by someone else, James Cook University’s library guide advises checking with your lecturer before using a thesis as a source for an assignment; for a manuscript, ask your supervisor. If part of the thesis was later published as an article, see publishing a thesis or dissertation as journal articles.
Common errors
- Leaving out the publication number on a ProQuest entry. It sits in round brackets between the title and the bracketed description.
- Adding a URL to a database entry. A database entry ends with the database name.
- Dropping the source name. The repository or database name is part of the entry.
- Losing the hyphen in initials such as S.-F.
- Not italicising the title, or using title case instead of sentence case.
The hanging indent on the reference list is a separate formatting rule; see APA hanging indent. For how a reference entry fits into a whole paper, see how to write a research paper in APA style.
Style-guide edition
This page follows the APA Publication Manual, 7th edition (2020), the current edition as of October 2026. The database-entry pattern follows the official APA reference examples handout (last updated March 3, 2026). The repository, master’s and unpublished variants follow two agreeing university library guides, both listed under Sources. Your department, journal or publisher may set its own requirements, which take priority over the general APA pattern.
FAQ
How do I cite a dissertation in APA 7th edition?
Use the pattern author, year, italic title, [Doctoral dissertation, University], then the repository or database name. Add the URL for a repository copy; leave it off for a database such as ProQuest.
How do I cite a master’s thesis in APA?
The pattern is the same, with the bracket reading [Master’s thesis, University]. For an unpublished master’s thesis, the bracket reads [Unpublished master’s thesis] and the institution follows it.
Is there a difference between citing a thesis and a dissertation?
Only the label in the bracket. Use the word the work itself carries. The rest of the entry is the same.
Do I need the publication number?
Yes for a ProQuest work, where it goes in round brackets after the title. The repository examples in the sources above have none.
For other source types and styles, see how to cite an interview in APA and the overview of citation styles and referencing formats. For the database itself, see ProQuest Dissertations and Theses.
Sources
- American Psychological Association, Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 7th ed. (2020); APA Style reference examples handout, last updated March 3, 2026: https://apastyle.apa.org/instructional-aids/reference-examples.pdf (checked 2026-10-29).
- Victoria University Library, “APA 7th Referencing: Theses”: https://libraryguides.vu.edu.au/apa-referencing/7Theses (checked 2026-10-29).
- James Cook University Library, “APA: Theses”: https://libguides.jcu.edu.au/apa/theses (checked 2026-10-29).
