bibliottHow to Cite a Thesis or dissertation in Chicago 17th edition
Format, in-text rule, and a copy-paste example for theses or dissertations in Chicago. Citing a master's thesis, PhD dissertation, or other graduate work.
Chicago format for theses or dissertations
Author Last, First. "Title of Thesis." Type, Awarding Institution, Year. Database/URL.
Smith, Jane D. "Algorithmic Citation Generation in Academic Writing." PhD diss., Stanford University, 2023. ProQuest (30425678).
Pro tip
Chicago abbreviates "PhD diss." or "master's thesis" in lowercase.
Information you need
Before generating your Chicago 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 Chicago guides
Frequently asked questions
For a thesis or dissertation in Chicago, 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 Chicago 17th edition format. Replace the author, title, year and other fields with your source's data, or use the bibliott generator to do it automatically.