bibliottHow to Cite a Thesis or dissertation in APA 7th edition
Format, in-text rule, and a copy-paste example for theses or dissertations in APA. Citing a master's thesis, PhD dissertation, or other graduate work.
APA format for theses or dissertations
Author, A. A. (Year). Title of thesis (Publication No. xxx) [Type, Awarding Institution]. Database. URL
Smith, J. D. (2023). Algorithmic citation generation in academic writing (Publication No. 30425678) [Doctoral dissertation, Stanford University]. ProQuest Dissertations & Theses.
Pro tip
For unpublished theses, drop the database and add "Unpublished" before the type.
Information you need
Before generating your APA citation, gather these details from the thesis or dissertation:
Author
Year
Title
Type (Master's thesis or Doctoral dissertation)
Awarding institution
Database or repository URL
Common mistakes to avoid
✗Citing as a book — theses have a distinct format in every major style
✗Forgetting to specify Master's vs Doctoral
✗Listing the database (ProQuest) as the publisher when the awarding institution is the publisher
Cite a thesis or dissertation in another style
Other APA guides
Frequently asked questions
For a thesis or dissertation in APA, you'll need: Author, Year, Title, Type (Master's thesis or Doctoral dissertation), Awarding institution, Database or repository URL. bibliott auto-detects most of these from a URL or DOI.
Citing as a book — theses have a distinct format in every major style
Yes — the example follows the official APA 7th edition format. Replace the author, title, year and other fields with your source's data, or use the bibliott generator to do it automatically.